Sheffield Wednesday have unable to complete a takeover of the club nearly four months into their administration process, despite James Bord being designated the preferred bidder very quickly on Christmas Eve.

While other clubs are left in administration for lengthier periods of time, such as Derby County, which was in administration for nine months prior to David Clowes’ purchase, and Wigan Athletic were in the same situation before being purchased by a Bahraini consortium.

So far, the process of rescuing the Owls from financial ruin is going well. More checks are clearly required before Bord and his consortium can pass the EFL Owners and Directors Test, but Begbies Traynor has done everything they can to maximise revenue in the event that a takeover does not go ahead, which has included selling some players.

There is still hope that Bord’s takeover will go smoothly in the coming weeks or months, but The Times reports that the Stanmore-born businessman/poker player is being sued by a former partner, Jonathan Cohen, for his investment in Spanish club Cordoba.

Sheffield Wednesday takeover candidate James Bord made a claim after being sued by his business partner.

Bord, who serves on Cordoba’s board, is accused of ‘wilfully deceiving’ Cohen that the club was debt-free at the time of his investment, and he is also accused of ‘hostage’ Cohen’s bitcoin, which is valued around £4 million.

Although not ideal for Sheffield Wednesday fans, FLW’s Owls fan analyst Patrick McKenna remains confident in Bord’s ability to complete the takeover, considering his non-refundable deposit and previous investment in the club.Obviously, hearing that story is not great. Patrick told FLW, “We don’t know the ins and outs at this stage, so we’ll just have to keep an eye on it as it progresses.”Although the process may appear to be lengthy, the appropriate checks must be completed. This consortium’s checks do not take any longer than others.I guess I haven’t really changed my view about James Bord taking over. I believe he has the right to his money because he put it up to administrators.”There’s not much known about him, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. They haven’t been going to the media and giving out many details about their plans.”They clearly intend to take us over because they put down a non-refundable deposit and paid for some work on Hillsborough. I’ve taken a realistic approach because I’m not sure if they’ll be helpful or bad for Wednesday.Unfortunately, we will have to wait for the process to proceed through the correct channels, and if he does take over, we will see what he can accomplish, but if he fails, we will be forced to start over.”

James Bord’s update is not great for Sheffield Wednesday and their fanbase.

According to reports, Bord finds Cohen’s suing effort a ‘very upsetting matter’, but no further remark can be made because it is now an ongoing legal process – and the Wednesday faithful will undoubtedly be concerned about this development.

Bord clearly has money, since he has his fingers in many pies when it comes to football teams, and his most recent attempt to save the Owls has seen him put down non-refundable funds, which is a plus.

However, the EFL has yet to sanction the Londoner or the rest of his consortium, and with the Independent Football Regular set to begin in May, they face a race against time to complete the process.

This current legal action against Bord, however, may cause the EFL to take note, but it is all theoretical – it is an issue to be handled with in the United States, but there could be far more at stake at Hillsborough.