With the right ownership, Sheffield Wednesday can forge a new beginning

Bottom of the league, because of the complete mismanagement by the owner, involving a fire sale of experienced players, non-payment of wages of both the squad and the staff supporting the club as a business – and, of course, the knock-on effect on contractors and traders so reliant on this once-great football team.

Dejphon Chansiri, the Thai businessman who has owned the club for the last 10 years, declined to sell as a going concern over the last year – despite the fact that the business model was broken, and insolvency was only a step away. Fans protested in their thousands inside and outside the stadium, and even those not interested in football came to realise that new ownership and investment was vital to save one of England’s oldest and most prestigious football clubs.

The support from fans from other clubs has been remarkable, as Sheffield Wednesday continued to take up their full allocation of away tickets; and the football world looked on as Wednesday supporters did everything they could to demand a new beginning for their team.

What has been remarkable is the spirit on the pitch. Alongside the new manager, Henrik Pedersen, a couple of longstanding, committed players – Barry Bannan and Liam Palmer – have nurtured, encouraged and motivated the youngsters on the team who have played their hearts out.

Pedersen and the squad deserve praise and a chance to prove just how team spirit can overcome adversity; and hopefully, under new ownership – with strengthened talent available – can rebuild and eventually return to the heady days when Sheffield Wednesday were in the Premier League.

For me, this is not just a football club, but a part of my emotional life. Born and brought up on a hill just above Hillsborough, I first went at the age of four with my Dad, who sat me on the wall behind the goal at the Kop end, where I could hear the goalkeeper cursing the defenders when things were going wrong.

Those heady days as a youngster going to Hillsborough got me hooked. I was to be an Owls supporter for the rest of my life. The sound of the crowd gave me an immediate understanding whether we were on the attack, likely to score or to be scored against.

The camaraderie of mass ranks of supporters walking down the hills of the city, almost like flowing rivers, had to be experienced to be believed. A common purpose, combined hopes and sometimes deeply shared disappointment.That feeling of shared commitment is something that is ingrained in football fans across the country – whether their club are flying high or fighting against relegation.

It is a phenomenon that overrides other divisions within society and unites people at a time when our world is so fractured, argumentative and insecure. People have asked me over the years how can someone without sight really enjoy the cut and thrust, the emotion of the moment.

It is hard to explain, but just being there and sharing in the experience, the highs and the lows, does not depend on seeing the game.

I have an in-house commentary as well as the back-up of my wife, my sons and grandchildren who, like me, are regular attenders – as we were yesterday inside the stadium.

Since the beginning of the season – many fans, even those with season tickets – have been boycotting games. Now that the saga of the last months is coming to an end and any income flowing into the coffers will not go to Chansiri, those missing fans can cheer on the boys on the pitch, help to lift morale, and give the backing needed to perhaps pull off a miracle and save the club from almost inevitable relegation. Anything is possible in football, especially with renewed energy and vigour.

The one thing that Sheffield Wednesday have retained over all these years has been a phenomenal fan base. Even in mid-table last season, we were seeing crowds of more than 25,000 – and sometimes many more – at home games. The kind of grit that pulled off a near miracle in the play-offs back in 2023.

It was 18 May, and a few days previously, Sheffield Wednesday had lost 4-0 to Peterborough in the first leg of the League One play-off semi-finals. Having travelled from Merseyside, I arrived at that evening’s second leg 10 minutes late, to be greeted by the most enormous cheer, as the first goal went in.

At 4-0, we were back on equal terms when Peterborough scored their first goal, only to be matched at the end of normal time by a goal from Wednesday, and a further 30 minutes which saw the most nail-biting tension I have ever experienced. Both teams scored in additional time, with Wednesday winning 5 – 3 in the penalty shootout.

There will never be anything quite like it again. This is why I love football, and why I get tears in my eyes when something really special happens.

Yes, we pulled it off; and we can pull it off again. With the right owners, with a properly constituted board, and with the commitment of everyone who loves the club.

Photograph by Cameron Smith/Getty Images