Dejphon Chansiri | |
|---|---|
| เดชพล จันศิริ | |
| Born | (1968-06-03)3 June 1968 (age 56) |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for | OwningSheffield Wednesday |
| Spouse | Tipparut Chansiri[2] |
Dejphon Chansiri (Thai:เดชพล จันศิริ) is a Thai businessman who ownsEFL Championship clubSheffield Wednesday.
Chansiri's family controls theThai Union Group, the world's largest producer ofcanned tuna.[3][4] The Chansiri family is estimated by Forbes to be worth $575m as of 2020.[5]
In January 2015, a consortium led by Chansiri acquired a 100% stake inSheffield Wednesday fromMilan Mandarić for £37.5m and targeted promotion to thePremier League by 2017.[6] During his first transfer window he brought inSergiu Buș,Marnick Vermijl,Filipe Melo on deadline day, as well as loans forWill Keane andLewis McGugan.
During early 2015, Chansiri changed many aspects of the Sheffield Wednesday set-up. He brought in a new transfer committee of managerStuart Gray,Glenn Roeder andAdam Pearson.[7] Adam Pearson left within a month to go work forLeeds United.[8] Stuart Gray left the committee at the end of the season, being replaced by new managerCarlos Carvalhal,[9] whilst Roeder left by the end of 2015.[10]
Chansiri invested heavily that first season, bringing in multiple signings including,Fernando Forestieri,Gary Hooper andLucas João and the first full season would see Wednesday make the playoff final, eventually losing toHull City1–0 in the final.[11]
The following season, the investment into the first team squad continued, with more big money signingsAlmen Abdi,Adam Reach andJordan Rhodes all made. Wednesday would again make the playoffs, but this time losing in the semi final toHuddersfield Town.
In the2017–18 season, the investment began to dry up, and injuries would see Wednesday struggle, with manager Carlos Carvalhal losing his job just before Christmas and being replaced by Dutch managerJos Luhukay.[12]
Jos Luhukay was sacked as manager the following Christmas after only being able to bring inJoey Pelupessy and the loan signings ofJosh Onomah andMichael Hector during his year in charge. He would be replaced with exSheffield United managerSteve Bruce in January but allowed to start the following month.[13]
Steve Bruce would joinNewcastle United the following summer and Chansiri would bring inGarry Monk to replace him almost 2 months later.[14]
The next summer, the club received a 12 point penalty which was later reduced to 6 points for breaching the League's Profitability and Sustainability Rules for the three season reporting period ending in 2017–18.[15][16] It was then revealled he was securring debt against the stadium.[17] Monk was then sacked and replaced byTony Pulis who would be relieved of his duties after 10 games in charge, picking up 7 points from a possible 30 and just one win.[18] In December, it was announced that the players were not paid in full for the month of November, the second time this has happened in 2020.[19] In January, it was announce that the players were not paid again for the month of January, with news that salaries were capped at £7,000 per month.[20]Darren Moore was appointed the third manager of the season in March, two months after Tony Pulis was dismissed.[21] The club were relegated in May toEFL League One after nine years in the Championship.[22] After relegation, it was revealed again that players had still not been paid in full for some months and that there were some players considering walking away over ongoing wages issues.[23]
More high profile players left in the summer, withTom Lees,Adam Reach,Jordan Rhodes andKeiren Westwood all being released. He would bring in 18 new players for manager Darren Moore to try and get back to the Championship at the first time of asking, but subsequently failed in the playoff semi finals.
Darren Moore would get another season, and would this time be successful in their playoff campaign, beating Barnsley at Wembley stadium to win promotion back to theEFL Championship.[24]
Ahead of the first season back in the Championship, Darren Moore would be relieved of his duties[25] During the unveiling of new managerXisco Muñoz ahead of the2023–24 season, Chansiri would go on a rant about former Sheffield Wednesday midfielderCarlton Palmer following criticism of the club onTwitter.[26] In September 2023, Chansiri announced that he would invest no further money in the club after protests which included damage being caused, insults aimed at Chansiri and people approaching his family. These had followed poor performances by the club which had left them bottom of theChampionship.[27] In October 2023, theEnglish Football League put the club under a registration embargo due to the club not paying a bill toHM Revenue and Customs.[28] Chansiri subsequently asked the club's fans for £2m to help pay the debt and cover wages, saying it was a problem with cashflow;[29] the following day he confirmed the outstanding debts and salaries had been paid.[30] Xisco would oversee the clubs worst ever start to a season and would be fired in October. His replacementDanny Röhl would then go on to save the club from immediate relegation on the final day of the season.[31]
On 1 November 2024, the club were again placed under a registration embargo again for failure to pay HMRC for the second year in a row, with the tax bill paid on November 14.[32][33]