Inside Sheffield Wednesday crisis with players unpaid, stand closed, training 65 miles away and no money for sock tape

SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY are set to kick off their season this weekend following a shambolic summer off the pitch.

With players routinely not being paid on time, their training ground unavailable for the start of the pre-season and several key players having left – the Owls are up against it before a ball has even been kicked in the Championship.

Danny Rohl’s former assistant Henrik Pedersen will lead the side out at Leicester on Sunday.

The Dane replaced Rohl last week after the German finally agreed on a severance package with the crisis club.

Wednesday will at least take to the field on Sunday, something that wasn’t always a given after a friendly with Burnley was cancelled by players last week.

Fans will protest against owner Dejphon Chansiri at the match, with travelling supporters planning on not taking their seats until the fifth minute in front of the watching Sky Sports cameras.

Wednesday’s issues are nothing new, with Chansiri having been at the helm since 2015.

Rohl did an impressive job to stabilise the club over the last two seasons following promotion from League One under Darren Moore.

But issues crept up again towards the end of last season, with players not paid on time or in full in March or May.

Wednesday’s remaining players reported for pre-season training on June 26… without a manager or even training ground.

Rohl was absent for the first two weeks as he haggled over his severance pay, eventually briefly returning before managing to finalise his exit.

Sessions were initially taken by Under-21 boss Andy Holdsworth, and with renovations going on at Wednesday’s Middlewood Road base, the club were forced to improvise.

Some sessions even took place over Zoom, in a throwback to the Covid season – while others were put on 65 miles away at St George’s Park.

According to the Telegraph, players did not even have access to sock tape during those early days of pre season, as their supplier had not been paid.

Such basic equipment has become a luxury at Wednesday under Chansiri’s ownership.

SunSport revealed last month that Chansiri had been refusing to budge on his £100million valuation of the club, despite its crumbling infrastructure.

The playing squad has been stripped of assets, with the likes of Djeidi Gassama, Josh Windass, Michael Smith and stalwart Callum Paterson among those to have left this summer.

Players have now not been paid in full or on time in four of the last five months – the latest failure being what prompted the Burnley friendly to be called off.

Hillsborough has also been allowed to fall into a state of disrepair, with the local council having shut down its North Stand – although Wednesday yesterday released a statement in which they revealed that they are hopeful of having the prohibition notice lifted in time for their home opener.

The Owls currently have 16 players on their books, although captain Barry Bannan will require special permission from the EFL to play this weekend due to his previous contract expiring in June and Wednesday currently banned from registering new ones.

Other players are expected to depart, with full-back Max Lowe having handed in his notice.

American businessman John Textor is keen on acquiring Wednesday, having flogged his stake in Crystal Palace, but no talks have yet taken place between the Lyon chief and Chansiri.

Jamal Lowe opened up on the club’s situation last week, telling Sky Sports: “If you don’t laugh, you’ll cry. So we have to laugh.”

For now, Wednesday’s season will begin under a thick cloud, with little indication yet as to when the sun will shine over the famous old club once again.