Brentford will play their first match of the 2013/14 season at Griffin Park this evening but a familiar face to many at Griffin Park will be elsewhere.
Tony Ashley retired from his position as Brentford Football Club Operations Manager at the end of last season.
Tony was in post for six years before standing down at the end of May.
He was replaced by Alan Walsh, who brought with him the experience of working as Arena Manager at the boxing and weightlifting arenas at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Mark Devlin, Brentford FC Chief Executive, said: “On behalf of all the staff and his friends at Brentford Football Club, I would like to thank Tony for all his efforts for the Club, not only in keeping an ageing stadium upright and fit for professional football and our supporters, but also for overseeing the very rapid growth and development at the Jersey Road Training Ground, often in very testing conditions.
“We will miss Tony’s stories and words of wisdom, although management meetings will be a lot shorter and also his crucial analysis of industry event lunches.
“Tony developed a very healthy relationship with all of our emergency service partners and the local authority and enjoyed a level of friendly trust not often found, and we thank him for leaving the Club in good operational shape in the safe hands of Alan Walsh.
“We would all like to wish Tony a very enjoyable and relaxing retirement.”
Alan worked at ExCeL Exhibition Centre, in London, where those Olympic events were held, and has also been Event Manager for World Championship boxing contests.
Before leaving Tony conducted an interview with the Brentford FC match day programme – that interview can be seen at Tony Ashley programme interview.