Sheffield Wednesday told to be 'wary' amid big James Bord takeover news | OneFootball

FLW’s Owls fan pundit shares his take on the latest takeover news

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

For Sheffield Wednesday supporters, the announcement of a preferred bidder has landed with a familiar mix of relief and restraint.

After months of administration, points deductions and financial firefighting, any forward motion feels significant - but faith is no longer given freely at Hillsborough.

James Bord’s emergence as the Wednesday administrators’ chosen bidder, revealed by BBC Sport, has not sparked jubilation so much as interrogation.

His background in AI-driven football operations, minority club ownership and consultancy work elsewhere in the game places him firmly outside the traditional owner mould.

For a fanbase scarred by opaque leadership under Dejphon Chansiri, that difference invites both curiosity and concern.

There is also the context of comparison. Names such as Mike Ashley and John Textor have hovered around the process, bringing with them reputations that divide opinion but at least offer familiarity.

Against that backdrop, Bord feels like the unknown quantity - neither the feared worst nor the long-dreamed-of saviour, but something harder to categorise.

Crucially, though, this is not a theoretical debate. Wednesday are operating against the clock.

January’s transfer window, ongoing cash-flow pressures and the looming risk of further EFL sanctions mean that ownership decisions now carry sporting consequences.

In that environment, Owls supporters are forced to weigh ideals against urgency.

It is within this atmosphere - weary, but still engaged - that reaction to Bord’s preferred bidder status has taken shape.

Football League World spoke to in-house Owls fan pundit Patrick McKenna for his feelings on Bord’s preferred bidder status - and if he’d have preferred another owner given the wealth of names linked to a Wednesday takeover.

“In regards to James Bord, I know previously I was quite negative about him,” McKenna told FLW.

“I suppose with his involvement with Sheffield United's poor summer recruitment, and at first glance, his wealth doesn't seem that great. Probably jumped to conclusions about him, which possibly are a bit premature.

“Let's be honest, if he is the preferred bidder then, if he takes over the club with his consortium, then it's a clean slate for me and he deserves a chance to show us what his plans are and what he can do.

“Of course, we have to be wary of any new owner in the sense that we can't get carried away and as a fan base, we’ll always have to hold him to account.

“If we take the positive view on this, throughout, James Bord and the consortium have kept their cards close to their chest. We still don't know a great deal about them and they were never willing, it seems, to start [next season] on minus 15, which other prospective buyers were. I don't think we can underestimate how important it is to not be starting on minus 15.

"What he's done at Sheffield United isn't relevant, to be honest, and we have to give him a fair chance as an owner. Let's see what his plans are for the club.

"I think we have to be positive as a fan base. During the summer, there's talk, rumours going about the likes of the Walton and the Fertitta family taking over and there was maybe an expectation that we were going to get billionaire owners like Birmingham. So yeah, that probably didn't help.

"With regards to Mike Ashley and John Textor, it's definitely a good thing that none of them are taking over because I don't think they would have been good for Sheffield Wednesday. I get the idea that if they took over, it would only be good for them.

"But I'm going to get on board with the new owner and just see what he can do."

What comes next matters more than who won the race to preferred bidder status.

Wednesday’s problems are structural, not cosmetic, and no takeover - however competent - can undo a decade of instability overnight.

Administration has stripped the Owls down to their bare essentials: existence first, ambition later.

The immediate priorities are unglamorous but nonetheless vital. Completing the takeover before the end of January would stabilise cash flow, protect academy assets and give the Owls at least some leverage heading into the summer.

Failure to do so risks compounding damage already done - through forced sales and another season shaped by crisis management rather than planning.

Beyond speed, transparency will define the relationship between new ownership and supporters.

Wednesday fans are no longer satisfied by assurances alone. Dejphon Chansiri’s ownership has motivated Wednesdayites to understand who holds influence, how decisions will be made and what safeguards exist against the kind of isolation and dysfunction that characterised the previous regime. Governance, not just funding, is now central to trust.

There is also a broader philosophical question about direction. Data-led recruitment and multi-club affiliations are not inherently flawed, but they are tools, and not identities. Any model imported from elsewhere must be adapted to a fanbase accordingly.

The footballing outlook remains bleak in the short term. Relegation feels inevitable, and recovery will likely be slow. But there is a meaningful difference between rebuilding from League One with stability and doing so under the shadow of further sanctions and debt.

This moment will be judged by whether the club exits administration cleanly, whether sanctions are truly behind them, and whether Sheffield Wednesday can finally move from firefighting to functioning.