With Sheffield Wednesday now under new ownership, the fanbase has many things to look forward to next season. There has been a lot of good news delivered ever since David Storch stood on the Hillsborough pitch before the West Brom game. However, one thing that I’m looking forward to is a normal season, which has been a rare occurrence in recent years.
This isn’t a case of ignoring the huge rebuilding needed on and off the pitch. The threadbare squad is weaker than the one that got relegated in 20/21, which had the likes of Bannan, Windass and Paterson. The infrastructure changes required are vast and will take time to complete, with no sticking-plaster approach.
But Sheffield Wednesday will start on zero points, with no fee or wage restrictions, free from the relentless punishment of the Chansiri years. Last season saw chaos go into overdrive, and the club was scarily close to extinction. It was a season condemned before a ball was kicked, and it was draining for the whole fanbase.
But it wasn’t the first season of embargoes, fee restrictions, unpaid wages, unpaid bills and protest. Under Chansiri, we had six points deducted in 20/21 and 18 points in 25/26. There was a transfer embargo lifted in 2018 which the fanbase was never told of, one in 2019, and players not paid in 2020.
The less said about his people skills, ability to work with people or negotiate, the better. There was the constant worry of what madness was next, with any announced fan forums filling you with dread.
As a fanbase, we almost became accustomed to focusing on stuff that shouldn’t be an issue. The matchday pubs, stadium conversations and fan forums shouldn’t be engulfed by talk around HMRC bills and staff wages. These are things that should be paid without any drama and should be utterly irrelevant to fan conversations.
It should be bemoaning throwing away a two-goal lead, advocating four at the back, or getting giddy after winning three in a row.
Last season was due to one man’s incompetence and spite. We did not have a competitive or fit squad, making the season wholly futile. There was a battling spirit, but even that flickered at times, especially in the first few months of 2026. It became impossible to register any real emotion, and there was a complete lack of normality. It ripped away the soul of the club and denied supporters that escape we should have for a few hours every weekend. Indeed, it created worry and stress as things got bleaker and hope seemed to be fading that we would still have a club to support.
In the period since relegation in 2000 until the Chansiri era, there were relegations, financial issues and chairmen picking fights with fans. If ever a club was crying out for competent and professional ownership, it is Sheffield Wednesday.
It is early days, but Arise Consortium has impressed so far by facing down the EFL on points deductions and restrictions, and by bringing back the old badge. The creation of a management structure will be crucial, and they have secured investors to help deliver on their aims.
The communication from them so far has been excellent, and from the outside it may not seem like something to be excited about. But for a fanbase constantly insulted and belittled by the previous chairman, it is a big thing.
Although next season is a League One campaign, that normal experience stolen away from us will be returned to the whole fanbase. The conversations will return to discussing tactics, performances, players and managers. Rather than discussing the details of a protest, we can wonder who should be starting up front.
There will be a buzz around the place next season, as we will return to simply watching some football.
In typical Wednesday fashion, the opposition will then scramble home a late winner and we can grumble on the way home.
Typical Wednesday.
How I’ve missed that.