The ongoing crisis at Sheffield Wednesday is one that has left people in the wider football community concerned, with Stoke City boss Mark Robins warning that the spiralling situation could stand to ‘destroy lives’.
Wednesday has been experiencing payment difficulties for some months and has failed to meet a number of other fundamental financial responsibilities. Owner Dejphon Chansiri appears to be on a month-to-month basis in terms of his commitment to funding the club, with key players sold to meet employee payments and Premier League solidarity payments funding debt repayments last month.
The problem continues, and the EFL’s independent Club Financial Reporting Unit has not received the necessary assurances to ease some restrictions on the signing of new players. It portrays a bleak picture of the club’s finances in the short term and gives little hope for a quick turnaround. The Owls fought hard but ultimately lost their first home game of the season on Saturday, with Stoke City winning 3-0 in a closely contested game between the boxes. Potters manager Mark Robins acknowledged his delight with a job well done at S6, but also spoke candidly about Wednesday’s unfortunate situation.
“I really feel for them,” he explained. “You have a really challenging set of conditions, with the expense of living, people skipping mortgage payments, and so on. It has to be difficult. It must be terrible for everyone, which is why you feel sorry for them. It has the potential to bring people together while also destroying lives. “It is not funny in the slightest, and it needs to be addressed. “We feel and should feel extremely fortunate (at Stoke).
Robins spent a short stint on loan with Wednesday near the conclusion of his playing career and stated that, while knowing the club does not add to the sorrow felt by those at Hillsborough, he is all too familiar with the difficulties such pandemonium can present.
The 55-year-old was Coventry City’s manager during their crisis years, and when asked whether he had any words of wisdom for opposite number Henrik Pedersen, he replied: “It’s really tough for me to give any advise in circumstances like that. I’m going to visit him in a minute, but I’m not sure what’s going on because I’m not inside the football club. Every circumstance is unique, and there are things you can advise or do, but there is no purpose. “Unless you’re inside it, you don’t know.”
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