Relegation Looks Inevitable” – Latest Six-Point Hit Leaves Sheffield Wednesday Stranded
Sheffield Wednesday’s season lurched deeper into crisis after the English Football League imposed another points deduction, a sanction that all but seals the club’s relegation from the Championship and underscores one of the bleakest periods in its modern history.
The EFL confirmed a further six-point penalty following the club’s failure to pay wages, staff obligations and HMRC liabilities earlier this year. Combined with the 12-point deduction applied in October after entering administration, Wednesday now sit on -10 points at the foot of the table. The league said the latest sanction was agreed by both sides and ratified by the chair of an independent disciplinary commission.
The fallout extends beyond the points column. Former owner Dejphon Chansiri, whose financial mismanagement accelerated the club’s collapse, has been barred from owning or directing any EFL club for three years. His prohibition reflects the governing body’s position that Wednesday’s breaches were fundamental, systemic and impossible to overlook.
The official statement detailed “multiple breaches of EFL regulations relating to payment obligations,” a dry summary that barely captures the chaos of the past six months at Hillsborough. Insider Sport has approached the club for comment, though silence has often filled the void where clarity should be.
The deduction is the first certainty in a season defined by instability. Before a ball was kicked, former manager Danny Röhl departed by mutual consent in July 2025. Hillsborough’s North Stand was later shuttered under a Prohibition Notice, prompting fears the club wouldn’t even be able to host fixtures safely. In August, the EFL publicly warned that Wednesday’s ability to compete this season depended on either an urgent cash injection or a change of ownership. Supporters responded with protests, including one outside Thailand’s Embassy in London, symbolising their anger toward Chansiri’s final months in charge.
By late October, administration became unavoidable. The 12-point penalty that followed effectively condemned the team to a survival battle before the campaign had properly begun. Over the following weeks, interim payments and makeshift operational decisions kept the club functioning but never truly stabilised it. The latest deduction pushes Wednesday beyond any realistic escape route.
Attention now shifts to ownership. Administrators Begbies Traynor have set stringent financial thresholds for prospective buyers, demanding proof of £50 million in available funds. Around a dozen suitors have accessed the club’s financial data, but only three are believed to be serious candidates.
Mike Ashley, the former Newcastle United owner, has lodged a £20 million opening offer and is viewed as one of the frontrunners. A preferred bidder is expected to be identified by December 5, a timeline that reflects the urgency of securing the club’s future before relegation cements itself as fact.
Among the more extraordinary developments is an exploratory proposal from Sheffield United’s ownership group, COH Sports, which considered a cross-city takeover that would ultimately lead to a merger. Even in Wednesday’s dire circumstances, the notion remains inconceivable to supporters and the wider football community. The steel city rivalry is too historic, too cultural, too embedded in identity for such a solution to carry legitimacy.
For now, Wednesday’s fate appears sealed. The competitive implications are grim, but the institutional consequences are even starker. Relegation looks inevitable, but without new ownership and a coherent plan, the drop may only be the beginning of a much longer descent.
What happens over the next week may determine whether Sheffield Wednesday stabilise or continue unraveling. The point deductions are severe, but the greater danger lies in the structural void that allowed them to happen.