Danny Rohl reflects on his time at Sheffield Wednesday; while fans announce new protest plans for the Bristol City game.
At 34, he became Sheffield Wednesday’s manager in October 2023, and inherited a team sitting at the bottom of the Championship, seven points adrift of safety, with just two points from 10 games.
Tensions arose with owner Dejphon Chansiri, experiencing inadequate training facilities (unusable pitches, no gym or heating, leading to improvised sessions).
There were issues with Chansiri’s hands-on transfer negotiations without a director of football, resulting in missed targets and odd signings; a rejected Southampton approach for Rohl; and months of unpaid wages for staff and players.
Relations broke down, with poor communication and extra administrative burdens on Rohl, and by April 2024, Rohl decided to leave, saddened but ambitious, citing lack of progress and direction.
He cherishes the fans, players (like captain Barry Bannan), and his time there, which saw adaptive, brave coaching.
Now 36, he’s refreshed and seeking a new role, ideally in England or Germany, prioritising aligned goals and people over facilities.
Reports per Alan Nixon states that Sheffield United are mooting a potential move for Danny Rohl with current Blades manager Ruben Selles feeling the pressure.
Nixon says while it has been a ‘hectic’ transfer window, they need to start picking up points otherwise he’s gone. Danny Rohl is ‘being whispered behind the scenes’ at Bramall Lane, and adds that the former Owls boss ‘would not be put off by moving across Sheffield’.
Ruben Sellés is under increasing pressure to keep his job at Sheffield United with Danny Rohl reportedly earmarked as a replacement should the club decide to change.
Rohl would not be put off by the move despite his links to Sheffield Wednesday.
(Via: @reluctantnicko) pic.twitter.com/llwcYknOSu
— Second Tier podcast (@secondtierpod) September 7, 2025
Interesting piece in the Times, who have spoken to Danny Röhl about his time at Sheffield Wednesday #SWFC https://t.co/YvQPGvgVQw
— Rob Staton (@robstaton) September 6, 2025
Speaking to The Times, Rohl said while reflecting on his time at Sheffield Wednesday: “A lot of good experience for me. Some people said, ‘If you survived Wednesday then you learnt a lot.’ ”
Rohl signed a new, three-year contract with Sheffield Wednesday in May 2024 to extend his tenure until the summer of 2027. This decision came after keeping the club up.
However, his departure in July 2025 came amidst a period of significant financial issues and transfer embargoes at the club.
The Times reported that Sheffield Wednesday faced significant infrastructure issues during Danny Rohl time in charge including a below par training ground lacking a new gym, undersoil heating, or pitch covers, leading to slow repairs and unusable pitches in winter.
Training shifted to Hillsborough (until it deteriorated), and then they had to use university facilities, and artificial surfaces, sometimes forcing sessions to be abandoned for meetings.
Squad rebuilding was disrupted by owner Dejphon Chansiri personally handling transfers and contracts without a director of football.
Despite at one point being three points from the playoffs, key targets were missed, before tensions went up a notch when Chansiri rejected Southampton’s approach for Rohl, players and and club employees faced delayed wages for three months, and Rohl implied potentially leaving.
Rohl says: “It was around the Hull game, where we lost to a very late goal. We couldn’t pay the salaries and wages, the communication was not what I expected and there were all the small things. I fought myself, and asked myself: ‘What could happen in the summer? Do I have the conviction we can make the next step?’
The club refused to discuss his future, so Rohl wanted an early exit to avoid a summer of uncertainty: “I tried to speak with the club, to see if there was a dialogue, and when there wasn’t I had to take a decision.”
Chansiri slacked when it came to doing the basics, leading to Rohl doing the likes of approving hotel bookings and organising bus travel, and should his players and staff need an overnight, he’d have to write a detailed email explaining why.
He continues to say: “Just a small example. [In March] we played at Plymouth on Saturday and Norwich on Tuesday and I worked on Monday over the whole night. I didn’t sleep, to prepare for Norwich. If someone speaks about my attitude, that something changed, it’s completely wrong. What changed in the second half of the season was not me but the mood at the club.”
He cut his holiday short, with the 2025/26 season fast approaching. 40 planning meetings were had, despite knowing he’d leave Sheffield Wednesday upon severance agreement.
Rohl reflects fondly, proud of their 12th-place finish, the best in eight years, amid challenges, which is ongoing.
He also reflected on calls from Barry Bannan (who describes him his best coach) and fans chanted his name in his final game at Watford.
“That was a great moment and if you ask me now, I had the best time as manager in Sheffield. I love the fans, love my players. I love even our [training] facility.
“But I have emotion and I am ambitious. I don’t want to finish 15th. I need the mindset of [feeling] you’re moving forwards. I want to say this again: it was never that I changed my attitude. The love was always there. And I was so sad to leave.”
On Chansiri, Rohl said: “At first, when we meet each other for dinner, it was always in good humour and we could laugh together. But what I learnt in Red Bull was that in modern football you need the best man for the job. There’s a reason why a successful club has a big structure, with technical directors, sporting director and so on.”
“Luck is very important to him. He tries everything. I think it’s a cultural thing. You have to accept it. It’s nothing negative.”
On not being paid: “Everybody was affected but I felt, more, for people in regular jobs at the club. Everybody knows life is expensive. You have to pay bills.
“What was really hard was trying to help people but not having information. It’s hard to say something which gives hope when the picture is not clear.”
On his coaching and the future: “I’m very convinced that in modern football you need everything. It’s not about possession or out of possession. The most important thing is you understand what’s best for your team, prepare for the opponents, and be flexible.
“Of course I have my identity, but that does not mean going down one street, you have to look left and right. My non-negotiables? To play without intensity would be the biggest [crime]. But what is negotiable is making mistakes, my players shouldn’t be afraid.
“I want to see a brave team, a team really brave to take [the game] forward instead of sitting back. That is not my style, I will not park a bus.
“I’ve said many times, the biggest goal is to work with the best players you can and I’ve seen that world — at Munich, the German national team, at Leipzig. But also loved working, at Wednesday, with a group of big, big mentality and character so the main thing is to get the opportunity to build up something or continue another manager’s good work.
“For me it’s not important if you have two pitches or four pitches for the training, what matters is if you have the right people around you and goals together. It’s very important for humans and people [to feel] they want to go in the same direction.”
1867 Group Statement – Upcoming Protest Action
The Sheffield Wednesday Supporters Trust (@SWFCTrust). are continuing to organise protest action, and the 1867 Group fully support their efforts. The Trust has taken a leading role in giving our fanbase a unified voice, and we will… pic.twitter.com/A8fQosRgpf
— The 1867 Group. (@The1867Group) September 6, 2025
Meanwhile, 1867 Group have issued a statement for this Saturday’s visit of Bristol City.
The Sheffield Wednesday Supporters Trust (@SWFCTrust) – are continuing to organise protest action, and the 1867 Group fully support their efforts. The Trust has taken a leading role in giving our fanbase a unified voice, and we will always back their planned action.
We have been working closely with the Trust in coordinating protest activities, and they have requested that we do not proceed with the Teddy Bear protest, as they already have a demonstration planned and wish to maintain a clear and undiluted message.
That said, there is a clear need for a protest group able to take a more aggressive, direct approach than that of a recognised Trust. We understand the Trust has exciting plans in the pipeline, but we also recognise that large-scale protests are not easy to deliver every single week. That’s where the 1867 Group comes in – to provide protest outlets that maintain pressure and momentum.
The recent demonstration by the London Owls, supported by the Trust, showed exactly how effective this model can be. With their backing and the right action, fans made themselves heard loud and clear.
For the Bristol City home fixture, the 1867 Group will be leading two key actions:
Bag a Seat Protest – The disgraceful “Chansiri” branding on the North Stand seats will be covered in black and gold bin liners, which will be distributed by our volunteers. These protest colours will send a simple but powerful message: this chairman does not represent Sheffield Wednesday.
Following the match, we will gather outside the Directors’ Entrance for a throwback demonstration reminiscent of past regimes. Bring your banners, wear your protest colours, raise your voices. We will show visible, vocal opposition to Dejphon Chansiri’s continued mismanagement of our club.
Please also note – The Teddy Bear protest remains an important part of our plans and will be included in a future fixture. We would like to thank Roundabout Charity for their patience and clear guidance on this matter. They have kindly confirmed that they will collect the teddies, which will be cleaned before being distributed to those most in need.
We urge all Wednesdayites to back these actions. Every protest counts. Every show of resistance matters. Together we must make sure each and every protest is a success until the day comes when Dejphon Chansiri is gone.
Enough is enough.
