EFL pundit Don Goodman has expressed hope and optimism about the future of Sheffield Wednesday, after the Owls were placed into administration.
Wednesday filed for administration on October 24, after it was revealed that they were unable to pay the winding-up petition served against them by HMRC.
Whilst administration can sometimes spell danger for clubs, it was a moment of joy for Sheffield Wednesday, as Dejphon Chansiri’s iron grip over the club has dissolved, and the Owls look set to have new owners sooner rather than later.
Given the history surrounding the club, Chansiri wasn’t short of potential suitors to buy Sheffield Wednesday from him, but none would match his lofty asking price of £100 million.
Now the fee is out of his control, and the Sheffield Star reported that the administrators at Begbies Traynor had contact with interested parties even before administration was confirmed, indicating several possible buyers to take the club forward in the near future.
In an exclusive interview with Football League World, Don Goodman reacted to this news positively and believes that there is truly light at the end of the tunnel now for Sheffield Wednesday.
Don Goodman acknowledges that administration can be a tough time for a football club, as it can result in relegation and possible liquidation. However, it can also resemble newfound hope.
He believes that the latter will be bestowed upon Sheffield Wednesday.
“While no fan wants to see a potential winding-up order from HMRC at the door, that seems to have been the thing which has tipped things over the edge in terms of getting rid of Mr Chansiri,” the Sky Sports pundit said.
“Administration, whilst it’s never pleasant, we’ve seen many examples of clubs who have gone into similar situations and have come out of the other side much better for it.
“So I’m hoping for the Sheffield Wednesday fans, the players, the staff, all their sakes, that this is it.”
Wednesday have suffered defeats in each of their last three Championship games, and the -12 points deduction leaves them far adrift at the bottom of the division on -6 points.
Despite this, Goodman commends the players and the fans for keeping going and fighting until the very end.
“They’re an attractive football club, they still brought over 27,000 on Saturday [against Oxford United] and they were giving their players their full backing,” he said.
“They may be going down, but they’re going down swinging. They’ve lost the last three all by one-goal margins, so the players are fighting really hard to get points on the board.
“So, credit all round, and yes, I’m more optimistic about them now than I was this time last week.”
Sheffield Wednesday hopeful to come out of administration in a healthier position
Whilst administration can sometimes lead to a club being completely dissolved, such as when Bury FC were kicked out of the EFL in 2019, there are also examples of success stories formed off the back of administrative years.
Crystal Palace, Coventry City and Portsmouth have all suffered from administration over the past 15 years, and now all of them are well run and, especially in Palace’s case, widely successful.
Wednesday will hope to fall into that category, and whilst they’ll likely suffer relegation to League One this season, there’ll be some hope that the club can be in a position to immediately rebuild a depleted squad at the start of next season and bounce back as soon as possible.
However, whilst that is ideal, the main focus is on ensuring that those who have registered their interest in buying the club are doing so for the right reasons, as the last thing Owls fans will want is a repeat of the last year or so.
“Four or five” serious bidders have emerged already, so it seems that it’s only a matter of time before the club emerges from this period, and hopefully better off than what they were before it.
Images are for reference only.Images and contents gathered automatic from google or 3rd party sources.All rights on the images and contents are with their legal original owners.
