What David Storch told Sheffield Wednesday players on changing room visit - and what Liam Palmer told him
The new owners of Sheffield Wednesday appear to be hitting the right notes with fans and players alike.
An emotional day at Hillsborough on Saturday saw Sheffield Wednesday confirmed to be under new ownership, with a sold-out and vibrant Hillsborough providing the largest Championship crowd of the season as the Owls beat West Brom to record their first home win of the campaign - at the final attempt.
The match brought to a close a long and arduous campaign for Wednesday, who were relegated as early as February in a whirlwind of crisis and chaos that saw that final day win claw back the 18 points they were deducted during the campaign as a result of Dejphon Chansiri’s spiralling mismanagement of the club.
There is a promise of brighter days are ahead, however, with US consortium Arise Capital Partners having taken Wednesday out of administration and back to a level points tally heading into the next campaign. The colour and excitement of Saturday saw consortium members David Storch, Michael Storch and Tom Costin dancing in the director’s box along with their families on a day of great excitement for the club.
One man who the occasion was not lost on was club captain Liam Palmer, a boyhood Wednesdayite who joined the club at the age of seven and did so much to steer the football side through one of the most brutal campaigns in the history of English football.
“I’m happy for them, that they’ve been and they’ve seen a glimpse of what it can be,” he said on the presence of the new owners. “But I’m also happy for the boys to have that experience, lads like Jarvis (Thornton) and Will (Grainger) who have been around the club and have probably seen it as fans, but never as players. To get the win is great, but to get that feeling of what it should be like, what it can be like and what it will be like again, is great.
“It’s for the squad and that staff as well, at times this year it’s been doom and gloom and hard to keep the morale up and keep the lads going in the right direction. I’m glad for them that we manged to get that atmosphere and finish with a win.”
Storch and Costin visited Wednesday’s players and staff in the changing room on the night they were named as preferred bidders to take the club on in March. As previously reported by The Star, the pair spent time talking to individuals on that night and took added time with Palmer as they sought to get a better understanding of the club, its heritage and its requirements going forward.
“They were here for the Watford game when it happened to be my 500th game and the performance was really positive that day,” Palmer continued. “I sat with them and described what we saw, I described what it can be and I tried to paint that picture for them of what it means to see this club in a really good light. It’s alright me saying it, but now they’ve obviously seen and felt it for themselves.
“He came in before the game and wished all the players all the best. He praised us for having kept going and all the efforts of the lads who have been here and not shirked responsibility to keep going at a really difficult time. I think people, not just David, Tom and Michael, fans can resonate with that on a really human level.
“Nobody wants to lose games and to be relegated whenever it was, but the key point is that when times are tough, we’ve all been there as people whatever walk of life. I’ve got nothing but the greatest respect for my teammates in this season and how they’ve gone about it.”