I've noticed there is still a lot of online questioning of Henrik Pedersen.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion - and friendly debate is one of the reasons we all love football - but I want to give an alternative view.
Firstly, the new owners have made their decision. They have chosen to give Henrik an opportunity. Whether people agree with that decision or not, surely the best thing for Sheffield Wednesday now is for supporters to get behind him and give him the best possible chance of succeeding. If he succeeds, the football club succeeds.
From my own experience of spending more than six months at the club and being there every day, this is what I personally saw and heard:-
• A coaching team that was fully behind him.
• Players who, despite operating in some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable, continued to play for him every week.
• A squad that never stopped competing, even with everything that was going on behind the scenes. In fact, I'm still amazed we didn't suffer some real hammerings given the challenges the group was facing.
I also saw a manager with relentless positivity.
Straight after defeats he was already looking forward and motivating players.
Every day on the training ground he attacked the job with energy and enthusiasm. Whether you agree with his methods or not, nobody could question his commitment.
What I heard was equally interesting.
Opposition coaches, scouts and football directors would regularly tell us what a remarkable job he was doing under the circumstances. Many simply couldn't believe how competitive he had managed to keep the team given the challenges he was facing.
Perhaps most importantly, some of the biggest clubs in the country clearly rate him……
Manchester City, Manchester United, Crystal Palace and Chelsea were all proactive in wanting to place or keep young players at Sheffield Wednesday. They weren't doing that as a favour to us. They were doing it because they believed their players would develop under Henrik and that he would improve the value of their assets.
These are clubs with some of the best recruitment and player development departments in world football. They must have seen something they liked.
Does any of this guarantee success? Of course not, it doesn’t even always work out for Jose Mourinho.
Football is unpredictable and nobody knows what the future holds.
But there is a big difference between questioning whether somebody will succeed and declaring that they cannot.
The owners have seen enough to give him a chance.
The people working with him every day have seen enough to support him.
Some of the biggest clubs in England have seen enough to trust him with their young talent.
That doesn't mean they are right.
But it does mean there may be more to Henrik Pedersen than some are prepared to acknowledge.
Now that the decision has been made, I hope supporters give him a fair chance.
Because every now and then in football, the good guy does win.
Wouldn't it be brilliant if that happened here?
Up The Owls! 🦉
@EFL with the -15 in League 1, you’ve now taken 39 points off us due to the mismanagement of an owner who you passed ‘as fit and proper.’ While he lives his luxury life in Thailand, we’re left with a club that’s been ruined. Punishing fans for the mistakes of millionaires #swfc
@swfc@MrVegas_Casino Not sure what people expected!! But when a team with the quality of that lot score after 10 mins then again just after HT it’s game over against a squad at our level
You often see new owners take over a football club and make a managerial change. Really hope Henrik Pedersen is given a proper chance to show what he can do at #SWFC after a shambolic summer. Has conducted himself with class and dignity throughout this turbulent period. 🦉⚽️
Following the uplifting cup win by our young team against Bolton, we asked members whether they wanted the boycott on spending money at SWFC to be extended to attending the Leeds game.
82% of votes were in favour. In line with our members’ wishes, we are urging all Sheffield Wednesday Supporters Trust members not to attend this match in person and instead watch it on TV.
The Trust has set up this GoFundMe for any fans who would have ordinarily attended the game to donate the ticket money to Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity instead:
https://t.co/WXxHQyoM6N
#NotAPoundInsideTheGround
We recognise this is a big step to extend the boycott to match tickets, but the situation at the club continues to deteriorate. July’s salary payments were missed, our squad has been decimated, and there is still no visible progress towards a sale of the club.
We also acknowledge that some Wednesday fans will still choose to attend the game, and we respect their decision to do so.
Up the Owls
#swfc