Sheffield Wednesday: Chris Waddle backed for fresh EFL rant - 'it's embarrassing' | OneFootball

FLW's Sheffield Wednesday expert Patrick McKenna believes Owls legend Chris Waddle is bang on the money with his comments on the EFL.

Sheffield Wednesday legend Chris Waddle slammed the EFL in a recent interview with the Yorkshire Post, as his former club face a 15-point deduction next season.

The Owls were docked 18 points at the start of this season, thanks to the financial turmoil caused by former owner Dejphon Chansiri.

Following confirmation of their relegation to League One back in late February, Wednesday are now set to face even more misery next season, with a 15-point deduction now proposed by the EFL's insolvency policy, should their prospective takeover by Arise Capital Partners falter.

Speaking to the Yorkshire Post, Waddle slammed the EFL for further punishing the club and its fans for Chansiri's indiscretions, and also criticized the lack of consistency in punishments, citing Chelsea's exploits as an example.

He said: "It's shocking. We know the rules, but to take another 15 off them is absolutely ridiculous.

"They've had the punishment, they've got relegated. Let somebody come in and take the club on and take the club forward. And why are they getting punished like that again? It's absolutely pathetic.

"Chelsea basically 'cheated' their way to some trophies and get a £10m fine — why are they not getting a 15-point deduction?

"No disrespect to Chelsea – it's not a lot of money to them, so they've not been punished and stripped of titles or trophies. We're still waiting on the Man City one and I think that will probably come out in about another 50 years."

Chris Waddle's EFL criticism "absolutely correct" amid proposed Sheffield Wednesday points deduction

Following the former Owl's scathing assessment of the situation at Hillsborough, Football League World spoke to their resident Sheffield Wednesday expert, Patrick McKenna, to see if he agreed with Waddle's criticism of the EFL.

Patrick told us: "With regard to Chris Waddle's comments regarding his criticism of the EFL, he is absolutely correct.

"It's absolutely shocking that they are seeking to hammer us further for the indiscretions of Dejphon Chansiri, the same Chansiri they let stroll through their so-called checks, and they did absolutely nothing to stop him decimating our football club.

"It's rather embarrassing now that they are trying to take this hard line.

"One thing that gets me is the blatant lies from the EFL, where they have stated that this 15-point deduction is non-negotiable, but our supporters trust published a document in black and white showing the complete opposite.

"Sheffield Wednesday have suffered so much punishment already under Chansiri. Countless embargoes, points deductions, relegation, and are left with a shell of a club.

"Now that new owners are looking to come in and put in such a harsh points deduction which would make next season a relegation battle, it's just insane.

"The EFL know rightly that this reduces the value of the club, and it increases the risk of other creditors getting paid less because they want any prospective owners to award Chansiri £15m," Patrick concluded.

As Patrick stated, the palpable frustration surrounding Wednesday is absolutely understandable, as Chansiri was allowed to run the club into turmoil, and now the fans are being punished for one man's irresponsible behaviour.

Chris Waddle's Chelsea argument "not a great comparison"

In Waddle's interview with the Yorkshire Post, he fired a dig at both Chelsea and Manchester City, who broke financial rulings over many years and went on to achieve huge success, whilst resulting in much more lenient punishments.

Whilst the outcome of Man City's breaches is still yet to be decided, Chelsea faced a £10.75m fine, the biggest ever dished out by the Premier League, and a one-year suspended transfer ban, which Waddle believed was a mere slap on the wrist compared to what Sheffield Wednesday may face next term.

However, when Patrick was consulted over these comments, he wasn't fully aligned with the 65-year-old's comparison, but did share his frustrations at the lack of meaningful punishment handed to the London club.

Patrick said: "Regarding Chelsea — it is sickening to see clubs like Chelsea waltz away with no punishment, but no doubt it's a different governing body handing out that punishment, so it's not a great comparison.