Fresh uncertainty hangs over Sheffield Wednesday’s long-awaited takeover, with growing understanding that a settlement could take weeks rather than days.

According to Alan Nixon, the EFL’s Owners’ and Directors’ Test is expected to be lengthy and rigorous, as the league investigates the authenticity and origin of the cash supporting James Bord’s candidacy.

Bord’s group was confirmed as preferred bidder on Christmas Eve, a development that felt like a break in the inertia of administration.

However, preferred bidder status has provided neither operational independence nor substantive clarification. The club’s January transfer window is constricted, its short-term finances shaky, and its medium-term planning basically stalled until regulatory approval is obtained.

The added difficulty stems from Bord’s former professional gambling career and the international structure of the money for his candidacy, which includes capital claimed to be from Bahrain.

The EFL is believed to be applying increased scrutiny, influenced by a broader atmosphere of regulatory prudence and political pressure on football governance.

Bord is not accused of violating any regulations, but this is precisely the type of complexity that the league is now unwilling to rush through.

Sheffield Wednesday reacts to delays in James Bord’s takeover bid

Reality has exacerbated a similar situation at Hillsborough. On the one hand, the longer the process takes, the higher the risk to an already decimated squad and a club in survival mode.

On the other hand, Owls fans have witnessed firsthand the effects of ownership decisions that prioritized speed above substance.

Against this context, Football League World spoke with in-house Owls specialist Patrick McKenna to see if patience with the EFL’s approach is wearing thin, or if there is a wider awareness that waiting may be the lesser of two evils.

“In regards to the checks being done on the preferred bidder, I think that it has to be a good thing that it is thorough from the EFL and they are just not waving anybody through,” McKenna told the news station FLW.

“We saw it with Chansiri; he somehow passed a Fit and Proper test, and we saw how it turned out.

“So, if these inspections will take some time and they want to investigate James Bord and his consortium, that is ultimately a good thing.

“Yes, this could result in his being rejected, and we’d have to start over – which isn’t ideal – but it’s better than someone being rushed through and turning out to be a disaster.

“So, with the takeover situation, I suppose the original enthusiasm and jubilation of Chansiri’s departure seems like a distant memory now. I believe the process has taken longer than intended.

“With the current trend, I’m expecting for more positive news sooner rather than later.

“However, if the process is done correctly, it may take a little longer.

“I truly believe that as a fan base, we deserve good news and that it will arrive sooner rather than later, given how horrible this season has been.

“We just want new and better owners in now, so that we can start planning for the future and for better things next season.”

EFL patience is a hard sell for Sheffield Wednesday fans.

The announcement comes against a backdrop of profound suspicion of the EFL among Owls fans. This is a fanbase that believes it has been repeatedly failed by the same regulatory systems who are now requesting patience.

The EFL waived Dejphon Chansiri’s ownership tests with disastrous repercussions, hesitated to act significantly as the club slipped into insolvency, and now enforces transfer embargo rules, leaving the Owls with a dangerously depleted senior side.

Those constraints are not abstract governance mechanisms; they are felt weekly on the pitch, where injuries have stretched Wednesday beyond its design, in the reliance on academy players being called up before they are physically or tactically ready, and in the growing welfare concerns about players being pushed through pain simply to fulfill fixtures.

In that scenario, being reminded – again – that the procedure will take time is awkward.

However, the paradox remains unavoidable. The same supporters who question the EFL’s ability are acutely aware of what occurs when ownership checks are insufficient.

Wednesday arrived with speed and without scrutiny. The league’s caution regarding James Bord’s bid may feel like another weight put on a team currently in crisis, but a hurried acceptance that sets up future calamity would be even worse.

This is the bind in which Wednesday now finds itself: punished for previous errors, confined by present safeguards, and unclear about the future.

The issue is not that regulations exist, but that they are inconsistently applied: liberal when they should have been harsh, and unforgiving after the damage has already been done.

The next few weeks will put the EFL’s resolve to the test, as will the patience of an Owls support that has already faced more uncertainty than most.