Sheffield Wednesday are staring down the barrel of a financial crisis with the club set to be served a winding up petition over an unpaid £1 million tax bill to HMRC.
BBC Radio Sheffield and the Sheffield Star revealed the Championship strugglers are on the brink of legal action that could push owner Dejphon Chansiri to finally sell the club.
The Owls have already been slapped with five separate EFL embargoes after repeatedly failing to pay wages on time in five of the past seven months. It is the latest blow in a chaotic period that has left fans furious and the club in disarray both on and off the pitch.
Wednesday sit second bottom of the Championship with only six points from nine games. Their off field turmoil has gutted the squad and wrecked morale. Trouble first flared in March when wages were delayed and the same issue returned in May. That pattern of missed payments has become all too familiar for weary staff and players.
The situation deteriorated further in July when popular manager Danny Rohl walked away amid the uncertainty. His assistant Henrik Pedersen was thrust into the hot seat just ten days before the season began. The chaos meant the team did not even manage a pre season friendly in front of supporters. A planned training match against Burnley was scrapped after yet another delay in July’s wages.
Fans have had enough. Angry protests have erupted before and during games while supporters boycotted EFL Cup ties with Leeds and Grimsby. The supporters’ trust urged fans to hit the club where it hurts by refusing to buy drinks or food inside Hillsborough.
Chansiri, the Thai businessman who took control a decade ago promising Premier League dreams, has been absent through the entire crisis. Despite talk of potential takeovers no sale has come close. His silence has only deepened the frustration of a fanbase that once believed he would take them back to the top flight.
Amid the financial storm Pedersen insists his players are staying focused. Speaking to BBC Radio Sheffield he said, “I heard about it and of course it’s not good but let’s see what happens. I have been in contact with the chairman this week but not about this. We have had a lot going on for a long time but we stay focused on what we can control. The atmosphere in training has been great and the boys are doing everything they can.”
The Owls head to Charlton on Saturday desperate for only their second league win of a miserable season as the threat of financial collapse looms ever larger over Hillsborough.