As the Football League season comes towards its exciting climax and news of Leicester's fairytale season reverberates throughout the football and sporting world, it gives hope for clubs, no matter how big or small that they can have success regardless of their financial situation or the odds against them.

addicksssssm

This, however, is not true of ALL clubs. This article will look at a couple of examples of clubs that have been let down by the Football League to the point where traditional football clubs are under threat with the Football League having a large part to play.

There are a number of high profile protests contesting the nature of how their club is run, specifically who is currently owning them.

This article will look at Blackpool, Leeds United and Charlton Athletic as the three notable options but it is a significant discussion to have because any club could face these issues at any time.

The Football League prides itself as one of the few governing bodies that are capable of running an exciting compelling league structure on an annual basis. However, the issue is the Owners' and Directors' test.

As a legally binding procedure in compliance with a UK legal framework, my issue is not with the test itself. In fact, my argument is it hasn't gone far enough.

There are a number of criteria that if failed makes a candidate ineligible to become an owner or director however there are very blatant loopholes that make this test seem almost irrelevant. From a legal and economic standpoint, it seems obvious that they have to be sound candidates with a clean legal record and the economic capabilities to take over a club.

However, is that enough? Should that be the criteria that are necessary or should there be a broader contextual test about the aims and ambitions of owners? How clubs will be run on a day to day basis but most importantly, will this change in ownership have the blessing of the fans and how will it affect the club in the long term.

Although this almost democratic approach to running a football club is impractical, it would circumnavigate the current problems that are currently facing clubs which I will explore.

Blackpool

It is almost precisely a season ago since Blackpool's last game of the Sky Bet Championship with their fate already, they had been relegated to League One.

In the 48th minute against Huddersfield Town, fans ran on the pitch and remained on the pitch causing the match to become abandoned. There were drastic scenes as fans attempted to climb up and breach the directors box.

This week, there have been protests continued against the Oyston family and how they have run the club however this goes beyond simply the club underachieving and falling from grace in the Premier League.

The breakdown in the relationship between Blackpool fans and the Oyston family came to the fore in April 2014 where Oyston received death threats, however, Blackpool fans had been protesting for years due to the Oyston family failing to fund the infrastructure of the club.

Having received £80 million cash windfall following the promotion to the Premier League, it seemed that Oyston's inability to fund the infrastructure of the club wasn't because of a lack of finance.

Particularly considering that after the relegation from the Premier League, Blackpool received £48 million from parachute payments

This lack of investment was compounded by Oyston paying his father £11 million in 2012 and distributed another £26 million to other Oyston-owned companies and it blurred the line between running the football club and his own personal interests.

Karl Oyston rubbed salt in the wounds when he did invest but it was in the land behind the stadium which he sold to the Travelodge company.

There's clear financial irregularities and this poses one of the biggest questions why hasn't the Football League intervened.

One of the main issues facing the Football League is that Karl Oyston is a member of the Football League board, and therefore it is difficult for the Football League to almost turn on one of their own no matter how badly the club is being run.

The problem for Blackpool and Blackpool fans is that technically Karl Oyston hasn't infringed on any of the criteria of the Owners' and Directors' test that makes him ineligible to run the club.

However here lies the problem, the interpretation of a legal framework in this situation takes out the consideration of the fans. Why should Blackpool fans suffer because of how the Oyston family is running the club. Surely the Football League should intervene for the sake of a club that could have back to back relegations if Fleetwood Town earns a single point. Time will tell but the likelihood of action being taken is very slim.

Charlton Athletic

Like Blackpool, Charlton Athletic have suffered relegation this season. However does it come as any surprise when the club owned by Belgian Roland Duchâtelet has merely led to instability and hurt?

A lack of ambition, a lack of consideration, a lack of willingness is three damning phrases that are rightly used to describe Roland Duchâtelet and how Charlton have been run.

Duchâtelet has used his 'network' to bring in players and members of staff from Belgium and his other affiliate clubs, however, this egocentric approach has done nothing to help the club but leave them deep in trouble. A severely strained relationship between the club and fans with malicious threatening statements posed about protests and lies about fan supporter meetings being recorded when they are clearly not.

Charlton Athletic is being run into the ground and its heart is being ripped out in front of fans that have gone from watching Alan Curbishley and Darren Bent, from the jubilation of Chris Powell swinging from the crossbar at Hillsborough to the dark days at the Valley where beach ball protests and the desperation to rid the club of Duchâtelet is rife.

The demonstrations show the passion of the fans remains but the future of the club which at one stage when promotion from League 1 with 100 points, the dream to return to the Premier League is alive and kicking, however, the fear now is under Duchâtelet they could sink deeper and follow Blackpool into League 2.

Like with the issue of Oyston, although there is a strained relationship between the fans and the upper hierarchy of the club. The Owners' and Directors' test does not make Duchâtelet ineligible as he hasn't fallen into any of the pitfalls of the test.

Does that mean according to the Football League he is an appropriate owner for Charlton? Surely for the greater good of the club like with Blackpool, they have to intervene.

For the sake of the fans at the very least.

With organised protests by CARD in compliance with local law enforcement, the likelihood of protests particularly for a televised fixture with Burnley already having been promoted.

It seems to be the perfect platform to show the Football League how clubs are being run and what Duchâtelet is doing to Charlton. How the protests are carried out and how disruptive they are is up to Charlton fans, have they reached breaking point where protests have to go beyond the means of peaceful protests? If they were to take a similar approach to Blackpool fans, who could blame them?

Leeds United

The final case demonstrates precisely everything that is wrong with the Owners' and Directors' test. Massimo Cellino has been a contentious and controversial figure since taking over Leeds United, to say the least.

With a reputation for being trigger-happy with managers and more seriously making a number of promises which he then fails to live up to. Cellino is dividing the fans and leading Leeds United into fractious turmoil.

Although it's often mocked, Leeds United clearly is a sleeping giant and under the right ownership, a return to the Premier League would be a given. However, the continuous mismanagement off the field both financially and more broadly through Cellino's ownership has led to nothing more than instability and angst.

The symbolic funeral as a coffin in Leeds United colours similar to a Charlton protest shows what some fans think Cellino is doing to the club.

The projections onto the side of Elland Road and the ferocity of the protests shows the fans clearly care, but Cellino although he claims that he wants to lead Leeds United back to the Premier League with him as the owner is simply causing more harm than good.

Exclusive interviews explaining that Steve Evans talks too much and the doubt about his future with talks of Fabio Cannavaro or Walter Zenga taking the reins despite a strong end to the season, shows that Cellino's stubbornness and network like approach are preventing the club from properly progressing.

A step forward with Steve Evans stabilising the club on the field and finding some consistency is then disrupted by Cellino's interventions.

Specifically, although an entire article could be dedicated to Cellino and Leeds United, for the sake of this article the focus is on the relationship between Cellino and the Football League which of the three owners is the most strained.

Cellino showed his displeasure of how much Leeds United's matches were televised which reduced revenue, however, the main failure of the Owners' and Directors' test is that Cellino was ineligible. In June, Cellino was found guilty by a Court in Sardinia of an offence under Italian tax legislation relating to the non-payment of VAT on the importation of a Land Rover vehicle. However rather than permanently suspending him and forcing him to sell the club, the Football League simply suspended him for the rest of the season.

Therefore, the Owners' and Directors' test that is used by the Football League is symbolic in its nature. Loopholes and conditions allow the vast majority, regardless of if they're 'fit and proper' to take control of clubs that not only has a huge following no matter the size but also has employees that are put under unnecessary pressure and strain. Richard Scudamore dismissed the similar arguments that I have made about the Premier League's test claiming that it can't be a “We don't like the cut of your jib” test, however, is that the approach and mentality that should be deployed. In my opinion, the Football League is failing clubs and failing fans by not putting in place measures that actually protects clubs and defends fans. Time will tell.

Blackpool, Charlton and Leeds United fans, what do you make of your ownership? Are you worried about the future of your club? Or are you in favour of your current owner? Has the Football League failed and what do you think of the Owners' and Directors' test? Let us hear your thoughts and opinions in the comment section below!