Juice, EFL rants and a comfort break: Behind the scenes of Dejphon Chansiri's Sheffield Wednesday press conference
and live on Freeview channel 276
Of all those assembled, it was perhaps remarkable that his was the face least visibly exhausted from the effects of a near three-hour Zoom marathon that took in mentions of Fernando Forestieri, Red Bull and of course successful points deduction appeals via swipes at the EFL and at Steve Bruce.
Time constraints designed to keep the meeting to 90 minutes were thrown out of the window early doors by a series of generously long answers, some fiercely detailed, some a little rambling, but generous all the same.
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Hide AdFrom the very first answer to the question of whether he took responsibility for the situation the club find themselves in – he did so unequivocally – the message was clear; Chansiri was here to front up, explain a few matters and in part defend himself from what he feels was unwarranted criticism from some quarters.
Dressed in a grey-blue open-neck shirt, black trousers and wearing a watch you assume you could exchange for a half-decent car, he went at it positively and with an unabashed confidence throughout.
Three hours is a long press conference. To the assembled media firing out a broad range of questions hanging on his every word, it was something of a relief when Mr Chansiri apologised to take a comfort break as we pushed on towards the two-hour mark, prompting puffed cheeks and stretched backs all-round.
A virtual press conference with the chairman of Sheffield Wednesday, apparently, is something of a whirlwind.
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Hide AdIt had been nearly two long years since the media had been given the floor with the chairman, at a December 2018 fan forum that went a little south. Media were advised at the unveiling of Garry Monk last year that questions of off-field matters would not be fielded.
This writer was away on holiday that day and some 18 months into my role as a Sheffield Wednesday reporter at the city’s local paper, it is perhaps remarkable that this is the first time I have spoken to the chairman. Rightly or wrongly, the opportunity to speak to Chansiri so openly has become something of an event.
Back to the events of the meeting and in between long sips of what looked to be a refreshing juice drink, his answers were as broad and as descriptive as his grasp of English would allow. Time and again he apologised for his linguistic limitations – his English is far better than any of our Thai, I suspect – but there was little need. He came across clear enough.
This time there was no prior warning of topics off limits and no question was ducked. Where Chansiri may not have liked a question all that much, he had no problem in firing back passionately and the very few minor responses delivered off the record were done so only on legal advice.
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Hide AdThere were brave lines in there. One that saw him suggest that Sheffield Wednesday was not as big a club as it is sometimes made out to be drew a sharp intake of air.
“Some talk about Red Bull,” he said. “If they buy, they buy Premier League. Sometimes you think too big about yourselves. Sheffield Wednesday actually is not that big.” Crikey.
He came, you suspect, with a couple of axes to grind. The EFL were first in the firing line, primarily for their handling of the misconduct charge saga, but also for their lack of leadership in guiding member clubs through the coronavirus crisis.
A question on the compensation received from Newcastle United from Steve Bruce came back with VAT in the form of a swipe at the former manager’s honesty throughout the process of him leaving the club, a theme that returned when Chansiri accused an unnamed player of lacking loyalty.
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Hide AdWhile making absolutely clear that he was talking about a vocal minority of supporters, he claimed that a business willing to engage in an ‘eight or nine figure’ sponsorship deal had been put off by a search on social media that found what he perceived as undue negativity. A whirlwind indeed.
For all his foibles, for his many detractors and for the current mess he took responsibility for, he deserves credit for fronting up at a difficult time – especially given the meeting was scheduled before the win over Bournemouth and before the club knew of the six-point bonus delivered by an independent disciplinary commission on Wednesday.
Without that happy double-whammy, his sudden appearance could well have been greeted a whole lot differently by a frustrated supporter base.
The £6.4m loan set against Hillsborough was addressed, the concern around the ownership of the stadium largely shrugged off; “Why would I sell the club and not the stadium?”
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Hide AdThe age-old issues were raised; it is no surprise that season ticket prices will stay as they are, it is unlikely that we will see a CEO or director of football employed at the club any time soon, while he defended himself against what he described as the benefit of hindsight when it comes to transfer dealings.
And as a long, tiring but ultimately informative press conference wound to an end, the chairman reclined; once, twice, three times, to ask whether there were any more questions that those present felt had gone unanswered.
Then with a smile and a work of thanks, he was gone, leaving the rest of us to shake ourselves and comb through three hours of transcript for the edited highlights.
Let’s hope two years of questions are not allowed to build up before the next opportunity.