Sleepwalking into new ownership is not an option at Sheffield Wednesday
Alan Biggs on Sheffield Wednesday’s ongoing takeover
The only safe prediction about what should be end-game in Sheffield Wednesday’s takeover saga is that it’s likely to be anything but.
Certainly not quick. Might it run and run? Amid the prevailing uncertainty, you bet.
Alongside this being the Wednesday way, you have to say the current prospect of an ousted owner nicknamed “Chancer” being replaced by a former professional poker player is just about the most Wednesday thing ever.
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Let alone that the gentleman in question, James Bord, recently left his finger marks all over another club in Sheffield and some pretty incriminating ones at that.
Despite this, I’d normally be sticking closer to the protocol which says wait things out before commenting.
Why James Bord’s potential ownership group ‘raises red flags’
But, having remarked on X at a much earlier stage in the process that Bord’s group “raised red flags for me”, I can’t duck elaborating on why I said it.
Could just delete and move on but that would be less than honest; just as I’ll admit if proved wrong.
From a working knowledge of Bord’s consultancy involvement at Sheffield United, he was instrumental in a series of big calls that threatened to wreck the club’s season - the sacking of Chris Wilder, employment of Ruben Selles and a raft of AI signings that failed.
Of course, everyone makes mistakes. It’s learning from them that counts.
Bord has to be a clever guy - even if there are people who know a lot about football who say he knows nothing, which is actually a pretty fundamental point.
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His network appears to be well funded and includes stakes in a range of clubs.
Let’s be clear on this as well. The group has evidently put its money where its mouth is, topping other bidders and paying for exclusivity.
Whether the club’s administrators feel uncomfortable with this outcome or not (as I strongly suspect they are), they were backed into a corner for preferred bidder status.
But it’s far from over yet and stringency is good in either event. Tracking the funding from Bord’s group will require some fairly exhaustive checks by the EFL, who now have the Independent Football Regulator breathing down their necks.
Again, check out the clunkiness of the multi-investor model on the other side of the city.
The decision on Wednesday’s next ownership is a showcase for football governance. The world is watching this one. It has to be right, has to be squeaky clean.
Money can’t be divorced from it. If it could, I’d take half the money for twice the football brain.
Until we get that sort of balance back into ownership generally, won’t there always be a problem? It’ll be interesting to see if and how the regulator can tackle this in its future vetting procedures.
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I’m not sure it can be done proactively; only retrospectively. Which leaves Wednesday’s future hanging precariously.
It can’t just be wait and see with everything crossed for a happy outcome.
Fans via the Sheffield Wednesday Supporters Trust have forced change. They are right, as per their latest statement, to use as much influence as possible on how that looks and to probe for information denied them.
Sleepwalking into new ownership, after all that’s gone before, is simply not an option.
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