Sheffield Wednesday: Planes, protests and a phoenix club – fans of Championship Owls call for Chansiri exit

As Sheffield Wednesday fans sang outside Leicester City’s King Power Stadium, a plane circled overhead.

Behind it was a banner with the message “Dejphon Chansiri Out”.

Inside, another banner had already been laid across empty seats, urging the owner to sell.

Wednesday supporters have united against a figure they now widely consider a common enemy, a decade after he arrived with grand plans of a Premier League return. Their goal is to force Chansiri to find a buyer and to leave Hillsborough.

On this first weekend of the Championship season, the Wednesday faithful travelled to Leicester to back their team, but also to make their voices heard.

While around 2,000 fans waited outside, a flag with Chansiri mocked up to look like Del Boy from Only Fools and Horses was on show.

Its message was to the point: “Sell the club you plonker!”

This was a good-natured protest. Former loanee Shea Charles was mobbed when he arrived – his brother Pierce is the Wednesday goalkeeper.

But the gathering of Wednesday supporters was one that underlined the fear that lurks among them and around the club. They worry that Chansiri’s tenure is ruining Sheffield Wednesday. Some are concerned the club could soon cease to exist.

There have been late payments to HMRC, delayed salaries for players and staff members, and transfer embargos. Fans have spoken of how “mentally exhausting” it has become to support the club – one, aged 84, described this period in Wednesday’s history recently as “the worst in my life”.

At Leicester, the travelling fans waited until the fifth minute to take their seats – the sight of an empty away end designed to signify the depth of feeling.

Once inside, especially when Wednesday took the lead in what became a spirited 2-1 Championship defeat, only Owls fans were to be heard as they called for Chansiri to leave.

For those not aware of the ownership of the two clubs, the contrast could not be greater.

As Wednesday fans protested, about 50 yards away two Leicester fans had earlier brought flowers to pay tribute at the statue of former Foxes owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, who died in a helicopter crash in 2018.

Two Thai owners treated very differently, with Leicester’s Khun Vichai loved and revered for not only bringing the Premier League title to the club but for his work in the community. In 2016 he pledged £2m to help build a new children’s hospital.

Compare that to the recently silent Chansiri, who so far this summer has refused to engage with supporters, with the 57-year-old now despised by many.

“It’s killing the club. The only positive which has come out of it is a lot of supporters have come together. They just want rid of him,” said Ian Bennett, chairman of Sheffield Wednesday Supporters’ Trust.

“Sheffield is known as the biggest village in world; everybody knows each other. The old-fashioned mentality still appears and it affects everybody, whether you’re a football fan or not.”