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New Man in Charge at Rugby

Rugby United FC today confirmed the appointment of Billy Jeffrey as their manager for the forthcoming 2005/06 season. Jeffrey replaces the departing Tony Dobson, who has chosen to leave the club to take up the manager’s position at Southern League Western Division side Solihull Borough after more than four years’ service at Butlin Road.

Jeffrey has an impressive track record in management roles in non-league football, following a successful professional playing career which saw him make more than 400 league appearances at three clubs – Oxford United, Blackpool and Northampton Town.

He joins the club after six and a half years as manager of Stamford – where after securing four consecutive top seven finishes in the Southern League Eastern Division, he led the club into the Premier Division for the first time in 2004. Prior to this Billy had had a lengthy spell as assistant manager at Rushden & Diamonds, where under manager Roger Ashby and then Brian Talbot he helped the club gain promotion to Conference level football.

United Chairman Brian Melvin was delighted to be able to secure the services of his new man. He said, “Billy’s got wide experience at this level and has some excellent contacts in the game, both of which we feel will help continue to take this club forward. The Board would like to thank Tony Dobson and his assistant Steve Shea for the work they have done here over the past few years, and wish them every success in their new roles.”

Jeffrey was looking forward to the challenge ahead of him at Rugby. He said, “I feel that this is a club with great potential, but there’s still lots to be done on the pitch if we are to fulfil this. The facilities at Butlin Road are first class and deserve an even higher level of football. It’s my job to make sure we have a team capable of achieving this.”

Dobson’s resignation came amid speculation that the club were trying to force him out after exploratory discussions had been held with Jeffrey regarding a support role at Butlin Road. Melvin stressed that this had not been the intention and was disappointed with the way this had been perceived. He said, “A possibility arose to introduce Billy into the management structure to work alongside Tony, and we thought that the benefits that this could have in terms of identifying and attracting new players to the club would be good for all parties concerned. It was clearly communicated beforehand that Tony would have the final say as to whether this arrangement could work or not, and if it could, likewise he would ultimately maintain the final decision on all playing matters.”

Jeffrey confirmed his understanding of the proposal and had discussed it with Dobson at a confidential meeting last week. He said, “We got together for a chat to see if there was any common ground, and agreed to have further discussions with the Chairman when he got back from holiday. Then suddenly I got a call last Friday to say that circumstances had changed and Tony had left, and I was being offered the manager’s job.”

Jeffrey confirmed that he would be bringing Kenny Mist to the club work as his assistant. Mist also has vast experience at grass roots football level, and the new management team will immediately start the process of forming next season’s squad. Jeffrey said, “It’s inevitable in circumstances like this that certain players will move on, and we’ll be assessing where we are at over the next few days and then attempting to bring in the right calibre of players to fill any gaps and strengthen the team as a whole.”

Billy Jeffrey – Brief Profile