Mike Ashley is causing trouble at Rangers, but does he deserve a place in our top ten…
The ongoing controversy at Rangers took another twist this week, with several reports suggesting that the Glasgow side would be forced to include their five loan signings from Newcastle United in their starting XI – reports that were denied by Rangers chief executive Derek Llambias.
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Newcastle owner Mike Ashley, who also owns a stake in Rangers, is believed to be at the heart of the issue – but he doesn’t make our list here of football’s ten most controversial villains in chief. Find out who does in the pages below:
10) Qatar Sports Investments (Paris Saint Germain)
A Manchester City style take over brought with it extravagant spending on a number of Europe’s top talents, including strike duo Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Edinson Cavani. Financial Fair Play has since been brought into prevent exactly these kind of deals.
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9) Maurizio Zamparini (Palermo)
An owner that truly satisfies the trigger-happy stereotype of Italian owners. Zamparini has sacked 20 managers since taking over at the club in 2002, although he did lead them from Serie C back into Serie A for two spells in the top flight.
8) The Glazers (Manchester United)
United have enjoyed plenty of success under their American owners, but their arrival has never sat well with many of the club’s supporters – with the birth of FC United of Manchester created in protest to the decision to issue a £500 million bond to ease the club’s debt burden.
7) Vincent Tan (Cardiff City)
Tan hasn’t done much right at Cardiff. Last season he sacked the then popular Malky Mackay and replaced him with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who failed to prevent the side’s relegation from the Premier League. He also controversially changed Cardiff’s home kit from blue to red, a decision which has since been reversed.
6) Venky’s (Blackburn Rovers)
Between the Venky’s ownership and Steve Kean’s ill-fated spell as the club’s manager, Rovers fans had little to smile about in 2012 when their clubs was relegated from the Premier League. A mass of fan protests ensued, most notably featuring a chicken being thrown on to the pitch.
5) Tom Hicks and George Gillett (Liverpool)
The duo made bold promises about a new stadium and future success, but were simply never able to deliver. They fell out with both Rick Parry and manager Rafael Benitez and eventually left the club with Roy Hodgson at the helm, and with the team in the relegation zone.
4) Kjell Inge Rokke and Bjorn Rune Gjelsten (Wimbledon)
Shortly after being relegated from the Premier League, the Norwegian duo decided to relocate the team from Wimbledon to Milton Keynes. AFC Wimbledon was born in the wake of the decision, while the famous original club is no more.
3) Suleyman Kerimov (Anzhi Makhachkala)
Anzhi signed the likes of Roberto Carlos and Samuel Eto’o as they set about becoming one of biggest football clubs in Europe. Unfortunately, Kerimov’s plans never quite came off – Anzhi never won a trophy despite investing £300m on players – and he subsequently slashed the budget after losing interest.
2) Vladimir Romanov (Hearts)
Romanov took the unpopular decision to sack George Burley and used the club as a training ground for Lithuanian players looking for experience on a bigger stage. Administration and relegation following in a reign dominated by turmoil.
1) Bulat Chagaev (Neuchatel Xamax)
CNN looked into Chagaev’s antics – and claimed: “He fired four coaches, removed every local sponsor involved with the club from the previous season and dismissed his entire administrative staff, resulting in Xamax being unable to print any tickets for the opening match of the 2011-12 Swiss Super League campaign.”