Following Dejphon Chansiri’s departure from Sheffield Wednesday, fans were forced to reflect on one of the most tumultuous ownership regimes in English football history.
After months of financial and off-field upheaval, Chansiri’s decade-long career at Wednesday ended in October when he placed the club and the company through which he owned the stadium into administration.
From point deductions to transfer embargoes, late wage payments, and fan criticism, Chansiri was a very unpopular figure at Hillsborough, although the Owls did have some success during his tenure, and he made the occasional sound decision.
Chansiri’s record of managerial appointments at Wednesday was certainly mixed, with Jos Luhukay, Garry Monk, Tony Pulis, and Xisco Munoz all proving to be disastrous choices, but he was also responsible for bringing in Carlos Carvalhal, Darren Moore, and Danny Rohl, all of whom performed admirably while in charge of S6.
Steve Bruce, who had a brief spell in charge of the Owls in 2019, will likely be remembered for the bitter public feud between Chansiri and Mike Ashley following his controversial move to Newcastle United.
Dejphon Chansiri received £4 million from Mike Ashley following the Steve Bruce, Sheffield Wednesday incident.
Bruce was appointed manager of Wednesday in January 2019, but quit little over six months later to take over at Premier League club Newcastle.
In normal circumstances, Bruce’s resignation from his position at Hillsborough would have resulted in the Magpies not having to pay any remuneration for his services, but Chansiri was never going to let his manager go without a fight.
After Bruce was unveiled at St James’ Park, the Owls issued a damning statement revealing that they were “disappointed” to learn from Newcastle’s public announcement that Bruce and his assistants Steve Agnew and Stephen Clemence had been appointed, and they warned that, while the trio had resigned, there were still “outstanding legal issues to be resolved”.
Ashley was said to have made a £3 million offer to Chansiri in order to avoid the matter from escalating, but this was rejected by the Wednesday manager, who, despite his numerous flaws, was considered to be a strong negotiator who did not like people taking advantage of him or his team.
With the start of the new season just over two weeks away, Chansiri was clearly furious at losing his manager at such an inconvenient time, and in addition to pursuing a large compensation fee, the Owls also reported the Magpies to the Premier League, believing that details of a release clause in Bruce’s contract had been leaked, making it more difficult for them to retain him.
With Chansiri unwilling to back down, it is understood that Wednesday and Newcastle eventually agreed on a £4 million compensation package for Bruce, representing a major gain for the club as well as a moral victory for the Thai billionaire.
Dejphon Chansiri will have had mixed feelings about Mike Ashley’s win following Steve Bruce’s exit.
While the money received would have helped to lessen the blow of Bruce’s unexpected departure, Chansiri and Wednesday will have been devastated to lose the 64-year-old.
After a disappointing first half of the season under Luhukay, the Owls were in the bottom half of the Championship table when Bruce came over, but the former Sunderland and Aston Villa manager infused new life into Hillsborough and had fans dreaming of Premier League play once more.
Wednesday emerged as outside play-off contenders after going unbeaten in Bruce’s first 11 games in charge, with the manager himself admitting that the top six was the goal. While they ran out of steam near the end of the season and finished in 12th place, the improved form offered genuine hope of a sustained promotion challenge the following season.
Bruce oversaw the early phases of pre-season, and when initial reports of Newcastle’s interest surfaced, he dismissed the rumors as “news to me,” but this just made his eventual departure all the more disappointing for the Owls.
Chansiri may have felt particularly hurt by Bruce’s actions because he had allowed him to start work a month after his appointment due to family bereavement, and while his exact wages were unknown, it was claimed prior to his arrival that Wednesday were willing to offer him a bumper £2 million-a-year contract to persuade him to take the job.
Bruce appeared to be the guy to lead Wednesday back to the promised land, but he left after only 18 games in charge, winning seven, drawing eight, and losing only three, leaving fans to ponder what could have been if the Magpies had not come knocking.
To make matters worse for the Owls, Bruce’s departure marked the beginning of a decline in fortunes that culminated in their relegation to League One just two years later, during which time they had three different permanent managers in Monk, Pulis, and Moore, as well as lengthy interim spells from Lee Bullen and Neil Thompson.
With that in mind, Chansiri’s £4 million compensation fee for Bruce will have meant little in the end, but his bitter feud with Ashley may explain why the ex-Newcastle owner waited for Wednesday to go into administration before pursuing a deal for the club, rather than attempting to negotiate with his former adversary.
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