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Topics: EFL Championship, Sheffield Wednesday, Football
Ryan Smart
Sheffield Wednesday are set to receive a significant points deduction in a fresh blow to the financially-stricken Championship club.
The Owls have encountered major financial issues since the end of last season, stemming from under-pressure owner Dejphon Chansiri's failure to sell the club.
Wednesday players and staff have not been paid on time on five separate occasions in seven months, and the club were placed under a three-window transfer embargo in June.
The strict conditions of the embargo - Wednesday are not allowed to contribute any fee, salary or other payments to any deals - meant that their only summer outfield signing was the loan arrival of Manchester United defender Harry Amass.
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They required special EFL dispensation to sign goalkeepers Ethan Horvath and Joe Lumley on emergency loans following injury to first-choice stopper Pierce Charles.
Six players handed in their notices to leave the club during pre-season, including forwards Josh Windass and Michael Smith, though captain and star midfielder Barry Bannan did sign a new contract.
The club did manage to recoup undisclosed fees for a minority of their under-contract players, including the sale of winger Djeidi Gassama to Rangers for around £2.2 million.
Manager Danny Rohl also left the club before the season started, and Wednesday are currently bottom of the Championship with just one win from their 11 matches.
The Owls have been forced to field a squad made up of several academy prospects with little to no experience of senior football under new boss Henrik Pedersen.
Fans have been boycotting Hillsborough on matchdays as part of a campaign against owner Chansiri, who has rejected offers to sell the club but experts claim that his asking price is far beyond what it is realistically worth.
According to the Sheffield Star, several potential buyers have 'walked away frustrated at a confused process and an absence of any clear asking price' after holding talks with the Thai businessman.
The club's crisis took a fresh turn last week when it was reported that Wednesday faced an imminent winding-up petition over unpaid taxes to HMRC worth around £1 million.
And the Owls have now filed for administration, via a court ruling seen by Reuters, which will see them receive a significant points penalty.
Any team that enters administration is deducted 12 points as per EFL regulations, with Derby County the last team to receive such a punishment back in 2021.
The same deduction for Wednesday would leave them on minus six points in the Championship table if they were to pick up no further points until then.
It is reported that Wednesday filed a notice on Friday morning to appoint an administrator, who will now take day-to-day control of the club until they are in a position to exit administration.
In effect, their role will be to prevent Wednesday from being wound up by either selling assets or by finding a suitable buyer for the club - the latter of which Chansiri has thus far failed to do.
According to the Daily Mail's Mike Keegan, Begbies Traynor - a Lancashire-based company specialising in corporate restructuring - is set to be appointed to lead the process.