Aucklander sacked as chief exec in senior management cull at English club

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Aucklander Marcus Reynolds has left struggling English League Two club Forest Green Rovers after less than a year as chief executive.

Reynolds (44), who got the job ahead of more than 600 applicants, was one of five senior staff members sacked in a major shake-up at the club who are second bottom in their division, and risk relegation to non-league football.

GloucestershireLive reports Reynolds was “relieved of his duties”, along with director of football Allan Steele, head of recruitment Will Daniels, head of football operations Ben Strange and head of matchday and hospitality Iain Paterson.

All Whites goalkeeper Jamie Searle is a reserve ‘keeper at Rovers.

Reynolds has a background in New Zealand sport, having been a regional CEO with NZ Rugby League, CEO of the ASB Classic and Tennis Auckland, and a senior advisor at Sport New Zealand.

He started his Rovers role on June 1, 2023,

In an interview in October, Reynolds described his role as “fun, challenging and exciting.”

During his time at the club, Rovers had four managers.

Former Scottish international Duncan Ferguson was in charge when Reynolds was hired.

When Ferguson left in pre-season, he was replaced by David Horseman who was sacked in December.

Former Watford striker Troy Deeney took over as player-coach but he lasted only a few weeks before Steve Cotterill became the latest manager.

The club face back-to-back relegations, and are six points adrift from their nearest rivals on the League Two table.

Rovers: ‘The greenest team in the world’

Forest Green Rovers won promotion to the Football League in 2017 after more than a hundred years playing non-league football. This made Nailsworth (population 5,700) the smallest town ever to host a Football League club.

Since then, they have become the first football club in the world to be certified carbon neutral by the United Nations, and have been described by FIFA as the “greenest team in the world.”

In 2021, Rovers announced a partnership with Fully Charged, a clean energy and electric vehicle YouTube channel.

Majority-owned by Ecotricity founder Vince, the club’s efforts to be eco-friendly have included removing red meat from players’ diets, stopping selling meat products at their New Lawn ground, and treating the pitch with organic fertiliser.

The second-largest shareholder in the club is former Arsenal fullback Héctor Bellerin.

Since 2021, the team kit has been made from a composite material consisting of recycled plastic and coffee grounds.

Rovers’ efforts to find an environmentally friendly way to operate were the subject of a 65-minute documentary produced in 2022 by FIFA+.

ANOTHER WAY: The Forest Green Rovers Story can be watched online free at FIFA+.

WATCH: ANOTHER WAY: The Forest Green Rovers Story >>>>