Stefan Borson: Sheffield Wednesday are ‘almost certain’ to land 15-point deduction, this is why
Sheffield Wednesday are “almost certainly” going to land a 15-point deduction at the start of next season following their relegation from the Championship.
That is according to former Manchester City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider it will be a “very difficult” situation for whoever takes over at Hillsborough.
Under the EFL rules, Sheffield Wednesday will be deducted 15 points next season if the club’s creditors don’t receive 25p per £1 from the takeover.
It comes after a consortium led by James Bord withdrew from the process last week despite being granted exclusivity by the Owls’ administrators in December following his £47.8million offer.
Sheffield Wednesday have been in financial distress for some time, with their ownership issues seeing the club already suffer relegation to League One this season.
Why Sheffield Wednesday are facing ‘complete rebuild’
Bord has lost more than £4m following his attempt to take over at Hillsborough, having paid a £2.5m non-returnable deposit when he was given preferred bidder status alongside putting forward more than £1.5m to fund the club’s day-to-day operations.
It is understood three parties remain interested in buying the Owls, including former Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley.
However, it will take a minimum of four weeks for a Sheffield Wednesday takeover to be completed.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson discussed where the club stand after Bord pulled out of the race.
“People have forgotten this is a very difficult situation to go into,” said Borson.
“They are going to be relegated. They almost certainly now are going to have a 15-point deduction next season as well because the lower bid is going to mean that the unsecured creditors are not going to have what they need.
“So, you’re going to have a situation where you immediately bought the club, you celebrate for about five minutes and then you realise that actually then the hard work begins. It is going to be a slog. It’s not going to be straightforward.
“It’s a very competitive division, League One. You’ve got to completely rebuild the team. By the end of the season, Sheffield Wednesday will have almost no contracted players, so you’re to have to completely rebuild the squad.”
Why Sheffield Wednesday’s new owner is facing stadium issue
Borson revealed the new owner will have to make improvements to the stadium after completing their takeover.
“You have got to deal with the stadium situation and, according to Bord, who you would think has done the most work on the stadium, there’s a load of work to do on the stadium that they weren’t expecting, so we don’t know what that means,” said Borson.
“I mean, that could be anything from this stand is condemned and needs to be rebuilt, or we can lick of paint it for five years and see what happens.
“But there are all sorts of challenges. I mean, this is a club that’s been now in distress for the best part of maybe 18 months, maybe even longer.
“There’s going to be all sorts of challenges. It’s a very difficult job on day one.”
🏆 Championship Insider Access
Get the full story from across the EFL with our dedicated expert hubs:
Updated 24/7 with expert analysis from across the EFL Championship.