Three reasons Mike Ashley at Sheffield Wednesday would work – and two concerns ...Middle East

Mike Ashley is back among the contenders to buy Sheffield Wednesday after the collapse of their takeover.

at Hillsborough after the collapse of the Sheffield Wednesday collapse.

But what could you expect from the former Newcastle United owner if he got the keys?

EFL history

First the good news: Ashley had a perfect record in the EFL. Two campaigns, two titles. In 2019, when Newcastle were relegated, he sanctioned a sizeable spend and Rafa Benitez’s Magpies were able to blow away the opposition.

The reason? Insiders said at the time Ashley was never going to allow Newcastle to “rot” in the second tier. It just didn’t make sense. Newcastle needed the best players in the Championship and the message from the top was “get on with it, then”.

You could expect similar in SW1. With the challenges of building a squad from scratch, there would be a decent transfer budget, good players would come in. An immediate promotion – even with a possible 15 point deduction – would be expected.

But Ashley kept a transfer ledger at St James’ Park. A big spend in 2019 was followed by the purse strings tightening the year after. In January, when Benitez wanted more spending to get Newcastle over the line, Ashley asked why.

Hopes that he’d invest some of his personal fortune to bankroll them back into becoming a Premier League need a dose of realism. He got out of Newcastle partly because he wouldn’t – and, he says, couldn’t – compete with the deep pockets of those bankrolling the big clubs.

Relationships

Ashley was resented on Tyneside for the club’s decline but the picture from people who worked with him day-to-day was different. Watch Andy Woodman talk about him on the Under the Cosh podcast, for example.

Ashley seemed to like managers he could get on with socially. He jousted with Alan Pardew regularly but was fiercely protective of him when fans turned. Steve Bruce managed to convince him to buy Callum Wilson and the signing probably kept Newcastle in the Premier League. And he was loyal to those who were loyal to him.

Henrik Pederson has already proved a master diplomat navigating a season from hell at Sheffield Wednesday. Those skills would probably help him if Ashley did take over.

The numbers

His initial offer for the club showed what underpins Ashley’s philosophy. He’s got a price and won’t pay a penny more. Take it or leave it.

In a football world where investors seem resigned to losing money, that approach jars. But given how low Wednesday have sunk, do they need false promises right now?

It’s not a lottery win but Ashley will bring total financial stability. There will be no missed wage payments, no administration mark 2.

Ambition? To an extent

Did Ashley actually want to win things? When negotiating player bonuses he once put a massive incentive in there to win the FA Cup. But that came after years of neglecting that – and the League Cup – on his watch.

Ashley prized sustainability above everything else.

Has he learned his lesson?

The frustration with Ashley was often that he didn’t learn, or want to learn, from his mistakes.

He did some big things at Newcastle: brought back Kevin Keegan, got Alan Shearer as manager, appointed and then kept Rafa Benitez. They were a whisker away from the Champions League at one point and had a smart recruitment blueprint in France.

But he messed up many more times and was utterly tone deaf. If he has recognised his shortcomings and is prepared to shelve the mistrust of football people and empower knowledgeable executives with an ear to the ground he’s got a chance.

Sheffield Wednesday is a great institution and Ashley can rehabilitate his reputation as a club owner but everyone would need to go into it with their eyes open.

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