'No daft promises' - Sheffield Wednesday fans welcome Storch takeover with cautious optimism
The Owls have new owners in Arise Capital Partners as the club is given a fresh start
Sheffield Wednesday fans have welcomed in a new era with cautious optimism.
David Storch, his son Michael, and business partner Tom Costin, of Arise Capital Partners, are the new owners after completing a takeover of the club following administration. Official confirmation will follow at Saturday’s match against West Brom.
Wednesdayites like what they have heard from Storch. They are excited, hopeful and optimistic about the future, but also cautious. Their carefulness in not getting carried away does not come from anything Arise has done but rather from some Dejphon Chansiri-shaped scars. They burn deep.
The mood around this fresh start feels very different from the one 11 years ago. Fans are not talking about the Premier League or splashing the cash on players. They want less sexy things. Its loyal followers want it to have solid foundations and for it to be run professionally. They want Hillsborough to be modernised and safe, the training ground to be brought into the 21st Century, to have a proper staff structure, players and employees to be paid on time and to have water in the North Stand. As one fan told The Star, they want it to be owned by ‘grown-ups.’ They don’t want any ‘daft promises.’
It is not that supporters have lowered their expectations, but they have perhaps tweaked, tapered or adjusted them. A rebuild is needed and it is going to take a long time to recover. Generational damage has been done. Storch and co will be welcomed with open arms and everyone will give them their backing, but supporters will will be watching them very closely and they will hold them to account. Any big-spending will actually probably make some people feel a bit uncomfortable.
On Friday, with the sun beaming down on Hillsborough, we strolled around the ground to gauge fan sentiment. While on our travels, we found club staff being treated to a pizza van by the administrators as thanks for their hard work and dedication during a prolonged, worrying and uncertain period when they went without wages and did not know if they could pay their bills and mortgages on time. A stark reminder of the harm caused and what honest, working-class people endured.
Wednesday has had its heart ripped out, and it became too much for many people this season. It was like watching a loved one slowly pass away. We bumped into Chris, a lifelong fan who has been attending Hillsborough for 60 seasons. He told us about the mental torture it caused him, leading him to eventually stop attending matches. “It has been awful this season, it plays with your mind. I got serious depression when all that stuff was happening,” he said.
Outside the club’s Megastore was supporter Lewis, wearing the iconic yellow Sanderson shirt. When we asked if he would speak to us he said he could talk about it all day because he was so happy. He will be at Saturday’s game with his daughter, mum, family and friends and they will be going for a ‘good drink’ afterwards to celebrate. “If Storchy wants to come to the Park Hotel afterwards I will happily get him a pint in,” he laughed.
After so much ‘doom and gloom’, like many fans Lewis is relieved that the dark clouds over Hillsborough have lifted. He said: “It is refreshing. He (Storch) has integrated himself into the city more than what he (Chansiri) ever did. It is just nice to be able to look at it with positivity. He is not making daft promises. There is no Premier League in three years or Champions League in five years. It is just slow and steady. It is a heck of a job with the neglect it has had over the years. Get grown-ups running the place again. Have it running like a professional club again. And facilities-wise, let’s have hot water and nice things like that, my bar is not very high!”
As we walked by The Kop we found talented Sheffield artist, Luke Horton, brightening up some of his eye-catching designs on the walls of the famous old stand. The ground needs more than a lick of paint but it is start. He spoke of feeling ‘positive’ but again came the non-headline-grabbing to-do list for Arise. “We need a restructure, some proper building of the club behind the scenes,” he told us. “We need infrastructure, staffing and a proper professional approach.”
Professionalism and structure might sound dull. But Sheffield Wednesday could do with being a stable, boring football club for a while.