Sheffield Wednesday: Dejphon Chansiri can prove he's changed by taking Danny Rohl stance - View | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday owner Dejphon Chansiri can prove he's learned past lessons by remaining patient with manager Danny Rohl during a tough spell.

Thai businessman Dejphon Chansiri has had a turbulent time as owner of Sheffield Wednesday over the nine years he and his family consortium have been custodians of the Championship club. Multiple issues have cropped up over that time, including a feeling that the 56-year-old has had an overbearing influence on footballing matters at times during his tenure.

However, Chansiri now has the opportunity to prove to the club's supporters that he's learned lessons from the past by showing patience with popular manager Danny Röhl following a difficult start to the 2024/25 season for the Owls.

Having got off to a blistering start with a 4-0 thrashing of Plymouth Argyle on the opening day, Wednesday have suffered three straight league defeats to Sunderland, Leeds United and Millwall respectively, without finding the net, while conceding nine times in the process.

However, manager Röhl has proven his ability to turn tough situations around already, joining an Owls side struggling badly at the wrong end of the Championship in October last year, and gradually galvanising the club as a whole, ultimately steering Wednesday to safety by making them an effective, more consistent and disciplined unit.

Hopes were high for further progression at the South Yorkshire club this season under the dynamic German, who previously held coaching and assistant roles at RB Leipzig, Bayern Munich, and the German national team, though the recent setbacks have dampened enthusiasm a little.

Previously, Chansiri has shown erratic decision-making when under pressure, be that financially, changing managers and coaching staff or publicly ranting about the opinions of former Owls' players, the Bangkok-born owner has long-lost the trust of the club's supporters.

Those fans have regularly taken to social media to share their dismay at Chansiri's continued "micromanagement" of more qualified people, which is felt has much to do with the inconsistency the club has suffered on the pitch.

In the main, good owners of sporting institutions know where and how to step in and involve themselves while understanding their roles and boundaries. Clubs with solid, structured leaders tend to succeed. The opposite has been true of Chansiri in the past, but the current situation provides him with a chance to show he's taken criticism on board and changed his thinking.

Chansiri needs to keep his counsel and remain patient with Röhl to win over supporters

While Wednesday have started the 2024/25 campaign slowly, it's still very early days and time for reflection and evaluation rather than panic or change.

The international break, perhaps, came at a good time for manager Röhl, who spoke of his frustration after defeat at the Den, claiming he, his staff, and his players must use the time wisely to find solutions to their early difficulties.

Whereas in the past, Chansiri may have felt the need to over-involve himself in proceedings with a knee-jerk reaction, patience is what's required right now.

Röhl, highly appreciated by the Hillsborough faithful, knows things need to change, but clearly has the respect of a squad of players more than capable of competing at Championship level.

It's time for the owner to begin winning back the trust of all associated with Wednesday, time for him to make better, more considered decisions that bring stability rather than volatility. By backing manager Röhl, a man who has previously shown he's able to turn the tide from struggle to (relative) success, he can, perhaps, begin to build bridges.

The next ten Championship fixtures are, undoubtedly, vital in deciding the direction of Wednesday's season.

The second tier is an unforgiving league with an unrelenting schedule pitching different styles and approaches against one another on a game-by-game basis.

The Owls' home form will be a key factor in them getting their season back on track. An unpredictable QPR are the visitors to Hillsborough on Saturday, with further, tough-looking home games against West Bromwich Albion, Burnley, Watford, and Norwich on the horizon. Röhl will be hoping the vociferous Owls support will get them over the line in those upcoming games.

The 35-year-old will be keen for his men to look more solid on the road, too, and they'll hope to achieve that at the likes of Luton Town, Bristol City, Coventry City, and Portsmouth, who have all had indifferent starts themselves.

The above matches precede the first Steel City derby of the season, as Röhl's men head to Bramall Lane at the beginning of November.

Wednesday fans will hope they're in a much healthier place by then, and the best way to make that happen is for all involved to stick together. Owls supporters will have to wait and see if their owner has altered his mindset and become more patient in his approach.