Exclusive: Carlton Palmer claims Dejphon Chansiri "should be applauded" for reducing Sheffield Wednesday debts | OneFootball

Carlton Palmer has praised Chansiri after he wrote off almost £20m of the Owls' debt

Sheffield Wednesday legend and current pundit Carlton Palmer has praised Owls owner Dejphon Chansiri after it was recently revealed that he had paid off nearly £20m of the club's debts regarding Hillsborough Stadium.

Despite a less than ideal start to the season, Wednesday have been in a good place since Danny Rohl's appointment in October last year, and new revelations will have massively pleased fans in terms of the future and stability of the club.

New documents on Companies House have revealed that Chansiri has paid back £19,198,205 that was used to purchase Hillsborough in 2020 and was owed to New Avenue Projects Limited, and so leaving just one charge of £6.75m left to be paid before the end of the month.

It is unclear whether Chansiri recently paid off the debts owed, as transactions do not have to be immediately declared on Companies House, but either way, the new developments are certainly a positive and may open the club up to potential investments from other parties in the near future.

Carlton Palmer offers positive verdict on Dejphon Chansiri decision

Chansiri has been criticised in the media in years gone by for the way in which he has run Wednesday since taking over as owner in 2015, not least by club legend Palmer, who made over 200 appearances for the club from 1989 to 1994 and in 2001.

Palmer and Chansiri had a public fallout last year over former boss Darren Moore's Wednesday exit, but the former England international was full of praise for the Owls' owner over recent revelations when he spoke exclusively to Football League World.

“I’ve always said this before, and I know Chansiri has had a pop at me, but I work in the media and I have got to come out and say what I believe is right. I’m also a Sheffield Wednesday supporter," Palmer told FLW.

“He hasn’t done a lot of things right in terms of dealing with football matters, but in terms of his investment in the football club from day one, until you are in that position you can’t talk too much about that.

“I’ve never criticised him about investment in the football club. He has now got a manager that I think is really good, and he has invested in the team, which are both plusses.

“The supporters are still not happy about the price of season tickets, but then again, the supporters aren’t paying the bills that he has had to pay off.

“I know it is difficult, but he has got to show patience now with Danny Rohl, which I think he will do.

“I think they’re in a false position at the moment, they should have picked up one or two better results, but they will come.

“I’ve always said that (being a chairman) is an unenviable position, and Chansiri has done well for the club in terms of investing money since day one.

“It’s just that he should have got people in there who know about football to help and advise him properly. It seems to be going the right way now.

“Like I said at the start of the season, you don’t go from a miraculous survival, like they did under Rohl last season, to getting promotion the following year.

“It’s a process now of being patient. They have to stay up and it becomes a building process to making a challenge for the Premier League.

“The chairman seems to be in the right place with the manager. You want a chairman that is going to put money in the football club, and he has done that and should be applauded for it.”

Chansiri has overseen a turbulent few years as owner of Wednesday, but things seem to finally be looking up now and this latest development is another reason for Owls fans to trust him, but he must continue in the same vein going forward.

The appointment of Danny Rohl proved to be an inspired one in October last year after Xisco Munoz' failures had left the club adrift at the bottom of the Championship, as the young boss led Wednesday to a miraculous survival in the second tier by three points in his first job as a head-coach.

The 35-year-old signed an extension to his contract as boss until 2027 following the conclusion of his debut season, and many tipped his side to mount a challenge for the play-offs this term, but they have not got off to a great start so far.

It is still very early days in the new campaign, but Rohl's men currently sit in 22nd in the Championship, with just one win from their opening six league games, yet no murmurs of his potential departure have arisen despite sides around them like Cardiff City and Stoke City already moving to change their head-coach.

That should not come as a surprise given the credit that he built for his job last season, but Chansiri has been known to do stranger things in the past, so he must continue to avoid any urge he may have to change things yet again and put his full trust in the German going forward.

His reputation looks to be improving among Wednesday fans, with moves such as wiping out sizeable debts, and he can not let it take another hit by acting on impulse regarding Rohl anytime soon.