'Barely changed' - Prospective Sheffield Wednesday owners sent investment warning
Sheffield Wednesday will require investment in their infrastructure once they under new ownership.
Former Sheffield Wednesday man Michael Gray believes the Owls’ next owner(s) might need up to six years to get the club into a position it deserves to be in, pinpointing the need for investment in its infrastructure.
Wednesday were put into administration for the first time in their history in October after former owner Dejphon Chansiri decided to relinquish his control of the club, ending his ten-year reign at the helm.
Interest in buying the club has not been in short supply, with interested parties both at home and abroad expressing their interest in trying to secure the keys to Hillsborough. Administrators originally set a deadline of December 5 to name a preferred bidder, but the volume of interest meant that target date arrived too early for a final decision to be made.
Wednesday need to be sold for around £30million to avoid starting next season on -15. Relegation to League One is almost a guarantee with 18 points having been shaved off the Owls’ tally for going into administration and failing to fulfil financial obligations.
With Wednesdayites hoping next season, albeit in the third tier of English football, will signal the beginning of a fresh start for the club, former Owls utility player Gray has addressed the importance of the new owner(s) investing in the club’s infrastructure, highlighting the need for improvements at both Hillsborough and the club’s Middlewood Road training base.
Gray outlines what Wednesday need from takeover
Gray, speaking exclusively to The Star, via the home of online casino, said: “Well, if they do get the right owner at the football club, and I know there's five or six candidates out there who are trying to buy Sheffield Wednesday at the moment, they just hope that the right person actually walks through the door and has the club at heart.
"The training ground needs more than a lick of paint. The stadium has barely changed since I played there 25, 30 years ago. And it used to be an incredible stadium, one of the best.
"I think they've got the support, there's no doubt about that. They just want their club back. It might take five to six years to get Sheffield Wednesday back to where they deserve to be, which is certainly no lower than the Championship.
"If they can do that, then there's a sleeping giant waiting to just jump out at everybody, to get back to where it deserves to be, and I really hope that happens because it's a great football club."