David Hirst, the former Sheffield Wednesday striker, has praised chairman David Storch for doing things 'the right way' since his Arise Capital Partners consortium completed its takeover of Sheffield Wednesday at the beginning of May. Hirst told reporters that Storch has been visible around the city in a way his predecessor never was.
'That never happened before'
Hirst first met Storch in March, shortly after Arise had been named preferred bidder to complete the deal. Since then the striker, once a vocal critic of former owner Dejphon Chansiri, has become a regular at Hillsborough again.
"I've seen Storchy and other members of his staff in and around the city," Hirst said. "They've been at Sunday League football, non-league football, in the city shaking hands and speaking to people. That never happened before."
Contrast with the Chansiri years
Chansiri's ownership ran for ten-and-a-half years and Hirst had largely stayed away from Hillsborough during that period because of his poor relationship with the Thai businessman. Hirst said the previous regime offered no dialogue with the fanbase or the wider football community.
"With Mr Chansiri, it was his box and that was that," Hirst said. "There was no input or output."
Hirst added that Chansiri believed he could run a club alone rather than lean on expertise around him. "The right way is to get the knowledge around you and listen to the right people," he said.
Investment and a new bar
Arise have put around £9 million into infrastructure at Hillsborough and the Middlewood Road training ground since taking charge, while also rebuilding manager Henrik Pedersen's squad over the summer. Premium matchday additions have followed too, including the launch of the 'Hirsty's Social' bar in the South Stand.
Hirst believes the new owners have crammed ten to 15 years of work into around three months but is wary of getting carried away, noting that Wednesday were "weeks if not days from going under" before the takeover went through.
On the pitch, Wednesday sit 24th in the Championship after finishing last season on minus four points, though form has picked up lately with three wins from their last five. They drew 0-0 with Wigan on Saturday, 12 September, having beaten Peterborough 2-1 and Wycombe 2-1 in the previous fortnight. Fans can check the club's upcoming games on the fixtures page and see where Pedersen's rebuilt squad sits in the standings.
