Sheffield Wednesday can get back to the Premier League, says former Owl

Sheffield Wednesday icon Chris Waddle believes the Owls will return to the Premier League, and does not expect them to spend long in the third tier.

The former winger, who played in the top flight for Wednesday and in two World Cups for England, feels everything is going in the right direction for the blue half of the city now.

He told The Star: “Obviously I’m delighted that Chansiri’s gone, like all Owls.

“Everyone’s delighted, there’s a new start to the club. Yes, they’ve been relegated, which is sad, but everything looks like it’s going in the right direction and they can bounce back very quickly.

“Sheffield Wednesday is too big a club not to be around the top two divisions, so they will come back, if it takes a year, two, or even three.

“They will be back to the Premier League one day, and hopefully these owners are the right owners, not like the previous.”

Arise Capital Partners LLC, a US consortium governed by new Owls chairman David Storch, completed a takeover of Sheffield Wednesday on Friday and were formally unveiled in front of more than 30,000 Wednesdayites at Hillsborough on Saturday ahead of the Owls’ 2-1 win over West Bromwich Albion.

Storch, stood in the centre circle alongside fellow Arise members Michael Storch and Tom Costin, plus the Owls’ new CEO, David Bruce, and made a speech that lasted around eight minutes. He brought it to a close by revealing that Wednesday will start life in League One next season with a clean slate after having an anticipated 15-point deduction quashed.

Storch vowed to “return the club to the fans” following years of mismanagement and chaos under former owner Dejphon Chansiri.