Owls keen on Howard’s way
0 Comments | People (London, England), The, July 25, 2010
Byline: Alan Biggs
SHEFFIELD Wednesday are hoping Howard Wilkinson will stick around to help them out of their financial crisis.
Wilkinson is due to step down as interim chairman before the new season starts because of a clash with his role as chairman of the League Managers Association.
But the Owls – who face a winding-up order over a pounds 550,000 tax bill – want Wilko to carry on as boardroom leader.
He has been assured that the club are in no danger of folding and expect to cover their tax debt with funds from goalkeeper Lee Grant’s impending move to Burnley.
Wilkinson, who previously played for the club as well as serving as manager between 1983 and 1988, agreed to chair the board on a temporary basis after Lee Strafford quit in the wake of relegation to League One.
But he has struck a close relationship with manager Alan Irvine, helping him to bring in eight players on free transfers before the tax order landed, including Clinton Morrison and Neil Mellor.
Now Wednesday want Wilkinson to hold the fort while they try to land an investor and will ask the LMA for approval.
Irvine is keen to see Wilkinson stay as he tackles the huge job of returning Wednesday to the top flight after a 10-year absence.
He said: “Howard has been fantastic for me. It’s rare to have a chairman who has been a manager himself and he’s vastly more experienced than I am.”
