Steve Kavanagh, who was fired as chief executive last week, was referred to by former Millwall striker Matt Smith as “a class act”.
Last Friday, James Berylson, the owner of the Lions, fired Billy Taylor, the chief operating officer, and fired Alex Aldridge, the head of football operations and recruitment.
Smith has disclosed that while pursuing his MBA (Master of Business Administration) degree, he had the opportunity to observe directly how well the Championship club was operated.
With 102 appearances for Millwall, the 34-year-old scored 21 goals.
“Whenever you think about changes at a football club in the summer, you never envisage it being on senior executive level – you always assume it is on manager and player level,” Smith said to the South London Press.
“I was deeply saddened and shocked.” I have a great deal of regard and time for Alex, Billy Taylor, and Steve Kavanagh in particular.
“Over the years, I’ve worked with a lot of football-loving CEOs, and in my opinion, Steve Kavanagh is the best. He is a true gentleman.
He will undoubtedly be a difficult act to follow, so I hope the club has found a worthy replacement.
“Steve is an extremely affable individual with whom you could have a genuine and open conversation.
“I recall thinking, ‘You are flawless’ in the way you carried yourself during the Covid era, when you consider what football teams were going through.
“He is exceptionally talented and really focused in his work.
“John Berylson opened doors for me at Millwall when I was pursuing my MBA, something he had done himself, so I can speak from a different perspective. It was different for me because, as a player, you can’t really speak from a business viewpoint because you are a player. When you get an MBA, you have to speak a lot about your current business.
John got me access to Millwall by opening the cupboard in a way. I was given access to a variety of information that I probably shouldn’t have, but it helped me to comprehend how the club operates. Even just glancing at that, I thought, “Wow, this is such a well-run club,” strictly from a financial standpoint, staying within its resources and not going beyond. It was all so neatly and perfectly wrapped up between Steve and John.
“If you take away the things that were going on the pitch, which were fantastic at the time—three seasons that finished just outside of the playoffs—it was flawlessly managed.
Steve had a significant role in that. He was an intelligent man. I really enjoyed conversing with him as he was always open and friendly. There were no hard feelings, not even when I left the club. It is heartbreaking to witness the loss of a decent person like him since he was a truly kind person.
Given his background in accounting and his extreme experience in the industry, he will undoubtedly receive many offers. Whoever follows him will be in luck.
“Alex departed for Stoke shortly after my arrival. Alex was a terrific guy and someone I’ve always loved. I didn’t deal with him very often.
“I am sad for Billy because he has been there for a long time and has undoubtedly worked his way up from the bottom of the ladder to the very top, giving the club his blood, sweat, and tears during that time.
Once more, he is an element of the set. These are decent individuals, which is sad. I’m confident they’ll be well prepared to go on to whatever comes next. They seemed to be a part of Millwall’s very essence.
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