Source: FOOTYMAD
Mandaric makes his mark as Owls enter a new era
Encouraging signs for Wednesday on a landmark day for the club Tuesday 14th December 2010 may well be looked back on in years to come as one of the most important days in the recent history of Sheffield Wednesday Football Club. After months of potentially damaging court cases, years of embarrassing failed takeover attempts and a decade of financial folly the Owls were officially acquired by Milan Mandaric and with it the huge debt problems that have hamstrung the club for so long were seemingly put behind them. It was certainly a bust day for the incoming Chairman and the new look board. Having received the backing of the shareholders, with almost 100% voting in favour of the takeover, at the EGM at Hillsborough in the morning Mandaric and directors Howard Wilkinson and Nick Parker were then joined by manager Alan Irvine for a press conference and all four were also in attendance at a fans forum in the evening. Throughout the day what was apparent from club officials, shareholders and fans in general was a sense of positivity and new found optimism to take forward. Now more than ever there seems to be a real sense from all involved that the club can go forward and those involved can write an exciting chapter in the story of SWFC. At the press conference Mandaric spoke of how the fans passion and desire to turn things around for the club had convinced him to get involved at Hillsborough. He stated that this is a massive club that presents a massive challenge and that is something that he thrives on; he is ready to roll his sleeves up and will need the support of everyone in and around the club to back up his enthusiasm, commitment and financial support to make this a success. Mandaric claimed that SWFC have the potential to be one of the top ten teams in the country and that has to be the aim. He said he would not leave until the club was on solid ground and reiterated this point at the fans forum, noting that he would only want to leave on good terms and he wants to be able to hold his head up high whenever he visits Sheffield in the future. The former Portsmouth and Leicester owner commented that this may well be his last club and he wants to stick around to see it through. A clearly relieved Howard Wilkinson stated that his role is to assist Milan Mandaric and Alan Irvine in order to make the transition as smooth as possible and ensure that the team is ready to hit the ground running as we enter the second half of the season. The former Owls manager confessed that the past 8 months have probably been the hardest period during his long career in football describing that his job at times was akin to trying to keeping 50 plates in the air at the same time while also dragging a bag of snakes behind him! Manager Alan Irvine noted that the completion of the deal was great news for the club and todays’ events bring to an end a very difficult period for Sheffield Wednesday. During the press conference Mr Mandaric stated that the manager will get the proper support that he needs and later in the evening at the fans forum, when questioned on the subject of the January transfer window, Irvine suggested that the club may well be looking to make some acquisitions. The Scot commented that the squad was short in certain areas and whilst he didn’t specify which these were, he went on to say that whilst the club won’t bring players in for the sake of it they will be looking at players of the right quality who can make an impact. Irvine stated that impact players can be hard to come by as clubs are seldom willing to part with players that can positively influence a game but they will be trying, within their means, to bring in players that can make a difference to the team and to the supporters. In recent times the supporters of Sheffield Wednesday FC have experienced many dark days and almost as many false dawns but this time around there is a genuine sense of optimism that the worst is now well and truly behind them and the club is now making a concerted effort and is putting the right foundations in place to finally become upwardly mobile again.
