Sheffield Wednesday ‘highly likely’ to be sold – finance expert
Sheffield Wednesday’s future looks bright despite their current financial position after months of turmoil at Hillsborough.
That is according to football finance expert Dr Dan Plumley who exclusively told Football Insider the latest on Sheffield Wednesday‘s situation.
Sheffield Wednesday were put into administration and therefore hit with a points deduction which leaves the club rooted to the bottom of the Championship table.
Investors like John Textor have shown interest in taking over Sheffield Wednesday, after administration confirmed the end of Dejphon Chansiri’s ownership of the club.
‘Phenomenal’ Sheffield Wednesday fan base can sell club
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Plunley has explained the current ongoing situation at Wednesday, and why the fans can play a pivotal role in any takeover.
“Administration is a bad thing, generally speaking, but with this particular club, you’ve seen the reaction of the fan base, and it was the only way really that that owner was going to exit the club,” Plumley said.
“Of course, you’ve had to deal with the points production, but you can see already now the benefit and the power of that fan base, they are coming back on board, buying tickets, buying merchandise, ultimately raising part of the money that’s paid for the player wages this month, which, you know, were paid on time. So that’s fantastic.
“And from what we see the administrators are very much on the front foot and have been very vocal about having interested parties. There are seven interested parties that put forward proof of funds to to have the initial conversation.
“So if that carries on in that way, and there might be others that come into the mix for a little bit further down the line, then I think it’s highly likely that that club is sold, and is saved and then obviously can grow in the future.
“This season is a long-term project and you can, you know, put some real significant money into building that club back up.
“The power of the fan base can help the club, both on and off the pitch. And, you know, we saw with the Wednesday fans that boycott the game against Middlesbrough, which was just before administration. There was there’s hardly anybody in the stands. And then the day after the next match day, there was 25,000. There was 28,000 there against Norwich for a midweek game, you know, in the bottom of the table.
“So it it’s a phenomenal fan base. As an investor, if you can harness some of that and use that to your advantage, that fan base can become really powerful to you, and is a really powerful investment proposition as well.”
Norwich fixture could be pivotal
Sheffield Wednesday want to sell out their fixture against Norwich City next to promote the club further to investors.
It is believed the match could be the last chance for the club to showcase their potential to interested parties before the offer stage.
Such big crowds back at Hillsborough also helps pay the clubs staff and players, who have experienced late payments this year.