Sheffield Wednesday have endured a turbulent 2025/26 campaign, but Dejphon Chansiri is now a thing of the past.
The controversial former owner ran Wednesday into the ground with years of mismanagement, and the Owls are currently being overseen by administrators.
Wednesday are 18 points adrift of safety in the Championship, and it feels very likely that League One football will be on the cards next season.
Naturally, administrators are holding talks with prospective buyers and former Newcastle chief Mike Ashley is one of the figures linked with Hillsborough.
Don Goodman shares whether Mike Ashley would be good for Sheffield Wednesday
Ashley oversaw things at Newcastle for a number of years and left St James’ Park amid a backlash from the club’s supporters.
Newcastle were relegated twice under Ashley’s tenure but he never had the Magpies in any debt and has proved to be a successful businessman over the years.
Don Goodman from Sky Sports is intrigued by the concept of Ashley returning to football with Wednesday and has told Football League World his thoughts.
He said: “The Mike Ashley conundrum is a difficult one, isn’t it really? Because if you ask any Newcastle fans, they would say to Sheffield Wednesday fans, ‘don’t touch him with a bargepole’.
“They suffered a couple of relegations to the Championship. In the end, there was a distinct lack of investment into the playing side of things, and Newcastle pretty much were floundering when he sold up to the Saudis, so it’s a difficult one.
“Would Mike Ashley take over Sheffield Wednesday, invest, get them through the leagues, likely starting from League One to the Championship, Championship to the Premier League and keep investing? Well, only Mike Ashley knows.
“What I do know is it’s a huge football club with huge potential for somebody, not dissimilar to the Americans that have taken over Birmingham City and you look at what they’re doing there on and off the pitch, and if Sheffield Wednesday could get something similar to that, whether that be through Mike Ashley or not, that’s what they would crave.”
Wednesday can thrive under new owners
Wednesday have been mismanaged from the boardroom for far too long, and it’s time for the administrators to ensure the very best deal for the football club to move forward.
Ashley isn’t without imperfection, but in terms of keeping Wednesday’s head above water, improving the squad and getting the club settled as a Championship outfit, he could be ideal.
This season looks like a forgone conclusion in terms of relegation, and ultimately, the pressing concern is who is going to be redecorating the boardroom as the club’s new owner.
Only time will tell whether or not it’s Ashley who comes forward to purchase the club and it will be fascinating to see what he can do if he does rock up at Hillsborough.