Cook departing on free transfer

Debbie Cook's heading to the EFL as their new 'Director of Community' in the upcoming transfer window. Congratulations to her, sounds like quite an impressive career move! (have we inserted a sell on clause!?? ) Will be very interesting to see who ends up being appointed to replace her:

https://gtfc.co.uk/debbie-cook-to-take-new-role-as-director-at-the-efl/

I wish her good luck in a step up in her career, I believe she has done a great job as our CEO and along with our owners has steered us in the right direction . UTM

Congratulations to Debbie on getting her career move. I'm sure that JS and AP, with all their experience, will find a more than suitable replacement.
I wonder if JS, AP and DA knew about this prior to the appointment of DA as Head Coach?

Great for her, a bit of a pity for the club but as we've seen with the managerial appointment these days we seem to have a clear vision of the roles needed with the club and the type of person we want to fill them.  

Never hurts to have friends in high places, can she go the full Arthur Drewry though?  Only time will tell

Quoted from bedders78

Great for her, a bit of a pity for the club but as we've seen with the managerial appointment these days we seem to have a clear vision of the roles needed with the club and the type of person we want to fill them.  

Never hurts to have friends in high places, can she go the full Arthur Drewry though?  Only time will tell

But also a great endorsement of GTFC and 1878…the CEO of a league 2 club moving on to that hugely high profile role. I would say JS and AP will be absolutely delighted for her.

Good comments from Stockwood that it was always the plan to see her move onto bigger and brighter things.  

Also fits in with this identity thing that is the current buzzword around BP.  If things regress because one person leaves, you've not changed the culture and identify of your set-up at all.

Well done Debbie you deserve this you have done a grand job here.

Well done to Jason and Andrew in bringing Debbie here and I trust them to find a suitable replacement.

Quoted from rancido

Congratulations to Debbie on getting her career move. I'm sure that JS and AP, with all their experience, will find a more than suitable replacement.
I wonder if JS, AP and DA knew about this prior to the appointment of DA as Head Coach?

You would certainly hope so - a mate texted me to wonder if the director of football might come back into play, in some sort of reorganisation

also will be interesting to see if they go down a non football person route or recruit from someone with a background in the game. Certainly they will have learnt a lot about the pluses and minuses of having a non footballing CEO

Goes to show what a great job she has done behind the scenes. Good on her and it’s our loss.

Her new role will hopefully invite less of all the angry blokes on Twitter incessantly giving her excrement and essentially driving her off social media.

Shame for, as she’s done a good job, but good for her. Good luck to her for the future.

Well done and good luck Debbie

Hopefully the foundations are laid for your successor

Good for her as she’s done a really good job, so now we have at least one sensible person in the EFL.

I would be amazed if JS & AP didn’t have a successor lined up who maybe hasn’t got football experience but gets the wider community bit.

Be interesting to see what kind of CEO we recruit with Gareth Jennings on board as an advisor. That ought to add another dimension to this recruitment.

Congratulations to Debbie too.

Will they have red or brown sauce on Jason's bacon buttys

Quoted from jamesgtfc

Be interesting to see what kind of CEO we recruit with Gareth Jennings on board as an advisor. That ought to add another dimension to this recruitment.

Congratulations to Debbie too.

I'd rather see non-football appointment. If you ignore the football side, you have a lot of staff to manage. Tickets, processes, technology, maintenance, marketing, communications, food, contracts. Any other organisation woud have a competent person to manage all this, and as Artell mentioned previously, he was doing too much non football stuff and found it exhuasting. They just want to focus on building a team and getting them playing, even the hands on managers. They don't want to run a disciplinary meeting with Doris the tea-lady who's no showed 6 times in the last quarter.

Congratulations to Debbie. Good luck.

Debbie had 0 involvement with the football side of things, whoever comes in will operate the same. We have good senior people in charge of the football side of things and a good infrastructure within the organisation.

Good luck to Debbie in her new role. Obviously, she was headhunted and her work for us was noted from afar.

Isn't she under contract?

Can't we get a fee for her?  

On a Bosman

Quoted from LocalLadGTFC

Debbie had 0 involvement with the football side of things, whoever comes in will operate the same. We have good senior people in charge of the football side of things and a good infrastructure within the organisation.

I'm not so certain that the new Chief Exec will operate the same. It's an opportunity to change things and improve. That's not to say Debbie or her responsibilities have been flawed, but you can always improve.

Quoted from jamesgtfc

I'm not so certain that the new Chief Exec will operate the same. It's an opportunity to change things and improve. That's not to say Debbie or her responsibilities have been flawed, but you can always improve.

A chief executive in a football club has very little to do with any football side of things normally, a technical director/DOF normally oversees football operations. As stated before by Jason we don't want too many hands stirring a pot. David will handle everything in regards to on the pitch, Joe will handle recruitment and Neil oversees the academy with Callum Lester doing everything on the grass for them. All have significant roles within the club and are very good at what they do.

Congratulations to Debbie. It also shows what sound judgment AP and JS had in appointing her in the first place. The club is in good hands.

But I thought she was a bully and the cause of loads of strife at the club - or was that just the usual cr$p from the Fenty in brigade?  

Friends in high places hopefully then.....look forward to no more 12p.m kick offs , derby day bank holiday fixtures and favourable cup draws 😆


I hope this hasn't come as a suprise to our new manager seeing how sold he seemed with her.

Quoted from The_Laughing_Mariner

Will they have red or brown sauce on Jason's bacon buttys

No sauce, let the bacon speak for itself.

Quoted from BenBB

No sauce, let the bacon speak for itself.

As long as it is smoked.

Its a disgrace our most saleable asset going on a free.

I woule demand £2 million for her or they can find somebody else.

All the best Debbie you will leave with all our love.

Well done Debbie, the EFLs gain is our loss. Kudos to JS and AP for appointing Debbie that she has gone on to such a promotion. We are on the lookout for someone as competent as Debbie now, Artell seemed delighted to be working with a competent chief exec so he will be hoping for a swift and successful recruitment process no doubt.

Goodbye Debbie you will be missed.