Sheffield Wednesday back on board as club closes in on Hillsborough sell-out
On a night which could see their first sell-out crowd since last season's Steel City derby, Sheffield Wednesday will also begin building bridges with a host of former players.
Dejphon Chansiri fell out with a number of Hillsborough legends during his 10 years as owner but his departure as chairman and the drive to reunite the club will see David Hirst, Chris Waddle, Terry Curran, Imre Varadi, Mel Sterland and Rodger Wylde appear in the megastore for "signatures and selfies" ahead of Wednesday night's Championship game at home to Norwich City.
The match is only the second at Hillsborough since the club went into administration, forcing Chansiri out. Over 27,000 watched the first, the day after it happened, and there has been a concerted push to sell out this one, with prices cut.
The first batch of tickets for the November 23 Hillsborough derby against Sheffield United went on sale on Tuesday, with the cheapest adult seats at £30 on the Kop for members, and £40 for non-members.
The administrators have been inundated with offers for the club with "30 to 40" parties reported to have made contact and a number already having provided the proof of £50m of funds which will allow them to carry out due diligence.
Even so, the administrators see the game as an opportunity to showcase the club's potential to new owners, as well as bringing in much-needed revenue.
The megastore took £500,000 in the first post-Chansiri weekend, Sheffield Wednesday Supporters Trust have raised £60,000 towards the running of the club and internet forum Owlstalk will cover the cost of overnight accommodation for December's Championship game at Blackburn Rovers.
The presence of Hirst, Waddle and co should further help. The former players will be in the shop between 4:30pm and 5:30pm.
On the field, Henrik Pedersen’s side are still looking for their first home win of the season, and will be without the injured Pierce Charles, Di’Shon Bernard, Ernie Weaver, Gui Siqueira, Nathaniel Chalobah, Rio Shipston, Olaf Kobacki and Mackenzie Maltby out injured. Youngster Bruno Fernandes came off the bench to make his league debut against West Bromwich Albion after injury.