As was widely rumoured at the beginning of the week, Sheffield Wednesday today announced major boardroom changes to the stock exchange.
The key appointments see Lee Strafford become the Chairman of the club with Nick Parker installed as Chief Executive.
Both men joined the board just last month in what was described at the time as a move to enable the club to benefit from their experience as they look to secure long-term investment.
The move is likely to be greeted with renewed hope and optimism by Wednesday supporters and is seen as another step in the right direction following the recent departure of the much criticised former Chief Exec, Kaven Walker.
Sections of the media and supporters of the Owls have highlighted the fact that the club appeared to resemble a rudderless ship off the field having gone for over a year without a Chairman in post since the departure of Dave Allen and this point was raised again at the AGM in December. They have now addressed this and have a structure in place to move forward with that appears to be more professional and organised to everyone looking in.
It is thought that these appointments come at a time when the club are making progress towards a potential deal with a syndicate which could see up to £50M invested in the club in the next few years through an accumulation of new shares rather than an outright takeover and it is rumoured that major developments could take place before the end of the month.
Wednesday fans are surely too wise to take anything for granted with regards to new investment and will view this with caution given the fiasco that was the proposed Geoff Sheard consortium takeover. However, irrespective of whether any new investment is imminent, the signs of positive change are certain to be welcomed. There has already been good dialogue with fans in response to various issues such as ticket prices and the way the club deals with its customers.
In an interview with the SWFC official website Strafford stated that he was eager to restore the clubs cultural identity, which had sadly been lost of late.
The lifelong Wednesday supporter stated "When I was growing up, coming down here, I was educated that Sheffield Wednesday stood for tradition and fairness, honesty and integrity, was respected locally, nationally and globally as a football institution. The people we are engaging with are fully supportive of getting back to that cultural environment."
It appears that the new regime are determined to put the relationship with the fans at the forefront of their plans and this can only serve to improve the mood of everyone in and around Hillsborough.