Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Friend will take a lot off my shoulders, says Matt
MATT Taylor believes George Friend “will have his hands full” in his new role as the director of football at Bristol Rovers.
The Pirates confirmed in midweek that the defender would be retiring from playing to take up the job as part of the club’s new recruitment structure.
Taylor and Friend were teammates at Exeter City before the latter’s move to Wolves in 2008, but their reunion when Taylor became Rovers manager in December was merely coincidental in regards to the recent appointment, with the 36-year-old initially pinpointed as someone potentially eligible for such a job by the hierarchy earlier in the season.
Having signed a one-year deal with the club last summer, it always felt entirely possible that the leftback would retire come the end of the season, but with doubt over whether or not Friend would feature on the pitch again this season after picking up an ankle injury against Burton three weeks ago, the decision was fast-tracked, with plenty of work set to be done over the summer.
“It’s important that we start by saying that we’ve lost a player,” Taylor declared when asked about Friend’s decision to retire in order to take up his new role. “No one’s really talking about that because everyone is speaking about the new role and what’s next. We’ve lost a player, albeit injured, but still an important part of the squad and a good person to lose out of the training room.
“Testament to George and the career he’s had. He’s almost gone straight into another role with almost no time whatsoever on the back of a 20-year career. That can’t be understated in any way.
“We have to understand where he’s been for a long time and what he’s going into next and appreciate that side of it for him as much as anyone else. We understand that we’ve lost a good player, but hopefully we’ve gained a really good member of staff for the club.
“Everyone knows George in terms of what he’s done during his career, but also how he has conducted himself, how he’s interacted. The relationships that he’s built and the network that he’s got and, obviously, his intention to go into the next pathway in terms of his career and signing for Bristol Rovers, having not played consistently for a number of seasons, game time might have been limited or expected to be limited, so he’s always had half an eye on what’s next for himself.
“Those discussions probably happened even earlier on, before I got to the football club. I think the owners identified him as someone with real worth and someone they want to keep at this football club and then on the back of the initial ankle injury just before I came in I think there was preliminary discussions in relation to what it might look like for all involved and obviously the second ankle injury when he got back to playing and playing well just speeded things up in relation to that.
“The broader and bigger plan was for this to be announced at the end of the season, but in order for us to catch up and be ahead of the game in the next recruitment window, I think we’re all comfortable with the current situation and certainly on the back of this latest injury, it was probably going to be too much for him to feature again this season.”
Having made 510 appearances for nine clubs including Middlesbrough, Wolves and Birmingham, Friend has enjoyed an outstanding playing career which saw him compete in every division from the Premier League down to the National League, but now an exciting new chapter awaits Rovers’ new director of football and he certainly has his work cut out for him with a squad overhaul expected this summer.
Additionally, the club confirmed on Wednesday that chief scout Chris
Spendlove has now been promoted to head of recruitment, while Adam Mahoney has taken on a new role as head of data and analysis in the recruitment department.
On the work that will be done in preparation for next season, Taylor, left, stated: “We’re trying to build a team – that’s the most important thing at any football club, but George will certainly have his hands full because there’s an awful lot of things that needs to be addressed, and it’s great that he’s going to be the man to do that, but we have to be mindful that if there’s any priority of what we need to get right sooner rather than later it’s recruitment.
“It will take an awful lot off of my shoulders. Having a person in that position with a team around and below him. He will also be a point of contact for a lot of people at the football club, certainly at the training ground. We’ve been crying out for someone like that.
“It’s all about what you provide. The plan, the strategy, infrastructure, and ultimately the way the club runs on a day-to-day basis. But also identifying players and providing that list to the coaches and myself and how we sign players is the most important thing for anyone, regardless of how good you are at coaching and communicating, that’s the most important thing.”
Rovers, who are almost as midtable as you can get – 13 points from both the play-offs and the drop zone in 12th place – have an away match at Leyton Orient this afternoon.