Premier League Football Club Ownership is Becoming Increasingly Farcical - Here's What Needs to Change

The Way Premier League Clubs are Run Needs to Change ASAP... And Here's Why

Cristian Romero’s explosive social media rant after Tottenham’s predictable 3-2 defeat to Bournemouth certainly caught the attention of the media.

Never one to restrain himself, the Argentinian took to Instagram and launched into a poorly disguised verbal beatdown of the Spurs hierarchy, criticising them for their overwhelmingly negative presence and total lack of support when things are going to plan.

Usually, a player coming out and speaking ill of his superiors would result in public outrage, a hefty fine and perhaps a suspension - we have seen managers sacked for less. However, on this occasion, Romero may actually have a point.

🚨 Cuti Romero: “At times like this, it should be other people coming out to speak… but they don't, as has been happening for several years now”.

“They only show up when things are going well to tell a few lies”. 🧨 pic.twitter.com/XpsbB6Uryb

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 8, 2026

Since Daniel Levy’s long-awaited departure as Spurs chairman, surprisingly little has changed, and Spurs fans are starting to wonder whether it was only Levy who was at fault.

Furthermore, Romero’s post further underlined larger issues of football club ownership in England - so many clubs are getting it completely wrong, and the fact that so many don’t learn from their past mistakes beggars belief.

So here, here is how the running of Premier League clubs needs to change ASAP.

The Bombshell

Firstly, we must address Romero’s post. Though much of it was aimed at thanking fans and apologising for the current rotten run of form (Spurs have just one win in six), there was one particularly insightful paragraph where even Romero failed to hide his true feelings.

In his Instagram post, Romero aimed an obvious dig at the Spurs ownership by writing, “At times like this, it should be other people coming out to speak, but they don’t and it has been happening for several years now. They only show up when things are going well to tell a few lies.”

Now, we can only speculate about the lies being told, although it is likely they are along the lines of lofty future goals and premises of marquee signings.

However, the main focus here is on the apparent detachment that owners appear to have with their teams. If the board are not there to bolster and boost the squad and staff through tough times, then they don’t deserve to revel in the good.

Cristian Romero is absolutely right to be aiming digs at the club’s hierarchy.

Things need to change with how far backwards we’ve gone as a club. Daniel Levy was held accountable for his role in that, but he shouldn’t be the only one.

If the Lewis Family does want to be… pic.twitter.com/I7mW7DAAvY

— The Spurs Express (@TheSpursExpress) January 8, 2026

This is the point that Romero clearly wanted to highlight - the complacency of owners to come and go as they please, and to show up only when it suits them needs to change, and it starts with becoming more directly involved in the clubs' on-field fortunes.

Romero finished off his attack by saying, “All together, it will be easier.” If that doesn’t reach the ears of the Lewis family, then I don’t know what will - to receive criticism from the manager is one thing, but to be targeted by your own squad is a clear sign that something must change.

And It’s Not Just One Issue …

Particularly in the last five years, the acts of various Premier League club ownerships have come under increasingly heavy scrutiny, in no small part due to the high-profile takeovers of Chelsea and Newcastle, along with Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS buying a £1.3 billion share in Manchester United.

However, the issues at each club are starkly different. For example, at Chelsea, the problem with the ownership is the mirror image of what is going on at Spurs.

Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali have been seen entering the Blues' dressing room on numerous occasions following below-par performances and, on the surface, this could be seen as a positive, a show of support for a club on the end of a damaging result.

Conversely, however, the owners refuse to adequately back the club when things are going to plan. After winning the Conference and the Club World Cup in the summer, the scene was set for Chelsea to make some statement signings.

However, with the Chelsea board delegating transfer target identification to sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Lawrence Stewart, the targets the club ended up signing were far from glamorous: Alejandro Garnacho has been average at best, Jamie Gittens has failed to have any impact, Dario Essugo is yet to play a game for the club, and Liam Delap has just two goals for the club.

Let it be known that Blue Co is an enemy of Chelsea football club

— FRDK LR (@FRDKLR14) January 8, 2026

Considering they were linked with the likes of Barcelona’s Fermin Lopez, Galatasaray’s Victor Osimhen, Tottenham’s Xavi Simons and Arsenal’s Viktor Gyokeres, it’s fair to say that the Blue Co. owners completely failed to back the club in the transfer window, even when their recent success necessitated big moves.

At Manchester United, the issue lies in a deep divide between the club's ownership and the fans. Repeatedly, fans have called out for improvements to the club, both during games and outside of Old Trafford, and repeatedly, whether it be the Glazer family or Ratcliffe, they have been repeatedly ignored.

The animosity between the Old Trafford faithful and their ownership structure runs deep - in fact, as soon as they took over the club, they were bombarded with protests. In hindsight, perhaps this is the reason they are not entirely keen to listen to their fans' complaints.

A United Front

All of these issues point to one thing - rifts between the ownership, management and players indicate a lack of communication and agreement between all parties. For any business to function properly, all of the cogs must operate in unison as a united front, and, for the three clubs highlighted above, they couldn’t be any further from this reality.

The Spurs board has failed to back the squad with support, encouragement, and reassurance, consequently pitching the squad against them.

The Chelsea board have failed to back the manager with his desired transfer targets, and it was in part this that resulted in the Blues’ festive blip and, consequently, Enzo Maresca’s dismissal on New Year’s Day.

INEOS & Glazers. Or. Blueco & Clearlake.

Who are worse in managing a club? pic.twitter.com/6ZXu2PYGLV

— Bozing (@BozingtheRed) January 1, 2026

Last but not least, the Glazers, and now Ratcliffe, have failed to cultivate a positive relationship with their fans, creating a toxic atmosphere around Old Trafford which has now been present and obvious for a number of years.

Owners of clubs are supposed to get stuck into their work, to take on the outfit's identity as if it were their own, and only have their best interests at heart. That is what an owner is supposed to be - the protector and saviour of the side should they ever get into difficulty.

But in the present day, a raft of high-profile top dogs fail to stick to the most obvious rules of ownership and, as a consequence, are watching their clubs flounder in mediocre result after mediocre result.

It is no coincidence that Tottenham are 14th, Man United are sixth, and Chelsea are fifth. In years gone by, this trio would have been expected to be occupying spots in the top four, and the only thing that has changed at each, apart from managers and players, is the ownership, who, whether they like it or not, directly influence their own clubs' success.

There needs to be better communication and less of a divide between the owners and players, more specifically outlined requirements and expectations between the top dogs and managers, and an actual effort from the shareholders to build a rapport with fans, listening to their interests and giving weight and value to their opinions.

Something needs to change. These owners need to see the errors of their ways and right their wrongs, or they risk running their clubs ever further into the ground.