Lee Strafford has resigned as Sheffield Wednesday chairman, with Howard Wilkinson taking an interim role.
Howard Wilkinson takes interim role after Lee Strafford steps down
Lee Strafford has resigned as chairman of Sheffield Wednesday, with former manager Howard Wilkinson stepping into the post on an interim basis.
Strafford, who took up the role in January 2009, has decided to step down with immediate effect following the club's relegation to League One.
Nick Parker became chief executive at the same time and although the team slipped back into the third tier after five years in the Championship, the pair overhauled the club's off-field operations.
"I am proud of what we achieved in terms of completely revitalising all of the off-field activities of the club," read a statement by Strafford on the club's
official website.
Re-engaging fans
"This was achieved by a purposeful strategy of re-engaging our fans in a positive and customer-focused manner, by improving the quality and delivery of all key retail functions including ticketing, hospitality, food and beverage, and merchandise, and by repositioning the club as a community hub.
"While we also managed to turn around the medical side of football operations, restructuring of the first-team operations did not happen fast enough to avoid the bitter pill of relegation to League One."
Strafford is a Wednesday fan and made his name with Sheffield-based internet provider PlusNet, joining the Wednesday board in December 2008.
Brian Laws was sacked as manager in December, with Alan Irvine taking over in January, but the former Preston boss was unable to steer the Owls to safety.
It is now 10 years since Wednesday were in the top flight but Strafford believes they can get back there in the near future.
Growth
"For me, Sheffield Wednesday can continue to grow without external investment until such time as it needs to consolidate its position back in the Premier League," he added.
"I believe that in Alan Irvine and his team, there is now something in place that can build a football team, which fans can be proud of and the values of which we can all identify with.
"I hope the board continues to build on the foundations that have been laid. It is with great sadness that I am stepping down at this point.
"I want to place on record my heart-felt thanks to all of my fellow Wednesdayites that have supported me this past year or so and to acknowledge that leaving halfway through the task of rejuvenating the club is in some part letting my fellow Wednesdayites down, but unfortunately this is unavoidable at this point."
