Sorry, but I can't help referring to it. You know the one – the "don't mention the war" episode in which Basil, helplessly out of control in the presence of German guests, comically remarks: "I did mention it once, but I think I got away with it."
For war, read takeover. We'll count our blessings there, at least! Actually, I've mentioned it a little more than once. Whether I've got away with it is beside the point.

Can Wednesday "get away" to a decent start and a respectable season with so much uncertainty hanging in the air?

The other point about the Hillsborough ownership saga is that it is frankly impossible not to refer to it.

However hard you try, all consideration of Wednesday's prospects leads back to that one infernal subject.

I don't mind admitting that your reporter is sick and tired of it, so I can't imagine how the club's legion of fans must be feeling. Let's hope there will be a resolution soon with Lancashire businessman Geoff Sheard having shown great persistence in the face of a political stalemate.

Once again, though, it is unworkable to divorce discussion of the team from the overall state of the club. New investment is the be-all and end-all as far as the future is concerned.

Without it, Wednesday have only one outside hope of re-emerging as a major club – by somehow sneaking an entirely unexpected, probably unrealistic promotion to the Premier League.

Well, it can be done, I suppose. Just about. Or at least attempted. Bristol City mounted a surprise bid last season. And yet the three successful teams all invested substantially, not least Hull under new ownership in joining West Brom and Stoke on the way up.

So it's no surprise that nobody within Hillsborough is mentioning the P word. Nor should they. Brian Laws is in "don't-mention-the-takeover" mode. I wish I could join him!

The Owls boss knows, of course, the funadamental importance of the issue and is not unaware, either, that it could eventually cost him his job through no fault of his own.

Laws is to be admired for his stoic attitude. His refusal to fret is both logical and genuine because he simply can't influence the interminable off-field saga.

True, Laws and his players are drawing togetherness from the affair, as they proved last season. They have closed ranks to carry on regardless.

However, the prevailing mood of dissatisfaction around Hillsborough creates a powerful climate that is difficult to combat.

The club is stagnating. There has been no chairman and no leader with his head above the parapet since the resignation of Dave Allen. Wednesday are simply drifting.

Considering all this, Laws' one realistic aim at this stage has to be for a competitive season in the Championship, nothing more and nothing less.

He'll hope a decent squad and some talented players can do enough to brighten the gloom and calm the air of frustration surrounding the place.

It can be said that the gap between the bottom and a push towards the top six is so slight that it is not unbridgable. In theory, Wednesday have enough to put this to the test. My view is that the embattled Laws will do well to hold the middle ground while the club waits for salvation.




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