Sheffield Wednesday will be facing challenge Leeds United once embraced after takeover blow | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday may be starting next season on -15 points, just like Leeds United did in 2007

Sheffield Wednesday received some good news regarding a takeover last week, as a group consisting of David and Michael Storch, and Tom Costin, has been announced as the new preferred bidder, but it has been paired with some equally bad news ahead of next season's League One return.

The Owls became the first team in EFL history to be relegated in February when they were beaten 2-1 by Steel City rivals Sheffield United, and the focus since their fate was sealed last month has been on ensuring that the club is out of administration ahead of next season.

Unfortunately, the consortium led by former professional poker player James Bord pulled out of their bid, three months after they were named as the preferred bidder. They cited that the £47.8 million bid they launched was no longer justifiable.

That bid would have ensured that all outstanding taxes were paid and all the creditors were paid 25p of the £1 needed to satisfy the EFL's insolvency laws, which included £15 million owed to former owner Dejphon Chansiri.

Unfortunately, the £30 million asking price that would satisfy those laws has not been met by Arise Capital Partners. According to an update from the administrators, it's the best available current outcome to ensure that Wednesday remain in business in the long term.

Unfortunately, Sky Sports' Rob Dorsett has explained that this will incur a 15-point deduction to start next season.

On face value, that 15-point deduction looks a difficult one to overturn, and one that could result in another relegation, this time to the fourth tier. However, this isn't a never-before-seen situation, and Wednesday may want to take a leaf out of Leeds United's book on how to handle it.

Leeds United defied a 15-point deduction to finish in the League One play-offs

Back in 2007, Leeds, who were in the Champions League just six years earlier, were relegated to League One, and entered administration just days before the conclusion of the season.

The administrators at KPMG allowed Ken Bates to buy the club back without a Company Voluntary Arrangement, which broke the EFL's insolvency rulings. Luckily for Leeds, the EFL stretched their laws and gave the club's share back due to exceptional circumstances.

However, the plain and simple fact was that the club had broken the insolvency rulings, and were deducted 15 points at the start of the following campaign in League One.

While the ins and outs of certain laws have most definitely changed over the last 19 years, the punishment will remain the same for Sheffield Wednesday at the start of next season. However, if they can replicate Leeds' performances, they need not worry.

Leeds would immediately eradicate that points deduction in the opening five games of the campaign, and would actually win their first seven League One outings.

Their 13-game unbeaten run to start the season set the tone for what would be a remarkable year on the field. The Whites ended up collecting 91 points across the campaign, which would have been enough to easily see them back in the Championship, and even with the points' deduction, they finished fifth.

Leeds' play-off struggles would stop them from securing immediate promotion, and it wouldn't be for another two years following this that they'd return to the Championship, but they were always a play-off team in their three League One years, even with a 15-point deduction in their first.

Sheffield Wednesday can still put together a promotion push in League One next season

There's no shying away from the fact that next season will be a difficult one for Sheffield Wednesday, with the Storch group having to put together almost a whole new side from the ashes of Dejphon Chansiri's reign, and their backs will be immediately against the wall too, with an immediate 15-point deduction.

However, Sheffield Wednesday is a massive club at League One level, and they'll likely not struggle with attracting good players. If the new owners correctly fund the Owls immediately, the Wednesday squad could be good enough to challenge for the play-offs anyway.

A 15-point deduction means that they'll have to be good immediately, like Leeds were, to really push for the play-offs. But the blueprint is there to be followed, and Wednesday will be hopeful that they can go as far as their Yorkshire rivals did 19 years earlier with a rebuild under Storch.

From then, though, they'll be looking to go one further and succeed in the play-offs. If they can, it'd be one of the most remarkable stories, especially coming off the back of the pain the club has gone through over the past year.