Sheffield Wednesday has been thrown in to further disarray today following the departure of Chairman Lee Strafford with immediate effect. The Sheffield Wednesday fan turned Chairman who made his name as CEO of internet firm Plusnet became the Owls Chairman in January 2009.
At that time the club was at a particularly low ebb off the field with a lack of leadership and a number of unpopular decisions made at board level deemed to have alienated some sections of the support.
Since his appointment Strafford has been credited with fostering a much better relationship between the club and Owls supporters in general as well as creating community and business links for SWFC. Off-field operations such as ticketing, catering and merchandising have also been overhauled for the betterment of the club.
However, an important part of his remit when coming into the club was to seek positive investment that would secure the long-term future of the club with input that would have the best interests of the club at heart. Prior to his appointment the club had engaged in a number of avenues that ultimately proved fruitless on this front and he appeared confident that investment could be secured under his tenure.
Despite committing significant resources to this cause over the course of his time at the club no investment has been secured to date and the club was dealt another blow last week when American based club9Sports, with whom the Owls had been in negotiations with for some time, tabled an offer that was deemed way short of what the club were looking for.
Strafford has yet to explain the full reasons behind his decision to step down but in a statement on the club’s official website, www.swfc.co.uk he stressed his disappointment that investment has not been secured though he also referred to the fact he believes the club is now in a stable position, by where, with the full support of the fan base, it can operate successfully without outside financial support.
Strafford stated that it had been an honour and a privilege to lead the club and he will now be succeeded by former Sheffield Wednesday manager Howard Wilkinson, who has been appointed on an interim basis until the start of the 2010/11 season.