Simon Jordan has leapt to the defence of Sheffield Wednesday owner Dejphon Chansiri, who asked the fans to raise £2 million to cover club costs.
The Championship club are in danger of falling into a multi-window transfer embargo, with Chansiri admitting players and staff may not get paid due to cash-flow issues.
After Wednesday were placed under a registration embargo by the English Football League last week, Chansiri revealed that the outstanding HMRC debt remains unpaid.
He invited supporters to contribute towards resolving the club’s issues while debunking rumours that he was deliberately withholding funds as a power play.
“If you don’t want to save your club, then don’t call yourselves the owners and me the custodian,” Chansiri said, slamming critics within the fanbase that labelled him a custodian of the club.
‘If you save your club, then you have the right to ask me to leave. There is no need to make it complicated. I could leave no issue. That is the easy way.”
Although Jordan insists he doesn’t agree with the way Chansiri has handled the situation, he slammed the fans for being ‘irritating’ in their remark towards the owner.
“I don’t genuinely believe that he needs or particularly wants Sheffield Wednesday fans to pony up £100 each,” Jordan said on talkSPORT. “He knows that’s not going to happen.
“When you’re the person sitting in the box seat, and I can say this as a previous owner, and you’re being told that you’re a custodian, it can be quite irritating.”
Responding to claims that a Chairman cannot ask his fans to stump up money to cover costs, Jordan said: “No, but then the chairman shouldn’t have to constantly listen to people telling you that it’s not your football club and you don’t own it.
“Anybody that’s been an owner can relate to Chansiri – anybody that’s got any common sense wouldn’t do what Chansiri’s doing.
“But no one can argue, irrespective of the stupidity and the decline, that this man hasn’t put a lot of money into this football club.”
Since their promotion from League One via the play-offs last season, Wednesday have faced an uphill battle in the Championship.
Promotion-winning manager Darren Moore left the club at the start of the season, and his replacement, Xisco Munoz, was sacked on October 4 following an abysmal run that plunged them to the foot of the table.
The Owls claimed their first league win of the season on Sunday, beating Rotherham United 2-0. They will hope to build on that success when they travel to Bristol City this weekend.