The Political Economy of Football V2

A consortium led by U.S. businessman David Storch has completed a takeover of Sheffield Wednesday, who are now out of administration and will start next season in League One without a 15-point deduction. The new owners were confirmed ahead of Wednesday hosting West Bromwich Albion on the final day of the Championship season at a sold-out Hillsborough. The hosts won the game 2-1, just their second league victory of the season, to take them back to zero points after two separate deductions totalling 18 points. According to the English Football League (EFL)’s insolvency rules, clubs that fail to exit administration without paying all creditors at least 25 per cent of what they are owed, usually receive a 15-point penalty. The EFL’s board, however, has the power to waive this sanction, and the Storch consortium made it very clear to the league that it would not proceed with the takeover unless the board agreed to exercise this discretion. So, the deduction has been suspended, subje...

Sheffield Wednesday lost 3-0 to Leeds United in today's televised encounter at Elland Road, but Owls fans used the opportunity to protest against their charm merchant owner with placards visible on screen at half time. A fans' forum on Wednesday exposed a schism between unpopular owner Dejphon Chansiri and manager Danny Rohl as it was revealed that the pair had not spoken since last month.    Rohl had used an earlier interview to challenge supporters to ask about the club's transfer activity. In response Chansiri called the German 'brave' and said he was waiting for Rohl to provide a list of targets. Chansiri then announced that key midfielder Shea Charles had been recalled by parent club Southampton, just hours after it had been reported that the 21-year old would be staying for the rest of the season.   His performances helped the Owls to overcome a rocky start and put themselves in contention for a play off place. Defender Di'Shon Bernard told the Football Le...

The doyen of football club accounts, the Swiss Ramble, analyses the 2019/20 accounts of Sheffield Wednesday from Zurich. Sheffield Wedneday swung from £19m profit to £24m loss, largely due to prior year including £38m profit from selling the stadium and a £6.5m “confidential settlement payment”. Revenue fell £1.9m (8%) from £22.8m to £20.9m, while expenses were flat. Profit on player sales rose £3.4m to £6.2m. The club sold their stadium for £60m, which gave them a £38m profit after deducting the £22m book value. If this transaction were excluded, they would have reported a £19m loss in 2019, which means that the £24m underlying loss in 2020 was £5m higher. Most clubs in the Championship lose money, but Wednesday’s £24m loss is the sixth highest in the division to date, though far below Stoke City £88m.    operating loss (i.e. excluding player sales and interest) rose slightly from £28m to £30m, though much better than LUFC £65m, WBA £53m and Stoke City £49m. Almost ever...

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire of the PriceofFootball has expressed concern about the delay in producing accounts for Sheffield Wednesday: Red flag on wait for Owls accounts Speaking on BBC Radio Sheffield, Maguire said: 'By choosing to not (disclose their accounts) I think Sheffield Wednesday lay themselves open to having clandestine reasons for non-disclosure, and that’s not very good when there have been so many stories in respect of Financial Fair Play issues over the past season.'