Sheffield Wednesday: Dejphon Chansiri silenced the doubters with controversial 2015 decision - View | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday owner Dejphon Chansiri's decision to replace Stuart Gray with Carlos Carvalhal in 2015 proved to be the right call.

Sheffield Wednesday will be hoping for a much-improved campaign in the Championship this season.

Wednesday narrowly avoided relegation last season following a remarkable turnaround under Danny Rohl, but after a strong summer transfer window, there is plenty of optimism that they can climb the table in the year ahead.

It has been a turbulent start to the new season, but Rohl still retains the full support of the Owls fanbase, and the German is arguably the most popular manager to occupy the Hillsborough dug out since Carlos Carvalhal.

Like Carvalhal, Rohl had never managed in English football prior to his move to Wednesday, but after the dismal start to last season under Xisco Munoz, his appointment was welcomed by supporters given his impressive coaching credentials.

However, Carvalhal's arrival in the summer of 2015 was greeted with much more scepticism, and many were unhappy with the decision to replace popular head coach Stuart Gray, but it turned out to be a masterstroke by owner Dejphon Chansiri.

Dejphon Chansiri took a big gamble with Stuart Gray, Carlos Carvalhal call

Wednesday were sitting in the Championship relegation zone with just one win to their name when Gray took over on a caretaker basis in December 2013 following the sacking of Dave Jones, and after some impressive results during his interim spell, including a 2-1 win over eventual champions Leicester City and a 6-0 victory over Leeds United, he was handed the permanent job the following month.

Gray comfortably led his side to survival as they finished 16th in the table, and despite working with a limited budget, the progress under his guidance continued in the 2014-15 season as the Owls recorded a 13th-placed finish.

Chansiri had initially made the decision to stick with Gray after buying Wednesday from Milan Mandaric in January 2015, and many felt that given the excellent job he had done during his 18-month tenure, he deserved the opportunity to continue in the role, particularly with the increased financial resources that would have been available following the takeover.

However, Chansiri made the shock decision to part company with Gray in June 2015, prompting a strong reaction from Owls supporters who were disappointed to see the 64-year-old depart.

Rumours quickly began to emerge that Carvalhal would be named as Gray's successor, and just under three weeks later, he was officially confirmed as Wednesday's new head coach.

Few had heard of Carvalhal prior to his appointment at Hillsborough, and while the fact he had managed some huge clubs, including Braga, Sporting Lisbon and Besiktas, offered encouragement, there was plenty of concern that Chansiri was taking a big risk, particularly as he had been out of management for almost three years following an underwhelming 12-game spell in charge of Istanbul Basaksehir.

Despite a summer rebuild that saw the likes of Jack Hunt, Daniel Pudil, Alex Lopez, Barry Bannan, Marco Matias, Lucas Joao and Fernando Forestieri join the club, Carvalhal's reign got off to a poor start as the Owls won just one of their opening seven games of the 2015-16 campaign, raising further fears that he was the wrong choice by Chansiri.

However, it was not long before Carvalhal turned his side's fortunes around, and the success Wednesday experienced under his guidance over the next two years fully justified Chansiri's decision to make the managerial change.

Carlos Carvalhal will go down as one of Sheffield Wednesday's greatest ever managers

Wednesday went on to finish sixth in the Championship table in the 2015-16 season, but they suffered heartbreak as they were beaten by Hull City in the play-off final at Wembley.

That disappointment seemed to further motivate Chansiri to achieve his goal of guiding the Owls back to the Premier League within his first two years of ownership, and he backed Carvalhal heavily over the course of the following season, including spending a club-record fee of £8 million on the signing of striker Jordan Rhodes from Middlesbrough.

Wednesday did improve their league position in the 2016-17 campaign as they recorded a fourth-placed finish, but they were unable to make it past the semi-final stage of the play-offs as they were beaten on penalties by Huddersfield Town.

That was the turning point of Carvalhal's tenure, and he was sacked in December 2017 with the Owls sitting in mid-table, although in hindsight, some would argue he should have been given more time considering the extensive injury list he was contending with.

Carvalhal did not manage to achieve his ultimate objective of promotion, but he has come closer than any other manager has to leading the club back to the Premier League since their relegation from the top flight in 2000, and the 58-year-old will forever be remembered by Owls supporters.

Chansiri's record of appointments during his time as Wednesday owner has been mixed, with the likes of Munoz, Tony Pulis, Garry Monk and Jos Luhukay all proving to be a disaster, but his bold decision to replace Gray with Carvalhal was certainly one of his best.