BRADFORD CITY fans have overwhelmingly recorded a vote of no confidence in the duo who own the club, Stefan Rupp and Edin Rahic.

In a Telegraph & Argus poll prompted by the decline of the club to bottom of League One after five straight defeats, 77% blamed Rupp and Rahic for the situation.

Of the 3,215 votes cast in the online poll, only 18% per cent of fans blamed the players and 3% the manager David Hopkin.

And in a survey of fans, the verdict was that the German pair had torn up the way the Bantams had been run and lost the faith of supporters.

From the heights of playing at Wembley and competing for promotion in the play-offs, the club are now bottom of the pile, four points from safety.

Since Rupp and Rahic took over the club in May 2016 the club has been on a downward trajectory:

  • There have been four different managers/head coaches
  • In 2018 the team have lost more games that any other side in the top four divisions
  • The Chief Operating Officer James Mason departed in June and has not been replaced
  • At the last home game - a 4-2 defeat against Coventry City - the attendance was 11,075, the lowest home league crowd for five years
  • Season ticket sales are believed to be about 14,000, 4,000 down on last season.

One of the duo’s critics is Matt Elener who has written an impassioned letter to Stefan Rupp imploring the duo to change their ways before the club and its supporters suffer any more.

In his letter Mr Elener says he has been a Bradford City supporter since 1974, introduced to the club by his dad, who ran the director’s bar in the old main stand burned down in the 1985 fire.

He writes: “I have never seen a situation at our club where so many fans are now in uproar about the shambolic ‘leadership’ that is currently in place.

“The club has been destroyed from within by one person, Edin Rahic, on a seemingly self-centered mission to rid anyone who was anybody at Bradford City.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg but some of the most important elements around why this club is now in free-fall.

“Maybe you do not see the value of your investment falling or maybe see this investment as already lost. However losing an investment is not the same as losing a football club to its supporters.

“With its tragic history this would be even more painful for the supporters of Bradford City.

“If you understand this emotional attachment and the reasons for it then you should take action now before it is too late and place the management and/or ownership of the club into the hands of those who have the best interests of Bradford City Football Club at heart.”

His sentiments were echoed by Jason McKeown, editor of widthofapost.com and the author of a new book on City called Who We Are.

He said: “There is failing leadership. They have taken the club backwards. They made sweeping changes and people are worried about the future.

“They need to take some lessons and understand the culture. They need to admit their mistakes.

“Rahic’s attitude seems to be he knows a better way of doing things.

“Recruitment has been poor and the squad is lacking in character and identity. It stems from the leadership.”

He said he was not calling for the duo to leave but that they should change their ways to salvage the situation.

Mike Harrison, editor of the City Gent fanzine, said he was surprised that only 77% of votes in the poll blamed Rupp and Rahic.

He said: “It’s fairly obvious where the blame lies. I think Mr Rahic’s position is untenable.

“It’s been made worse by him going away on holiday during the crisis. He’s running away at the moment.”

He said when the new owners arrived he gave them the benefit of the doubt but that went when they sacked Stuart McCall “for not footballing reasons”.

“It’s gone downhill from there.

“Surely he [Rahic] can see the writing on the wall.

“He is not a good leader for Bradford City Football Club.”

He said hints had been made about coming changes but he thought that might have happened before tomorrow’s home game against Portsmouth.

“Mr Rahic going would be the only thing to boost fans. He is 100% the root of the problem.”

A spokesman for Bradford City said the club had no response to the results of the poll.