Peter Kenyon Take Note: Scolari Knows Why You Won’t Make Chelsea As Big As Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Real Madrid, AC Milan or Barcelona - Any Time Soon
August 6, 2008
Subscribe by: Email | RSS Reader | What's This?
Ever since “life-long United fan” Peter Kenyon apparently decided he could forego the satisfaction of working for his boyhood team and joined Chelsea as chief executive, United fans have despised this venal little man and longed for him to come a cropper.
Our Schadenfreude moment came back in May as the ghost-faced Chelsea chief exec embarrassedly collected his Champions League loser’s medal in the pouring Luzhniki stadium rain.
It had been a long time coming but it was deliciously pleasing to see this turncoat suffer his moment of global ignominy.
Shortly before Kenyon’s venal instincts kicked in and he headed off for the bright lights and shiny baubles of west London in 2004, he was asked - whilst still United chief exec - about the threat of a Roman Abramovich-funded Chelsea:
“We are not worried - why should we be?” Kenyon said. “Having money is not necessarily a route to automatic success.
“I am quite sure they will become a bigger force but it is our intention to keep Manchester United at the top, and we have the infrastructure in place to make that happen.”
Ironically enough, in the longer term Kenyon’s departure from United and his arrival at Chelsea did indeed lay the foundations of further success at United and his successor, David Gill, has proved a more capable and vastly less irritating figure.
Nonetheless, when Kenyon first arrived at Chelsea it seemed the stage was set for an era of domination fuelled by the vast wealth of their new owner. The appointment of the talented and charismatic Jose Mourinho put the perfect retrospective gloss on Kenyon’s unintentionally apposite remarks:
“Money is not necessarily a route to automatic success,” he said, and, unwittingly or otherwise, he was was right.
Money had to be melded with talent to achieve anything. And that talent was Jose Mourinho - by far the best signing Chelsea made during that first very successful chapter of the Abramovich reign. Funny to think that Mourinho wasn’t even Chelsea’s first choice, apparently. Kenyon had wanted to recruit Sven-Goran Eriksson - how very lucky for him his clandestine pursuit failed.
In the first giddy years Chelsea spent farcical sums of money - especially when considered in relation to their turnover - but without someone of Mourinho’s self-belief and application, possibly nothing would have be achieved.
However, things went well and with two league titles under their belt Peter Kenyon began to get a little carried away. He spoke of Chelsea’s project to break even by 2009-2010 and to be recognised as the biggest football ‘brand’ by 2014.
As things stand Chelsea posted a pre-tax loss of £74.8m on revenues of £190.5m in 2007, with their wage bill increasing 16.7 per cent from £114m to £133m. The notion that Chelsea will break even in two years time is about as fanciful as the other - more hilariously arrogant - objective.
Kenyon appears to have become subsumed by his own marketing newsspeak to such an extent that he operates in a bubble of self-delusion completely impervious to the facts that are plain to any unbiased observer.
Whilst we’re rabid United fans and find the majority of Chelsea supporters about as appealing as a turd on a pillow, we’re not arrogant enough to claim that only clubs like United have some divine right to sit unassailed at the top of the English game.
Football success and football renown is cyclical.
In the 70’s and 80’s it was the Scousers. These days we’re in our pomp. Yet maybe someday it will change - maybe Chelsea may one day (not precisely by 2014….) be regarded in the same ‘class’ as United, or Liverpool or even Arsenal. Or internationally in the same class as Real Madrid, AC Milan or Barcelona
But it will all take a very long time.
It will take a long time precisely because odious marketing men who talk too much - like Peter Kenyon - occupy the position they do. Kenyon is presumably under a lot of pressure to bring about success and a certain kind of football to Chelsea, but specifying ‘brand dominance’ dates simply tarnishes the club’s already dubious image.
Luiz Felipe Scolari it appears is a far smarter chap and is clearly less concerned with the short term benefits of making ingratiating statements to his Muscovite boss. In an interview published in the Telegraph (and elsewhere) today Scolari astutely recognises that it will take some considerable time for Chelsea match up to the great clubs’ public image:
“Chelsea are growing and, if we win one or two big competitions, I’m sure we will have fans all over the world. Maybe it won’t be the same as Madrid, Manchester or Milan because our history is not the same and you don’t make a history in two, three or 10 years – maybe in 20 or 50 years.”
The self-evident sensible-ness of this statement is (pleasantly) staggering for those of us - including exasperated Chelsea fans - used to listening to the slew of pompous verbiage uttered by Kenyon and to a lesser extent Bruce Buck.
As a United fan we’re not about to fall in love with any Chelsea manager, but Scolari has won instant plaudits from many for his injection of common sense into a club that so often in the past has riled rival fans with its overweening hyperbole.
Abramovich should do himself and the rest of football all a big favour: employ more people like Scolari and send Kenyon, and his ilk, back where they belong - to screwing up corporate entities less precious than our beloved football clubs.
Subscribe by: Email | RSS Reader | What's This?
Related Items From Manutdblogger:
Email or Share With Friends!
Want A FREE £25 Bet?
Want the chance to make some money risk free?
Sign up for a Betfair account via this website and get a £25 Free Bet. Sign Up here or click the Betfair image at the side.
Enjoy this post? Then subscribe to our RSS Feed or Leave a comment.
Your Comments:
7 Responses to “Peter Kenyon Take Note: Scolari Knows Why You Won’t Make Chelsea As Big As Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Real Madrid, AC Milan or Barcelona - Any Time Soon”
What Do YOU Think ? Leave A Comment:
Peter Kenyon is a total bellend. So glad he left united - watching him run up those steps in moscow pissd wet through was hilarious. I
reckon chelsea fans hate him as much as we do now tho - he’s screwing up their club. they probably think cuz he was a united fan he’s doing it on purpose!
Agree that Kenyon is a horrid character, but you’re thoughts are mislaid around Chelsea’s ability to break even by 2010. They were ambitious targets, even before Roman arrived, but the £75m loss included several big hits financially such as paying off the Umbro kit sponsorship and paying off the installments on previous big transfers (Drogba, Shevchenko etc) - and lest we not forget writing off ‘assets’ such as Mutu and Veron. Add in the first installment of the adidas deal next year and it’s common knowledge that Chelsea will be close to breaking even by the end of 2010 (give or take the ‘nothing’ sum of £20m). They may not acheive it, and i suppose with Roman’s huge wealth it doesn’t really matter if they don’t, but I would imagine they would not miss that target by much. Besides - and not wishing to sound like a UEFA idiot - coming from a fanzine of a club in argually worse financial position it’s a little hypocritical to bemoan Chelsea’s finances- especially as some of your ’support’ upped and left once the Glazers took over. Good luck for the new season.
“”"As things stand Chelsea posted a pre-tax loss of £74.8m on revenues of £190.5m in 2007, with their wage bill increasing 16.7 per cent from £114m to £133m. The notion that Chelsea will break even in two years time is about as fanciful as the other - more hilariously arrogant - objective.”"”
As things stand… Manchester United lost £100m in the financial year 06-07 raising the United debt to (at least) £750m… and yet you wonder why Tevez is STILL just a rental, no signings have yet been made and why United sell teenagers like Pique and Rossi to big clubs while teenagers like Aaron Ramsey choose Arsenal
Hello smart arse Chelsea fans. Just remember two facts before you start skewing the picture:
i) Whilst we can’t ‘kin stand the ownership situation, United comfortably generate income sufficient to cover the Leprechaun’s interest payments
ii) you are only one polonium milkshake away from disappearing back into the obscurity you so richly deserve.
Great post. Peter Kuntyon deserves all the bad luck that is coming to him. It was fantastic seeing him pick up his losers medal, and seeing the great Sir Bobby Charlton collect his winners medal - total contrast in characters, the former a mercenary c*nt, and the latter a true great of United who embodies all the qualities of our marvellous football club. It’s hardly surprising to hear John Terry spouting sh*t about United peaking already, what do you expect when you have people at the top talking sh*t as well.
Nothing sum of £20 million? Yeah nothing to a billionaire - who indicidentally only gained his wealth from knowing the right people at the right time and then proceeding to effecitvely steal resources that properly should have been distributed to the wider Russian public.
Not a fit and proper person.
And one more thing - you mugs were ready to spend 75+ million on Kaka had Milan agreed to it + his 200K a week wages - i think that might have f*ked your break even plan.
sfx89 - £20m is ‘nothing’ at top level football these days. Yes, it’s disgusting and wrong but it’s true. As for the Kaka situation . . . you shouldn’t beleive everything you read in the papers.