How Did We Get Here?

 

How Did We Get Here?

by a Tired Wednesdayite

In 2015, Dejphon Chansiri walked into Hillsborough promising the Premier League within two years. For a moment, we almost believed him. Two play-off finishes. Big signings. Ambition. It felt like the start of something.

Ten years later, we're in the same division — barely — with a squad scraping for survival, a stand shut down due to safety concerns, unpaid bills mounting, and a fanbase as fractured as the concrete beneath the North Stand.

So how did we get here?

A Dream Built on Sand

Under Chansiri, Sheffield Wednesday has lost £178 million. Let that sink in. One hundred and seventy-eight million pounds.

We spent heavily in the early years — wages, transfers, agents. The kind of gambles that only pay off if promotion comes fast. But it didn’t. And when the Premier League riches failed to arrive, the cracks began to show.

First came the stadium sale back to himself to dodge Financial Fair Play. Then the points deduction. Then the silence.

No plan. No accountability. Just the same tired promises and increasingly bizarre public statements.

The House is Falling Down

Now the decay is literal.

The North Stand — our North Stand — won’t host fans this season. It's not fit for purpose. Years of neglect have caught up with us, and the bills have come due. The rest of the ground isn't in much better shape. And while we brace for winter, the owner is nowhere to be seen.

It’s not just a football crisis anymore — it’s a civic embarrassment.

A Club Shrinking by the Week

This season should have been a chance to build on the great escape under Danny Röhl. Instead, it already feels like a long, slow march back to League One.

The squad isn’t good enough. The investment isn’t there. And who can blame players or staff for feeling uncertain when wages have gone unpaid in recent memory?

This isn’t misfortune. It’s the inevitable result of a decade of mismanagement.

a Dream, Losing Our Soul

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire put it bluntly:

“This is a case of people chasing the dream and then wondering what to do when that dream doesn’t come true.”

That’s us. That’s Sheffield Wednesday in 2025.

We dared to dream. And now we’re stuck in the wreckage of that dream — held hostage by an owner who won’t leave, can’t lead, and refuses to listen.

We Are Still Here

But here’s the thing. We’re still here.

Through the rust, through the silence, through the pain — the fans haven’t walked away. We still fill the away ends. Still sing in the rain. Still believe this club is worth saving, even if those at the top don’t.

Because Sheffield Wednesday is not Chansiri. It never was.
It’s us. The fans. The city. The history. The shirt.

We deserve better. And until we get it, we’ll keep shouting.
Louder than the silence. Louder than the lies.