Former Head of the PGMOL, Keith Hackett, believes Sheffield Wednesday have turned a corner under the US consortium Arise Capital Partners.
It’s been just over two months since the group, led by David Storch, completed their takeover of the Owls.
Wednesday have been active in the transfer market, as they plot their path to return to the Championship next season.
Crucially, they won’t face a point deduction in League One this season, which has played its part in allowing the club to be ambitious. Their latest signing, Sil Swinkels, arrives on an undisclosed fee from Aston Villa, while Callum Slattery was a coup from Scottish Premiership overachievers Motherwell.
Speaking exclusively to Football Lowdown, Hackett believes that one of the big things that is required from the Owls hierarchy is improvements to the club’s iconic home ground, Hillsborough.
“The club can’t go any lower. There’s lots to be done, but the stadium used to be iconic for the FA Cup Finals. Sadly, it is looking tired and dilapidated. A lot of money’s got to be spent with a lot of work to be done fairly quickly to make it a ground and a club that’s sustainable.
“I think the club’s been fortunate to have a liquidator who is a football fan, having the patience and the drive to bring in new owners. That’s not an easy task, and to achieve that is quite remarkable. Now, what we look forward to is a new beginning.”
At the forefront of all the issues surrounding the Owls in the past few years are the supporters. From the play-off final against Barnsley to last season’s sustained protests, the fans have stuck with the club throughout the turmoil. They even organised a boycott of their fixture against Middlesbrough last year, demonstrating their commitment to the greater good in getting ex-owner Dejphon Chansiri out of S6.
The former top-flight official questioned how things were allowed to get as bad as they were by the footballing authorities, while heaping praise on the Owls faithful.
“You have to ask, how can the owner drive the club into the ground with little investment?” Hackett asked. “And how can the league allow that to happen? Then you have the wonderful support that the club has demonstrated. I think the actions of the fan base have been absolutely remarkable, which have reverberated around the world.
“I didn’t always agree with some of the tactics, but they proved that they were right, and in fairness, that I was wrong. I’m supportive, but I’m not as passionate as some of the guys that I met. I had the pleasure of attending a fan-based meeting and was allowed to address them, which was a really big honour for me.
“The local paper and BBC Radio Sheffield, Rob Staton and the team, have been outstanding. The one thing that they did was sustain a very clear picture of what was happening, reporting it in detail, talking to the fans and remaining to some degree impartial. But they still had that drive forward.”
There has been widespread condemnation from fans that their first home league clash of the season, against Bradford City, has been moved to Thursday night for Sky Sports coverage. Despite the lack of regard for both Owls and Bantams supporters, there is sure to be a strong crowd at Hillsborough that evening. When the inevitable work does occur at this iconic ground, it will reaffirm itself as one of England’s finest football venues.
