Dejphon Chansiri sent blunt Sheffield Wednesday message as crisis deepens after Sunderland loss
Bottom-of-the-table Sheffield Wednesday remain winless in the Championship as Sunderland strolled to a comfortable 3-0 victory at Hillsborough on Friday evening
Michael Gray says it is “heartbreaking” to see his old club Sheffield Wednesday in the precarious predicament they currently find themselves in. The Owls are rooted to the bottom of the Championship after losing seven out of their opening nine league matches.
The build-up to Friday’s match with Sunderland was overshadowed by owner Dejphon Chansiri’s bombshell statement. Chansiri said he was unhappy with treatment towards him and his family from some fans and vowed not to put any more additional money into the club.
Gray, who spent a year at Hillsborough between 2009/10, was on punditry duties for Sky Sports last night. He told the broadcaster: “Everybody (at the club) has to be on the same page. If you’re not on the same page, there’s only one thing that is going to happen.
You are going to get dragged into a relegation fight, which Sheffield Wednesday find themselves in in the early stages of the Championship after working so hard to get themselves back into the Championship.
“If you lose your supporters, you lose your football club. This club has got an incredible fan-base. The history that this club has got is amazing so to see it the way it is right now is heartbreaking. You don’t want to see it because it is a wonderful club.”
Wednesdayites chanted for Chansiri to leave and for manager Xisco Munoz to be sacked in their chastening 3-0 loss to Sunderland. Many supporters left Hillsborough in the first half after the Black Cats registered their third goal.
“We heard the crowd in the second half and we know exactly what they want,” said Gray. “We are not standing here saying they need to change the manager.
“We are looking at the performances and results and what comes with that is a change, whether that is above and the chairman maybe wanting to sell the club.
“There are big issues here and everybody has to be on the same page and they are not and that’s a big problem.”
Ex-Sheffield United forward Courtney Sweetman-Kirk described the timing of Chansiri’s statement as “strange”. “If anything it alienates the dressing room and the fans,” she said. “We all know the football club needs to stand together. It seems a very divided football club at the moment.”
Given the off-the-field turmoil at Wednesday, Sweetman-Kirk has some sympathy for Munoz. She said: “The manager can always have an influence on the players – don’t get me wrong – but there are bigger things at play here.
