Not on-Bord: The full timeline as Sheffield Wednesday’s tragic takeover takes another twist
Sheffield Wednesday are looking for new owners once against after a consortium led by James Bord withdrew from the bidding process today.
There aren’t many worse football clubs to support in the world right now than the Owls, it would seem. Recently relegated at Bramall Lane, but only on the back of Dejphon Chansiri’s previous failings, Wednesday are heading to League One without anybody steering the ship.
Most of their squad from last season has left or is injured, and Henrik Pedersen’s bench resembles more of an academy game than a Championship fixture. With -18 points, an ongoing transfer embargo and a fee restriction that runs until the summer of 2028, things are looking grim for the men in blue and white.
After months of protest and battle, fans finally saw a bit of light at the end of the tunnel as the Chansiri era came to an end… On October 24th 2025 they entered into administration and there was hope of a new dawn. Now, almost exactly four months later, there are fears that there’s no immediate end in sight.
Here’s how things have played out…
October 2025
Chansiri appeared to be hanging on by his fingertips, and a boycott of the game against Middlesbrough on the 22nd saw one of the smallest crowds that Hillsborough had seen in years. Fans were coming together to try and force the Thai businessman out, and they looked to be making progress.
Then it happened, on October 24th they entered into administration as Begbies Traynor began the process of selling the club. They urged fans to play their part if they could, and Wednesdayites responded by ploughing hundreds of thousands of pounds into SWFC’s coffers in a bid to keep their team alive. The administrators’ message was that they wanted to ‘ensure that the club is placed in the hands of a suitably-qualified and well-financed new owner’.
News of serious bidders followed suit quickly, and as October came to an end everybody was paid on time - something that had become a rarity during the dying embers of Chansiri’s reign.
November 2025
Full of expectation and hope, fans continued to do their thing. Money was raised, tickets were bought, and a big crowd turned up for a ‘Blue and White Night’ that saw the return of club legends like David Hirst and Chris Waddle. Excitement isn’t a term that you’d usually associate with administration, but Wednesdayites were over the moon. A new dawn lay ahead of them.
The month of November a plethora of statements from the club and from Kris Wigfield as they sought to keep fans abreast of the situation. The team was struggling, but there was a bigger picture to look at. There was talk of potential buyers with ‘significant financial means’ who could ‘probably revolutionise the club.
Fans were excited, and names were tossed around left, right and centre. Some were real options, others weren’t, and in the absence of any real confirmation the noise gained volume. Wednesday lost to Sheffield United, but a date had been set for December 5th that would hopefully see a preferred bidder named. Fans were warned that a further points deduction could be on the way.
December 2025
The new month got off to the worst start, with Wednesday being handed a further six-point deduction for breaches of EFL regulations. Chansiri was also banned from owning or directing any EFL club for three years.
December 5th arrived, and instead of a preferred bidder being named it was confirmed that doing so had ‘not proven possible’. Discussions with prospective buyers would continue, but the uncertainty bred anxiety, and fans were starting to become concerned.
Thankfully the EFL’s Independent Club Financial Review Panel decided that there would be no further points docked, but frankly the damage was done - Wednesday would be relegated anyway.
MORE: Sheffield Wednesday administrators release statement - huge bid figure revealed from failed takeover
Names such as Mike Ashley, John McEvoy and David Storch did the rounds, and there had even been talk at one stage of one bidder who had considered the idea of merging Sheffield’s two biggest clubs. It was looking likely that nobody would offer the required amount that was needed to avoid a 15-point deduction, with offers around the £15m mark seeming more likely.
Then, out of nowhere, came a preferred bidder status. James Bord and Co weren’t named by the administrators, but their names soon came to light. We’ve since found out that their bid was worth a whopping £47.8m.
January 2025
January was a relatively quiet month on the takeover front after preferred bidder status was granted, but it was far from quiet at the club.
With the transfer window open, and still an uncertain future ahead, business had to be done. Bailey Cadamarteri was sold to Wrexham, Yisa Alao joined Chelsea, and - most heart-breaking of all - club legend, Barry Bannan, left as a free agent to sign for Millwall. It was all done as a way of making sure the club would be able to fund itself if the bid failed. Which, with hindsight, was obviously needed.
There was talk of hold-ups, and concerns over whether the consortium would be passed by the EFL to take over. With their links to gambling and worries about links to cryptocurrency, there were definitely red flags being flown that was causing unrest for many supporters.
February 2025
On the field, February was a nightmare. Wednesday’s losing streak continued, as did their run without a goal, and Henrik Pedersen did his best to try and keep the mood up. It soon became clear that there was a very real chance of the final nail in their relegation coffin being hammered in at the home of their most bitter rivals.
Meanwhile, concerns over the takeover continued. Despite no public statements saying as such, there had been signals that the consortium may not be successful in their attempts to buy the cub, and on February 24th Storch told Radio Sheffield that he was still interested. At the time it didn’t seem too important - but then February 25th happened.
And here we are. After deciding that they bid too much, and at £47.8m for a distressed asset they definitely did, the Bord Consortium pulled the plug. They’d been funding the club’s losses of around £1m, as well as having paid a non-refundable deposit, but they wouldn’t be taking things any further.
Now we wait. There are other parties interested, and the administrators are confident of getting a deal done, but fans feel rightly aggrieved… Largely at what seems like a huge waste of everybody’s time.