Simon Wilson has already outlined why he is exactly what Sheffield Wednesday need
Sheffield Wednesday are putting key foundations in place following the recent takeover by Arise Capital Partners LLC.
Long-term planning appears to be at the heart of incoming Sheffield Wednesday sporting director Simon Wilson’s football philosophy.
The Star understands Wilson is set to become the latest off-field addition at Hillsborough following Arise Capital Partners’ takeover of the club earlier this month.
Arise, governed by US businessman David Storch, want to put a strong off-field structure in place and build on the recent appointment of chief executive David Bruce. The latter is set to oversee plenty of projects away from the pitch at Hillsborough.
However, on the sporting side of the operation, Wilson is set to play a key role in trying to help Wednesday make progress on the pitch. It is understood he was earmarked as the Owls’ preferred candidate towards the end of last week and was at Hillsborough on Tuesday.
Wilson, who has plenty of experience in several different areas of football, including as an analyst and as a chief executive, has plenty of knowledge about League One after helping Stockport County climb their way from the National League to England’s third tier as part of a seven-year plan to try and reach the Championship.
The former Southampton analyst joined Stockport in February 2020 and has played a key role in their sharp rise through the pyramid, working closely alongside owner Mark Stott.
Stockport put a seven-year plan in place to try and reach the Championship when they were in the National League and have made excellent progress, with much of it stemming from the foundations of a long-term philosophy being put in place.
Although Wednesday, of course, are not moving into this new chapter in the fifth tier of English football, they are a club in desperate need of a plan to get them back on their feet and put recent events behind them. And in Wilson, 43, it appears they are set to bring in an individual that is a huge fan of putting a long-term plan in place to guide a club forward.
Speaking to Sky Sports back in January 2021, Wilson said: "Our basic philosophy is why wait until you are a Championship team to operate like a Championship team? Surely, the difference between a National League team and a Championship team is the player quality, but it should not be the organisational quality.
"We have got things that we are just used to working with and what you would expect at a Championship club. We are not suddenly going to upgrade the way we operate just because the team gets promoted.
“We need to start that process straightaway so we have tried to set ourselves up as a Championship club from day one.”
Under former chairman Dejphon Chansiri, Wednesday lacked a long-term plan, jumping from one season to the next with no joined up plan. Recruitment was also of a scattergun nature, meaning Wednesday need to start joining the dots between transfer windows.
Wednesday are preparing for life in League One next season with the mid-term ambition of getting back into the Championship, stabilising in England’s second tier and eventually becoming a competitive second tier club again.
Vowing to invest and improve the club’s infrastructure, Arise are building from the ground up, attempting to put key fundamentals in place. Appointing Bruce as chief executive is a smart move given his experience on the business side while Wilson will bring knowledge and expertise on the football side.
It is very early days in Arise’s premiership, but appointing of someone Wilson’s experience, particularly when he has played such an important role in Stockport’s impressive rise, is another tick in their box.