Palace 'should be down already' says Sheffield Wednesday chairman

SHEFFIELD Wednesday chairman Lee Strafford believes Crystal Palace should have been relegated from the Championship for re-entering administration.

On Sunday, the two clubs meet in a final-day showdown for Championship survival at Hillsborough.

If Palace avoid defeat, they will stay up and send the Owls into League One. If the Owls win, Palace will be relegated.

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The Owls have spent the last decade burdened by debts of around 25m but have stayed out of administration and fought a constant battle to balance the books.

Palace, meanwhile, have lived beyond their means and were plunged into this season's relegation fight after being docked 10 points by the Football League.

Strafford, who took over as Owls chairman last season, thinks the game's authorities need to get tougher with clubs like Palace in order to protect English football from the road to ruin.

"If you mis-manage a football club to the extent where you end up in massive debt, administration should not be an escape route," he said. "There should be a bigger punishment and I think that should be relegation."

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Amid speculation that the Londoners might even go out of business if they lose on Sunday, Strafford said: "We have suffered longer and harder than most clubs because we did not go down the administration route at a time when it may have been easier to do so. I don't have sympathy for anyone at that club (Palace) other than the fans.

"You have to feel sorry for the fans. They don't deserve what has happened there. Administration twice is inexcusable.

"Everything (in football) is creaking. There were no fan protests 20 years ago, clubs were not going 'pop' at the level and rate they are now. Only the right people have got to be allowed to control and run football clubs, not the wrong ones."

The Owls revealed last week that the Chicago-based company Club 9 Sports has been joined by a number of other interested parties in pursuing the possibility of investment at Hillsborough.

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Although Strafford has not put in any of his own money and admits there is no guarantee of new investment this summer, his ideas have breathed new life into the club and helped boost attendances.

Alongside chief executive Nick Parker, he has also conducted a thorough behind-the-scenes re-organisation that should enable the Owls to cope better with the possible impact of defeat this weekend.

"Relegation to League One wouldn't kill Sheffield Wednesday, it wouldn't do the damage it did to us the last time we went down (eight years ago)," he said.

"As a club, we were in freefall, all the infrastructure that supports your ability to sign players and coach them had been stripped away.

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"We were still paying Premiership wages and that's why we nearly got relegated to the fourth tier. We also had no players that we could sell to raise funds to redevelop the squad.

"This time around, the infrastructure is in place thanks to all the hard work we have done over the last year or so. All the major drivers that support the financial or emotional strength of a club have been dealt with.

"It would not be a financial issue to us, it would be one of time. It will put a year or two into the timetable but make no difference to the final outcome."

The Owls were handed a relegation lifeline on Monday night when Palace missed a chance to secure their own safety by drawing against West Bromwich Albion.

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Now that Sunday's game is do-or-die, it has been chosen for live coverage on BBC1 and the Owls will receive 100,000 in TV money.

Ticket prices had already been reduced to 10 and 5 and over 6,000 were purchased yesterday.

"We have had massive games before in our history and rose to the challenge more often than not," said Strafford.

"The pressure is on us but that's nothing new for Sheffield Wednesday.

"I looked at the Palace fans and players on Monday night and they were hugely deflated. They knew that it was their opportunity. I am thankful that we have now got our opportunity."