Mike Ashley is looking to buy Sheffield Wednesday if James Bord’s takeover fails
The billionaire is reportedly ‘waiting in the wings’ to pounce if the James Bord-led coalition fail to take Sheffield Wednesday.
Wednesday dropped to League One after losing the Sheffield derby
It was going to end this way. Not on Sunday, not at Bramall Lane, and not in February, but Wednesday’s final was sealed long before the Steel City derby.
A 12-point deficit in October when the club went into administration. Another six were picked up in December for repeatedly breaching the EFL’s pay rules. One Championship wins all season, back in September.
When Henrik Pedersen’s battered side pulled away from their bitter rivals on Sunday afternoon, they needed a miracle to hang on.
Instead, they became the first club in the history of the English Football League to be relegated in February.
Sheffield Wednesday suffered another blow as a triple injury update revealed the striker will miss six games
Some bad news for owls.
Patrick Bamford’s first goal set the tone, and Harrison Burrows made it two before half-time and, despite Kalvin Phillips being subbed off shortly after half-time and pulling a goal back, Wednesday couldn’t get a much-needed second.
When Gabriel Otegbayo received his second yellow card in the last minute, any last hope vanished with him in the tunnel.
“It’s sad that a club like Sheffield Wednesday was axed in February,” said Pedersen afterwards.
“But the guys we have in the team and the coaches did everything we could.”
You’re right the writing was on the wall for months, but being dumped out of League One by your biggest rivals, in front of their fans, carries a sting that no manager’s words can fully soften.
And without tone, the picture is not clear.
Mike Ashley is ‘waiting in the wings’ amid delays to take on Sheffield Wednesday
On Wednesday they are still stuck in management, the saga of their ownership suddenly continues.
Bord, the sports statistics entrepreneur who was named as a preferred buyer on Christmas Eve, is still awaiting approval from the EFL on his £32.5m bid.
Sources close to his camp revealed that he hopes to finish taking over in early April. But with the Independent Football Regulator set to take over the EFL’s review process in May, any further delay could open the board to a new round of scrutiny.
And if that bid were to fall through completely? According to talkSPORT, Mike Ashley is ‘waiting in the wings’.
The former Newcastle United owner and billionaire had been in the running before Bord emerged as the preferred candidate. Now, sources close to the situation suggest that Ashley is still very much open to joining on Wednesday, depending on what happens with Bord’s bid.
For many fans who are already dealing with the trauma of the historic relegation inflicted by their biggest rivals, the prospect of Ashley – a very divisive figure – arriving as a white professional will feel like cold comfort.
But in Hillsborough right now, beggars can’t be choosers.
League One football awaits. The question that remains is who will be in charge of the club when they get there.
Exclusive: Viv Anderson shares details on Sheffield Wednesday’s takeover and Pedersen’s future
The former Sheffield Wednesday player had his say.
