Magic Rat

My all time favourite Wednesday player, our keeper when I started going to Hillsborough in the 60s. Had his picture on my wall from the centre of Football Monthly for years. The caption read “Ron Springett-Sheffield Wednesday and England”. It was an era when playing for England was much more prestigious than it is now. Remembering that caption today still sends a shiver down my spine. This Club and it’s heritage is so precious.

Back in the 70s I worked at Dolcis shoe shop on High Street. Players from both local clubs used to come in, mostly on Friday afternoons. The ones who I remember as the most pleasant and friendly were Brian Joicey, Dave Clements and ( don’t shoot the messenger) Tony Currie.

Would love to be a fly on the wall to hear the conversations between Chansiri, his dad and his brother. Bet he’s getting some proper grief. Brilliant job everyone who has contributed to getting this reaction.

I think a lot of folks are simply looking at the value of the club as it stands rather than its potential. A serious investor group would be looking 3-5 years down the line at least. They would expect to be staying in the Premier League at that stage given the right level of investment in the meantime. Achieve that and adding together c£75m to purchase plus a £75- £100m in overall development costs and they’re still looking at doubling their money according to my understanding of Premier League club values.

The family has made it clear from day one they’re not going to touch this project with a barge pole. The TUF logo quickly disappeared from the advertising screen at press conferences. The company’s UK brand, John West, has never featured. They have numerous opportunities to contribute via sponsorship of anything from the whole stadium down to advertising around the pitch, yet we’ve seen absolutely nothing in ten years. I’m pretty sure DC has been entirely on his own in this from the beginning.

Personally I’ve no idea whatsoever if the claims the Broncos are looking at us are true or pure wishful thinking. Not a clue. However, if they are, don’t forget there’s already a huge commercial connection between Thai Union and Walmart, who are, I understand , major customers of the Chansiri business. We’re talking vast amounts of money at stake, much more than Wednesday would cost and on an ongoing basis. That encourages me to think that there’s no way the Chansiri family are going to allow any negotiations (if there are any) to be conducted in anything other than a proper manner, they have too much skin in the game. They would probably lean in heavily to make it happen.

Goodness, what an odd saga that was. For anyone looking to while away a bit of time between prayers for the takeover to happen , you could try looking up what Hafiz Mammadov was up to. I’ve googled him occasionally over the years but he seems to have entirely disappeared without trace around the time his Wednesday deal collapsed in 2014. This morning I looked again and found a report by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) which has loads of information on the various capers he was allegedly involved in. Again not only he, but also his sons who were also involved in his enterprises seem to have completely vanished. Additionally, he did own R.C. Lens who I think effectively went under when he disappeared. However looking at where they are now compared to us, Koppaberg’s emoji is spot on.

If Chansiri wants his compensation above all else then he can’t appoint a replacement without sacking Danny which would void the contract, so we’re most likely stuck with a waiting game. If there was a proper structure within the club then others could legitimately make some of the more pressing decisions. Chansiri, however, has shown literally zero grasp of basic business principles and concepts from what I can see.

Hesitate to try quoting the owner but wasn’t there something said around the Xmas debacle that the plan was to consolidate this season and go for promotion next season? If Danny gets assurances (that he’s prepared to believe) that he will be backed in every way needed to mount a genuine challenge in 25/6, along with no more failure to pay shenanigans, then maybe he’ll be open to giving it one more go. That said the owner has created such a world class sh1tshow that, if he decides to walk, he will go with our very best wishes and thanks and deservedly so.

A few observations from a 60+ years supporter with some business experience, including M&A. If someone with sufficient acumen and money wants to buy the club, then the means can usually be found to break whatever deadlock might be in the way (yes, even Chansiri). Often it’s simply down to money one way or another. Even hostile takeovers happen, it’s about the negotiating skill, clout and ingenuity of the party or parties involved. There are some seriously heavyweight names being mentioned, l have no idea whether they are genuinely involved or just the product of someone’s fantasy but I do know this. The top players, for example the US sporting concerns, don’t look first and foremost at the price,( though obviously they will ultimately want to pay as little as possible), they’re first going to look at what they can make and how we fit into their strategic plans. It’s not quite like when you or I buy a house when the first question is what can I afford and what did the house next door sell for. It appears from the club’s response that there is an ongoing dispute between it and Adam Shaw. If he wants to be involved in a takeover syndicate then, especially given the mentality of the other side, he would be best served by first settling the matter one way or another. Otherwise the dispute can simply be used as a device to muddy the water and a dispute isn’t settled until all sides agree it’s settled. Along with everyone I sincerely hope the end game has begun, if I’m going to live to see a successful Sheffield Wednesday again in my lifetime then the clock is ticking.

This 100%.

Can’t think of a more appropriate time for a statement from the takeover consortium (please God they do exist!). Identify themselves, state their vision and make it clear that they have the funds to do the job. Put maximum public pressure on Chansiri to make good on his claimed desire to want the best for the Club by doing the deal at a fair market price. Alternatively he clearly demonstrates beyond all possible doubt that he is as bad as most citizens of this parish believe and willing to run the Club into bankruptcy to satisfy his ego. If things don’t get moving soon we’re going to lose our manager, his coaching staff and any players free to leave as soon as the season ends. The present owner is a busted flush. It’s way beyond time for change, if there is a genuine opportunity of new owners the overwhelming majority of supporters are surely going to get right behind them and maybe between all of us we can shout loudly enough to be clearly heard in Thailand.

Thank you for sharing your experience RumbleOwl. Your insight into the owners state of mind appears to shed light on his recent marked change of attitude towards Danny if indeed he did get some way down the road to joining Southampton in a manner deemed inappropriate. In that case, given your experience of the owners management style, Danny would immediately transition from valued and respected colleague to “bad employee “, from now on required to know his place having lost his previous trusted status. In the real world we know football doesn’t work in the way the owner wants, which is why we’ll likely never succeed as long as he’s in place.

Certainly remember it, quite a palaver. Mammadov was a high profile businessman, bit of a playboy type.I think he famously bought a fleet of London taxis which were shipped to Baku. All sorts of connections to the Azerbaijan government from what I recall. He owned and heavily financed Lens and was on the point of buying us when he seemed to just “disappear “. Lens were left in a catastrophic financial pickle and we dodged a bullet. It’s interesting and effinng infuriating to look at how Lens and Wednesday have “progressed” in the time since then.

If the time it took the ref to postpone reflects his general decision making speed then I recon we’ve dodged a bullet.