September 30 – Sheffield Wednesday’s financial turmoil has deepened with players told their wages for September will not arrive on time, marking the fifth month in the last seven that salaries have been delayed at Hillsborough.
The Championship strugglers have already been hit with five embargoes by the English Football League (EFL), two of them added only last week over unpaid transfer instalments and outstanding debts to “football creditors.” Missing Tuesday’s payday risks further sanctions from the League, as uncertainty also hangs over whether non-playing staff will be paid in full.
Wednesday’s first wage delays came back in March, prompting the EFL to restrict the club’s transfer activity for three consecutive windows. Since then, the situation has spiralled into weekly protests from fans’ groups, a summer fire-sale of senior players and the departure of highly–rated coach Danny Röhl by mutual consent.
At the centre of the storm is Thai owner Dejphon Chansiri, who in the summer indicated he would consider selling the club.
Chansiri’s family controls the Thai Union Group, the world’s largest producer of canned tuna. The family’s net worth was estimated by Forbes to be US$575 million as of 2020.
An American consortium showed brief interest but talks collapsed, leaving Wednesday marooned between financial instability and on-field struggle. After seven league games, the Owls have just one win to their name and sit only one place above city rivals Sheffield United at the bottom of the Championship.
Many already had Sheffield Wednesday tipped to wind up in the Championship’s bottom three come the end of the season, but should they end up in administration, the resulting 12-point deduction would make it almost certain.
For a club with Wednesday’s heritage and support – who frankly don’t deserve to suffer like this – the situation has become a case study in how quickly off-field mismanagement can push a club to the brink.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at [email protected]