Brutal Dejphon Chansiri verdict delivered amid Sheffield Wednesday’s ongoing financial issues
Fans attended a Sheffield Wednesday Supporters Trust Fan Forum last night to express their concerns over the future of the club
Chris Turner has launched a scathing attack on Dejphon Chansiri, describing the Sheffield Wednesday owner as the “worst” in the club’s history.
A week has passed since the Owls were placed under a registration embargo by the English Football League for their failure to pay wages in full or on time in March and May. Chansiri was also charged with “causing the club to be in breach of EFL Regulations despite his commitment to fund their cash requirements”. It is thought many players and non-football employees have yet to be paid their salaries for May.
Wednesday have not commented on the issue in nine days and The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) have branded the delay in staff receiving their salaries “unacceptable”. A PFA statement read: “Continued and ongoing delays to player and staff wages are unacceptable and need to be addressed without further delay.
“Ultimately players and staff are like any other group of employees – they should be able to expect their wages to be paid on time and for the terms of their contracts to be met by their employers.
“When that does not happen it has a significant impact on the professional and personal lives of players, staff, and their families.
“The uncertainty it causes is made worse when there appears to be a lack of clear communication regarding the reason these issues are occurring and when payments can be expected.”
Former Wednesday goalkeeper and manager Turner spoke passionately amid the club’s ongoing off-the-field problems at a Sheffield Wednesday Supporters Trust event last night. He said: “I’m here as a Wednesday fan, not an ex player or manager. I’m really, really concerned about what’s happening at our club.
“When you go on to the football side of it, we haven’t got a team for next season, it looks like as though we have not got a manager and we have sold one of the best young players (Caelan-Kole Cadamarteri) in the club. That can be good or bad, hopefully it’s not going to give him money to rally round for the next two or three months and pay HMRC and a few wages.
“We need this (Chansiri) man out. He has got to go. In any way shape or form, we have to do it.”
Turner warned fans they may have to wait a while yet for Chansiri to sell up. A US-based consortium has seen two offers to buy the club in recent months knocked back by the Thai businessman.
“If somebody tomorrow has got the money to buy the club, it will be a good four or five months before that’s done,” he said. “It’s going to be very hard (to get him out) so we have got to be patient.
“With the crap that we’ve seen – and there’ll be more – it’s going to be very hard. As individuals, we have to be patient because we all want the same thing. We want the club to survive and thrive. Whoever buys it, we want them to be the right people. We want them to look at the club, take the club on, peel everything back and start again because that’s what’s needed.”
Turner, a lifelong supporter, urged the fan-base to keep calm and “work together as one”. “We are going to have to be patient because he’s going to be hard to get rid of as we have seen over the last 10 years,” he said. “He is the worst owner we have ever had. There is no future with that guy in charge.”
Ex-Owls defender Jon Newsome was also in attendance at Wadsley Working Men’s Club yesterday. He criticised Chansiri’s running of the club and called on fans to continue supporting the Trust. “I’ve tried to deal with the football club as an agent and it’s like banging your head against a brick wall,” he said. “The contracts are made by no
Hundreds of supporters attended the Trust forum to express their concerns over the future of the club. As well as Turner and Newsome, a number of Trust members had their say on the club’s ongoing crisis and where things go from here.
