Sky Bet Survey: Which PL Fans Dislike Their Owners the Most?

This Sky Bet Fan Hope survey outlines which Premier League fans have the most optimism in the new campaign for their club and those fans who think their club is in freefall. They surveyed fans from each club to see who is the most pessimistic and optimistic about the current ownership.

Research was completed by Sky Bet in partnership with YouGov and surveyed 2,108 UK adults aged 18+ who are fans of the associated clubs.  For more information about the Sky Bet Fan Hope campaign and the research, please contact [email protected]

It has been a weird transfer window to say the least, with the pandemic seemingly crippling some clubs, whilst others have used this as a chance to steal some players away from previously uptight ownership. As for Tottenham Hotspur, only 25.8% of fans would be happy if Daniel Levy remained at the club, which is no surprise considering pretty much all their cash has been spent on a new stadium the past few years and with barely any new players recently, plus the obvious Harry Kane fiasco.

Newcastle United fans, once again, are right at the bottom of the list, with an extraordinary 3.1% happy with how Mike Ashley is running the club, which in itself is a little bizarre considering the boycotts down the years and desire to get new owners in every day.

Arsenal fans slightly edge the Magpies' fanbase with their pessimistic ways, as the Emirates faithful boast just 8.9% of the fanbase being happy with Stan Kroenke, whilst the Glazers can boast 9.8% of their fans being satisfied with current ownership, despite a great transfer window for them.

Elsewhere, 27.8% of West Ham United's fanbase are happy with their running of the club, whilst Southampton fans have come in at 15.4%, which likely comes after another dull transfer window that saw them lose Ryan Bertrand and Danny Ings.

Finally, 54.5% of Wolves fans are happy with their ownership, which puts that as the majority, but only marginally. No doubt this comes following the dismissal of Nuno Espirito Santo and another poor transfer window for them, not too long after they kept on bringing players in when they returned to the Premier League.

There are no prizes for guessing which clubs are fuelled with hatred towards the ownership of their chosen club, especially after the failed European Super League attempt by the so-called members of the 'Big Six'.

All fans were asked on a scale of 1-10 (1 being not optimistic at all, 10 being very optimistic) to see how they feel about this season. There will be no surprise to see Manchester City fans scored a 9.09 following the signing of Jack Grealish for £100m and the years of splashing the cash that has helped them secure five Premier League titles, three of which have come under their current manager, Pep Guardiola.

Leicester City and Brighton make up the Premier League’s most loved owners, however, with the Foxes chairman receiving the biggest seal of approval of 94.6% of fans feeling they are right for the job six seasons after winning the Premier League and a few months after claiming the FA Cup. 

Aston Villa fans are also very confident with the current ownership, despite the sale of Grealish. However, just like they did when they won the play-offs back in 2019, pretty much all of this money has gone back into the club with the acquisition of Danny Ings, Leon Bailey, and Emi Buendia to help fill the void of their former captain.

In spite of the European Super League fallout towards the end of last season, Chelsea fans are still loving life under Roman Abramovich as 75.7% continue to support the Russian in his pursuit to reclaim Premier League gold.

Leeds United's owners are also having plenty of fun under Aser Group Holding (63%) 49ers Enterprises (37%) as their ownership, with 80.3% of the fanbase happy with how all is operated at Elland Road. The same applies to Everton's ownership under Farhad Moshiri, as 75.4% of the Toffees' fans have faith in him.

Liverpool fans are being completely split down the middle, however, as the FSG regime has just over half (54.2%) of Reds fans believe John Henry is the right man to lead the club forward. No doubt this figure has changed after yet another torrid transfer window.