‘The fault of one man’ – Mel Sterland believes Sheffield Wednesday finally have reason to dream again after years of struggle
There have been plenty of difficult seasons in Sheffield Wednesday’s long and proud history, but few have left supporters feeling as deflated as last term – one that ended with relegation to League One.
For Owls legend Mel Sterland, the disappointment wasn’t simply about dropping out of the Championship.
It was about watching one of English football’s great clubs dragged down by years of off-field turmoil.
“Horrendous, absolutely horrendous”
“Oh, it was horrendous, absolutely horrendous,” Sterland tells FourFourTwo on behalf of Lucky Rebel Sportsbook. “I felt sorry for the fans, because they were treated like dirt. It was all down to a chairman who knew nothing about football.
Sterland is referring to former owner Dejphon Chansiri, who owned the side between 2015 and May 2026. When the Thai businessman arrived at Hillsborough, there was genuine optimism. Significant investment took Wednesday to the Championship play-off final in his first full season before another top-six finish followed a year later. But what came next was a slow, painful decline.
Managerial upheaval became commonplace, recruitment lost direction and financial problems steadily mounted. The controversial sale of Hillsborough to a company owned by Chansiri in an attempt to comply with the EFL’s Profitability and Sustainability rules ultimately resulted in points deductions, while transfer embargoes and growing supporter unrest became recurring themes.
More recently, delayed wage payments, mounting debts and questions over the club’s financial stability only deepened the worry across the terraces. As 18 points were docked by the EFL last term, fans were left with little choice but to stay away in protest.
“But the fans stuck by the team, even when they boycotted the games,” says Sterland. “Obviously they were disappointed, but they showed their support for the players in their own ways.
“I was proud of the supporters because they made their feelings known. They said, ‘Hold on, we’ve had enough of this – we’ve had enough.’
“Not having fans there can be tough for the players as well, for the team spirit and everything, and it was just frustrating for the fans not to be able to show their support like that. The whole situation was absolutely disgusting.
“We’ve been very disappointed for so long. Not through the players, though, I must admit. It was the fault of one man.”
Now, though, there is finally a sense that the dark clouds are beginning to clear. With new ownership in the form of US consortium Arise Capital Partners providing fresh direction behind the scenes, optimism has returned to Hillsborough for the first time in years. After so much uncertainty, Wednesday can finally focus on football again.
“I can’t wait for the season to start,” says Sterland. “It’s exciting. We’ve got new people behind the scenes now. We’ve got some smashing players in. But it’s not going to happen overnight, even with the good players we have.
“We’ve got Barry Bannan back, we’ve got Liam Cooper, who’s been about a bit. I know him from Leeds United. We’ve got experience there. Now we’ve got to get it together and get a roll going and start winning football games.”
Perhaps the biggest sign that belief has returned is in the stands. With around 24,000 season tickets already snapped up, Wednesday fans have once again demonstrated the remarkable loyalty that has carried the club through years of frustration.
“As a fan, I’m looking forward to this season,” he says. “It’s going to be really good, exciting. There are new players coming in and we’ve already seen 24,000 season tickets being sold.”
