- Dave Allen (football chairman)
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Dave Allen is a Sheffield based businessman and ex-chairman of football team Sheffield Wednesday. Allen owns a 99.9% share of the A & S Leisure Group which runs Napoleons Casinos across England, as well as the greyhound racing track at Owlerton Stadium in Sheffield.
Allen joined the Sheffield Wednesday board in 2000 and eventually became chairman in June 2003.
In his spare time Dave Allen enjoys pigeon racing.[1]
According to the Sunday Times Allen was listed as the 944th richest person in Britain in 2006 and was said to be worth £60m,[2] however by 2007 he had dropped out of the top 1,000 richest people in Britain.[3]
Allen came under severe criticism from some supporters throughout the tenure of manager Paul Sturrock, especially for what was perceived as forcing fan favourites such as Steve MacLean and Jon-Paul McGovern out of the club. The ill-feeling towards Allen hit a new high in October 2006 after the sacking of popular manager Sturrock, with fans attributing a slump in form to the chairman's relationship with the manager and Allen's transfer policy rather than the performance of the manager; this then led to a series of protests by supporters aimed directly at the chairman and board of directors. However, the appointment of caretaker manager Sean McAuley and his eventual successor Brian Laws did see an improvement in results. Allen was sometimes the basis of much criticism from Wednesday fans, who he referred to as "scum", "yobs" and "cretins", also labelling one female fan a "venomous bitch" after she voiced her frustration at Allen as he sat in the directors box at Hillsborough Stadium.[4] This animosity between chairman and supporters arose because the fans felt Allen put little money in to the club and did so with the sole intention of taking a lot more out – lacking a "supporters' heart".[citation needed]. Several media soundbites (such as those featuring his "yobs" and "scum" remarks) over the last few years of Allen's reign as Sheffield Wednesday chairman stoked the criticism.[5]
Allen's unpopularity amongst Wednesdayites steadily increased, as he took the extraordinary step of using club money to take legal action against a number of fans who criticised him and his colleagues. Eventually, all cases were dropped. Most of the charges were dismissed out of hand by High Court judge Mr Richard Parkes QC as "trivial", and no more than "saloon bar moanings".[6]
Allen resigned as Chairman and a Director of Sheffield Wednesday on 23 November 2007.[7] Dave Allen continued to own 10% of Sheffield Wednesday FC, until December 2010 when he sold his shares to new Owls owner Milan Mandaric. Allen sold his shares for an initial £750,000 with another £750,000 to be paid on the Owls returning to the Premiership. The Mandaric sale ended Allen's interest in the club, a relationship which had not been a happy one. In April 2009 it was reported that Allen would invest about £4m in Chesterfield F.C., while still keeping most of his shares in Sheffield Wednesday.[8]
References
- ^ "The Racing Pigeon". The Racing Pigeon Co Ltd. http://www.racingpigeon.co.uk/. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
- ^ "The Rich List 2006". London: The Sunday Times. 2006-04-23. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/section/0,,20590,00.html. Retrieved 2006-04-27.
- ^ "The Rich List 2007". London: The Sunday Times. 2007-04-30. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/specials/rich_list/rich_list_search/. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
- ^ "We're not cretins or scum, Mr Chairman". The Star. 2007-07-25. http://www.thestar.co.uk/fanzone/We39re-not-cretins-or-scum.3056759.jp. Retrieved 2009-06-18.
- ^ "Ashton searches for Owls answers". Yorkshire Post. 2007-07-25. http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/ViewArticle.aspx?SectionID=4886&ArticleID=3056568. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
- ^ "Sheffield Wednesday Football Club Ltd & Ors v Hargreaves [2007 EWHC 2375 (QB) (18 October 2007)"]. England and Wales High Court (Queen's Bench Division) Decisions. 2007-10-18. http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/QB/2007/2375.html. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
- ^ "Club statement". SWFC.co.uk. 2007-11-23. http://www.swfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/0,,10304~1174533,00.html. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
- ^ "Former Sheffield Wednesday chairman Dave Allen poised to join Spireites". Yorkshire Post.. 2009-04-01. http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/sport/Former-Sheffield-Wednesday-chairman-Dave.5128464.jp. Retrieved 2009-04-03.
Categories:- Living people
- People from Sheffield
- English football biography stubs
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