Saturday’s protest, organised by the Sheffield Wednesday Supporters Trust, was the biggest in living memory at Hillsborough. For a fan base typically not inclined to speak out, this was noteworthy.
A march began at the site where the club was founded near to the Crucible Theatre.
By the time those involved reached Hillsborough Park across from the stadium, there was quite a scene.
A throng of Wednesday fans all wearing yellow and black, the designated protest colours, made their way to the stadium holding banners and chanting for chairman Dejphon Chansiri to go.
It was a collective effort I can’t recall seeing from Wednesday fans in my lifetime. A serious message was sent.
Don’t underestimate these actions. It takes a lot to push Owls fans to this.
They were clear in the point they wanted to make. The tagline they’re using is ‘Enough is enough’ and they want a new owner.
It’s hard to know where Chansiri goes from here. This was a clear vote of no-confidence in the Wednesday chairman.
There are still no answers as to whether the club will have further cashflow problems in the near future, having failed to pay the wages of players on time in March.
Chansiri has done an interview with the local newspaper, he’s released a letter to fans and the minutes of a recent engagement-panel meeting have been released.
I’m still not sure anyone is any wiser as to the sustainability of Sheffield Wednesday.
Given what happened in March, with the club coming dangerously close to a three-transfer-window embargo, and with the future of manager Danny Rohl and various players up in the air, supporters deserve clarity.
Especially, as has been said in the past, they are the ones who backed this club when they were once again asked to buy season tickets at Christmas time or pay prices that are higher than many other clubs.
Speaking to fans it’s clear that, for many, patience has run out. They’ve come to the end of their tether.
However, despite this, it seems pretty clear that Chansiri has little interest in selling.
The only way I can see it happening is if a very attractive buyer comes along enabling him to get a late victory.
Former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan last week mentioned he’d recommended the club to Turki Al-Sheikh. Who knows whether that’s realistic, but that’s the kind of potential buyer that would allow Chansiri to exit on a high.
Without that level of interest, it seems likely it will be business as usual. Saturday’s protest made it clear that isn’t acceptable to many supporters.
