Off-field Bristol Rovers developments leave George Friend in potentially precarious position: View | OneFootball

New leadership model could make George Friend the fall guy

In August this year, Bristol Rovers announced that their CEO Tom Gorringe would be leaving the club after seven years.

Gorringe was seen as a fast riser in the industry when he arrived at Rovers, having won the Rising Star Award at the Stadium Business Awards in 2015 and originally been hired as commercial director at Rovers, he would be promoted to CEO following the departure of Martyn Starnes in 2021.

He was credited for introducing the fan zone on matchdays and increasing revenue opportunities through additional hospitality. He was also instrumental in the decision to develop the South Stand and to bring the Bristol Rovers Women’s team back under the club's banner.

News of his exit didn’t come as much of a shock to Rovers supporters, however, who could see a new dynamic beginning at board level following the takeover of the club.

New majority shareholder Hussain Al Saaed is now a little over a year at the helm, and he quickly installed his son Abdullatif as vice president, with some Gasheads speculating this could spell the end for a CEO that was already taking heat from the fanbase as a result of a series of club faux pas including on ticketing, stadium redevelopment, and many supporters feeling a disconnect with the club as a result of a perceived lack of communication and fan engagement.

Bristol Rovers not searching for new CEO

In a recent interview with 1871 Podcast (A podcast by and for Reading fans), Bristol Rovers club president and co-owner Wael Al Qadi revealed his thoughts on the CEO role. He shared his views on leadership models in football and seemed to imply that Rovers would not be seeking a replacement for Gorringe. Football League World understands that Abdullatif Al Saeed will absorb most of the former CEO’s previous duties and therefore Bristol Rovers won't be searching for a replacement.

Asked by the host about what he feels is a good structure to run a football club, Al Qadi said: “In the lower leagues, I don’t think you probably need a director of football and a CEO and it’s quite a close-knit operation. I think that’s the modern way of these Premier League clubs who bring in directors of football and they have CEOs."

He continued: "OK it’s probably needed for Premier League clubs because they’re just massive institutions, but if you go down to the lower leagues, honestly, the way I’ve handled it is that I’ve always supported the manager and the manager is in charge of what happens on the pitch. And it’s his department. If he wants this player, I get him this player. If he doesn’t want this player we get rid of that player and for us, it works. But again it’s this new modern way of businessmen coming in who want to have that certain structure, I mean whoever tells you he has the key to success in football, you know he’s probably lying.”

Rovers confirmed the appointment of George Friend as director off football in February this year and Friend has been widely praised for the way he has started in his role. Now, though, with no CEO in place, and Rovers currently not in the best of form, the honeymoon period is probably over.

Friend will be responsible for delivering messages between the owners and the manager. With club commercial duties falling to new commercial and revenue director Richie Bates.

With the younger Al Saeed now absorbing some of the CEO duties, it means that Friend and Bates could be in the firing line should the Rovers owners not see their objectives being met.

Uncertainty still exists for Gasheads

Bristol Rovers have implemented a model at the club that many will be uncertain about. Perhaps more with the accountability for when things go wrong, rather than the lack of a CEO.

It’s still early days for the new owners and the new boardroom structure and most will say the jury is still out. Currently, supporters are taking the statements of the club's co-owners at face value as they await further news on stadium redevelopment and improvements in the relationship with supporters.

The club recently held a public Q&A, committing to further engagement with supporters, which they will hope will start to bridge the divide. And should the club continue its off-pitch progress, then it’s likely that the current goodwill towards the owners will continue.