No manager, unpaid wages and a closed stand – Sheffield Wednesday latest

Some fans are now worried the worst will happen to their club because wages have gone unpaid, and the owner has described the club as being “held hostage” by the owner.

Owner Dejphon Chansiri’s side of Sheffield Wednesday has had a number of cashflow issues for some time.

Although Chansiri has not provided an official explanation for what caused the issue, things have gotten worse this summer.

Players, coaches, and staff members who were previously paid late in May and June have now been delayed receiving payments from His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in 2023 and 2024. The pay for July is thought to be due on Thursday.

They are subject to an unpaid transfer fee embargo in the English Football League (EFL). They had been subject to two more embargoes, one for unpaid player wages and the other for HMRC issues.

Wednesday are still subject to a registration ban, which forbids them from signing anyone, even for free transfers, and from applying for loans or transfers for the summer in 2026.

There is no clear solution to the issue under the current owner, and Chansiri has not provided an explanation for what caused the current crisis.

The Professional Footballers’ Association’s head, Maheta Molango, has described the situation at the club as “shocking” and “not tolerable.”

Meanwhile, Clive Betts, a Sheffield South East MP, has pleaded with Chansiri to sell the club and accused him of holding it hostage.

The Thai businessman purchased Sheffield Wednesday from former chairman Milan Mandaric for a reported £37.5 million in 2015. His family owns the largest producer of canned tuna in the world.

The Owls, who haven’t played in the Premier League since 2000, have reached the Championship play-offs in each of their first two seasons in charge, but the 57-year-old has frequently clashed with supporters during a string of drawn-out fan forums and public statements.

In response to sales calls, he said to his supporters, “You have no right to ask me to leave.” In the same year, he asked fans to raise £2 million to pay HMRC’s outstanding debt and cover salaries in an interview with the Sheffield Star, before resolving the problem shortly after.

Less than two weeks before the new season begins, it was announced on Tuesday that Sheffield Wednesday boss Rohl had agreed to leave the organization.

When Rohl did not make his pre-season training, he had been planning for the Owls’ first game against Leicester, and he looked set to leave at the start of the summer.

However, the club’s continued unsustainable state and no takeover, which has resulted in their mutual dissolution.

The first team’s manager, Henrik Pedersen, is anticipated to take over.

Akin Famewo and Callum Paterson both left the club this week for Hull City and MK Dons, respectively, and the rest of the squad is drained.

Anthony Musaba left for Samsunspor after the Owls had already discounted Djeidi Gassama for Rangers.

Additionally, Josh Windass and Michael Smith both obtained mutual consent before signing contracts with Wrexham and Preston North End, respectively.

Between them, Paterson, Gassama, Musaba, Windass, and Smith combined for 55 goals and assists last year in the second tier. Only 22 goal contributions remain for the remaining contracted squad members.

Although he has been training with the squad, Captain Barry Bannan is still out of contract and uncertain about whether he will return.

In connection with the North Stand, Sheffield City Council made it known this week that Hillsborough Stadium had received a prohibition notice. Before the work to fix the problem has been completed, spectators are prevented from entering the stand.

Following two recent SAG (Safety Advisory Group) meetings, the club was informed that without work, the North Stand would not be issued a safety certificate.

The club claims that they are still working with SAG to resolve their issues, that additional information is being sought, and that they will provide additional information as soon as they can.

Non-playing staff who received late pay in May and June are not certain whether they will be paid on time for July. For the past two months, some employees have been receiving assistance from an emergency fund, but the BBC has spoken to information that has left people unsure of their ability to pay their bills on time.

What kind of offer would Chansiri be willing to accept for the club has not been made public.

He did state in a statement that he had rejected a consortium’s offer of £40 million plus “limited future Premier League promotion payments.”

The owner, who has spent ten and a half years at Hillsborough, appears determined to request a bid that is far above what many people believe is market value.

It’s difficult to imagine anyone purchasing the club unless his price demand decreases.

While Mandaric briefly expressed his interest in a return, he later decided against doing so, and John Flanagan, a consortium member in the US, reported to BBC Radio Sheffield that two of their offers for the club had been rejected with no counteroffer.

With the intention of completing a takeover, Sheffield Wednesday announced at the beginning of July that parties interested in purchasing the club would be directed to a professional team with a proven track record of selling football clubs.

Then, we learned that a deal had been struck with a key party. A growing belief that a takeover might be imminent has been confirmed by numerous sources.

Additionally, we learned that businessman Francesco Guardascione was a member of a group looking to purchase.

Within a few days, a potential takeover caused things to start to deteriorate, with no agreement being reached.

Sheffield Wednesday has interest from a number of different parties. However, it is thought that the process of negotiating a purchase agreement for the club is difficult. Negotiations are characterized by words like “unique” and “unorthodox.”

Some think a bidder should be able to offer a package that would be advantageous for Chansiri or to overpay.

What constitutes a reasonable asking price are likely to have an impact on recent key player asset departures. Potential buyers might argue that they are effectively buying a League One team if the club experiences difficulties when the season starts.

A decision will be made regarding the club’s and Chansiri’s EFL allegations. Although it’s impossible to predict the outcome, a points deduction may be possible based on the precedent established when the league dealt with Reading.