There is a new name in the frame to buy crisis club Sheffield Wednesday.
According to Sheffield Star reporter Alan Biggs, Mike Ashley is interested in buying the Owls.
The 61-year-old Sports Direct owner is worth around £4.2bn, so could easily meet Wednesday owner Dejphon Chansiri’s £100m asking price – although that price could drop as the club’s value plummets due to its financial issues.
Who Is Mike Ashley: Sheffield Wednesday’s Potential New Owner?
Love or loathe him, Ashley’s rise is a remarkable one. He left school at 16 with no qualifications and two years later in 1982, he opened his first sports store.
As his firm, Sports Direct, grew Ashley expanded his portfolio, buying stakes in JJB Sports and JD Sports. He also purchased a stake in fashion brand Matalan, and bought the House of Fraser group, integrating Sports Direct into it.
His businesses have gone from strength to strength, despite questions about working practices at Sports Direct.
Mike Ashley’s Previous Ownership Record
Ashley took his first steps into football ownership in 2007 when he bought Newcastle United. His reign initially began well, and he proved popular with the fans, even being pictured downing a pint in the stands during an away game against Arsenal.
His popularity increased when he appointed club legend Kevin Keegan as manager in 2008, but that adoration was short-lived. Keegan’s resignation in September of that year led to fan protests, and Ashley put the club up for sale for the first time shortly afterwards.
Other missteps included renaming Newcastle’s St James’ Park stadium as the Sports Direct Arena in 2011 in a bid to attract global sponsorship.
This just made him even more unpopular with the fans, and the stadium reverted to its’ original name in 2012 following a sponsorship deal with loan company Wonga.
During a rollercoaster 14 years, Ashley put the Magpies on a stable financial footing, and the club suffered two relegations – but those were followed by immediate promotions back to the Premier League.
The businessman finally sold the Magpies in October 2021 to a consortium fronted by the Saudi Arabian organisation PIF for £305m.
Ashley’s experience at Newcastle didn’t stop him investing in Rangers in 2014, but he sold his stake in 2017 after fan disquiet about him trying to use the club’s Ibrox stadium as collateral to secure a multimillion-pound loan.
He then moved on to Coventry City, buying their stadium, the Coventry Building Society Arena, in 2022. The following month he caused outrage by trying to evict the club, who had signed a ten-year contract to stay at the stadium in 2021.
After negotiations with the Sky Blues’ hierarchy, Ashley sold the stadium to Coventry in August this year.
Could Ashley Buy Sheffield Wednesday?
Anything is possible, although controversial Sheffield Wednesday owner Chansiri is showing no signs of selling as yet.
But as the club lurch further into crisis, he may find that he has no choice but to sell up. Club staff were paid late again last month, and the uncertainty around pay led to the recent resignation of set-piece coach Andy Parslow.
Ashley faces competition from a couple of other potential buyers.
The current frontrunner is John Textor, former Crystal Palace part-owner, who has held talks with Sheffield Wednesday owner Chansiri, but these have stalled, according to the Daily Mail.
Textor recently opened up on the difficult negotiations during an interview with journalist Alan Myers.
‘It’s really complicated,’ Textor said. ‘Wednesday are one of the clubs we’re looking at.
‘There’s a lot to figure out with the owner. There is a lot to figure out with the league itself.
‘There’s not a lot of time to figure it out. By the time we can even get in and address things, if we were to reach a deal with the club, I hope its not too late.’
Another interested party is businessman and Sheffield Wednesday fan David Richards, although he, like Ashley, seems content to just monitor the situation at the moment.
Whoever does buy Wednesday will inherit a mess. The club are facing possible points deductions, as well as the financial problems that Chansiri will leave behind.
They also have a young, inexperienced squad, and are staring relegation in the face.
It will be a long, hard road ahead for any new owner of Sheffield Wednesday – and the fans.
Conclusion
Mike Ashley could be a good option for Sheffield Wednesday. Although controversy tends to follow him around, especially in football, he is an astute businessman who knows how to get a club back on its feet, as he proved at Newcastle.
After stepping back from his role with Fraser’s Group, Ashley might be looking for a new challenge. Reviving Sheffield Wednesday would improve his reputation in football, and be a huge relief for Owls fans after a tumultuous period in the club’s history.
But if things continue to deteriorate, it might prove to be a challenge too far, even for Ashley.
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