EFL's newest American owner makes promise to fans as bold ambition made clear
Media investor David Gandler has taken a majority stake in League One play-off hopefuls Leyton Orient and despite ambitious plans for the future has promised supporters that the club will build sustainably
New Leyton Orient owner David Gandler has told fans bruised by the past that they are right to be skeptical and the American media investor insists his awareness of the club's recent history means sustainability is the top priority as they eye a return to the Championship.
The Os can seal a League One play-off spot if they match Reading's result on Saturday and Gandler, whose 78 per cent purchase was announced last weekend, says 'the goal, without putting a timeline on it, is to progress to the Championship.'
But having been reminded by the supporters he has met of their recent difficult history, including two relegations in three seasons plus a winding-up order under ex-owner Francesco Bechetti, the TV executive says: 'My message is you can remain skeptical because trust is earned.
'This is an amazing club and the people around it have made it very clear what happened between 2014 and 2017. That's why it's very important for us to maintain continuity. This is not about achieving certain levels really quickly. We'll continue to do everything we can to ensure the club remains on track but doesn't spend recklessly.'
Gandler previously owned a stake in French second-tier side Paris FC and made his money through the streaming service Fubo.tv.
His interest in Orient was piqued last December when introduced to outgoing majority shareholder Nigel Travis by a mutual friend.
Club saviour Travis, 77, stepped in after Bechetti's sunk the club to non-League and will remain as chairman plus keep a minority stake.
Gandler plans to visit from his New York base half a dozen times next season and will be happy to work quietly behind the scenes. 'I'm playing a supporting role,' he added, stressing that the 'heritage' of the club must remain central.
Orient do hold ambitious expansion plans. They are in talks with the local council around a new stadium, which would ideally be double the capacity of Brisbane Road's 9,200, while they are also exploring options around a new training ground.
Chief executive Mark Devlin added: 'We've been speaking to the council for a few months. We're looking at 17- to 20,000. We're looking at a number of sites but we're very cognisant of the fact we're Leyton Orient and if at all possible stay in Leyton but definitely in the borough of Waltham Forest.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Metro
an hour ago
- Metro
Reece James reacts to Chelsea's signing of in-demand striker Liam Delap
Reece James is 'delighted' that Chelsea saw off competition from Manchester United to secure the signing of in-demand striker Liam Delap. Enzo Maresca's side had made signing a new striker a priority for the start of the transfer window, and quickly earmarked Delap after his promising first season in the Premier League. The Ipswich Town striker scored 12 goals in 37 league games, but was available for just £30million following his side's relegation back to the Championship. Chelsea moved quickly to sign the 22-year-old, seeing off interest from United who also held one-to-one talks with the England U21 international. Delap spoke of his desire to win trophies as a key motivator for his move to Stamford Bridge, with James confident that the striker has what it takes to deliver the goods for his new club. Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro's Football Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we'll send you so we can get football news tailored to you. 'He's had a great season at Ipswich and I'm very happy he's going to be joining us for next season,' James said ahead of England's World Cup qualifier with Andorra. 'He's a great player and I'm delighted he's with us.' James, meanwhile, finds himself back in England's squad for a second successive time under Thomas Tuchel as the full-back continues to put the worst of his injury woes behind him. The Chelsea skipper has plenty of competition for the coveted right-back spot in the starting eleven, but believes his performances over recent months should speak for themselves. 'For sure, I'm moving in the right direction. I finished off the season strong and I feel like I'm in a good place,' he added. 'It's something I'm used to – playing and competing with world-class players. 'They (Trent Alexander-Arnold and Kyle Walker) are two phenomenal players in my position so of course it's going to be tough but we all have different capabilities and strengths, so it's whichever the manager wants to decide to play.' Tuchel, meanwhile, expressed his sympathies with recently sacked Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou. It was only last month that Postecoglou carried Spurs to Europa League glory, but Daniel Levy has now chosen to part ways with the Australian, who paid the price for a disastrous league campaign which saw his side lose 22 of their 38 games. More Trending 'It just shows you that it is not only about titles, you can survive seasons without titles if your connection, the support and the belief and the trust between the coach and the club is strong then you can overcome seasons without titles,' Tuchel said. 'If there is slight disbelief, if there are concerns, if the trust is not there anymore, obviously then it is sometimes not even enough to win a trophy after so many years. 'I have biggest respect for him. He's a huge character, he brought a trophy, he said he will deliver in the second year and he did. 'But this is part of the job, we are responsible for the results and we are responsible for the development of the team so, whether we like it or not, sometimes it is us who has to take the full responsibility.' For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. MORE: Thierry Henry's warning to Arsenal and Chelsea over signing 'amazing' £60m striker MORE: Man Utd legend backed to replace Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham MORE: 'I love that club so much' – Lille star wants Man Utd transfer
Daily Record
an hour ago
- Daily Record
Humiliated golf star racks up a 12 at the RBC Canadian Open in disastrous opening hole
French ace Matthieu Pavon suffered the nightmare in Toronto but incredibly it isn't the worst score on a hole this year Mashed-up Matthieu Pavon was left devastated after carding a disastrous 12 at the RBC Canadian Open. The French star suffered the calamity on the opening hole, the 10th on the course, of his second round at TPC Toronto. Pavon's anguish began with a wild tee shot into trouble and, having got his ball back into play, he hit a fourth into the water. The 32-year-old reloaded and promptly hit his sixth into the drink before doing exactly the same again with his eighth after yet another penalty drop. Pavon finally managed to get his 10th shot onto the putting surface before taking two-putts to sign for a dozen. Such is golf, the shattered star bounced back with two straight birdies, but the damage was well and truly done. It was painful for Pavon, but he did go one better than William Mouw, who ended up with a 13 during his second round of The American Express in January. He made an octuple-bogey, tripped up by the notorious 18-foot-deep greenside bunker. It took him 13 shots to play the famed par five, most of which were caught by TV cameras. Mouw said: 'I'm definitely not the first to get captured by the bunker and make a big number and I certainly won't be the last.' You can get all the news you need on our dedicated Rangers and Celtic pages, and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season. We're also WhatsApp where we bring all the latest breaking news and transfer gossip directly to you phone. Join our Rangers community here and our Celtic community here.
Daily Record
an hour ago
- Daily Record
What really happened to Rangers 'football review' as new three pillars at Ibrox make vision clear
Major changes have taken place at Ibrox - and more are to come this summer Rangers' American owners, sporting director Kevin Thelwell and boss Russell Martin have all touched down at Ibrox - but it won't be long before the squad will be up, up and away. With the first of three European qualifiers only six weeks off, the new regime in charge at Ibrox find themselves flying by the seat of their pants. With new signings to be recruited, players to be shipped out and a new radical possession-based style of play to be drilled into the team, there's not a second to be wasted if Martin's new side aren't to crash and burn upon takeoff. It may seem like they are operating on a wing and a prayer with so much work to be done in such a short period of time. But Patrick Stewart is confident Rangers can soar at the same time as they set about constructing the runway it's hoped will at long last point have the Light Blues pointing in the right direction. The Ibrox CEO said: 'I fully appreciate it's very different and the expectation is success now whilst developing. 'So we've got to build the plane while we're flying the plane. 'Everyone recognises that. Russell recognises it, Kevin recognises it. 'It is hard, it is really hard but we're all used to working in hard conditions. 'The people at the club now are used to big challenges but we see that as a positive, we enjoy the challenge. 'You come to a club of the stature of Rangers and if you don't come with your eyes open you probably wouldn't get through the door in the first place. We love the challenge, we want to take on the challenge and we're confident we'll succeed.' Rangers' recent trajectory has been a spiralling decent. One league title in 14 years tells a story of failures stacked on failures. Dragging the club out of that nosedive won't be easy but Stewart is prepared to make the alterations that he believes can soon have things looking up for the Ibrox legions. 'We've been second for a long time, obviously 55 aside, and if we don't change something we're going to continue finishing second,' he said. 'I'm probably stating the obvious that we have to change things, we have to change people, we have to change culture. 'In a sports club, whatever the sport, if you've not got the right culture you're not going to be winning either on or off the pitch, 'So we've got to make sure that everyone's presenting the best version of themselves, everyone's pulling together.' Russell was the last of the three key appointments to touch down in Glasgow last week. His arrival came four months after Philippe Clement was heaved out of the Ibrox exit. Barry Ferguson was installed as a stop-gap gaffer to lead the club through to the end of the season but even the brief return of the former skipper did not satisfy the Ibrox faithful's insatiable hunger for news on Clement's permanent replacement. Stewart certainly didn't go out of his way to feed the frenzied clamour for updates, neither did a media department who could have padded up for the English cricket team with the amount of straight bats they dished out. But for all that the punters were fraying at the edges, Stewart insists it was cool and calm inside Ibrox as they worked their way through the top order of candidates. 'We wanted to take the time and use that time,' he said. 'It's how you use the time. If you're just sitting doing nothing, then yes, we've wasted the time — but we haven't been. 'A lot of work was done in getting the football review completed. 'I know people will ask, what was the outcome of the football review? We know the outcomes and we've been implementing several of the steps and one of those was bringing in Kev. "We've done a lot of work as well around what's our club football style going to be so that we could then hire a head coach that fits that style. 'That requires a lot of analysis, video, data, taking a lot of references. 'There's been a lot of work going on so, we've not wasted the time but equally we've not been providing a running commentary. 'It's not the way a professional club wants to run, playing everything out in public. 'We've used the time well and it was really critical for the club that we got in place a sporting director and that the sporting director was integral in the head coach process and decision. 'I still think we're in a good spot because transfer window is June 16, I think. 'We've got the new head coach in place well in advance of the opening of the transfer window but also critically well in advance of the players coming back. So actually I'd say we're exactly where we want to be and we've used the time well.' Rangers are now under US control, with the Pennsylvania-based Andrew Cavenagh now sitting in the chairman's seat and Leeds chairman Paraag Marathe - who will split his time between Glasgow, Elland Road and San Francisco - next to him as his deputy. But with Stewart, alongside Thelwell and former chairman Fraser Thornton, based in the city permanently, he is confident the of avoiding snags in the chains of command. 'I think in any organisation where you want alignment from ownership throughout the organisation, you're in constant dialogue,' he explained. 'So it's not quite as binary as am I deciding something or are they deciding something or is Kev deciding something. 'Of course we've got different decisions that are better taken by different people but we're in constant dialogue. 'So I speak with Andrew frequently and I can pick up the phone to him and bounce stuff off him. 'Likewise and similarly with Kevin and myself, I think we've seen more of each other than certainly our families have seen of us. So communication is key and just making sure we've got alignment so that we're all pulling in the same direction.'
