In what is now a \u201cnormal\u201d day for Sheffield Wednesday<\/a>, one employee was asked how they were doing by a fan, only to burst into tears. They don\u2019t know if they\u2019re going to be paid<\/a>, or what the future is, leading Clive Betts MP to lambast controversial owner Dejphon Chansiri in Parliament on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Many Morecambe<\/a> fans similarly felt like crying when the news came through on Monday that the sale of the club from Jason Whittingham\u2019s Bond Group Investments to Panjab Warriors wouldn\u2019t yet be completed. This was despite sources insisting that everything was in place for the sale to proceed, and finding its delay \u201cinexplicable\u201d. Local MP Lizzi Collinge publicly said to Whittingham, also in Parliament, “Come on, sign the damn paperwork!” That\u2019s after three years where Morecambe have gone from League One<\/a> to the National League<\/a> and, potentially, oblivion.<\/p>\n The stories of Wednesday and Morecambe warrant their own telling but there are striking parallels, that are now more pointed, since they come from different ends of a football pyramid that is finally about to see an independent regulator.<\/p>\n The Football Governance Bill was voted through the House of Commons<\/a> on Tuesday, meaning we now know what it will look like for the future. Fans of Wednesday and Morecambe can\u2019t say the same about their clubs, and the worry is it\u2019s too late.<\/p>\n A feeling of \u201chelplessness\u201d stands out. \u201cWe really support the Football Governance Bill,\u201d says Tarnia Elsworth, of the Shrimps Trust fans group, \u201cbut my fear is Morecambe and Wednesday are going to be the last victims.<\/p>\n \u201cWe get fans coming to us, \u2018this is my club I\u2019ve loved for 30 years, and you\u2019re saying there\u2019s nothing I can do about it?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Ian Bennett, of the Sheffield Wednesday Supporters Trust, says they\u2019re \u201cleft in limbo\u201d. His colleague James Silverwood warns the \u201cstory has implications way beyond Wednesday for the whole of English football\u201d.<\/p>\n Geoff Walters, a Morecambe fan who is also a Professor in Sports Business at the University of Liverpool, argues \u201cthis underpins the need for a strong regulator\u201d.<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Morecambe fans are desperate for Jason Whittingham to sell (Getty)<\/p>\n So many details are familiar, after all, going back through Reading<\/a> and Derby County to the landmark moment of Bury\u2019s demise. It is about who owns clubs, governance, and a ruinous wage race.<\/p>\n One of the great tragedies is that crowd sizes show the game is thriving on one level, and yet whole seasons can still be distorted by clubs entering financial ruin. Even at Morecambe, there have been record season ticket sales for a first season back in the National League, on the promise that Whittingham will be gone. Fans might instead lose hundreds of pounds as well as their club, if the worst happens.<\/p>\n The game should be self-sustainable but isn\u2019t. Wednesday and Morecambe could easily be sold but aren\u2019t. Both clubs have numerous interested buyers. Chansiri is said to be looking for \u201ccompletely unrealistic prices\u201d.<\/p>\n The Wednesday story is currently more striking because of their historic stature, and the fact these issues have crept as high as the Championship<\/a>. The EFL<\/a> have warned for four years that the wage race from parachute payments would lead to this. Others, backed by research from the supporters\u2019 trust, feel this is specifically down to \u201can owner who has run out of money\u201d.<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n There is the feeling that Sheffield Wednesday\u2019s woes are down to \u201can owner who has run out of money\u201d (Getty)<\/p>\n This is despite Chansiri\u2019s profile as a member of the Thai family that controls the world\u2019s largest producer of canned tuna, Thai Union Group, leading Betts to question why money is no longer available.<\/p>\n Players and staff were not paid on time in May and June, with that and money owed to other clubs and the HMRC leading to two EFL transfer embargoes. Meanwhile, at least \u00a36m is understood to be needed for essential improvements to Hillsborough, which may yet pass to unknown new ownership if Chansiri can\u2019t pay loans taken against the stadium. Improvements may be impossible if players have to be paid, but many are expected to walk as free agents if not paid for July.<\/p>\n \u201cWe might start the season with no players and a three-sided ground,\u201d Bennett says. Some sources even fear that basic utilities could be cut off. Bennett complains that communication has been minimal or just \u201cdisdainful\u201d. With barely any pre-season plans, it might reach the point where Wednesday have to show they can fulfil the season.<\/p>\n Like at Hillsborough, Morecambe\u2019s most immediate issue is funding. A club that had previously been a \u201cgood little business\u201d has started to make losses. Prospective buyers Panjab Warriors have even lent Morecambe just over \u00a36m.<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Morecambe captain Yann Songo’o apologising to his fans as their relegation from League Two was confirmed (Getty)<\/p>\n An irony is that some supporters credit Whittingham with initially appointing a capable board, only for that to descend into farce when he began proceedings to sack them all from their intention to put the club into administration. The board has since resigned twice in a week over delays to the sale.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re powerless,\u201d Elsworth says, amid another common complaint in English football: owner disengagement. Meetings have led nowhere. <\/p>\n Fans don\u2019t even know the price wanted. More remarkably, Whittingham could have got a much better price when Morecambe were in League One in 2022-23, only for the value to now be decreasing every day.<\/p>\n A primary question, raised by Betts, is why the current system can\u2019t take retrospective action to remove ownership once issues become apparent. The National League are conscious their potential sanctions would just punish Morecambe rather than the owner. The EFL have similarly been trying to avoid punishing Wednesday as much as they can.<\/p>\n![\"Morecambe](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-2193415672.jpeg\")
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