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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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| No. | Owner / Club | Details |
| 1 | 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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| 2 | 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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| 3 | 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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| 4 | Brooks Mileson
Gretna |
Before their astonishing run to the Scottish FA Cup final in 2006, the only thing Gretna was
well known for was being a famous wedding venue. But under the management of Rowan Alexander
and the ownership of Brooks Mileson this small club, only elected to the Scottish league in
2002, gained successive promotions in 2005 and 2006, along with that famous cup run. Anyone
who heard Mileson being interviewed during the cup run will know he is one hell of a character,
a one-off eccentric who has experienced a life and a half. Aged only 11 he broke his back in a
quarry accident, lost a kidney, and damaged his hips, he's also had 2 heart attacks, suffers
from ME and smokes 100 fags a day. All of which makes his rags-to-riches story even more
impressive, although he claims his illnesses have driven him on in building up his construction
and insurance businesses. He was nearly laughed out of town when he took over Gretna and
proclaimed that he would get them into the Scottish league and eventually the SPL, but the
recent success, coupled with an academy, multiple community projects and plans for an SPL
standard stadium, no-ones laughing any more. And its not just Gretna who he has helped out,
his devotion to grass-roots football has seen him act as a philanthropist to over 70 non-league
clubs and lower league supporters trusts. Its said that he once tried to buy into Carlisle but
was thwarted by a certain Michael Knighton, well Carlisle's loss has definitely been Gretna's
gain.
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| 5 | 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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| 6 | 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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| 7 | 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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| 8 | David Moores
Liverpool |
Looking more like an archetypal Harry Enfield character than a member of one of England's
wealthiest families, David Moores is Liverpool through and through, not just in looks but in
his passion for the club. Taking over as chairman in 1991 whilst Graeme Souness was manager,
he oversaw the appointments of Roy Evans, Gerard Houllier and Rafa Benitez during his time,
giving each one massive financial backing, stability and a good crack at the job, despite
none of them being able to reclaim the holy grail of the league title during his time in charge.
When a tonne of cash is being handed to the manager the temptation is often for the chairman
to start telling him how to spend it, but Moores stayed in the background and allowed
his managers to manage.
It could be argued that in trying to sell the club to foreign owners he is undoing all the
good he has done, and breaking with the tradition he's tried desperately to maintain, but
if he feels as though the local money on offer just isn't sufficient to build the new stadium
and take the club forward then maybe he should be given the benefit of the doubt.
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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.
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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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10 Decent Owners / Chairmen (British) 2007 Version