Rangers file for administration as they face huge points deduction

Historic football club files for administration as they face huge points deduction
Sheffield Wednesday were already bottom of the Championship table with just six points from 11 games and have now been plunged into a deeper crisis

Rangers boss Danny Rohl might have suffered a nightmare on his debut after defeat to SK Brann in Bergen – but it’s still nothing compared to what he could have been going through at his former club.

Sheffield Wednesday are staring down the barrel of a significant points deduction after entering administration.

The Owls, already languishing at the foot of the Championship table with a mere six points from 11 matches, have now been thrust into further turmoil under the stewardship of Thai businessman Dejphon Chansiri.

It’s understood that Wednesday – who new Rangers boss Rohl left during pre-season – owe £1million to HMRC, having paid wages late in five of the past seven months. A court filing on Friday revealed that the Yorkshire club had entered

were the most recent EFL club to go into administration in 2021 and were penalised 12 points as a result. The same penalty would see Wednesday plummet to minus six points with 35 matches left to stave off relegation to the third tier.

Thousands of fans opted to stay away from Hillsborough for the Owls’ 1-0 loss to Middlesbrough in midweek. This marked the third boycott this season but the first for a Championship match.

Manager Henrik Pedersen, who took the reins on July 31 following Rohl’s resignation, confessed it was ‘painful’ to witness the iconic stadium so deserted. “We all know how Hillsborough can be and we have a fantastic support and of course, it’s painful to see this.

“But I understand and respect everyone and as I said before the game that the fans sitting at home and in the pubs will be all together with us and we are all together. This togetherness, we just have to keep.

The club has already been hit with five separate EFL embargoes. Back in June, Chansiri faced charges for breaching EFL regulations concerning payment obligations.

Shortly afterwards, a club statement confirmed he was open to selling up. Reports suggest he’s demanding £100million for the club, despite purchasing his 100 per cent stake for just £30million when Thai Union Frozen Group acquired it from Milan Mandaric Group in 2015.

Pedersen kicked off the campaign with merely 15 first-team squad members available. Remarkably, just 48 hours before facing Middlesbrough, the Danish manager found himself without a single senior goalkeeper.

This desperate situation forced the club into securing Joe Lumley on an emergency seven-day loan deal from Bristol City. EFL regulations dictate that Lumley, 30, must feature in the starting eleven when Wednesday welcome Oxford United on Saturday.

“He came in the (Tuesday) morning and came in the office and we had a conversation and he’s a fantastic guy and a good mix between being calm and a powerful man,” Pedersen explained.

“He played a great, great game. With where we are right now against Middlesbrough, I didn’t think it was the right situation to put him on the pitch when I had the chance to get an experienced goalkeeper in to help the team. It was the right solution. The rules are that we have to play him both games.”