Changes upstairs – but nothing radical

NEW Rochdale chief executive David Bottomley insists the recent changes at boardroom level are far from radical.

Chris Dunphy’s decision to step down as chairman at the end of last month prompted fear of drastic changes among some supporters.

But Mr Bottomley said that was not the case – though some new ideas wuld be introduced.

“There are some changes and I think he thing that strikes most people when there are changes is the fact we’ve had such great consistently for such a long time that when change happens, people inevitably see it as a shock,” he said.

“Chris Dunphy had been involved as a director and chairman for thirty years and had done a magnificent job, so the day he chose to stand down was always going to cause some ripples.

“But in real terms there is very little change at the club because Graham Rawlinson has been a director for seven years, Andrew Kelly has come back on the board having been around for eleven years bar one, last year, and John Smallwood has been around the club for seven years as associate director and I have been on the board for three and a half years before being appointed chief executive.

“Our new chairman, Andrew Kilpatrick, has been president for four years and at one time his father was chairman and put a lot of money into the club at a time when it was going nowhere.

“So there are changes, but they are not perhaps as radical as some people would believe. We have lost a chairman who has been around for a long time and a fellow director who had been on the board for five or six years, but in real terms it’s not that significant.

“The composition of the new board has at least thirty years experience of being on the board of directors at Rochdale, so I think that tells it’s own story.”

And the board is looking to maintain the sterling work undertaken by Mr Dunphy during his tenure, while also bringing in a few fresh ideas of their own.

“It’s fair to say we are looking to continue the great work Chris did with a new ideas as well. Rochdale is a club punching above our weight in League One. When we compare ourselves historically to rivals like Stockport County, who are in National League North, Wrexham in the National League and clubs like Barrow, Darlington, who have fallen well down the pecking order – we are competing in the fifth largest league in Europe, people forget that.

“It gets more and more expensive to fund a team at this level. We have a brilliant Academy and there is nothing wrong with the model we have of producing great players who come into the first team early and almost, in a way, offers us good players with a shop window to sell because we have survived as a club by moving on players. That’s how we’ve made ends meet, but we do need a Plan B, not only to sustain where we are in League One, but also to develop as a club.”

It’s a new role for Mr Bottomley, but not one that fazes him.

“This is my fiftieth season as a fan. I would hope my commercial skills that I’ve developed in my business career and my love and knowledge of the club will ensure that I do a good job as chief executive,” he said.

“In the few weeks I’ve been in the role I have found it’s a little more than twenty four seven!

“This last few weeks, with the opening of the transfer window has been really busy.

“There is a lot to do and I will give it everything I have got.”

‘There are changes but not as radical as some believe’