Charlton Athletic’s beloved Roland Duchatelet has been voted as the worst club owner in English football in a poll over almost 5,000 fans.
The poll in question, conducted by Against League 3, saw 4,804 supporters give their overall opinion of their club’s owners in the form of a 1-10 rating.
While the inevitable suspects – Blackburn Rovers, Blackpool, Coventry, Leyton Orient, Hull City, Nottingham Forest, etc – were all down there, it was Duchalelet who received the lowest ranking of all, with an average of just 1.12 out of 10.
Here’s the bottom ten in reverse order…
Many congrats to Roland and his veritable minions! Fending off the likes of the Allams, the Oystons, Venkys, the Al-Hawasis, SISU, Francesco Becchetti and Massimo Cellino is no mean feat.
After publishing their results, Against League 3 also added that most of the accompanying comments left by fans painted a fairly grim scene:
Over 1600 comments were left on the survey, many painting a concerned and angry picture of life following a club in crisis.
The tests used to vet owners in both The Premier League and Football League were widely criticised.
Yep. Speaking as a beleaguered Forest fan, football under an inept, joyless ownership regime becomes little more than draining. Draining and numbing.
Never have I felt so passively disconnected from the club.
For a little more background on the slow deflation of Charlton Athletic, head this way.