‘Sextone must face music of Blackthorn End’

The rumour mill was hard at work this week as Gasheads prepared for a Jaw-dropping appointment to the Bristol Rovers board.I was told, on the QT, by someone who claimed that he had impeccable sources at the club, that the new board member was to be none other than Ian Holloway.

This would be a surprising appointment given the nature of his departure from the club some 14 years ago, but a popular one nonetheless. He would certainly offer a wealth of experience on the football front, if not wealth in the finance department. But this “impeccable” source couldn’t have been more wrong when news of the real appointment leaked from the club and beyond.

Colin Sexstone has a wealth of experience in sports administration, having led Gloucestershire County Cricket Club to unprecedented success when he was their chief executive. Then he moved to Bristol City which, as a lifelong City fan, he regarded as a huge honour. The Bedminster boy who once stood on the terraces was now in charge of the club. That must have been a dream come true for him.

I wonder if Mr Sexstone feels the same way about his beloved Bristol City now that he has a non-executive directorship on the board of their great rivals?

I can’t say much, though, because I have actually been manager of Bristol City, except in the Championship Manager computer game. The novelty soon wore off and soon I started to buy the worst players possible, sell the best ones and generally run the club into the ground until I was sacked. I do hope that Mr Sexstone’s motives are a little more principled than mine. I’m certain they are.

I do not know precisely what Mr Sexstone brings to the Rovers table. There was mention of his expertise in the planning department, given his experience of helping – and failing – to build a new ground on the village green just up the road from Ashton Gate, but I was under the impression that the club already had the best possible expert to build a new ground in the chairman, Nick Higgs himself.

Or perhaps he will use his extensive book of contacts to help bring additional investment into the club, perhaps persuading Steve Lansdown that he made a big mistake ploughing his millions into Bristol City when he could have done it at the Rovers instead?

He certainly doesn’t bring any money to the table and he is at an age where most of us, though not most of the Bristol Rovers board, it seems, are looking to slow down and enjoy their latter years away from the spotlight. Mind you, compared to some board members, Mr Sexstone, at 67, is actually a youthful appointment.

He says he will have to “weather the storm” of being a lifelong City fan who is joining the Rovers board. I have no idea whether there will be any kind of storm at all – plenty of former City players have made the trip to Rovers over the years without any real issues cropping up – but I suppose this is slightly different in the sense that players are not supporters; they play for whichever club pays them the most money over the longest possible period. Board members at Bristol Rovers have almost always been supporters first and foremost.

If Mr Sexstone makes a tangible and positive difference to Rovers’ fortunes, I don’t suppose anyone will give a monkey’s that he supports the City, but doubtless the man himself will cringe when the Blackthorn End belts out “Singing The Blues”, with its cutting remarks about the other team south of the river.

Picture credit: Bristol Rovers