John Textor or Mike Ashley for Sheffield Wednesday takeover? AI decides | OneFootball

Both figures have been heavily linked with a takeover at Hillsborough

Sheffield Wednesday's future remains in the hands of administrators, Begbies Traynor, at present, with Paul Stanley, Julian Pitts and Kris Wigfield assessing who to give control of the club to in the coming weeks.

The aforementioned trio were appointed at Hillsborough on October 24th, when controversial former owner, Dejphon Chansiri, placed the Owls into administration amid fears of a winding-up petition, largely due to the Thai businessman's inability to pay off a £1m tax bill owed to His Majesty's Revenue and Customs.

Even beforehand, several high-profile names had been linked with a potential takeover in S6, including the duo of John Textor and Mike Ashley, who haven't exactly been far away from controversy themselves when it comes to football ownership.

Textor is now an extremely unpopular figure in the eyes of Crystal Palace and Lyon supporters, with the American selling his shares at Selhurst Park to New York Jets chairman, Woody Johnson, after his multi-club involvement saw last season's FA Cup winners demoted to the UEFA Europa Conference League.

Meanwhile, Ashley made himself unpopular with those at Newcastle United through a series of events which followed his £134m takeover in 2007, before selling up to the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund 14 years later.

It has been reported that 11 parties are currently interested in buying the club, including the owner of Frasers Group - a list which will be thinned down ahead of December 5th, by which the administrators hope to have granted exclusivity to their preferred bidder.

This comes after at least £50m in proof of funds had to be showcased, in order to ensure the stabilisation of the Championship side for the years to come.

However, with the aforementioned Textor and Ashley never too far away from headlines, FLW asked ChatGPT who would make the better owner out of the two.

AI believes John Textor would be a stronger Sheffield Wednesday chairman than Mike Ashley

Despite his recent controversy in South London and in France, Textor is seen as the better fit for Wednesday at this moment in time by AI.

Rather obviously, and like Ashley, the main reason behind this is that the American has made his interest in taking control public, and that he has deep experience of being involved in successful ownership consortiums.

The prime example of this is Botafogo, who were nominated as one of five clubs in the Ballon D'or 'Men's Club of the Year' after the Brazilian giants featured at the summer FIFA Club World Cup.

AI also believes the 60-year-old would be willing to get things moving straight away and invest in a spending spree, with Wednesday recently hamstrung on this department, although they were recently granted permission by the EFL to sign two free agents, the first of whom was recently confirmed as ex-Leeds United captain, Liam Cooper.

In contrast, AI believes Ashley would have to improve his track record when it comes to building relationships with supporters, having never had the greatest of those in the North East, before being viewed as unpopular by Coventry City supporters in 2022 through an attempted eviction notice at the CBS Arena.

However, AI has also noted flaws in Textor's potential ownership, with the elephant in the room being his multi-club controversy, as well as the fact he would have to buy into yet another local culture, having no pre-established connection to Sheffield as a place.

Sheffield Wednesday supporters will hope any new owner provides long-term stability

At this point, Wednesday supporters may not be too fussed when it comes to the identity of their next chairman, as long as long-term stability and a successful vision arrives at Hillsborough after years of uncertainty.

However, it must be said that some are bound to be skeptical of Ashley and/or Textor for their previous actions, with former Charlton Athletic and Sunderland CEO, Charlie Methven, receiving similar verdicts before his name was ruled out.

In recent weeks, though, the attraction which Wednesday hold has been laid bare. Hillsborough has been packed out after Chansiri's exit, hundreds and thousands of pounds have been raised through merchandise and ticket sales, as well as an anonymous supporter providing the club with a £1m, interest-free loan at the start of the week.