"It's just an absolute shame" - Chansiri issue raised in Sheffield Wednesday debate | OneFootball

Football League World's Owls Fan Pundit has spoken about the club's current position compared to this time last year.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Sheffield Wednesday have had a tremendous season, and despite losing in the final moments of their clash with Coventry City at Hillsborough at the weekend, they remain in the hunt for a play-off place.

Danny Rohl has done a remarkable job over the course of the last year since taking over as manager at the Owls, and after keeping the club in the Championship on the final day of the 2023/24 season, the team have come on leaps and bounds on the pitch.

However, the situation in the boardroom remains to be confusing and it has threatened to disrupt the momentum that the players and coaching staff have built.

The January transfer window was not as strong as supporters would have hoped it would have been, but Rohl has not let that disrupt his own ambition and Sheffield Wednesday are still in the fight for the top six.

Verdict made on Sheffield Wednesday's position compared to this time last year

The Owls hired their German manager in October 2023 while the club were rooted to the bottom of the Championship following a dreadful start with Xisco Munoz in the dugout.

The fight to stay in the second tier was tough, but the South Yorkshire outfit confirmed their safety on the final day of the season against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

Following a nearly disastrous campaign, Rohl has taken his side to heights not seen at Hillsborough for nearly a decade and there is belief that the team could finish the season in the play-off places. However, Dejphon Chansiri's ownership does cause worry for supporters even still.

Football League World asked their Sheffield Wednesday Fan Pundit, Patrick McKenna, if he believes his club are in a better or worse position than this time last year.

He told FLW: "Undoubtedly, on the pitch, we are in a better state than last year and that is absolutely down to one man in Danny Rohl. He came in and he performed an absolute miracle last season in keeping us up and this season he has us punching above our weight with the squad that we have.

"He still has up there just three points off the play-offs and a lot of managers would have the squad we have struggling with relegation. Yet he has us performing above our abilities at the top end of the of the table.

"You can see how he has improved our players as well. He’s managed to get players like Michael Smith to improve, Josh Windass is having his best season and then there’s Djeidi Gassama who has improved as well.

"So again, Rohl's just come in and he is just the best thing to happen to the club in years and he's got real ambition, he wants to drive the club forward and he really is having success in what he is doing.

"We all know the reality that Rohl is doing this in spite of the ownership of Dejphon Chansiri and once Rohl goes, which could be very likely in summer, the good work he has done, it all comes tumbling down."

Patrick continued: "It's just an absolute shame that the good work that Rohl is doing just isn't being backed and supported by our chairman. So, these improvements will just be wiped out once Rohl leaves and Chansiri’s malign ownership of the club is just putting us in a worse and worse position.

"In the past year, he has managed to get us another transfer embargo, he is still showing that he has not learnt from any of his mistakes, he still has the same pathetic, childish attitude, saying what am I doing wrong? He's still refusing to plan in football. He doesn't believe that's something you can do despite it being patently untrue.

"Also in the past year we have struggled with a tax bill and the fact that he is still ripping supporters off with ticket prices is ridiculous. He hasn’t healed anything with the supporters and in January it just showed that we're squeezing by on the bare minimum with Chansiri, and again the manager was not backed."

He concluded: "The club is just going to stagnate and get worse under Chansiri, and for fans you’re watching the football you enjoy and it’s been a breath of fresh air under Rohl, but you just have that nagging feeling in the back of your head that he won't be here forever and who knows what happens when he leaves?"

Rohl has brought stability on the pitch to a club that has lacked it for some time

This season has been spectacular for Sheffield Wednesday, and after coming so close to tasting relegation back to League One at the first time of asking, they have stabilised on the pitch.

They have not had this level of consistency for a number of years in the Championship, and there is a real belief that with more investment, this team could become a real challenger for promotion with Rohl in command.

However, he needs to be backed by his chairman if that is to happen, and if history continues, that is not going to happen.

The fallout from January's fan forum can still be felt, and there is an incredible amount of tension between supporters and the board. This will only change if Chansiri reverses decisions that he has made in the past, but for now, that seems incredibly unlikely.