Football has an ownership problem yes, but the blame for the decline of the great game should be shared across the board

James Childs on 2 February 2025

Over the last thirty years, there has been a growing concern amongst football fans alike around the direction of the sport and whether it ultimately fails to serve local communities in a way many of our parent’s generation remember. A growing problem is the ever-bigger distance between fans and the club’s ownership, which can be seen across the tiers of English Football with ownership protests seen at Reading FC, Bolton Wanderers, Oldham Athletic and my own club, Sheffield Wednesday.

Protests have been sparked as a result of fans feeling as though their voice often wasn’t heard and fears around the long-term future of many of these clubs. These fears are understandable after clubs such as Bury FC and Darlington FC’s ownership battles ended in the teams having to start again at the bottom of the English Football pyramid.

The stark truth is that the last three decades have seen the gap between fans and owners widen even further, as both stakeholders have very different interests and objectives in their clubs. Naturally, fans seek investment in both the infrastructure and squad in an attempt to progress as far up the pyramid as possible whereas owners are much more focused on turning a profit or receiving a return on their investment. 

The days of the local businessman owning the football club are long behind us, now it is often rich American businessmen for clubs such Arsenal or Burnley or even the Saudi government, as is the case for Newcastle United. The objective for these owners solely comes from the drive to expand their fanbase on an international scale, in the hope of generating extra revenue for the club. This was demonstrated when Birmingham City CEO Garry Cook suggested that their League One match against promotion rivals Wrexham should be played in the States, an idea which had zero thought for the fans of the English and Welsh side yet seemed appealing to the American owners of both clubs. 

The scrapping of FA Cup replays for the current 2024/25 season, against a backdrop of much fan disgust, went ahead, with Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola conceding that it would harm smaller clubs but “much better’ for those teams playing in European competitions. The money available from playing in European competitions makes historic competitions like the FA cup of no interest to Premier League owners. 

The expansion of television coverage, particularly over the last ten years, has been another decision, taken purely for profit but with little consideration for fans. Games are now changed at short notice to appease Sky schedules and broadcast at times which hinder travelling fans. On Wednesday evening, Burnley fans were expected to make the 630-mile round trip to Home Park, a fixture which leaves fans no choice but to make accommodation arrangements. The game was also broadcast on Sky Sports Football, a match one can only assume was picked as it was a relegation threatened team versus a promotion contending team, no matter what inconvenience this makes for the fans.

As mentioned previously, my own club Sheffield Wednesday has been in the forefront of protests against our Thai-businessman owner, Dejphon Chansiri. Fan grievances come from a mixture of ticket prices, poor operational decisions, lack of investment and our near dice with relegation back to League One last season after a less-than-ideal start under the management of Xisco Muñoz.  Whilst I agree fans have a right to protest their ownership and that owners should fundamentally be ‘custodians’ of the club as opposed to ‘owners’, I often feel my own teams fanbase are so blindsided by their hatred for our owner, they unfairly portion 100% of the blame for our misfortunes on him. This view does not make me popular with friends, family and the wider fanbase, particularly on social media and I have often been called a ‘traitor’ for holding views about the club I love which differs from the consensus. 

The most recent disgruntlement from fans has come after a lack of progress for the Owls in the January transfer window. Despite no communication from the coaching team to the Chairman around which players they wish to purchase and less than helpful comments made by manager Danny Röhl around transfer rumours, fans wish to place all the blame at the door of the owner. My sympathy for our owner grows, when I see the abuse he is subject to on social media, not only directed at him but also his family. I agree that Chansiri deserves criticism for some poor business decisions in the past, particularly those that have seen the club receive points deductions or transfer embargos, yet he cannot be blamed for every issue seen at Hillsborough and he certainly should not be subject to any form of abuse, no matter your views on his ownership.

Football clearly does have an ownership issue. The distance between fans and owners is ever widening and decisions made by owners, the FA and media companies are only adding to this. However, fans must be reasonable in the blame they place on owners and, as is the case for my own club, when they should also look at the decisions by the wider footballing establishment when looking who to blame for their disillusionment with the great game. 

Words by James Childs

Rooney’s Rough Ride…

jacob hibbert on 19 November 2024

Throughout his playing career, Wayne Rooney was regarded as one of the best attacking
talents of his generation and English History: totalling up 237 club goals in 569 appearances
and representing England 120 times.

His managerial career, however, has taken a slight turn for the worse…


The Englishman, 39, started off at Derby County as a player-manager and eventually got
the job permanently in January 2021. He then stepped down in June 2022 after a poor
season which saw them relegated to League One. Rooney then headed to the states, where he
managed D.C united for 53 matches, getting just 14 wins in the process. After leaving under
mutual consent, he came back home and took charge of Birmingham City following on from
the controversial departure of John Eustace.

He was sacked just 15 games later after only two wins during that time.


Since the end of the 2023/2024 season, he has been in charge of Championship side
Plymouth Argyle. They are currently sat 22nd in the table, in the relegation zone on goal
difference. As a side that was in League Two just five seasons ago, trying to become a
recognised Championship club was always going to be a challenge- especially in such an
unpredictable league. However, after the successful spell of Rooney’s predecessor Steven
Schumacher, the England legend should be looking to build and secure Plymouth’s
championship status.

With young talents such as Morgan Whittaker and Bali Mumba, it’s certainly possible.


With his managerial CV lacking much success, does he have the skills to get it right at Plymouth?


As a young manager, there is still a chance for Rooney to prove himself, although it does
feel as if time and opportunities are running out for him and another failed job could put the
future of Wayne Rooney as a manager in serious jeopardy.

Words by Jacob Hibbert.

England’s Yorkshire stars take centre stage in Pakistan (Updated Version)

Freddie Waterland on 31 October 2024

Sitting here in Harry Brook and Joe Root’s native Yorkshire as the rain lashes at the windows, one could be forgiven for thinking Multan (Pakistan) was on a different planet, such was the sweltering heat and aridity on show over the past two weeks. Yet in truth the pair, cruising to England’s record test partnership as they set the team up for victory in the first test produced an archetype for subcontinent batting, and seemed more at home than their Pakistani counterparts.

This Pakistan side continue to be a source of deep confusion. A side containing two high class fast bowlers in Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi and batters (including the talismanic Babar Azam and Mo Rizwan) who are surely capable of scoring big runs, collapsed in the first test, resulting in a dramatic overhaul of some of many of its star names – including Babar and Shaheen.  

Make no mistake about it, England needed the win. Just as Multan appeared worlds apart from Yorkshire, this iteration of Bazball appears a long way from the halcyon days of 2022, with a shock defeat to Sri Lanka and a battering in India leaving McCollum not without his critics. This display, then, could be seen as a model for a more refined, considered ‘Bazball’. At its core remains an emphasis on player freedom and expression, but without the recklessness  they have sometimes been accused of playing with. 

It is a damning indictment on a side so full of talent, that Pakistan’s best option for success in the 2nd test was to roll the dice: craft a raging turner and hope they win the toss, and England’s batters fail more spectacularly than their own.  

In effect, that is what happened. In an unprecedented decision in test match cricket the surface on which the first test had been played was re-used for the second match of the series. This resulted in a hugely eroded, weathered surface and the Pakistani spinners Noman Ali and Sajid Khan combined to take all 20 of the England wickets and see them to victory. Whilst the series is level at 1-1, the nature of the pitch makes it tough to assess where the teams are in relation to one another. A debut hundred for Kamran Ghulam and the continued success of Agha Salman are certainly big positives for Pakistan though, whilst England have surely unearthed a key bowler for their Ashes prospects in Brydon Carse, and Ben Duckett’s 4th Test Hundred has solidified his spot at the top of the order for the foreseeable future. 

The focus though is rightly on Brook and Root, who will be central to England’s chances of winning the series next week. It would be unfair on Root to describe this series as a ‘changing of the guard’ moment – he is simply the best batter in the world right now – but it has demonstrated for all to see, that just as Yorkshire has produced stars of England’s past and present, in Brook they may just have done so for the future as well. 

Words by Freddie Waterland

Wharton breaks through at Headingley to start the Yorkshire party

Martin Lloyd on 4 October 2024

James Wharton top-scored for Yorkshire in their final Vitality County Championship match against
Northamptonshire at Headingley. With his side’s promotion to Division One confirmed on
Saturday, Wharton entered the final day of the season with his maiden double-century in view,
before reaching an eventual score of 285. 

The Battle of the North: Leeds set to host the Christie Championships

Dan Thompson on 16 March 2022

Of all the aspects of life that were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, sporting events feel like the most important of the unimportant. As restrictions were rumoured and then implemented from March 2020, organised sport in Britain came to an abrupt halt. This pause included university sport and the historic rivalries and competitions that come with them. 

Today sees the return of one of the most prestigious of these university competitions: The Christie Championships. The triangular championship sees the universities of Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool face each other in over 30 different sports across one day. 

Having been held since 1886, The Christie Championships are the second oldest sporting rivalry between British universities, behind Oxford and Cambridge, when the three universities were colleges of Victoria University. It is named after Richard Copley Christie, a professor of History and Political Economy in Manchester from 1854 to 1866. 

The competition is returning to home soil this year, with the University of Leeds hosting the event today. Leeds’ last victory came in 2014 by securing 172.5 points to Manchester’s 161 and Liverpool’s 144.5. The triumph saw Leeds dominate across almost all fields, picking up 23 wins in the process. It has been eight years since that last victory, albeit with a two-year break, and Leeds’ competing students will be hoping they can recreate 2014’s impressive performance. 

Image Credit: Christie Championships

Leeds dominated the cup in the 1990s and early 2000s, winning nine of out ten championships from 1993 to 2002. However, Manchester have since grabbed the headlines, securing 15 cups up to and including 2019. Leeds will be aiming to recreate their last win on home soil in 2011, which ended an eight-year hegemony for Manchester, and will need support from across the university to do so.

The tournament will be held across various sporting venues in Leeds, including The Edge and the Bodington playing fields. Full details of times and locations for each sport can be found here. Whether you’re a fan of football, badminton, equestrian, or ultimate Frisbee, there’s something for everyone.

Here’s hoping 2022 is a year to remember for the University of Leeds, and one in which we claim the Battle of the North.

Image Credit: Christie Cup Twitter

“Who’s Tom Brady?”: The monopoly of English football over the NFL

Rishi Shah on 18 March 2021

It is testament to the artistic brilliance of The Weeknd that everyone was raving about his half-time show at last week’s Super Bowl LV. Showtime has also recently announced a ninety-minute documentary that will go behind the scenes of the half-time spectacle that included so many of his global hits. However, it is another ninety-minute game that (controversially, for some) shares the same name that continues to dominate English sport. View counts and media coverage are stronger than ever, and sports such as American Football face an uphill battle to break the monopoly that football holds in England. 

In a parallel universe, Manchester United are 2-1 up against Chelsea in a thrilling FA Cup Final. Tensions are high, the fans are back in the stands and booing referee Mike Dean, who has just blown for half-time after awarding a contentious Bruno Fernandes penalty via VAR. Suddenly, the stage is being set for a Coldplay quickfire medley. Something just doesn’t sit right, does it? The primary purpose of half-time has surely got to be the players’ physical recovery, an inspiring team talk, and perhaps a social pint and quick toilet break for the fans. It is truly a ridiculous proposition that anything of the kind would happen in the world of English football.

The fact that the Super Bowl places such heavy emphasis on its interval displays its ever-increasing commercialisation, and how the focus on the sport itself is slowly being filtered out as advertisements and celebrities take centre stage. English football is very much a local as well as an international phenomenon, but the former always takes precedence – and it is that rawness and honesty at face value that connects so well with the pride and passion that so many English fans possess. Whilst some NFL games have been held in the UK to further its globalisation, the reverse could not be more unlikely due to the regional identity attached to English football. Additionally, the stop-start nature of American Football has come under fire from many Britons who have struggled to enjoy it, perhaps demonstration our impatience as a nation that lends itself to the free-flowing, fast-paced Premier League. 

The post-lockdown shift to staggered Premier League kick-off times, whereby all ten weekly games can be televised, has been monumental in viewership. When Sky Sports announced some games would be broadcasted freely from June 2019, records were instantly broken as over 5 million people tuned in for last season’s goalless Merseyside derby between Everton and Liverpool. Across the Atlantic, this year’s Super Bowl was the least-watched event since 2006. 

It should still be noted that American Football still has a hugely significant following in the UK. Whilst millions undoubtedly tuned in for the Super Bowl, it is clear to see some of the reasons why it is still some distance behind its English counterpart in terms of popularity and sporting identity, and to highlight the assets that have made football such a phenomenon in England.

How Lewis Hamilton is racing against racism in F1

Rishi Shah on 22 January 2021

Sir Lewis Hamilton – by far the standout name on the recently published New Year’s Honours list. Following his recent Sports Personality of the Year (SPOTY) award, the accolades are stacking up for the British F1 driver.

The SPOTY award has long eluded a curiously unpopular Hamilton, despite the fact that before his record-equalling Formula One World Championship title in 2020, he already had six to his name. His recent dominance within the sport has become somewhat of a routine, so one might ask: what was the difference this year that propelled him towards these two glorious honours? The answer lies in an all too familiar issue – the work he has done in the fight against racism, striving for equality and diversity, in the sport and beyond.

So often leading races from the front (quite literally), Hamilton knew that it would be the most impactful if it was him who picked up the mantle that needed to be filled in the summer. George Floyd’s death on 25th May 2020 had invoked a Black Lives Matter movement with momentum unheard of for decades, and Hamilton used his influence as the only black F1 driver as directly as possible. Wearing masks and t-shirts drawing attention to police brutality and the unjust murder of Breonna Taylor highlights his refusal to simply be an F1 driver, alongside his active decision to take a knee and show solidarity with the oppressed before each race.

Hamilton’s motives are deep-rooted, with Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff describing his proactivity in previous years, starting conversations about internal diversity and explicitly flagging up issues surrounding the shortage of minority mechanics employed by the team. Hamilton’s world domination in the context of being the sport’s only black driver has no doubt motivated him to inspire other young fans into believing that anything is possible, no matter your background, as he emotionally re-iterated on the team’s radio following his World Championship victory in Turkey. However, the individuality of his actions has only exacerbated the sport’s clear lack of unity behind such an important cause.

Whilst Premier League football has normalised the gesture of taking a knee, seven F1 drives – which equates to 35% – have refused to join Hamilton in his pre-race demonstrations. Such a global sport, which involves personnel from over six continents, displaying this awkwardly detached sense of social awareness is not only damaging to its reputation, but also a sign of where the genuine problems lie. With an entirely male driver line-up, including many who have family connections in the F1 hierarchy, there are already enough reasons why the sport is inherently restrictive – and its failure to stand with its champion in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter cause only worsens its image. Within the context of social issues, perhaps unsurprisingly, F1’s infamous partnership with Bahrain has long come under fire for the sport’s hierarchy turning the blind eye to its dismal human rights violations. As F1 welcomes a new CEO in 2021, Stefano Domenicali, the man must surely look into these issues to reshape the sport into an inclusive, diverse environment in which anyone can succeed. 

Whilst there are many rumours that Hamilton’s retirement is on the horizon, it is perhaps more important than ever that he remains in the sport and continues to fight for equality. Hamilton admitted this year’s victory felt different, given the added motivation of his unerring desire to utilise his platform for good. These feelings no doubt leave him hungrier than ever to pursue his goal and ensure anyone can enter the sport – regardless of race or background – in any capacity, be it a mechanic, driver or CEO. His efforts in 2020 have sealed Lewis Hamilton’s legacy, not only in his records and titles but as a role model who leads by example by tackling systemic issues in a sport that needs it more than ever.