Following Dejphon Chansiri’s departure from Sheffield Wednesday, fans will be looking for more stable times under new ownership.
Chansiri’s controversial decade-long reign at Wednesday came to an abrupt end in October, when he placed the club and the company through which he owned the stadium under administration following months of financial and off-field strife.
The Owls were hit with a 12-point deduction after entering administration, ensuring they will be relegated to League One this season, but Chansiri’s departure has been met with celebration from fans, as well as optimism that better days may be ahead for the club, with a takeover deal potentially set to be completed before the end of the year.
Of course, the disastrous final few months of Chansiri’s tenure will be his lasting legacy at Hillsborough, but his entire reign was littered with contentious moments, financial mismanagement, and poor football decisions that had many fans calling for him to sell long before the recent summer of chaos.
Chansiri did not give many interviews during his time as Wednesday’s owner, but when he did, he did not mince words, and current Chesterfield manager Paul Cook was one of those who drew the Thai businessman’s ire.
Dejphon Chansiri’s heated battle of words with Paul Cook following Sheffield Wednesday snub
Managerial instability was a recurring theme during Chansiri’s tenure at Wednesday, with 10 different permanent managers leading the team under his ownership, but the 2020-21 season was one of the most tumultuous campaigns of his career.
The Owls received a 12-point deduction at the start of the season for breaking spending rules, which was later reduced to six on appeal, and with relegation looming, Chansiri became more trigger-happy than ever, dismissing Garry Monk and Tony Pulis in the first half of the season.
Pulis’ resignation was undoubtedly contentious, with Chansiri holding an astonishing two-hour press conference in which he branded the Welshman as “trouble” and a “mistake,” and the search for his replacement proved to be just as heated.
Many Wednesday fans wanted to see former Wigan Athletic manager Cook, who had been out of employment since leaving the Latics in the summer, follow Pulis, and early reports suggested that he was in the running for the job at Hillsborough.
Cook had overseen Wigan’s relegation to League One the previous season, but had the club not received a 12-point deduction for going into administration, his side would have finished 10 points clear of the drop zone, and some thought his experience navigating survival battles, as well as working in difficult off-field circumstances, made him the ideal candidate for the Owls.
However, after Cook appeared on a national radio station on Wednesday and appeared to express concerns about the level of control managers were given, Chansiri responded in a furious rant, questioning the 58-year-old’s professionalism and implying that he would not be able to trust him if he hired him.
“I have never talked with Paul Cook,” Chansiri told Yorkshire Live.
“I believe he is a good coach.
“My colleagues informed me that Paul Cook had been interviewed and awarded a short-term contract. This is not true.
“I believe the way he has handled things is unprofessional.
“How can I trust and believe someone who is unprofessional, and then call them for an interview? If you want me to do an interview, you can do so properly, but that does not mean you should say it outside.
“Paul Cook has never spoken with me, so how does he know I don’t allow managers to manage?
“You may ask all of the coaches who have previously worked with me whether it is true that I do not allow managers to manage.
“If anything, I give the coaches too much control.
“If they believe that, they should come out and speak to me face to face. It’s not fair to me that all coaches get more time to speak to the media. They can say whatever they want. I don’t have much time to speak to the media. “It is unprofessional and unfair,” Chansiri said.
Ipswich Town were the true victims in Sheffield Wednesday’s rupture between Paul Cook and Dejphon Chansiri.
After failing to gain the Wednesday post, Cook was seen as one of the most appealing managers on the market, and just two months after his Hillsborough rejection, he took over as manager of Ipswich Town, with many hailing his selection as a major coup for the then-League One club.
Cook was unable to lead the Tractor Boys into the play-offs in the 2020-21 season, finishing ninth in the table, but with the club under new ownership, he received strong support in the summer transfer window, with a staggering 19 new signings arriving, many of whom dropped down from the Championship to make the move to Portman Road.
After the influx of new additions, Ipswich were widely expected to storm to the League One title, but they had a nightmare start to the season, failing to win any of their first six games, and while their form improved slightly after that, their promotion push never really got going under Cook.
It was thus no surprise that the Tractor Boys parted ways with Cook in early December after just over nine months in command, with the Suffolk club sitting 11th in the standings at the time of his departure.
While Cook undoubtedly underachieved at Ipswich, he did sign many of the players who would go on to help the club win back-to-back promotions under his successor Kieran McKenna, including Christian Walton, Vaclav Hladky, Cameron Burgess, George Edmundson, Sam Morsy, Wes Burns, and Conor Chaplin, so his reign was not a complete disaster, despite the disappointing results on the pitch.
It would also be incorrect to suggest that Wednesday benefited from not hiring Cook because they were still relegated from the Championship under Pulis’ eventual replacement, Darren Moore, but based on his time with the Tractor Boys, he would have been the wrong pick for the Owls.
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