soccer

New owners 'must get the fans, the history, the city'

Maybe this is for the best?

The James Bord-led consortium told the media today they were pulling out of their attempt to buy Sheffield Wednesday.

It follows two months of fans wondering if this would happen, or whether they were the right people to follow Dejphon Chansiri's disastrous reign.

Better to know now that this isn't going any further. It could've easily been dragged out longer.

Word was doing the rounds in the past few days that this would be the eventual conclusion. There wasn't as much clarity that it would happen so swiftly.

Many people had reservations, including those of us in local media who observed some of Bord's influences at Sheffield United when he acted as a consultant.

The Bord group said in a statement: "The figure we offered is significantly higher than that justified by the findings of a lengthy due diligence process."

Fans can be forgiven for asking - "really?"

Everyone can see how much infrastructure work is required at Sheffield Wednesday.

An incredible amount of investment is needed to get the squad, ground and training ground up to scratch.

You could argue other buyers didn't compete with the Bord bid, revealed by the club to be worth an astonishing £47.8 million, because they were well aware of what needed to be spent once they'd signed the deal.

So what now?

The joint administrators say they've been in contact with other participants in the sales process.

The David Storch bid team sent me a statement last night reiterating their desire to buy the club.

They said: "We remain incredibly passionate about the opportunity at Sheffield Wednesday and seeing the club return to its former glory."

It'll also be a relief to fans to hear the administrators say the club is funded for the remainder of the season.

A quick solution is needed. But it also has to be the right people. I can't remember a club of this size that has so badly needed the right owner to take over.

Wednesday fans have a half-joke they like to use. They relentlessly call the club "massive" to wind up their neighbours. Some take it too seriously and genuinely believe it.

I'd say to those people that a more appropriate 'M' word to describe Sheffield Wednesday is "mess".

It needs someone with the right plan, the right ideas. And money, or the contacts to bring investment in.

It needs major work done to the whole of the club, not just a bob or two spent on the team.

It needs someone who gets the fans, the history, the city.

If you're out there, step forward - take on the challenge and give these long suffering supporters the club many of them deserve.

If you can't do it, don't waste any more of their time.

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