It’s official: the winds of change are swirling around Hillsborough. On December 24, 2025, former professional poker player James Bord was named the preferred bidder to take over Sheffield Wednesday, a club desperate for new direction after a bruising decade and a disastrous season in the Championship. For supporters, the news is a cocktail of hope, skepticism, and a dash of déjà vu—especially given Bord’s unconventional background and the club’s current predicament at the foot of the table.
Sheffield Wednesday’s woes have been well documented. Administration in October 2025 marked the end of Dejphon Chansiri’s tumultuous 10-year reign. Financial chaos, points deductions, and transfer embargoes have left the once-proud Owls at the bottom of the Championship, staring down the barrel of relegation to League One. The club sits on -9 points, a staggering 30 points from safety, after two deductions for breaches of financial regulations. The mood in South Yorkshire is tense, and the stakes—no pun intended—couldn’t be higher.
Enter James Bord, a 44-year-old London-born entrepreneur with an eclectic resume. Bord made his fortune on the professional poker circuit, racking up more than $4.3 million (£3.2 million) in career earnings. His early career included stints at gambling giants Starlizard and Smartodds, before he pivoted to the world of artificial intelligence and machine learning. Today, he runs Short Circuit Science, a data company that specializes in AI-driven sports analytics.
Bord’s football portfolio is already international. He holds stakes in Spanish Segunda Division side Cordoba CF and Bulgarian club Septemvri Sofia, both under the banner of Park Bench SFC LLC. Alongside partner Evan Sofer, he also owns Scottish side Dunfermline Athletic—a venture that saw him attend his first match in person just last weekend, a 3-2 home defeat to Ayr United. Yet, for all his varied experience, it’s Bord’s involvement with Sheffield United that has local fans talking.
Short Circuit Science played a consulting role at Bramall Lane after Sheffield United’s acquisition by COH Sports last summer. The company’s AI-driven approach helped identify young talent and even influenced the club’s decision to appoint Rubén Sellés as manager, though his tenure lasted just five games before Chris Wilder’s return. Stephen Bettis, Sheffield United’s chief executive, told the BBC in October, “James has a data and AI model around identifying talent that we think is maybe slightly different to anybody else but still along the same lines. He heavily influenced some of the young, emerging talent we signed and the owners were willing to take that risk on the basis that they were relatively small transfer fees and contracts. We’ve done four, potentially five, and probably if one of them works we’re in front from a financial perspective.”
Bettis added, “With the ‘normal’ recruitment it’s an additional help. We identify a number of players in each position, then we send them to James and his team to run them through their AI and data machines to assist in the process. It’s a kind of sense-check.” Despite this, Wilder recently confirmed that Bord would have no influence over Sheffield United’s moves in the upcoming transfer window.
So what does Bord’s arrival mean for Wednesday? The club’s administrators announced on December 24 that, after “extensive financial, legal and forensic due diligence, supported by specialist advisors,” they had reached an agreement with a preferred bidder. The statement, issued by joint administrator Paul Stanley, emphasized that the consortium “brings existing experience in football ownership, including majority and minority interests in clubs operating within regulated league systems.”
Yet, the path to a completed takeover is far from clear. Bord’s consortium must still pass the English Football League’s Owners and Directors’ Test—a process that could present hurdles due to his gambling background. The deal is also subject to the agreement of all legal documentation and EFL approval. Realistically, this process could stretch well into 2026, likely preventing Wednesday from conducting any business during the crucial January transfer window. That’s a bitter pill for manager Henrik Pedersen, who has already fielded 36 players this season in a desperate attempt to find a winning formula.
Financially, there’s at least a glimmer of good news. The offer to creditors exceeds EFL minimum requirements, meaning the club would avoid starting next season with a punishing -15 points deduction. It’s a small consolation for fans who have endured years of uncertainty and decline, but it does suggest a more stable foundation could be on the horizon—if, and only if, the deal crosses the finish line.
The takeover saga has drawn interest from several quarters. Former Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley and American aviation businessman David Storch were among the final bidders. Storch’s bid, in partnership with Tom Costin of Blue Crow Sports Group, brought experience from multi-club ownership, including French club Le Havre, Spanish side CD Leganes, and Cancun FC in Mexico. As of November 21, about 10 parties remained in the running, but Bord’s group has now pulled ahead—at least for the moment.
Supporters’ reactions have been, predictably, mixed. Rob Staton of BBC Radio Sheffield summed up the mood, noting, “There’s been a mixed reaction to this news online by supporters. Bord’s consulting at Sheffield United wasn’t seen as a success and there is a feeling at Bramall Lane it had an impact on a chaotic summer for the Blades, that has led to a challenging season just months after coming so close to promotion to the Premier League. Who is providing the money behind this bid? What is the plan beyond the expected preference for an analytical approach to recruitment? Are they capable of identifying signings that can be turned into assets?” Staton continued, “On the other hand, some think the analytics at least provide a plan and the consortium being involved with other clubs at least means they offer some experience. Others are just glad the process has moved on after a period of speculation and rumour about what was happening.”
For now, the biggest questions remain unanswered. Who else is in Bord’s consortium? Will AI-driven recruitment bring the stability and success Wednesday so desperately needs, or will it lead to more chaos? Can the club avoid a third straight relegation and begin the long climb back to former glories? The only certainty is that the coming months will be pivotal.
As the Owls’ ownership drama unfolds, supporters can only watch and wait. The deal’s completion—and the club’s future—hang in the balance, but at least, for the first time in months, there’s a sense that a new chapter could soon begin at Hillsborough.
