Bristol Rovers binned their director of football role on Thursday, effectively demoting Tommy Widdrington and formalising the power entrusted in the hands Joey Barton.
Widdrington remains on the club's board, but he has been given a much less influential position, which will see him take charge of loan departures and "mirroring the first-team philosophy, that will be set by the first-team Manager, across the academy structure".
For Barton, it is confirmation of the arrangement that has been in place behind the scenes for months. Widdrington had been director of football in name only for much of Barton's tenure.
Barton wanted control of Rovers' recruitment and transfer plans and has had precisely, with Rovers' reshuffle announcement confirming the what has been going on behind the scenes in BS7 for months.
Widdrington faced increasing criticism from supporters as Rovers slipped closer and closer to relegation, with many unhappy with his role in the creation of a squad which fell woefully short of the required standards – finishing the season 10 points from safety.
His spell as director of football lasted just seven months, and here is how Gasheads reacted to the announcement...
Benji Deane: "Clears the way for Barton to build his own Rovers team, but also to take full accountability for the results of next season's effort. It's all on Barton now, which is what he wanted. This is in effect a demotion for TW - the right call after he oversaw poor recruitment last year."
Briony: "Think it’s easy for us all to criticise how you should/shouldn’t run a football club just like how you should/shouldn’t manage the team over the season. Something needed to change and now it has. Putting things in place ready for hopefully a successful season."
Sam Dyson: "Felt it was needed. The manager should be the one picking all the players, and that means he should be the person signing them. The issue is now, that the buck stops with Barton. If we lose, he has no one else to blame."
Sam Cope: "Something had to change, didn't sound like Barton was a fan of him having a lot of power last season anyway. Him managing the youth prospects may actually be his calling."
Michael Willett: "I’m just surprised he’s staying at the club in some capacity. Barton clearly has a lot of pulling power which I think is concerning. I can’t see the two of them working well together particularly well, yet the description suggests they’ll need to. We’ll see I guess."
GasheadFM: "This is huge! Barton calling the shots now which means no excuses for next season! Have complete faith and I like the direction he's taking the team though! Wise experienced heads up for the fight!"
Lucy Ford: "I’m more shocked that he is still at the club, the recruitment last summer and January was not good; replacing experienced players with inexperienced ones, lacking a spine in the team and then not recruiting an experienced striker in January.
Jack Tucker: "I think rovers have been decisive today. Having a director of football has not worked for us and we'll only see if it was the right decision in seasons to come."
Mancgas: "Director of Football model only works if you have a first team coach. If you’ve a strong willed manager no chance in hell of it working. Certainly placed all our chips on black... and marmite black at that. Hope for Wael’s sake they’ve deleted all the red betting options on table"
Clive: "All or nothing now for Joey. Time will tell."
Andy Gait: "I always thought that Rovers having a Director of Football was like The White Lion boasting they had a Director of Darts."
Ryann Mignano: "Absolutely vital for the season ahead - a much needed, and long overdue, reshuffle."
Wardrobe55: "Revising a failed plan, it does make sense. Handing more control to JB and his team. A few people criticised JB for dishing out too much blame to other people at the end of last season; here is his opportunity to answer them directly. JB's ship now, full speed ahead."
