'Going to be a slog' - Sheffield Wednesday sent warning by Stefan Borson as 15-point deduction claim made
Sheffield Wednesday have been warned to expect a “slog” next season - as well as a 15-point deduction.
Following the withdrawal of the James Bord-led consortium from the takeover process, Wednesday are back on the hunt for new ownership.
The Owls have been in administration since October, when Dejphon Chansiri was ousted.
Wednesday will play in League One next term and unless the new owner pays creditors 25p for every £1 owed, a 15-point deduction will be applied.
Borson, a former adviser to Manchester City who looked at Wednesday as part of a group earlier in the process, believes the sanction is likely.
Stefan Borson fires warning
He told Football Insider: “People have forgotten this is a very difficult situation to go into. They are going to be relegated.
“They almost certainly now are going to have a 15-point deduction next season as well because the lower bid is going to mean that the unsecured creditors are not going to have what they need.
“So, you’re going to have a situation where you immediately bought the club, you celebrate for about five minutes and then you realise that actually then the hard work begins. It is going to be a slog. It’s not going to be straightforward.”
League One challenge
Wednesday were last relegated to the third tier in 2021 and did not make an immediate return to the Championship.
They eventually secured promotion at the second attempt, dramatically defeating Peterborough United and Barnsley in the play-offs.
Borson said: “It’s a very competitive division, League One. You’ve got to completely rebuild the team.
“By the end of the season, Sheffield Wednesday will have almost no contracted players, so you’re to have to completely rebuild the squad.”
Stadium issue
Wednesday are a club in need of new life and their Hillsborough home is in need of investment.
Borson said: “You have got to deal with the stadium situation and, according to Bord, who you would think has done the most work on the stadium, there’s a load of work to do on the stadium that they weren’t expecting, so we don’t know what that means.
“I mean, that could be anything from this stand is condemned and needs to be rebuilt, or we can lick of paint it for five years and see what happens.
“But there are all sorts of challenges. I mean, this is a club that’s been now in distress for the best part of maybe 18 months, maybe even longer. There’s going to be all sorts of challenges. It’s a very difficult job on day one.”