Sheffield Wednesdays week from hell

Craig

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A snip from todays press cuttings
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It's not too long ago that Sheffield Wednesday were considered to be one of the bigger clubs in the country; founder members of the Premier League until relegated in 2000, winners of the League Cup in 1991 and runners-up to Arsenal in both domestic cups in 1993.

Once the teamsheet would be full of wel- known names but now the general fan would be hard pushed to recognise just one. Gone are the days of Paolo Di Canio, Benito Carbone and Chris Waddle. Today it's Burton O'Brien, Marcus Tudgay and Madjid Bougherra.

Wednesday were the archetypal sleeping giant. Now they're simply Lilliputian to the game's Gullivers.

The club languishes near the foot of the Championship and earlier this week sacked their sixth manager in five-and-a-half years. Any hope of continuity is constantly ruined either by the ineptitude of the board's managerial selection or, in the case of the sacking of Paul Sturrock this week, their kneejerk reaction.

The overriding constant through the post-Premiership demise has been the presence of Dave Allen on the club's board, firstly as a director and since June 2003 as chairman. During this time the debt has risen from around £13million to upwards of £27million.

Allen, President and General Manager of A&S Leisure, the owners of Napoleons Casinos, was said to be worth £60million in the 2006 Times Rich List making him the 944th richest person in the United Kingdom - on a par with Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein. But despite his undoubted wealth, Allen has not acted as a benefactor.

Although Allen has kept Wednesday afloat with his loans the club has become a slave to his demands and to his debt. It has created an unhealthy stranglehold from which Wednesday are struggling to break free.

While Allen has only been at the club in recent seasons three other members of the board - Keith Addy, Bob Grierson and Geoff Hulley - have been in place for the entirety of the club's demise.

Allen decided to sack Sturrock following a 4-0 reverse at Colchester - one of the lowest points since Paul Jewell took the club on a record eight-game losing run in 2000 - and it has caused uproar in South Yorkshire. Despite the disappointing league position - the Owls sit fourth from bottom - the vast majority of fans remained fully behind the boss.

The sacking has proved all the more controversial considering it came just 35 days after Sturrock signed an extended four-year deal at Hillsborough. Supporters are now left wondering who will foot the bill for Sturrock's compensation package.

To many, the sacking seems extremely short-sighted and certainly premature. Wednesday played just five matches after the ink had dried and although they lost four of those games there should have been a long-term view.

When Sturrock took charge he was given three objectives. The first he achieved against all the odds in winning promotion from League One in 2003/04. And after keeping Wednesday in the Championship last term the aim was mid-table security.

Some will claim that Sturrock had been living off play-off success for too long and that performances, tactics and results simply were not good enough. Though the Owls have had a disappointing start they are above the relegation zone with three quarters of the season remaining to put things in order.

Gone are the days when clubs stand by a manager long enough for him to make a real impression. Since the end of last season 15 of the 24 Championship clubs have changed their manager. Would Alex Ferguson have survived the first four years of his Manchester United tenure in the modern game?

After Sturrock signed his new contract on September 14, Owls' chief executive Kaven Walker said: 'We see that Paul can take the football club forward on a long-term basis to where we want to be and that is the Premier League. Paul is happy, as are the club and board.'

It seems that opinions can change and decisions reversed in a matter of weeks. After being so sure Sturrock was the man to return the club to the promised land he now finds himself in the wilderness along with coaches Kevin Summerfield and John Blackley; Academy coach Sean McAuley will lead the club into the weekend encounter with Queen Park Rangers.

Wednesday need stability - a solid base on which to push forward after years of chopping and changing. With every managerial departure comes the inevitable revolving door of players and coaches. Such a situation rarely does a football club any good - certainly not league performance or the development of young talent forced to adapt to different regimes every two years.

But Allen has removed the most popular and successful Wednesday manager for a decade. Not since Ron Atkinson has a boss enjoyed such acclaim on the terraces. He was a man the fans could believe in - they were still chanting his name last Saturday following the derby victory over Barnsley.

The list of managers linked with the vacant position contains the usual list of former players and recently sacked bosses. But gone is the day when Wednesday can look to attract the calibre of Alan Curbishley.

With crippling debts, no money to spend and the associated restraints, quality applicants are surely going to be scared away.

Despite having a 40,000-capacity stadium with a proud tradition and a loyal fanbase the decay has been allowed to go on for too long - to the extent that the Owls can no longer be considered a 'big club'.

A club has to think and act in that manner - something Wednesday have not done for years. The financial constraints mean Sturrock was forced to sign players at the end of their contracts, those unwanted by their clubs or others from lower division teams.

While the Championship as a whole got stronger this summer Sturrock had to shop in the bargain basement. Three of his signings played for relegated clubs last term - Madjid Bougherra, Kenny Lunt (both Crewe) and Wade Small (Milton Keynes Dons). The only other signing, Yohan Folly, was unable to get a game at Southampton and spent the latter half of 2005/06 on loan at Wednesday.

But perhaps the best indication of the impending malaise heading for Hillsborough came as Sturrock was forced to loan out striker David Graham to Bradford City simply to afford a goalkeeper. Middlesbrough reserve Brad Jones was loaned on the eve of the kick-off.

The fans' anger now seems certain to be directed at a chairman who acts as the club's second biggest creditor. A local radio phone-in had unprecedented support for a sacked manager and online polls have shown that 90 per cent of fans disagree with the decision.

Plans have already been put in place for a protest outside the entrance to the ground at 1.30pm before Saturday's game and it seems certain to continue after the final whistle.

Although Allen saw off the challenge of former Chelsea chief Ken Bates two years ago he can no longer count on the same level of support from the Sheffield public.

Allen wants £25million to relinquish his reins - meaning he wants all the loans repaid to the directors, their shares bought, around £12m paid off the £22m owed to the bank plus another £8million to take the club forward.

That £25million won't even give the new owner full control of Wednesday as the board only holds roughly 30 per cent of the shares.

The figure is an unrealistic amount for a club which has stagnated for years. The Owls are on course to finish in the bottom six of the league table for the seventh time in eight seasons. The only manager to achieve a better result was Sturrock when he earned promotion back into the Championship in 2003/04.

LaurenceGriffiths/GettyImages

Hillsborough has seen better days on and off the pitch

An attempt to reduce the debt by selling the training ground for a profit of £10million appears dead in the water, with planning applications for both a supermarket and housing falling by the wayside. It devalues the club further by effectively meaning Wednesday will have to fully fund any new complex to replace the outdated facilities at Middlewood Road.

The latest consortium to express an interest is based in Jersey, with boxing promoter Dennis Hobson - who has Ricky Hatton and Clinton Woods on his books - as their public face. Hobson's attempt to join the board was rejected three years ago and after he then supported the Bates takeover Allen is unlikely to be welcoming.

Hobson insists there is the money available to take Wednesday forward but has also stated the £25m price is unrealistic. Allen seems unwilling to negotiate instead pointing people in the direction of the asking price.

Until recently Hobson was also on the board of Wednesdayite, the club's supporters Trust. Allen has attempted to claim back the 9.4% shareholding they were given by the club but that was overwhelming rejected by the members. In fact, the Trust have now increased their shareholding beyond the 10 per cent mark.

The chairman failed to get his way and now refuses to enter into any dialogue with Wednesdayite on any subject - be it fundraising, events or strategy with the fans.

Wednesdayite will be there with their votes when Allen stands for re-election at what is sure to be a feisty AGM on November 13.

Since the Bates takeover bid, Allen has become a shadowy figure at Wednesday. He no longer speaks to the press or supporters, has banned from the ground those fans involved in the attempts to oust him and allegedly placed restrictions on staff talking to the media after skipper Graham Coughlan questioned the club's ambition and direction in August.

With no investment - inwards or outwards - and a chairman who appears unwilling to welcome fresh ideas Wednesday have hit a brick wall. Relegation this term would have serious consequences and the sacking of Sturrock may be a desperate attempt to get an immediate response from a new manager - just as Sturrock did two years previously.

Despite having the best average attendance in the division last season the supporters have become disillusioned. Recent gates have been down by more than 10 per cent on the corresponding match in 2005/06 and having been falling steadily. Only 19,966 turned up for the match against Stoke City - the lowest since Peterborough visited South Yorkshire 18 months ago.

It didn't help that season ticket prices went up by almost 20 per cent over the summer - under the guise of 'Cash Boost for Sturrock'.

A change at the top is a necessity if Wednesday are to have any chance of returning to former glories. But the club is in such a state that there is no foreign oligarch waiting in the wings. The likes of Randy Lerner, Roman Abramovich, Malcolm Glazer, Eggert Magnusson and Kia Joorabchian wouldn't give Wednesday a second glance.

Wednesday will remain in limbo while Allen stands firm. And as he has always been a stubborn chairman who is not responsive to any form of pushing, cajoling or persuasion it seems unlikely there will be an end to the depressing days at Hillsborough in the foreseeable future.

The fans have lost their leader, a man of integrity who fell upon hard times. And at the first sign of trouble the chairman has panicked and pulled the trigger. You can't help feeling that, in the words of Sturrock, it will 'come back and bite him on the bum'.

 

Craig

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True enough, that has cheered me up a wee bit

9 goals in a week. what on earth is going on with you lot?

 

Miller-8

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How do the Owls fans feel about Luggy's sacking? I'm a Dundee united fan and we love Luggy up here, he was a great player for us. He did fantastic with St Johnstone and Plymouth, and got Sheff Wed promoted too, but he seems to have stuggled since you made it to the Championship. Is it a lack of money or poor signings?

 

kennyk

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at this rate pehaps a rebrand "Sheffield Sunday" would be in order...
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Craig

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Most Owls fans are absolutley gutted about it, frankly. Most of the ground sang various anti board chants thourghout the game on Saturday

I was a bit more ambivalent given the recent results with the finally full strength team. This has been the largest excuse this season, but noneteless team selection has often been a bit odd.

However, whilst I was intially dissapointed but understanding, this got my blood to 100 degrees (link for chairman giving an interview after the sacking. It's long, and your skin will crawl like never before)

http://www.ullowl.com/the_Test/index.html

 

Brown Bottle

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Jul 27, 2005
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I feel sorry for you Craig, I've been there in the past, watching Boro play at Hartlepool because the gates at Ayresome Park were padlocked. We were lucky, ICI rescued us and Mr Gibson has taken the club a million miles forward from those days 20 years ago.

I can't understand the Sturrock situation, one minute they have the confidence to give him 4 years, the next he's down the road. Sturrock is very experienced with getting performances out of lower league players, unless a new man is given money to spend I don't see how they are going to do any better than Sturrock.

It looks as if they are struggling to find someone to take over now aswell.

Good luck.

Cheers BB

 

Craig

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Jul 20, 2005
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Phil ....the link still works for me, so dunno what the prob is. Soz. You are Hibs or Dundee man? I assume there's a reason for the interest:)

BB: It's absolutely bonkers, mate. The chairman is simply a frst cass tool who knows nothing of football (he races pigeons in his spare time though) There is zero logic to all of this.

Here's another article to make you all laugh at us.

http://www.squarefootball.net/article/article.asp?aid=3801

As for the choice of new manager, according to Comedy Dave, it should be someone with experience of the prem. So we're talking to Andie Ritchie, Steve Cotteril, Dave Penney, Peter Shirtliff (Mansfield coach) etc etc

The only prem experience dmanager we have spoken to who has not (AFAIK) said piss off is Wednesday legend Gary Megson. As in soft spoken, everyone who played for him thinks he's lovely, two times promoted from the Championship but completely lost in the Premisership Gary Megson.

Cos mic.

 

Sony6million

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Jul 20, 2005
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Craig

Windows Media Player is trying to open it but the format is not supported..or some techno gibberish.

No, I'm an Aberdeen supporter. Glad its not a Dundee team, one got relegated and bust, the other is proping up the table with 2 wins in last 29 games
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Craig

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It opened in real player on mine at home, but now I just tried from my laptop and it won't open with windows, you're right

If you have real player give it a shot. You skin will creep though

 

Craig

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Jul 20, 2005
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It is possible I have inadvertently given the impression that I know what the hell I am talking about regarding Media player, Real Player et al

This could not be further from the truth, and hopefully someone can help you out on this one (I'm guessing it's in the preferences of Real player that you set it to work.) but that's the extent of my vast knowledge

Oh, the shame.

 

Craig

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Jul 20, 2005
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Ah. The link is now dead. down. working not.

I'll try and find some other link for those ndepsrate for cringe. And a man of honour (Sturrock)

 

Craig

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Jul 20, 2005
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ha ha, exactly. This is an eye wateringly bad idea!!!

Leaving aside "we would ign someone with prem experience" Law is IMHO a bit of a tool. He's never impressed me when I've heard him.

Oddly - anu ideas Dudy? - seems to have become flavour of the month of late, but any scunny phool know that come easter they'll be mid table. Tis the typical Scunny start to a season.

Chairman has been great by stucking with him for years, but thi is what happens with most half decent managers who get a decent crack at the side. Warnock (vomit) being the prime example.

Anyway, if he you lose him to us, snap Penney up. Cannot believe he hasn't been taken yet (fear that we nay even take him yet)

 

dudywoxer

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Jul 19, 2005
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I,m not a football fan, but the brother in law is a ardent ion fan. His comment- was bugger, why has he not gone.

To be fair to the man, although a bit of a dick, its his youngster that are doin it for them at the mo. He has built squad on bugger all money, dragged them out of the basement, and so far kept them out. The town can not generate support for higher levels of football anyway. Too many travel out of town to games each week.

Brother in law 2- again not a football fan, but lives in sheffield still can not understand why they have two teams.

 

Craig

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Jul 20, 2005
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dudywoxer wrote:

To be fair to the man, although a bit of a dick, its his youngster that are doin it for them at the mo. He has built squad on bugger all money, dragged them out of the basement, and so far kept them out. The town can not generate support for higher levels of football anyway. Too many travel out of town to games each week.
True enough....he always seems to find a ouple of young uns - Paul Hayes before, now Billy Sharp that deliver the goods and for a lot fo the time keep the points ticking over

I'm only a 10 min blast from Scunny, but was taken to wednesday first, as a kid, so there's the affinity. Looking at it these days I can see why the one-team makes sense, but turn the clock back 10 years and it's altogether different. (At least for us:))

 

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