MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

MILAN'S THE MAN :D

FINAL CALL - PROTEST TONIGHT BEFORE WALSALL MATCH

Tonight it is essential that fans of SWFC demonstrate their strong opposition to the way that the investment process is being handled. Over the course of the last few months we have been consistently told that loan note holders are not holding up any investor wishing to take over SWFC. It has become apparent however that some loan note holders have an interest in continuing to have an influence over the future of SWFC. We do not believe any board member who is protecting or pursuing their own personal interests should be involved in the decision making process at SWFC when it comes to judging the merits of outside bids.

Sheffield Wednesday Chief Executive Nick Parker claimed last week that potential investors would not get a better deal in administration. We challenge the current loan note holders to make their demands public knowledge and prove this to be the case - prove that the amount you seek from ANY investor reflects the amount you stand to receive in administration.

We encourage all SWFC supporters wishing to demonstrate their discontent at the way the board is handling the future of our club to attend our protest from 6.30pm on Parkside Road (South Stand bridge entrance).


Reminder - One Wednesday initiative

Today in association with local businessman Gary Scotting, the Wednesday 'Til I Die fan investment initative launched 'One Wednesday'. One Wednesday aims to take control of SWFC using funds generated from the wide Wednesday fan base.

The One Wednesday proposal is divided into three different invesment groups...

1. High net worth individuals can become patrons of the club under the scheme and gain a seat on the board for a £500,000 investment.
2. The '100 club' will consist of investors each pledging £100,000. This group of investors will elect a board member for each block of £500,000 raised.
3. Fans can invest between £100 and £20,000 through the Wednesday 'Til I Die section of the scheme. Again, for each £500,000 raised a board member will be elected.

One Wednesday represent an opportunity for real Wednesday fans to have a significant say in the running of the club - how strong that voice is will be a reflection of the collective will of the SWFC fan base.

We strongly encourage all Wednesday supporters to read more about the scheme immediately. If you are encouraged by what you see you can make an initial 'pledge' to invest in SWFC. One Wednesday only have a short timescale to demonstrate the required level of support to prevent administration.

Visit www.onewednesday.net NOW to learn more.

ONE WEDNESDAY - HOW THE FANS CAN SAVE OUR OWLS

STATEMENT FROM WTID

Wednesday ‘til I Die (WTID) has secured the backing of all Sheffield Wednesday supporters’ groups and joined together with successful Sheffield business people to launch a bid to take over the ownership and running of the club.

Since May this year WTID has been working on a community investment scheme to facilitate investment into the club by supporters. We are now close to launching the scheme, which will allow investment of between £100 and £20,000 per person.

Whilst this is a significant milestone, pooling these relatively small individual investments is unlikely to raise the money to mount a successful bid in the time available. Encouraged by the Co-op bank’s support for our business plan, we have been speaking to local business people and high net worth individuals (HNWI) about investing in the club in partnership with WTID.

We are pleased to announce that we have teamed up with a respected member of the Sheffield business community, Garry Scotting, owner of the Sheffield car retailer Gilder Group and season ticket holder. He shares the vision of WTID, is prepared to invest alongside us and also work to bring other HNWI Wednesday supporters on board to submit a joint bid. This has given rise to three defined groups of owls fans coming together under the One Wednesday banner:

1. regular fans investing between £100 and £20,000 through the WTID scheme.
2. a small group of high net worth individuals (HNWI) each with half a million pounds or more to invest – ‘Patrons’
3. a hopefully larger group consisting of people with £100k to invest – ‘100 Club’

Each half million pounds invested, by any of the three groups, secures one place on the SWFC board.

• Fans investing smaller sums will select one board member per half million invested via WTID.
• Patrons automatically get a board seat, by virtue of having invested at least £0.5m.
• Members of the 100 Club will select one board member for each half million invested, i.e. one board seat per five members.

This will result in a relatively large, diverse and vibrant board, consisting of fan group representatives, local business people and HNWIs – all Wednesday fans and all determined to run the club with renewed energy and professionalism.

So far in total 12 people have agreed to invest, including two patrons, giving an initial investment pool of £2.0m. The other patron investor prefers to remain anonymous, but we can state that he is not someone who has had previous involvement in the club, other than being a supporter. Over the coming days the One Wednesday campaign will attempt to attract other Patrons and members to the 100 Club. Although WTID is not in a position to launch the community investment scheme immediately, we will be asking fans to make pledges to demonstrate how much could be raised from the WTID scheme when it does officially launch.

Due to the winding-up petition hearing at the High Court scheduled for 1st December, theOne Wednesday bid will need to be submitted by Friday 26th November. The WTID component of the bid will be in the form of a pledged sum, with a commitment to translate this into hard cash over the following weeks.

There is of course no guarantee that we will succeed in attracting the required investment funds in time to save the club from being placed in administration, though it is our intention to do everything in our power to try. Also, if other acceptable bids materialise WTID would not wish to stand in their way. Should One Wednesday not be successful in putting together a bid in time, no other acceptable bid is tabled and the worst happens and we are placed into administration, we believe that the One Wednesday fans’ consortium would be well positioned to bid to buy the club out of administration.

It is vital that just as local business people step up to the plate that the fans do the same

FURTHER JOINT STATEMENT FROM WEDNESDAYITE, TIME TO GO & THE SHAREHOLDERS' ASSOCIATION

On 19th November Sheffield Wednesday fans groups Wednesdayite, the Shareholders Association and Time To Go issued a statement calling for an immediate response from the club. The statement principally related to concerns over conflicts of interest that we see as preventing the current board from taking unbiased decisions regarding the immediate future of SWFC and the ongoing search for a lifesaving investment package.

We concluded this statement with a clear warning that the lack of an appropriate response would lead to the escalation of actions against the current board. Wednesdayite have carried out an on-line survey of members and an overwhelming majority of respondents have backed an escalation which includes protest as well as other action. As the club have failed to contact any of the fans groups or issue any kind of response to the statement we have no alternative but to follow through with our plans.

Protest action will begin at tomorrows game against Walsall.

We strongly encourage anyone in support of protest action to gather on Parkside Road by the Directors car park between 6pm and 6.30pm tomorrow (23rd November). Depending on weight of numbers a briefing will take place at 6.30pm when we will outline our protest plans for the evening.

We encourage all participants to follow our brief and to only protest within the relevant laws and regulations.

JOINT STATEMENT FROM WEDNESDAYITE, TIME TO GO & THE SHAREHOLDERS' ASSOCIATION

Today, Sheffield Wednesday supporters and shareholders have joined forces to send a clear and unequivocal message to the club’s board of directors:

‘You have overseen a unprecedented decline in our club. You have become personally compromised. Go now before you are responsible for the death of SWFC.’

As the clock ticks towards the final chapter of the darkest period in our great club's history, frustration and anger grows amongst fans. The message is clear - investment must be completed. The alternative is that Sheffield Wednesday FC will cease to exist on December 1^st.

If given the chance to succeed, current bids could see SWFC progress with new cash, new ideas and new faces at the helm. At least two parties have made offers reported as acceptable to the bank but, it seems, rejected by the loan note holders. In addition the board of SWFC have rejected a credible plan for help through supporter investment.

The fans demand to know why - and yet the club's silence is deafening.

As the posturing and jostling for position has unfolded over the last few days a dangerous and harmful conflict of interest has revealed itself at the heart of the investment process. It now seems clear that influential figures within the boardroom who should be considering all alternatives on equal merit have their own personal objectives. Furthermore, their presence in the boardroom throughout the investment process has put them in a position to influence the views of others whilst pursuing their own personal agendas.

Perhaps the most serious issue is the emergence of a consortium led by Mick Wright. Board members cannot carry out their fiduciary duty to secure the best available investment for the club if they are attempting to pursue and protect personal interests at the same time. If it is true that one or more of the current board are part of Mr Wright’s consortium, then we should be told. If one or more of the current board have been promised a role on Mr Wright’s board should his takeover succeed, we should be told.

We firmly believe the only reasonable course of action is for any Directors who are engaged in discussions around their own personal investments to immediately remove themselves from the decision-making process. For the avoidance of any doubt, and to protect their own integrity, we call upon them to resign their positions with immediate effect.

We also call upon Mr Wright to end his de facto, unratified occupation of a seat within the SWFC boardroom.

Wednesdayite, Time To Go and the Shareholders Association represent the fans of Sheffield Wednesday and speak for 24% of the club's shareholding. As such, we now insist the club admits an observer representing the fans to all SWFC board meetings from now until investment is completed. Only complete transparency can now remove all doubt about the efforts of the current Board to secure the right investment for the club.

As such, we are now both consulting with Supporters Direct and taking professional, specialist legal advice in relation to the issues raised above. In addition, we are also seeking answers to the question of whether the club has been and continues to trade insolvently - and whether the rejection of ANY viable investment proposal in favour of one that might appear in the future is acting both legally and in the interests of SWFC.
  Investment that could lead to the rebirth of our club must not be ignored or rejected due to the personal interests of those responsible for the stewardship of SWFC. We expect and demand immediate actions from those who appear to have conflicting interests to remove any doubt about their responsibilities by withdrawing and allowing independent scrutiny of the negotiations taking place. If we receive no satisfactory response by the opening of business Monday 22nd November we see little option but to escalate our actions by all means open to us.

Wednesdayite Statement on WUP Adjournment

Wednesdayite naturally welcome the news that the Court have seen fit to grant a 28 day adjournment to the winding-up petition brought by HMRC today. At the same time, it is vital that this time is used not merely as a 'stay of execution', but instead to quickly and decisively reach a conclusion that will bring about a positive future for the club.

Nick Parker clearly today called upon both potential investors and loan note holders to leave entrenched positions and complete one of the deals that has been in the offing. We echo Nick's sentiment that the time for brinkmanship and self-interest is over and that any deal that is right for the club must be pursued and concluded.

Wednesdayite do not have a preferred bid from those that are apparently at the table. However, it is vital that any deal offers all of the following:

• A satisfaction of the club's debt burden with the Co-Op
• A commitment and ability to provide enough capital investment to deliver material improvement on the pitch
• A prospective management team that will bring new personnel and strategy into the SWFC boardroom and see an end to the stagnation of the last decade

We urge any investor to engage with fans groups and seek the tremendous groundswell of both material assistance and goodwill that the SWFC fan base can offer. While we recognise that an investor may wish to control the club without input from the fan base, the commercial and community benefits that engaging and communicating openly with the fans will bring are vast. We hope that any incoming investor can bring the finances, expertise and leadership required to take this club forward - and in return they will receive the support and commitment of the SWFC fans to make the journey standing shoulder to shoulder.


Wednesdayite stresses most strongly of all that a positive outcome will not be achieved with the continued involvement of those who have overseen the decline of the last decade and the collapse of the last year. We know we echo the sentiment of many, many Wednesday fans in doing so. The time of the ideas, faces and failures of the past has come to an end. Now is the moment for a new investor to seize the opportunity to drive this great club forward into a bright dawn.

WTID Fighting Fund - Donate Now!

Statement from WTID at the wtidgroup.co.uk website:


Further to the report made on the WTID website on November 4th, much work is being undertaken by all parties and significant progress continues to be made.

As previously stated, our policy is to keep everyone informed of progress but to avoid raising false expectations. We are working hard on a properly structured professional solution which will enable the fans to play a major role in securing the club’s immediate and long term future.
At the same time, we are of course acutely aware of the immediate dangers threatening the Club with the upcoming court date looming on November 17th.

We have to win this battle next week to save the Club – or all of our hopes for a new future will be lost.

So the immediate requirement is to accumulate a ‘fighting fund’ of cash to enable us to quickly meet necessary costs in the coming days. The key areas in which the fighting fund will be used include producing formal documentation for WTID investors, ensuring that legal and startup costs are met and ensuring that the scheme is launched quickly and administered professionally.


The money raised for the fighting fund will NOT be used to pay the tax bill before our appointment in the High Court on November 17th.

We must emphasise that all supporter groups have been working together on the WTID project and continue to focus on saving our great club. As such, we invite all Owls fans to contribute towards this fund either by donating via this Paypal link:

or via bank transfer to Wednesdayite’s Supporters’ Trust account with Sort Code 05-08-48 and Account Number 19998534.

The most cost effective way to make a contribution is by bank transfer. As we all know, the Wednesday fan base is considerable so a small contribution by many can quickly become a significant amount. Each one of us can make a real difference to the future of our club.

The funds raised will have a massive impact on our ability to move forward in a timely manner and make a positive contribution to the future of SWFC.

Should some of the funds not be used by WTID then they will be donated to the Children’s Hospital Charity.
Although we are exploring every available avenue to help raise this needed funding, Owls fans are a key part of this process.

WTID – The fans are the club. Together we can Save Our Owls!