Sheffield Wednesday

I'm just like Mourinho, says Laws
Brian Laws compared his achievement in keeping Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship with anything achieved by Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho. "Under the circumstances, and I'm not patting myself on the back, but if Mourinho was here I don't think he could have done any better," said Laws. The Owls beat Norwich 4-1 on Sunday to secure survival, and Laws was upbeat. "We've had everything thrown at us and yet everybody has stayed calm and very focused. We never threw in the towel." The Owls have been decimated by injuries to key players this season, while boardroom disquiet - chairman Dave Allen and long-serving director Keith Addy both departed - and never-ending takeover speculation have done little to steady a lurching ship. But Laws said: "The camp is united and certainly the glue to it all is certainly the support we have had. "The fans have been magnificent and would have been forgiven for turning on us all, the players, manager, because the results haven't matched their drive. "This week feels like a month, waiting for the game to come about, knowing we were going to have a sell-out." He had to watch his team concede an early lead to the Canaries, but they hit back in fine style, Deon Burton scoring two of the goals. "The nerves, particularly in the first half, were there for all to see. We had young players out there and they looked very nervy and were panicking on the ball," he said "We've got a good squad of players here, if everybody's fit, and if we can add one or two to bolster that I believe we will have a much, much better year next year."

Owls report Argyle over Gilbert
Plymouth Argyle have been reported to the Football League by Sheffield Wednesday over an alleged illegal approach for full-back Peter Gilbert. A spokesman for the Pilgrims said the club is "aware" of the complaint but that they will be making no further comment for the time being. However, there is a board meeting at Home Park on Wednesday when it is believed the issue will be discussed. Gilbert previously played for the club during Paul Sturrock's original reign. The former Welsh Under-21 international joined Argyle in 2003 and made 78 league appearances during his two-year stay before joining Leicester in a £200,000 deal in July 2005. Gilbert then joined the Owls in January 2006 following a successful loan spell at Hillsborough.

Laws aims for Owls loan signing
Sheffield Wednesday manager Brian Laws says he wants to make a loan signing ahead of Sunday's Steel City derby. Wednesday have a number of injury worries ahead of the game and Laws wants to add to his squad. "I would like to do something before the weekend, we knew we had to set aside some money for January," he told Radio Sheffield. "We may have to use that money now because we do need to strengthen and I'd like to do that before the game."

Owls fans withdraw Sheard offer
Sheffield Wednesday fans' group Wednesdayite have withdrawn an offer to sell their 10% stake in the club to the Geoff Sheard consortium. Sheard, fronting a Swiss-based trust, first approached the Owls about a possible takeover in January. Wednesdayite agreed in August to sell their shares after a ballot of members. Now the group has ended negotiations with Sheard after proof of funds lodged in a German bank failed to materialise last week. Lancashire businessman Sheard had revealed his consortium were willing to invest up to £40m in the club. A statement from Wednesdayite said: "We have always tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, but, given his inability to meet our conditions of sale during this protracted period, we are left to conclude there is little if any prospect of any deal being completed. "In these circumstances the Wednesdayite board has today decided to withdraw our offer to sell our shareholding to him/his consortium. "This does not prevent him from obtaining his stated aim of a 29.9% shareholding in SWFC through the three other major shareholders, former chairman Dave Allen, former board member Keith Addy and director Geoff Hulley, and it is a matter for them to make their own decisions in this regard. "Should Mr Sheard be able to prove funds to the satisfaction of our legal advisers in the future, we would be happy to revisit the situation." Wednesdayite added that any new approach over the sale of their shares would require a fresh member ballot. Sheard had agreed in principle to buy Allen's 10% stake in the club in July and had been hoping to conclude similar deals for Addy and Hulley's 10% stakes in order to acquire a controlling 29.9%. Should Sheard still prove successful in his bid to convince Addy and Hulley to sell their shares, his consortium would not require Wednesdayite's stake.

Owls lack match fitness says Laws
Sheffield Wednesday boss Brian Laws has said he is frustrated by the recovery time of some of the injured players in his squad. The likes of Francis Jeffers, Akpo Sodje and Frank Simek are all returning to action for the Owls. He told BBC Radio Sheffield: "I'm getting players back but they're not match fit. "Frannie is still a long way off, we're still expecting him to be that sharp busy player, Akpo Sodje's the same." Simek made his first appearance in ten months in Wednesday's 1-0 defeat at home to Plymouth on Tuesday. The United States international, who has been out since December 2007 with an ankle injury, came on as a second-half substitute for Richard Wood. "It was nice to see Frank coming off the bench," said Laws. "We had to do that because Richard Wood was struggling with sickness before the game and shouldn't have been out there really."

Owls takeover dead, says Walker
Sheffield Wednesday chief executive Kaven Walker has said that he believes Geoff Sheard's proposed takeover of the club is now dead. The Lancashire-based businessman has been courting the Owls for the past 11 months without success. "I don't think he has spoken to anybody recently, so you can draw your own conclusions to that," Walker told BBC Radio Sheffield. "Personally, I think it's dead. That is my view." Walker added: "The football club are talking to interested parties, and we continue to do so in the short term and long term. "Everybody knows we are looking for new investment and that continues."

Owls boss pleased by Simek return
Sheffield Wednesday manager Brian Laws is excited at the prospect of having a fully fit Frank Simek in his squad to face Crystal Palace on Saturday. The defender missed much of the last year with ankle and hamstring injuries. Laws told Radio Sheffield: "We are looking at the 'old' Frank Simek and that is really pleasing for me to hear that he is ready." Simek played 70 minutes of reserve team game on Wednesday as he continues his recovery from a hamstring strain. "He was really chuffed with his performance and that he had no hesitation in going into some of the challenges he did, in fact it was a bit scary so that is the old Frank Simek. " The news comes at a perfect time for the Owls boss because all of his defenders are doubts ahead of this weekend's clash with Crystal Palace. "We are still waiting on the fitness of Mark Beevers and Richard Wood and they are the biggest doubts, Tommy Spurr looks like he will be ok which is good because he was in pain for the most of the game. "Tommy got assaulted on the pitch by two players, unfortunately they were both our players as they clattered in to him. He has a bruise on the hip, but he should be ok for the game."

Owls takeover is unlikely
Former Sheffield Wednesday chairman Dave Allen believes the proposed takeover of the club will not happen. Allen has told Radio Sheffield that he has yet to agree a deal to sell his stake in the club. He claims he is still owed around £2m in outstanding loans and says he has has not held any meetings with Wednesday for several weeks. Allen says he will only do a deal if he is repaid in full, so far he has been offered a third of what he is owed. Allen resigned from the Wednesday board in December 2007. It was over a year before the club appointed Lee Strafford as his successor as chairman in January 2009. Since taking charge at Hillsborough, Strafford says four parties are interested in investing in the Owls. The 36-year-old has also confirmed that there will be a share issue to provide an investment opportunity into the club.

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