Bristol Rovers hosted their first fan’s forum of the season last week as part of the club’s efforts to improve communication with supporters
First-team manager Matt Taylor, director of football George Friend, left-back Bryant Bilongo, and new director of commercial and revenue Ritchie Bates were on the panel. Each of the four participants answered questions pertaining to their respective fields of expertise.
The latest on stadium plans, the club’s success in making 16 signings during the summer transfer window, and the key points of the season were among the many topics covered by those questions. Other significant topics included plans to continue and enhance support for female fans at matches, the decision to replace matchday programs with a monthly magazine, additional fees for physical season tickets, and the perception of comments made on social media by players’ families, among other things.
Covering every single point would make for an incredibly long read, as the discussion lasted more than an hour and there was a rather substantial list of topics covered. You can watch the entire fan forum on BRFC TV by clicking this link, but we’ve outlined the main points of discussion from last week’s session that pertain to questions that a lot of people have been asking lately but haven’t received a timely or satisfactory response to yet.
Rovers are ‘keen’ on the new large screen and don’t want to ‘rush’ the reconstruction of Mem.
Executive Vice President Abdullatif AlSaeed would have preferred to be allowed to participate on the panel, as he did at the previous fan forum in March, but it appears that was not feasible. This is mostly because to the expectation that the most often asked question would be about the most recent developments regarding the plans to renovate The Mem.
Nearly a year has passed since Chairman Hussain AlSaeed declared that the team would renovate its present stadium rather than construct a new facility on the Fruit Market site, increasing The Mem’s capacity to roughly 18,000–18,000.
Towards the end of the previous season, in April, the Rovers co-owner spoke with local reporters and stated that the team was “close to two weeks or maybe a bit more away from completing the plans,” but that they couldn’t reveal them until they were finished and sent to council members.
As a result, although the specifics have not yet been made public, it was reported by Bristol Live in July that the Gas were in consultation with the community over their plans to construct student apartments next to The Mem. A press conference is anticipated to be scheduled once the designs are prepared for public release.
Though it’s unclear how much of a role he now plays in the project, Bates was the logical person to answer queries about the football club’s ambitions to expand The Quarters and improve infrastructure.
With a cheerful and personable demeanour, the newly appointed Commercial and Revenue Director vowed to always strive for honesty. Regarding the stadium latest, he stated: “Obviously, I’ve only been here for a few weeks, so I can only tell you in terms of what I’ve discussed with the ownership.” It’s evidently a very, very good one. We’re moving through several phases, and this one is currently talking and consulting with the locals on a matter that has been on the agenda for the past few weeks. They’ve held several meetings with the locals since I’ve been here. Once more, ensuring that everyone is engaged and consulted.
“Again, I can tell you about the ownership that they’re incredibly excited about the club, redeveloping The Memorial Stadium, and the community component of this as well. Pre-applications are currently in the process. Jobs are created by redevelopment in the neighbourhood. Redeveloped Memorial Stadium is a boon to local businesses.
Sadly, at this time, there isn’t a lot more that I can tell you. One thing I do know for sure is that the ownership wants to take their time, not rush things, not jump the gun, give the fans ideas, and let the expectations truly represent their goals for The Memorial Stadium.
“We won’t rush, they won’t rush and they will consult and give messages to the fans when they’ve crossed t’s and dotted i’s. What they don’t want to do is shout out ideas. They want to go through processes in the first instance and then when it comes to consultation, they’re really going through the proposal stage with the council, with building control, with the safety advisory group and, really importantly, with the local residents it could impact.”
The ideas proposed last year suggested that the East Stand and Thatcher’s End would be redeveloped following the completion of the new South Stand which has been in use since the second half of last season and has offered a taste of what The Mem could look like post-full redevelopment.
However, with no timescales set, it’s tough to accurately predict when there will next be a major breakthrough relating to when plans are shared publicly or even when the process can begin.
Sticking to the topic of stadium plans, Bates also confirmed that the club are very keen to add a brand new big screen to The Mem. Bristol Live reported in July that planning permission had seemingly been granted by Bristol City Council but it sounds as though this is another process that has various boxes that need to be ticked before the final product comes to fruition.
“We’re quite keen to get a big screen into The Memorial Stadium,” the Commercial and Revenue Director added. “Again, very much similar to the redevelopment of the stadium, it’s again picking the right area and making sure it’s the best that it can be for our home fans.
“We’ll go through that process with, again, the safety advisory group, the council, not so much the local residents because hopefully it shouldn’t have a massive effect on them but we will consult where we need to. The plan is very much so to bring in a big screen.”
Matt Taylor relays hopes for The Quarters having seen ‘fantastic’ plans
On the topic of improving infrastructure at the football club, The Quarters and Rovers’ plans to expand the training facility was also discussed in depth with Taylor asked what he would like to see improved on at their Almondsbury site.
The hope in the long-term is that the Gas will be able to accomodate academy teams, a development squad and the women’s team as well as the first-team all at the same facility while at the last fan’s forum, plans to build a single stand for fans to be able to watch development squad games, when said squad actually exists, were relayed.
Rovers’ training ground is still relatively new having opened four years ago but the site itself is expansive, allowing the possibility of adding to the facility’s current state.
In response to the question, the Gas manager said: “I’m not sure how many people have seen the layout at The Quarters. It’s a fantastic space, a huge space, it runs alongside the motorway but at the moment we’re kind of split into two buildings. There’s the main building with the changing rooms, the offices and the canteen and then there’s a secondary building which is the physio room and the gym. More than adequate for our level but it’s probably about 400 metres away.
“To have the perfect training environment, it would be great if that was connected to the main building and then the only other aspect from the building point of view is the canteen doubles up as the video room. The canteen is the centre of the building, the main hub of the building, the social hub of it but it does double up as our meeting room and our analyst room as well so getting the balance right of when the food’s out, when we’re doing meetings, the professionalism aspect of that. But that will hopefully get taken care of when the new training ground comes to fruition.
“We are aware of the plans. They appear great, like a singing and dancing training ground that will hopefully eventually gain prominence. In terms of amenities, we will more than suffice, particularly at this level, if not higher.
because’s what we’re aiming for, and it’s crucial to note—I’m not complaining in the slightest—because the pitches are the most significant feature of the training site and they’re excellent. I stated before that the building is somewhat apart and that the video room is located in the restaurant. superior than the stadium playing field used by our first team. Two outstanding fields, which is a credit to the ground crew, all of the employees working on those two surfaces, and the goalkeeper’s section as well.
“But we’re looking forward to seeing how that complex develops really and goes on to a facility that can not only host the first team but potentially the academy, potentially a development squad, potentially a women’s team as well so you can imagine how it will have to grow to a certain extent to host all those teams but that’s an exciting thing to think about as a Bristol Rovers supporter.”
George Friend sheds light on the Rovers’ personality-based culture and the transfer procedure.
Following a summer transfer window in which sixteen players were signed, Friend’s first full season in his new position as Director of Football began in February. Friend had retired from competitive play to assume the position.
Only a few weeks after assuming his present position, the former Middlesbrough, Birmingham City, and Wolves left-back participated in the latest fan forum panel. He has since completed a full transfer window. We’ll be able to gauge its success over time.
But hearing the 36-year-old talk about the lengthy process of how a transfer goes highlighted how meticulous he is about his profession and how committed he is to it. While many players would have simply retired and headed for the beach, Friend has been dedicating his time and energy to the cause, and he is already planning for future windows.
The extremely condensed version of the Director of Football’s detailed explanation of the process of finalising a transfer can be viewed online. It basically states that, once a player is identified and the board approves, Rovers will usually make a presentation to them before scheduling medicals and signing paperwork—a relatively novel approach in the recruitment world. Once more, a very condensed synopsis cannot fully capture the significance of the length to which Friend went.
One noteworthy point raised by the former defender, though, was that while prospective new players must relocate to Bristol in order to become ingrained in the community, their personalities play a significant role in their recruitment decisions.
Friend clarified this by saying, “We do a lot of references on the individual themselves. I believe it is crucial that individuals be local. That means we want them to live in the neighbourhood, but they don’t have to be from Bristol. That’s quite significant, and we declined to sign players because of it. They were not ready to relocate to the region. Though we really wanted folks to be in and around it for what we’re attempting to accomplish, we might occasionally make an exception if they were exceptional.
“The character is really important. It’s enormous, and in my opinion, you need that kind of siege mentality and unity when you don’t have the largest budget in the league. We did emphasise in our presentations, “Look the fans here, there’s expectations,” therefore you need someone to feed off the energy. Even though our stadium isn’t the largest in the league, it seems like it, and even while they’ll forgive you if you consistently put in the effort, they will still expect it when things don’t go as planned on the pitch.
“They won’t stick to that and they won’t build on it if you don’t get the appropriate people, but we hope we have more of them this year than not. We’re working to develop that, and maybe it will come through over the season.”
Ritchie Bates promises better fan consultation following choices over the season ticket and program.
The announcement of a £15 fee for a physical season ticket, in addition to the ticket price, and the replacement of the matchday programme with a monthly magazine were two of the major decisions that many fans expressed dissatisfaction and fury over the summer.
After purchasing their season tickets for this campaign, supporters without cellphones were informed that they would have to pay a sizable additional cost if they desired a physical card. These supporters were incensed that they were unable to obtain a digital season ticket, which the club is urging to utilise. Supporters who enjoy buying a show for sentimental reasons also expressed dissatisfaction with that specific modification.
Although Bates wasn’t present at the club when the decisions were taken, he expressed regret for the lack of communication and promised to work towards more openness between the club and its supporters in the future.
He stated on the season tickets: “I really apologise for this one. Since we released season tickets and then did something after the fact—which is again not what this football club is about—I want to apologise profusely, even though I was obviously not present at the time.
“The cost for the club to obtain physical season ticket cards, have them printed, and handle all the associated administrative tasks is substantial. It wasn’t done correctly, and that doesn’t speak poorly of earlier governments or those who are now in office but were involved in that choice. However, once more, fans must be aware of it before they can decide what to buy.
“There are several reasons for the shift to digital, one of which is that none of the parties involved incur any costs. The environmental impact is impacted by the digital aspect, which is something I and other club members really believe in. Though we acknowledge that not everyone owns a smartphone or tablet, we will always encourage supporters to go digital wherever possible going forward due to the financial implications for both the fan base and the club. We will still provide the physical card, though, if someone really needs one.
“I promise to always be upfront and honest with the fans; there will be financial consequences for both the organisation and the fan base. To let fans know what to expect, the price hasn’t been determined yet but will be announced when season tickets go on sale.
As for the new monthly magazine, it has 84 pages and, according to the Rovers website, contains “in-depth features, quick reads, match round-ups, key fixture information and much more, as well as long-form features with first-team players, the thoughts of manager Matt Taylor and key staff across the club, comprehensive updates from the women’s team, the academy, the Community Trust and Supporters’ Club.” The problem is that, unlike programs, which are gathered and preserved as mementos from particular games, this is distributed monthly and isn’t fixture-specific.
“I think it’s the right decision because that’s what we did at my previous club,” Bates continued regarding this choice. What I can tell you is the enormous expenses associated with a program, and I believe that people in today’s society are less receptive to printed publications as they once were. Despite being a sentimental piece.
“A theme of tonight is fan consultation and being open with fans, once you show how much a programme usually costs, fans are usually quite flabbergasted in terms of the expense and the time aspect in terms of how much media is put it.”
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