Sheffield Wednesday and Morecambe woes show the problem with modern football

Yahoo

3 days ago

In what is now a 'normal' day for Sheffield Wednesday, one employee was asked how they were doing by a fan, only to burst into tears. They don't know if they're going to be paid, or what the future is, leading Clive Betts MP to lambast controversial owner Dejphon Chansiri in Parliament on Tuesday.
Many Morecambe fans similarly felt like crying when the news came through on Monday that the sale of the club from Jason Whittingham's Bond Group Investments to Panjab Warriors wouldn't yet be completed. This was despite sources insisting that everything was in place for the sale to proceed, and finding its delay 'inexplicable'. Local MP Lizzi Collinge publicly said to Whittingham, also in Parliament, "Come on, sign the damn paperwork!" That's after three years where Morecambe have gone from League One to the National League and, potentially, oblivion.
The stories of Wednesday and Morecambe warrant their own telling but there are striking parallels, that are now more pointed, since they come from different ends of a football pyramid that is finally about to see an independent regulator.
The Football Governance Bill was voted through the House of Commons on Tuesday, meaning we now know what it will look like for the future. Fans of Wednesday and Morecambe can't say the same about their clubs, and the worry is it's too late.
A feeling of 'helplessness' stands out. 'We really support the Football Governance Bill,' says Tarnia Elsworth, of the Shrimps Trust fans group, 'but my fear is Morecambe and Wednesday are going to be the last victims.
'We get fans coming to us, 'this is my club I've loved for 30 years, and you're saying there's nothing I can do about it?''
Ian Bennett, of the Sheffield Wednesday Supporters Trust, says they're 'left in limbo'. His colleague James Silverwood warns the 'story has implications way beyond Wednesday for the whole of English football'.
Geoff Walters, a Morecambe fan who is also a Professor in Sports Business at the University of Liverpool, argues 'this underpins the need for a strong regulator'.
Morecambe fans are desperate for Jason Whittingham to sell (Getty)
So many details are familiar, after all, going back through Reading and Derby County to the landmark moment of Bury's demise. It is about who owns clubs, governance, and a ruinous wage race.
One of the great tragedies is that crowd sizes show the game is thriving on one level, and yet whole seasons can still be distorted by clubs entering financial ruin. Even at Morecambe, there have been record season ticket sales for a first season back in the National League, on the promise that Whittingham will be gone. Fans might instead lose hundreds of pounds as well as their club, if the worst happens.
The game should be self-sustainable but isn't. Wednesday and Morecambe could easily be sold but aren't. Both clubs have numerous interested buyers. Chansiri is said to be looking for 'completely unrealistic prices'.
The Wednesday story is currently more striking because of their historic stature, and the fact these issues have crept as high as the Championship. The EFL have warned for four years that the wage race from parachute payments would lead to this. Others, backed by research from the supporters' trust, feel this is specifically down to 'an owner who has run out of money'.
There is the feeling that Sheffield Wednesday's woes are down to 'an owner who has run out of money' (Getty)
This is despite Chansiri's profile as a member of the Thai family that controls the world's largest producer of canned tuna, Thai Union Group, leading Betts to question why money is no longer available.
Players and staff were not paid on time in May and June, with that and money owed to other clubs and the HMRC leading to two EFL transfer embargoes. Meanwhile, at least £6m is understood to be needed for essential improvements to Hillsborough, which may yet pass to unknown new ownership if Chansiri can't pay loans taken against the stadium. Improvements may be impossible if players have to be paid, but many are expected to walk as free agents if not paid for July.
'We might start the season with no players and a three-sided ground,' Bennett says. Some sources even fear that basic utilities could be cut off. Bennett complains that communication has been minimal or just 'disdainful'. With barely any pre-season plans, it might reach the point where Wednesday have to show they can fulfil the season.
Like at Hillsborough, Morecambe's most immediate issue is funding. A club that had previously been a 'good little business' has started to make losses. Prospective buyers Panjab Warriors have even lent Morecambe just over £6m.
Morecambe captain Yann Songo'o apologising to his fans as their relegation from League Two was confirmed (Getty)
An irony is that some supporters credit Whittingham with initially appointing a capable board, only for that to descend into farce when he began proceedings to sack them all from their intention to put the club into administration. The board has since resigned twice in a week over delays to the sale.
'We're powerless,' Elsworth says, amid another common complaint in English football: owner disengagement. Meetings have led nowhere.
Fans don't even know the price wanted. More remarkably, Whittingham could have got a much better price when Morecambe were in League One in 2022-23, only for the value to now be decreasing every day.
A primary question, raised by Betts, is why the current system can't take retrospective action to remove ownership once issues become apparent. The National League are conscious their potential sanctions would just punish Morecambe rather than the owner. The EFL have similarly been trying to avoid punishing Wednesday as much as they can.
Supporters have pointed to how Dai Yongge was eventually disqualified by the EFL as Reading owner, but that is understood to have been enabled by business matters in China.
'Sell before we Dai' - Reading fans feared their club would go under (Getty)
Non-payment doesn't meet what is a high threshold. It's also not without risk, since the next step is expulsion of the club. 'You would think consistently not having the resources for the club to be a going concern should be grounds enough,' one prominent source argues.
All of this leaves the clubs with three scenarios in the current system if there is no sale. One is more lenders, and both somehow persevering. Two is going into administration, which would bring a points deduction, but where buyers sense opportunity. Three is liquidation, and potential phoenix clubs.
Bennett admits Wednesday fans have considered that last option, but hope for a potential sale through administration. Elsworth fears Morecambe wouldn't come back, as a fan-owned club would struggle to survive.
'This isn't Wimbledon. The west end of Morecambe is one of the most deprived areas of the country. A community is being destroyed.'
The footballing resurgence of Wimbledon will not be easy to emulate in Morecambe (Getty)
That sense of powerlessness is palpable.
'There's players not getting paid and you're listening to the Man United situation, Alejandro Garnacho… that doesn't need more airtime.'
Such stark statements raise questions about English football's priorities, and issues the regulator has to square. As Elsworth surmises, 'a sale isn't going to solve everything.'
A mechanism for intervening with owners where issues arise is still essential. 'There's a lot to think about,' Walters says. 'Even a perfect system isn't going to ensure every football club is sustainable, but it's about where you can step in.'
Bennett puts it plainly. 'The football regulator is going to have a hell of a job.'