The last piece I wrote for the site was an open letter to the Chairman in early January. In that letter I raised 4 key points regarding:

• The appointment of a Head Coach
• The Role of the CEO
• A Sporting Director/Director of Football/Head of Football Operations
• Strategy and Finances

It is important to say that I received a lot of feedback as a result of that letter and I would say that 90% of it was supportive and positive, so thank you for that to those that responded. It confirmed that what I was thinking and feeling was shared by others.

On behalf of DC the Club Secretary wrote to acknowledge receipt of my letter and to confirm that DC had read it, it was suggested that I attend the Fans Forum on 11th January, although I did not receive a formal response to the letter from DC. The letter covered 4 areas.

DC appointed Jos Luhukay fairly quickly and JL appears to have brought some discipline, shape,  and willingness to give youth a chance, and also  optimism to the playing side of the club. A positive development. DC did not respond to the specific questions I raised regarding Katrien Meire’s objectives and style. However I was impressed by her at the Forum and we will see and judge her on actions. In the Fans Forum DC made it clear that he does not favour the Director of Football model but trusts the Head Coach more than a D of F regarding recruitment, I am content to allow the Manager, as JL was described, to get on with that. In respect of strategy and finances DC organised the Fans Forum which took place on 11th January. As a consequence of that meeting I have written to DC on those matters specifically addressing four key points. The text of that letter is set out below:

Dear Mr Chansiri,

Thank you for organising the recent Fans Forum on the subject of ticket prices, finances and FFP. I think this is a really important conversation as the outcome of it can have significant implications for the club and fans. In order to try to engage as many fans as possible in this conversation I hope that the club will make available a structured questionnaire on the issues – could it be on the website but accessible only to those with log-in details already registered with the club? In any case I have taken the opportunity to write to you with my personal views on these matters and I hope that others do so as well.

From the Fans Forum it was possible to conclude a few things. Your positivity and energy for, and commitment to, the club is clear for all to see. This has led you to make significant financial contributions to the club, in turn this has enabled the club to purchase players and build up a significant player wage bill. Fans have also made their contribution to this via ticket prices etc. It is probably true to say that the investment made by the fans and yourself has not resulted in the outcome you sought. You indicated that the club was probably ok with FFP rules this season but that next season might be a challenge in that respect. This has led to some thinking about the strategy going forward, I have four points to make on this as follows:

1. Your drive to get to the Premier League is clear and very strong. We all want success for the club, but I think we need to achieve that in a sustainable way. It is not so very long ago that our club was on the verge of extinction until it was rescued by your predecessor Milan Mandaric – those of us who have supported the club for a very long time nearly saw it disappear due to its financial difficulties. I and many others live with that history and believe that it is important that we don’t repeat the errors of the past.

2.  FFP rules were established because far too many clubs got into financial difficulties and as a result HMRC decided enough was enough – our club was a victim of HMRC action. The FL had to demonstrate to HMRC and others that football was taking the issues of financial stability seriously. It is clearly possible to break the FFP rules and if the club is promoted to the Premier League the FL will find it harder to take action, however if promotion is not achieved FL has demonstrated that it can and will take action, Nottingham Forest being a recent example of  club placed under transfer embargo due to FFP breaches. I do not want to see our club run that risk.

3. Sheffield does not have a high wage economy, our club is predominantly supported by working class fans, many of whom don’t have unlimited resources to spend on football. Our club was established 150 years ago by local people and it is a key part of the life of the city and I want it to be accessible to all and for fans not be excluded due to financial issues. I accept that fans have to, and are happy to, make a financial contribution to the club. But, in my view, this has to be linked to the ability to pay and to maintain inclusivity. I accept that there are some fans who will not balk at higher season ticket or match day ticket prices but in general terms I believe we have reached the limit of what it is fair to charge fans for their football. I would also make the point that it is disappointing to have seen so many local businesses that are not now sponsoring the club, advertising at the ground or taking up executive boxes. As a focal point for the city I think the club should be actively engaged with local businesses. All in all sometimes I think there is greater value in the interaction between  fans, businesses and the club than just money.

4. A consequence of 1, 2 and 3 above might be that the club needs to take a different approach to achieving success on the field and ultimately promotion to the PL. That might mean selling players as well as recruiting them. It also might mean focusing on recruiting younger players who may be don’t command the same wage levels as some of our more recent signings. And it might mean we need to get a better percentage of our recruitment right than we have recently, accepting that we won’t get it right all of the time. All of this could mean that we have to move forward at a slower pace than that which you might have originally envisaged and what your investment was geared towards.

I hope that the above is seen as a helpful contribution to the conversation that needs to take place, I hope other fans engage in that conversation. We all want to do the right thing for our club.

The above is a personal view, other Wednesdayites will support that view and I am sure that others will take a different approach. What is clear is that Mr Chansiri is now weighing up the potential options on how the club moves forward. Wednesdayites need to be actively engaged in this process and making their voices heard. Whatever your views are please do contact the Mr Chansiri to make them known. If you share my views I am happy for you to use any of what you have read here to support and amplify points you wish to make, if you don’t share my views I am sure you will criticise or distance yourself from them. What is important is Mr Chansiri hears our views before he makes decisions that can have major impacts on the club.