James Silverwood of the Sheffield Wednesday Supporters Trust has condemned the club’s “poor” leadership as the main reason for the club’s extreme hardship this season.
Being a Wednesdayite since birth, 35 year-old Mr Silverwood explained that leadership of the club has been in gradual decline for his entire lifetime, however over the last decade, it has been “particularly poor”.
The club currently sit rock-bottom of the Championship on minus six points, after being handed multiple points deductions by the EFL.
Their relegation to League One was confirmed after suffering a 2-1 defeat to Sheffield United in February.
Mr Silverwood said: “Relegation is 100% a consequence of off the pitch activities.
This came as a “foregone conclusion” to Wednesday’s board members, with focus quickly shifting to securing new ownership under “the right people.”
Mr Silverwood noted that a lack of investment into the club, in terms of infrastructure and management lead to an increasingly depleted squad, as well as facilities that are “increasingly not fit for purpose”.
He said: “The club is on its knees”.
Automatic promotion back to the Championship next year may not be in the cards for the club, after facing yet another points deduction from the EFL, due to be in effect from the start of next season.
This is due to failing to find a buyer that satisfies the EFL’s creditor rule, where a club exiting administration must be sold at a numerical value that satisfies the payment of creditors to the ratio of 25p per pound.
Mr Silverwood explained that while this wouldn’t be ideal, it is by no means a “disaster”. He said: “You want to get promoted as soon as possible for no other reason than for the health of the fan base.
They deserve a competitive season and some victories.”
Fan-led initiatives have been vital in keeping the club afloat. In the weekend following former owner Dejphon Chansiri’s exit from the club, Owls fans raised over £200,000 in merchandise and ticket sales.
Mr Silverwood said: “The power of fans in modern football has been economically and structurally not very powerful, and I think Sheffield Wednesday, we proved that completely wrong.”
He urged the importance of securing an owner that values fan engagement, not only for commercial value and revenue, but for the health and happiness of the community.
“Regardless of who takes over, there is definitely an opportunity to be competitive.
We might even win a game.”