Sheffield Wednesday are said to be considering appointing a two-time title-winning coach according to reports emerging this week.
According to Yorkshire Live, the Owls are considering former Anderlecht and Al Ahly boss Rene Weiler for the vacant managerial job at Hillsborough.
The Owls are on the search for a new boss after sacking Tony Pulis, who came in to replace Garry Monk, only to last 45 days in charge and was dismissed with a disappointing record of just one win in ten games.
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Neil Thompson is currently in temporary charge, winning back-to-back games, 2-1 home win over Middlesbrouh and a 1-0 victory when hosting Derby County.
Owner Dejphon Chansiri seemingly has a more established name in mind as the Owls look to move clear of the relegation zone in the Championship table and preserve their status.
Yorkshire Live claim that Weiler has emerged as a potential candidate and is on the shortlist to takeover.
The Swiss boss won league titles in Belgium with Anderlecht and in Egypt with Al Ahly. He left the latter after admitting that he wanted more time with his family.
Weiler left Al Ahly in October boasting a 77% win record there, winning 34, drawing 8 and losing 2 of his 44 games in charge with them.
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WEILER’S CAREER:
Senior career (defender)
1990–1993 – FC Winterthur
1993–1994 – Aarau – 36 (2)
1994–1996 – Servette FC – 40 (0)
1996–1998 – FC Zürich – 35 (5)
1998–2001 – FC Winterthur
National team
1997 – Switzerland
MANAGERIAL STATS
www.fanbanter.co.uk – Fan reaction to the latest football news, gossip & funnies
Wednesday owner Chansiri claims the club have had many applicants for the vacant role. Names such as Paul Cook, Jose Morais and Joey Barton have also been mentioned.
Weiler has the best pedigree in terms of winning silverware, however whether he can do the same and be suited for Championship football remains to be seen.
Sheffield Wednesday may be considering appointing the two-time title-winning coach but they will have to appoint a new manager soon – leave it any longer and they’ll miss the opportunity for new signings in the January transfer window.
Sheffield Wednesday have also spoken to Paco Jemez about becoming their next permanent manager, according to journalist Alan Nixon.
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It seems the 50 year old Spaniard is someone that the club are seriously considering as Nixon has confirmed that the Owls have spoken to him.
Jemez has been without a job since his second spell at Rayo Vallecano, the club with which he has spent the majority of his managerial career, came to an end in August.
Despite a four-year stint with Vallecano between 2012 and 2016, his time as a coach has been mostly made up of short-term spells – which is unlikely to convince the Hillsborough faithful that he’s the right man to take the club forward, stranger things have happened though and who knows what those at Sheffield Wednesday will do next.
Fans reacted with Sheffield Wednesday said to be considering appointing a two-time title-winning coach in Rene Weiler…
I know his brother Rott.
— Paul Bearer (@top7664) January 6, 2021
@wellbeaten1977: Bloody hell got a message to have a small bet on him this morning was 33/1 on skybet now 6s
@Dango1867: Has got a good record and been a director of football b4 too.
@stevo50313: Vladimir Ivic now 6/1. That would continue our strange connection to all things Watford
@Bernard57184969: To be fair we could do worse!
@RussAmos333: Love how people write him off and have never heard of him
@liam_beebe: People saying “who?” Because it’s not a really well known manager… Everyone starts somewhere, every manager is unknown till they get a decent break , back whoever the manager, never know it might turn out to be a gem
@Billyxswfc: Got a decent record him, albeit with clubs half of the Wednesday da’s have never heard of
@AS__1867: Wouldn’t be the worst appointment. Certainly better than a few names I’ve seen. Cook is still my number one choice though.
@JosephO__: has a decent record in fairness
@Turk_S8: Good record, averages a win ratio of about 50%, Champions League experience (not be long)
ForeverAYellow: Sounds like a promising manager, a decent looking record so far as manager, I’d say it’s worth taking a punt
He spent five years as Director of Football 2002-2007 before becoming a head coach/manager, so he should not be unaccustomed to a traditional British manager’s job if that is what is on offer by Chansiri at Wednesday.
— Peter A. Løhmann (@ploehmann) January 6, 2021
He cut his teeth in Switzerland taking up unfancied Shaffhausen, and then restored “Swiss Wednesday”, FC Arau, to the top division, before taking over at “German Wednesday”, 1. FC Nürnberg, turning them around after 1st tier relegation and was a play-off game from promotion.
— Peter A. Løhmann (@ploehmann) January 6, 2021
Then RSC Anderlecht, the most successful team in the history of Belgian football with 34 national championships and 5 continential trophies, poached him in 2016 and even paid a then reported £500k minimum for his signature.
— Peter A. Løhmann (@ploehmann) January 6, 2021
His career seems to have stalled since his Anderlecht dismissal, though: Despite signing a 3 year deal in a clear step down from Anderlecht, Swiss also-ran FC Luzern, he was sacked after less than a season with the 17/18 3rd finishers languishing in 7th of the 10 man division.
— Peter A. Løhmann (@ploehmann) January 6, 2021
He is specifically mentioned to have been approached by Leeds, probably around the time Thomas Christiansen was dismissed and before Paul Heckingbottom was hired in February 2018 (and before Bielsa’s reign started in the summer of 2018).
— Peter A. Løhmann (@ploehmann) January 6, 2021
In May 2018 a deal as Sporting Director at another Swiss traditional club, Servette Geneve, fell through when he wanted a manager’s role: In charge of both recruitment and coaching – so he’s clearly not averse to “British” management. Quite the contrary.
— Peter A. Løhmann (@ploehmann) January 6, 2021
Interestingly he is described to “struggle with having a club’s decision-makers without footballing knowledge join in on football discussions”. He was once quoted as saying: “Diplomacy is the first step in lying”.
Not exactly hand in glove with Chansiri then! 😬
— Peter A. Løhmann (@ploehmann) January 6, 2021
Another brilliant quote is one of him saying that if he couldn’t get to terms with the football business, he’d open a bar in Zürich!
— Peter A. Løhmann (@ploehmann) January 6, 2021
He had an extraordinary amount of success in Egypt: Winning the first 17 league matches in a row, and he lost just 3 of his 44 matches in charge, 2.48 points per game, including seeing Al Ahly into the African Champions League semifinals before his departure.
— Peter A. Løhmann (@ploehmann) January 6, 2021
A tactical pragmatist, seemingly favouring a single striker 4-2-3-1 formation that could work at Wednesday depending on recruitment in January (especially up top). At both Anderlecht and Al Ahly, and even in the poor spell at Luzern, his sides scored ~2 goals a game. So no Pulis!
— Peter A. Løhmann (@ploehmann) January 6, 2021
An undeniable coaching talent, but maybe also “too big a man”, both in CV and a human sense, for a Wednesday led by a Chansiri insisting on close control of matters relating to recruitment and club infrastructure in general; especially after “once bitten, twice shy” after Pulis?
— Peter A. Løhmann (@ploehmann) January 6, 2021
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