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The Championship club's persistent issues are seen as a "serious issue" and the football regulator is seeking powers to examine team situations in comparable cases, its new chair David Kogan has announced.

During an extensive discussion, the chairman, who was appointed on Monday, expressed "sympathy" towards Wednesday's fanbase.

Kogan met with four supporters' associations representing the Championship side recently.

The Championship side have been experiencing difficulties in multiple areas in the current year, with the club delaying salary disbursements on five separate occasions, including in September.

"Obviously the club has become a significant problem for EFL and a substantial concern for English football," the regulator explained.

"Wednesday stands as one of the iconic names for the English game and in recent days we have met fan representatives.

"We're now looking to get powers... which will permit us to bring Sheffield Wednesday - and other clubs referred to us if they warrant scrutiny and addressed."

Monetary Issues and Proprietorship Status

Wednesday's embattled owner Dejphon Chansiri stated during the off-season he would be willing to sell up at Hillsborough, but he has not been able to secure a deal with potential new owners.

Delayed salary payments on time in earlier this year led to sanctions by the English Football League (EFL) in mid-year, blocking the team from conducting any transfers or loans for the next three transfer windows, although the ban was rescinded in August.

Authority's Position

The regulator explained: "The position was created for the fans of Sheffield Wednesday, teams facing challenges where supporters are loyal to a community organization that has existed throughout their lifetimes in many cases.

"I completely understand the club's situation, as I do for all the clubs that in modern times have encountered failure, or nearly ceased operations, for reasons that have nothing to do with the supporters."

Inquired if the authority might compel an owner to sell a club if they are deemed unsuitable, Kogan said: "Should the inquiry concern 'would we intervene in the final instance?', the response would be once we gather the evidence and understand the situation, we will."

But Kogan stressed that forcing owners to sell clubs would be treated as a "last resort" and the regulator would prefer to work with them.

"The last thing what we want to do is start getting involved with an particular organization, an specific proprietor, without having the opportunity to collaborate with that chairman to fix the problems affecting the organization and the proprietor's dealing with," the chairman stated.

"But the truth is, when you examine the past of football, over the last 20 or 30 years there have been some owners, not many, but certain individuals who have acted carelessly in the approach they have taken toward their organizations and finally don't wish to take responsibility for the coming years."

'Errors may undo substantial development'

The regulator engaged officials from numerous teams to explain the responsibilities of the authority recently and maintained it represented a "progressive gathering" with a "high level of engagement" from the grassroots to elite level.

"This position carries substantial significance, because if errors are made, if the world of football gets it wrong, the significant advances achieved necessary will vanish swiftly," Kogan said.

"And that's what nobody wants in the context of the English game is a substantial accomplishment - we must maintain momentum.

"There's an enormous amount of money coming into football and has been channeled for the recent generations, because certainty is lacking it will continue to come into football, which is one of the reasons why I think we have to maintain a focused outlook on risk and of course, of the immediate future."

Top Flight Apprehensions

The Premier League opposed the establishment of an oversight body because of fears of a negative impact on the elite division's competitive balance, but the chairman responded: "I'm absolutely committed to the achievement and development as an financial organization of the top division.

"As someone who appreciates the concern of undermining the division as a high-quality offering of the nation. But concurrently, if you consult with top flight officials after today's meeting, they would have had a high level of reassurance -and, indeed, they have been informing us confidentially they have a high level of reassurance."

Partisan Associations

Kogan is still facing a "thorough examination" by the public appointments commissioner after he acknowledged providing funds to the Labour Party in 2020.

The chairman contributed funds to Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport the minister's leadership bid, along with that of the current Prime Minister.

"I have been entirely transparent regarding my past party membership [with Labour], and that party membership ceased the day the select committee approved my appointment," Kogan said.

"I currently have no participation in any type of partisan engagement."