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 in October 2006 after sacking popular Owls manager Paul Sturrock, with fans attributing a slump in form to the chairman instead of the manager; this then led to a series of protests by some supporters aimed directly at the chairman and board of directors. However, the sacking of Sturrock did see an improvement in results and style of play. Allen was sometimes the basis of much criticism from Wednesday fans, as they felt he put money in to the club with the sole intention of taking more out – lacking a "supporters' heart".[citation needed]. Several media soundbites over the last few years of Allen's reign as Sheffield Wednesday chairman stoked the criticism.[4]

Allen resigned as Chairman and a Director of Sheffield Wednesday on 23 November 2007,[5] but still holds around 10% of the shares.

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Racing Pigeon. The Racing Pigeon Co Ltd. Retrieved on 2008-02-14.
  2. ^ "The Rich List 2006", The Sunday Times, 23 April 2006. Retrieved on 2006-04-27. 
  3. ^ "The Rich List 2007", The Sunday Times, 30 April 2007. Retrieved on 2008-02-14. 
  4. ^ "Ashton searches for Owls answers", Yorkshire Post, 25 July 2007. Retrieved on 2008-02-14. 
  5. ^ "Club statement", SWFC.co.uk, 23 November 2007. Retrieved on 2008-02-14. 
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