With all the hype surrounding foreign ownership of Premier League clubs, FFC columnist Luke Raine suggests it's time to remember the English chairmen that have flourished within our game.

Since the arrival of Juninho on Teesside in 1996, there have been a number of claims from the media and pundits that Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson is the most supportive and ambitious chairman in the Premier League. He has continually stood by his manager or acted in the best interests of the club (the situation with Bryan Robson immediately springs to mind). But is Steve Gibson the best chairman in the league? Or is this an impossible question to answer?As a Middlesbrough supporter, I am obviously extremely grateful for what Gibson has done not just for the football club, but also for the town. When he arrived in 1986 the club were weeks, if not days, away from being wound up. Fast-forward 20 years, and the club has a new stadium and are now an established Premier League side who can afford to spend 12 million pounds on a Brazilian centre forward. The two situations are barely comparable. Another factor in Gibson's favour is that he is from the area and this makes him even more popular with the fans as he is seen as ‘one of their own'.

Gibson is also fairly quiet compared to other more outspoken chairmen. In the cases where he has come out and spoken to the media about various footballing issues, he has more often than not been spot on with his comments. In the cases where he has maybe let himself down a little, he has come out and apologised. The best example of this was when Gibson recently came out and questioned the integrity of former ‘Boro and England boss Steve McClaren, I think most Middlesbrough fans would agree that these comments were unprofessional but at least Gibson had the intelligence to know that he was wrong and he duly apologised.

Gibson, naturally, isn't the only candidate for the title of "best chairman in the league". Jack Walker's millions fired Blackburn Rovers to Premier League glory and a place in the Champions League. In more recent times, Dave Whelan at Wigan has taken the club from the bottom tier of English football to being competitive in the Premier League. The work of Phil Gartside at Bolton should also not go unnoticed.

We are now in an era where the foreign ownership of football clubs in England is becoming more and more common. What would Liverpool fans give for a multimillionaire who has stood (or sat) on The Kop for his whole life to become chairman? Therefore, in a way, I think people like Gibson, Whelan and Gartside are largely undervalued in English Football.

I am not one to sit here and say that foreign investment into English teams is definitely a bad thing - that would be a debate for another day. I do however think that if there were more people like the aforementioned three running Premier League clubs that the league would be a better place.

It is an interesting debate, especially as the role of the chairman has changed so much in the last twenty years or so. Obviously the three I have mentioned aren't the only men who deserve special credit. There are undoubtedly people who have done similar, if not better jobs at teams down the league structure as well.

• Vote 4 us 07/08 Fanzine Awards
• Become an official writer for FFC
• Write a match preview/review
• Join our Facebook Group
• Add Player to Facebook profile
• Join FFC Fantasy Football
• Football FanCast Daily