Sheffield Wednesday: Owls had a nightmare with sale of £1.5m “monster
The Owl’s are currently struggling at the bottom of the Championship.
Sheffield Wednesday have fallen victim to one of the most fractious and toxic ownerships in the EFL.
The terrible and ill-timed decision-making of owner Dejphon Chansiri has been the protagonist of Wednesday’s demise and in recent times, the hatred between supporters and owner has grown stronger.
From parting ways with promotion-winning manager Darren Moore, replacing him with Xisco Munoz and arming the Spaniard with a shoestring budget, Chansiri set the Owls up to fail from the get-go this season.
Assembling a squad riddled with League One talent and a manager completely out of his depth, Munoz led Wednesday to their worst start in history, collecting zero wins and only three draws after ten matches.
In a desperate attempt to reverse that mistake and save their season, Chansiri has appointed a bright young manager in Danny Rohl, but the German, who has never taken on a managerial role, will have to perform miracles to keep his side afloat in the second tier.
While the relationship between the fans and owners is unfixable, there were promising signs at the beginning of his tenure.
He acquired the club for £37.5m from Milan Mandaric in January 2015 and instantly made some positive changes, including the decision to appoint Portuguese manager, Carlos Carvalhal.
What did Carlos Carvalhal achieve at Sheffield Wednesday?
Chansiri’s mission was to get Wednesday back to the Premier League by 2017 and enlisted Carvalhal as the man to lead them there.
The former Braga, Sporting CP and Istanbul Basaksehir manager arrived with the requisite pedigree to achieve that aim and was armed with a war chest of funds, bringing in the likes of Barry Bannan, Fernando Forestieri, Gary Hooper, Lucas Joao and Jack Hunt, who all formed the spine of their promotion challenge.
| Sheffield Wednesday’s best signings in 2015/16 | |
|---|---|
| Player signed | Fee |
| Fernando Forestieri (Watford) | £3.5m (€4.12m) |
| Gary Hooper (Norwich) | £3.3m (€3.9m) |
| Lucas Joao (Nacional) | £2.4m (€2.78m |
| Barry Bannan (Crystal Palace) | Free transfer |
| Jack Hunt (Crystal Palace) | Free transfer |
| All fees via Transfermarkt | |
In his first full term in charge, he would lead Wednesday into the top six, however, their campaign wouldn’t have the fairytale ending that Chansiri dreamed of as the Owls were beaten by Hull in the 2016 play-off final.
Carvalhal would have another stab at promotion in the following season but this time, his side would fall to defeat at the semi-final stage in the cruelest of fashions as Yorkshire rivals Huddersfield Town claimed victory on penalties.
Despite two near misses in their quest for promotion, Wednesday’s greatest manager in recent times would jump ship in December 2017 to go manage Swansea City.
Coming within touching distance of promotion isn’t the only time the Owls have suffered heartbreak, experiencing just that in 2014 after selling Hillsborough hero, Michail Antonio, to Nottingham Forest.
How many goals did Michail Antonio score for Wednesday?
These days, Antonio is known for his monstrous displays as a lone striker for West Ham, but at Sheffield Wednesday, he was utilised as a winger, operating on either the left or right flank in 50 of his 84 appearances for the club.
A powerful wideman, who took the Championship by storm with his pace and power, the Jamaican chalked up 17 goals and 19 assists for the Owls, including a whopping 18 goal contributions in the 2012/13 campaign.
Much like he is today, the powerful marksman was a menace to defend against, utilising his stocky build to outmuscle his opponents and frighten the life out of them with his lightning speed.
Unfortunately for Wednesday supporters, showcasing those sought-after attributes meant he attracted interest from several clubs as Nottingham Forest snapped him up in the summer of 2014.
How much did Sheffield Wednesday sell Michail Antonio for?
While losing a player of that calibre is a bitter pill to swallow, to lose him to a fellow Championship club for a measly fee of £1.5m speaks volumes about how poorly the Owls were run during the Mandaric era.
Speaking after departing Hillsborough, Antonio expressed his desire to work with Forest manager, at the time, Stuart Pearce, saying: “At Sheffield Wednesday I thought I’d got a bit too comfortable.
“In football you have to push boundaries and to take risks. “I feel I can learn a lot from the boss and he can make me a better player.”
He was instantly labelled by Pearce as “”fantastic” for his performances in a Red shirt, destroying opposition defences down the left flank and punishing his former club for selling h
