November 17th, 2010 is a day that that a then 143 year old Yorkshire institution was summoned to the High Court in London. The same Sheffield Wednesday that had lifted multiple English Titles, FA Cup and League Cups. Pleading their case the judge granted a 28-day adjournment. This was to complete a takeover deal and pay-off their tax bill to HMRC.
That particular day was the darkest in a long line of a horrific part of our great clubs history. The club has been treading water for years following relegation from the Premier League in mid 2000 and had become a debt-ridden mess with a feeling of gloom hanging over Yorkshire’s most successful club that only eased for a short time, allowing fans a day out at the Millennium Stadium.
Fortunately as the old saying goes it was ‘darkest before the dawn`, that dawn was in the shape of Milan Mandaric. The Serbian businessman stabilised the club, oversaw the necessary promotion back to the Championship and the seamless transfer of the club’s ownership to Thai Businessman Dejphon Chansiri. Recapping what can only described as inglorious period of Wednesday’s history puts into perspective us fans moaning about dropping points at home to Ipswich Town. It truly seems a million miles away from a club that nearly failed to exist only six years ago.
Wednesdayite Tom Whitworth has written a new book about the period, and he picks up the story:
“Not only have I lived through that awful period of the Owls existence but I took on the task of recording and writing about it!
“Owls: Sheffield Wednesday Through the Modern Era and would take four years to finish!
“Covering an uneasy time frame for the Owls from their hopeless attempt to stop the slide out of the Premier League to the seasons spent drifting and falling further still in the grim years that followed.
“Down in the lower levels, Wednesday had to carted around a mountain of debt which prevented a revolving door of managers and an endless list of players (some of them OK, many of them not) from making much, if any progress.
“Twice our beloved Owls would slump to the third tier.
“Meanwhile away from the pitch, boardroom unrest, failed takeovers, winding-up petitions, on-the-brink High Court appearances and various other controversies had blighted the club.
“For a long time, I had wondered why things had been like this?
“Why the football had been so bad?
“And to what extent non-footballing matters had affected this?
“I wanted to know and to understand. Wanted to piece it all together then write it up.”
And Tom has! Owls: Sheffield Wednesday Through The Modern Era is available to order NOW via Amazon
Click Here!
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