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Finding ten decent chairmen is like finding ten decent politicians, virtually impossible.
But we've tracked some down...
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| 1 | Randy Lerner
Aston Villa |
Unlike the other American owners in the Premiership (who make Mr Burns look like Pop Larkin), Randy Lerner has barely put a foot wrong in his
interpretation of Running a Premiership Football Club for Dummies.
Unlike the Glazers and Liverpool duo Hicks and Gillett, he used his own money to buy the club, as opposed to saddling the club with long term
debt. His relationship with his manager, Martin O'Neill, is one of the foundations of the clubs improving fortunes. Although he was officially
unveiled days after O'Neill's appointment it is inconceivable that he wasn't involved in the process. Lerner also has a terrific eye for the
clubs traditions; he funded the rebuilding of the historic Holte pub and laid on red carpet treatment for Villa's European Cup heroes at
their 25th anniversary celebrations (out of is own pocket). On the football side he has supported O'Neill well and invested heavily in the
clubs training facilities. But perhaps his finest moment so far came in June 2008 when the club a new announced a shirt sponsorship deal with
the charity Acorns Children's Hospice. This magnificent gesture is in spirit of the great historical American philanthropists rather than the
grubby antics of a Hicks or a Glazer. He also likes a good pint of bitter with the fans.
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| 2 | John Ryan
Doncaster Rovers |
As far removed from predecessor Ken Richardson
(see #1 in
Top 10 Notorious Owners
list)
as is imaginable, over the last decade home town boy John Ryan has single-handedly transformed Doncaster Rovers from the
penniless wreck relegated to the Conference in 1998 after losing 34 of their 46 games, into a footballing force to be reckoned with. Ryan's
millions have been the driving force behind three promotions in five years for the Rovers, from the Conference to League Two and then to
League One, culminating with a slaying of Yorkshire rivals Leeds United at the League One Play Off Final at Wembley in May 2008 which saw
Doncaster back in football's second tier for the first time in half a century. A rags to riches story of the type rarely seen in the gritty
South Yorkshire mining town, Ryan, who grew up close to the old Belle Vue ground, made his millions in the plastic surgery business. The kind
of theatrical impresario sorely missed in today's turgid corporate game, from bringing in Page 3 model clients of his plastic surgery business as
half-time "entertainment" through to playing in the final game of the 2002/3 season to become, at 52, the oldest player ever to play
professional football in Britain, Ryan has been the catalyst behind the Rovers' resurgence, rising from the depths of non-league oblivion to
become the heart-warming success story of British football. A true Rovers fanatic, he personally financed the publication of a book
chronicling the life of the late, great Alick Jeffrey, Doncaster's most famous footballing son. Ryan, the home town hero, a shining beacon of
everything good and true in our increasingly tarnished game.
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| 3 | John Bowler
Crewe |
Not one of football's best-known chairmen, John Bowler is one of that strange breed who doesn't
appear to be in it for the money or self-publicity, but for a genuine love of the club. Joining
the Crewe board in 1980, he was made chairman 7 years later and his chairmanship has run in
parallel with Dario Gradi's management skills for 20 years, a partnership no other club in
the country can get close to. Consistently punching above their weight, and with a conveyor
belt of talent coming through the ranks, the club should be a model for others of similar size. Dario
Gradi gets most of the plaudits for the club's relative success, but Bowler should be applauded
for his work at the helm, for sticking with his manager after a couple of relegations. And if
the stories are to be believed, Bowler even pays his own expenses, has never taken money out of
the club and, most remarkably, has only have made one payment to an agent during his time at
the club. John Bowler, we salute you.
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| 4 | Steve Gibson
Middlesborough |
The best compliment that you could probably pay Steve Gibson is that fans up and down the
country would love to have him as their chairman. A self-made millionaire, Gibson joined the
Boro board in 1984, aged only 26. With the club close to folding he invested heavily and set
about rebuilding his hometown club. A new stadium, promotion to the premiership and world-class
players would not have been dreamt of during the dark days of the 80's at Ayresome Park.
Gibson has his head screwed on as well, his focus on the club's academy has seen a whole host
of youngster's breaking through into the first team, whilst the stability he brings to the club
is something local rivals Newcastle can only dream of.
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| 5 | Jack Walker
Blackburn Rovers |
Another hometown boy done good, steel-magnate Jack Walker took over the reigns of Blackburn in
the 1990-91 season and immediately started to redevelop the club, both on and off the pitch.
Whoever coined the phrase "money cant buy you everything" clearly wasn't around Ewood Park
in the early 90's. First off, Walker pulled off a managerial coup by persuading Kenny Dalglish
to join the club, and he then basically handed him an open cheque book to first of all get the
club into the top tier, then to challenge for the title, and then to win it. British transfer
fees were broken with the purchases of Shearer, then Sutton. The club finished runners-up in 1993-94
and then went one better and won it the following season. Jack Walker's dream had come true.
Unfortunately, it all started to go a bit pear-shaped in the years to follow, and at the time
of his death in 2000, the club had slipped back into the first division, but Jack Walker had
done more than enough for the club and it makes you wonder where they'd be today if he hadn't taken charge.
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| 6 | Sir Jack Hayward
Wolves |
Long-suffering Sir Jack Hayward was finally put out of his misery in 2003 when his beloved
Wolves finally returned to the top tier of English football after a 19 year wait. The
multi-millionaire had to watch the likes of Barnsley, Bradford and Swindon all reach the
promised land on micro-budgets whilst his fortune was squandered by a succession of managers,
leading to his famous quote that his managers were treating him "like a golden tit",
yet still he kept writing the cheques.
A lifelong wolves fan, he bought the club in 1990 and immediately went about rebuilding the
club's crumbling stadium and investing millions in players, most of it out of his own pocket.
It's been estimated that it personally cost him between 60 and 80m. Was it worth it ? As a fan
who's not short of a bob or two, we're sure he'd say yes. After reaching the Premiership
he stated he was willing to wipe off the club's debt and sell up, and its a testament
to his love of the club that he was looking for a local buyer with the club's best
interests at heart. Which is not what Graeme Souness was wanting to hear.
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| 7 | Dave Whelan
Wigan Athletic |
When JJB Sports owner Dave Whelan bought Wigan Athletic in 1995 to go with the town's rugby
league team that he already owned, he was greeted with ridicule when he said he'd take the
Division 3 minnows to the Premiership. 10 years later he was ridiculed no more.
A decent footballer himself (he played in Blackburn's 1960 FA Cup final team), Whelan already
owned the club's JJB stadium, and despite playing to small crowds, soon started to move up the
leagues. Whelan's appointment of Paul Jewell will go down as his finest, the club's former
player guiding them to two promotions and into the Premiership, an incredible feat done with
help of Whelan's financial backing. Jealous rivals have suggested that Wigan's poor turnouts
do not deserve such a chairman, but having only joined the league in 1978, every club has
to start somewhere.
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| 8 | John Madejski
Reading |
Madejski, who'd made his fortune in publishing (most notably Auto Trader) became chairman of
Reading in 1990, with the club struggling in Division 3, attracting poor crowds, and even poorer
players, and generally going nowhere.
As with all decent businessmen, Madejski revealed a long-term plan to build up the club and
take advantage of the large catchment area of the Thames Valley region. On the pitch he made an
astute appointment in Mark McGhee which saw the club starting to move forward. By 1998
Madejski's long-term plans were starting to kick in, the club moving into a state-of-the-art
24,000 stadium and another decent managerial appointment, Alan Pardew, guiding them back into
the 2nd tier. As bigger clubs struggled financially, Reading were a club on the up, and
Madejski's final masterstroke, handing the reigns to Steve Coppell, saw the club promoted to the
Premiership.
Madejski contribution to Reading's football club and community as a whole was rewarded with an OBE.
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| 9 | Kevin McCabe
Sheffield United |
Something strange started happening in Sheffield during the late 90's, its almost as if the
boards of the 2 clubs got bored and decided to swap roles. Whereas United had suffered a
succession of dodgy owners and chairman, rivals Wednesday seemed positively stable, upbeat and
forward thinking, their club had been one of the highest spending teams of the nineties and one
of the most attractive. However, with ex-chairman Dave Richards allowing money to be wasted
on expensive, average foreigners (Gilles de Bilde anyone ?), the Owls were soon in financial
free-fall. On the other side of the City Kevin McCabe was taking control, quietly clearing the
Blades debts, investing in an academy, the stadium, and the future in general. And how it has
paid dividends, whilst Wednesday's various chairmen sacked managers at will on a slide into
the 3rd tier, McCabe was sticking with Neil Warnock and eventually, after years of banging
on the Premiership door, they made it. Yet again, an owner reaping the rewards of some
forward thinking and some stability. His attempts to ruin his good work by appointing Bryan
Robson were saved when he saw sense and replaced him with Kevin Blackwell, prompting a late promotion
charge, rather than a Captain Marvel-inspired relegation battle.
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| 10 | Paul Stapleton
Plymouth Argyle |
A director at Home Park since 1998, Paul Stapleton was instrumental in creating a board
of Argyle supporters, all with equal shares and equal voting rights, to take over from
majority shareholder Dan McCauley. Stapleton himself was appointed chairman in 2001, and
has since, along with other members of the board, become known as one of the most approachable
in the game, with the links and communication between club and supporters becoming the
envy of many others around the country.
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Last Updated: May 2008 (to see the previous version
click here.
Contributors: Thanks to the contribution of John Gray for this article.
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Article Keywords - Best Football Club Owners
- Greatest English Scottish Irish Welsh Chairmen
- Decent Chairman of England Scotland Wales Ireland Eire UK
- Finest Soccer Bosses
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10 Decent Owners / Chairmen (British) 