Sheffield Wednesday go into the new Championship season as favourites to be relegated this term, with players going unpaid and several key departures during pre-season.
The Owls finished 12th in the second tier last time around, but there have since been wage delays under owner Dejphon Chansiri, with the club hit by a registration embargo.
Josh Windass, Michael Smith and Djeidi Gassama have been among the star men to depart, while the respected Danny Rohl this week left his position as the club’s manager.
Ex-Sheffield Wednesday striker voices concerns
Chansiri has been unpopular among many Sheffield Wednesday fans for several years – the club previously dropped into League One in 2021, then supporters were left baffled when boss Darren Moore left mere weeks after guiding the club back to the Championship two years ago, amid controversy over negotiations for a new contract.
There have been frequent calls in recent seasons for the Thai businessman to sell the club, but he has remained Sheffield Wednesday’s owner – he's now reported to be open to a takeover deal for the right price, but cashflow issues in the meantime have plunged the Owls into crisis.
“Sometimes the ownership and the fans don’t get on at clubs, but this has been toxic for a long time, and you were thinking ‘Is it ever going to get sorted out?’” former Sheffield Wednesday striker Clinton Morrison told FourFourTwo.
“If I was the owner in that position, and the fans were getting on to me, I’d have been trying to sell the club as soon as possible, not only for my own sake but for the club.
“When you invest in a club like that, you don’t want to see them struggling and getting relegated. I didn’t like it when Darren Moore went when they got promoted, either. I just don’t get it.”
The Owls needed two seasons to get out of League One after their previous relegation, and Morrison worries that they could end up there again next summer – potentially in a worse state than last time around.
“I worry for them,” said the pundit, speaking in association with Free Bets. “I didn’t worry if they’d kept all of their players, because the squad was good enough, but they’ve lost some of their best players – Windass, Smith and Gassama, who’s gone to Rangers.
“It’s disappointing the club has been left in this position, a club like that shouldn’t be struggling, and I hope they can survive this season, but it’s going to be a long season for them. Everyone has tipped them to go down.
“It’s just a shambles and it’s sad to see. I understand the owner is trying to sell it but it’s just not right, players not being paid their wages, losing your best players and then losing your manager who did a fantastic job and is highly regarded. He won’t be out of work for long.
“I feel most sorry for the fans because they deserve a lot more – it’s a huge club and when I played there, I always said it should be back in the Premier League. The fanbase is fantastic, they live and die for football. Hopefully someone can come in and buy the club.”
