Stadium in ruins, transfer ban, coach departs: historic club falling apart! | OneFootball

The first game of the season is just six days away, but for one English second-division club, it’s still unclear whether the team will even be able to play. Worse still: one of the oldest football clubs in the world is facing the threat of a final demise.

Sheffield Wednesday was founded in 1867 and, over its long history, can even look back on four English championships. But it’s been a long time since the club has seen any success; instead, chaos is taking over. Due to financial problems, the club is literally on the brink of collapse.

The club’s dilapidated home ground, Hillsborough Stadium, is in urgent need of renovation. So much so that Sheffield City Council last week closed the North Stand because it is “no longer safe for spectators.” These are especially alarming words for the site where, 36 years ago, Europe’s worst stadium tragedy occurred and 97 people lost their lives.

But even in a renovated arena, there currently wouldn’t be any Wednesday professionals willing to play there. The friendly match scheduled for last weekend against Burnley FC had to be canceled because the players refused to play. The reason for the boycott: wages have not been paid for three months.

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The club has been struggling with massive problems for much longer. Throughout last season, delayed wage payments were a recurring issue, which is why the English Football League (EFL) imposed a spending ban for the next three transfer windows last June.

At the same time, the Owls have lost parts of their “family silver” for nothing in return. The contracts of Josh Windass and Michael Smith, the club’s top scorers from last season, were “mutually” terminated in mid-July according to a club statement. The same goes for the contract of German head coach Danny Röhl, who only left the sinking ship last week.

At least there’s a new coach on board, Henrik Pedersen, and club legend Barry Bannan has recently extended his contract despite all the adversity and other offers. But the midfielder currently has only 15 teammates in the professional squad—and that for a schedule that includes 46 league games alone!

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For many fans, the root of all evil is club owner Dejphon Chansiri. The Thai businessman took over Sheffield Wednesday in 2015 for the equivalent of 34 million euros. Despite investments of around 150 million euros, sporting success has failed to materialize. According to media reports, he is willing to sell, but only for offers starting at around 100 million euros—which have yet to materialize.

In the meantime, his speculative asset is running out of money. In addition to a lack of transfer income, the EFL is also planning, according to the British newspaper ‘The Star,’ to cut off TV money. Instead, the league association wants to use the revenue to pay off debts to the club’s creditors and employees.

“Absolute chaos. There’s no end in sight,” Ian Bennett, chairman of the Sheffield Wednesday Supporters’ Trust, had to admit to ‘Sky’ in light of the situation. He still has hope and promises: “The fans will do everything they can to support the players.” But at the moment, it doesn’t look like they’ll get another chance. Rather, the club history of this venerable institution is at risk of ending in insolvency after nearly 158 years.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

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