Sheffield Wednesday players have no option but to take drastic action as EFL apathy comes to light

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Things keep going from bad to worse for Sheffield Wednesday as the new season approaches and players are poised to do something absolutely monumental for the opening day fixture.

Dejphon Chansiri has caused absolute chaos for the Owls this summer. The Sheffield Wednesday chairman has failed to pay player and staff wages consistently over the last few months, and the same is expected to happen again for July.

This latest failure is thought to have pushed players towards a decision to go on strike, with a refusal to train and potentially even play very much a possibility now.

We’ve looked previously at how the EFL might work with new owners to repair the damage done by Chansiri, but it now sounds like Wednesday cannot rely on anyone to help them out of this mess any time soon.

• READ MORE: Dejphon Chansiri slammed for ‘inexcusable’ decision as Sheffield Wednesday’s suffering continues

Sheffield Wednesday Supporters’ Trust reveals EFL ignorance

In a recent Q&A hosted by the Sheffield Wednesday Supporters’ Trust, board member James Silverwood shared details of his meeting with the EFL in regards to the ongoing chaos at the club.

Silverwood said: “Technically I’m not meant to tell you anything but frankly, the EFL were so abysmal I don’t care… Their understanding of what’s going on at Sheffield Wednesday was shambolic. They don’t have the first idea of how bad it is.

“Subsequently, the reason you haven’t seen any minutes from the meeting is that the EFL have tried to take things out. Things that were said. We’ve pushed back on that and said we deserve that information to be in there.

“Briefly, we were told less than a week ago, that ‘yes, the financial situation is bad at Sheffield Wednesday but it’s not as bad as it was.’ We were also told that even if the North Stand is closed, the EFL won’t take action because we still have three other stands.”

As for the club changing hands, we know Chansiri is still looking for £100m to sell up. That’s causing issues, but fans have been told to simply wait for something to happen and that the EFL cannot intervene.

Silverwood added: “With the ownership, they do know how Chansiri has been funding the club but they won’t tell us. And for the sales process, we were told that is the best route out of this situation.

“But Chansiri has said he is willing to sell and we just need to wait for that process now. We responded by saying that everything we know about the sales process is that it’s less than credible. They had no idea about that.”

The most shocking part of the conversation, however, pertains to Sheffield Wednesday’s squad and how the EFL essentially does not appear to have any concerns over the alarming rate at which players are leaving the club.

Silverwood concluded: “I think you deserve to know… they are hiding behind rules… they’re not taking the necessary action. I was so disgusted by that meeting, they were out of depth with their knowledge of the meeting. I don’t feel obliged to meet the confidentiality requirements of that meeting.

“They are not going to turn up and save us… The final illustration of that is we questioned them about competitiveness of the squad [that we have left]. And they basically said, ‘All we care about is that Sheffield Wednesday fulfill their fixtures.'”

• READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Sheffield Wednesday interim manager Henrik Pedersen

Player protest may be the only way to make the EFL pay attention to Sheffield Wednesday

Sheffield Wednesday’s first Championship fixture is an away day at Leicester City on Sunday 17th August, but as things stand, it would seem the remaining players in the Owls squad have no choice but to make a big statement.

These threats of going on strike now have to be seen through. There has been a shocking lack of coverage of Sheffield Wednesday’s problems this summer in the mainstream media in spite of an historic football club being torn apart before our very eyes.

Now, it would seem the EFL has very little interest in remedying the issues either. Frankly, there would be no better way of hopefully enacting some change than for the players to walk out at the King Power Stadium on live television and simply refuse to play the game.

If the EFL only cares about Sheffield Wednesday fulfilling fixtures, it would seem obvious that this is the last remaining option any of the players have if they are to show Chansiri, the Football League, and the media that they are not going to stand for this any longer.

Fans are ready to boycott this season, now the players must too.