Some say the clock was ticking ever since Jose met his maker with the club, others say it was when he ‘messed up’ the Robinho transfer deal, and, many more say it was the hiring (and necessary dismissal) of Scolari. The current most popular view, however, is a casserole of under-achievement with handfuls of all the above spiced with various exorbitant transfer fees, and poured all over Frank Arnesen.
Peter Kenyon sprung to infamy when he was plucked from the murky halls of Old Trafford by Roman Abramovich in order to spearhead the Russian’s assault on English and European football. His remit? Make Chelsea the biggest club in the world.
So when put on ‘gardening leave’ by Manchester United after accepting the role from Roman, Kenyon was immediately taken to a new level within the UK media as a defector from one of the old powers, drawn by the money of Chelsea – a theme that would underlay most of his higher profile transfers wrangles for the club to come.
Bald, plainly spoken in business jargon, easily recognised and the man who let Ronaldinho slip from Manchester United’s hands. He had a bullseye painted on his back for public and media scrutiny from the start.
Let’s get the Sven thing out of the way first, seeing as it remains one of the livid cock-ups for most Chelsea fans. The high-profile England manager with an eye for the (leathery) ladies was caught red handed with our bald headed Manc discussing taking over from the Dead Man Walking that was Claudio Ranieri. At that time Sven was seen as one of the best managers in football, it had been a coup for the FA to recruit him as he had taken the reasonably unfashionable Lazio to a league title in Italy – he was hot property. But more than that Sven was and remains a hugely politically savvy man within football. He knows the right people, he knows when to get to know the right people. Kenyon was guilty of carrying out his bosses brash and arrogant demands to the letter, and got caught. Thank god he was caught, really.
His follow up effort was much, much better. Continuing the search for Roman’s man to take over from Claudio, his next target was the outspoken, mercurial and sky rocketing young Portuguese manager of FC Porto, one Jose Mourinho. Kenyon’s capture of Mourinho and complete support of him through hard times at the club should never be forgotten – and in my opinion makes up for the Sven thing tenfold.
Next, Colegate. Similar to the Sven saga, Kenyon and Jose were proven to have met with Ashley Cole and his agent in a hotel whilst the player was still registered to Arsenal. Public outcry wasn’t the only punishment, with an FA fine and suspended points deduction as a result. The Cole saga is an odd one, though, as they may have been caught but that groundwork saw us recruit the best left back in world football (as he is showing this season) for a paltry £5million and an injury hit centre half with a bad attitude and 11 months left on his deal. Good business?
Robinho? That debacle is often attributed to Kenyon when the reality is it was a business partner that dropped the ball. He didn’t order the printing of shirts, or even authorise their registration on the megastore – lets sweep that misconception away. His handling of the transfer was questionable, making public comment is seen as being a major factor in losing the deal, however it’s worth bearing in mind Real brought it into the public eye first. Were it not for Man City’s windfall and need to spend any amount on a ‘marquee signing’ Kenyon would have secured Robinho from Real for £5mill less than City paid for him...
And finally, Scolari. This one’s hard to swerve. Given the task of securing the next long term manager of Chelsea, Kenyon made the mistake of weighing PR and marketing value over footballing proven acumen. Scolari was brought in and trusted to deliver the promises of ‘re-branding’ the playing side’s approach, however there was always a question mark over his coaching experience and whether it would transmit to English football and more importantly a squad of players with few Latin influences. The fact Scolari was unceremoniously sacked whilst Kenyon was on holiday spoke volumes to some.
There’s obviously more, failing to support Jose sufficiently to groom his burgeoning ego after lying about Anders Friske, proclaiming we were to ‘turn the world blue’, break even by 2010 etc, and of course the most recent uproar over the recruitment of Gael Kakuta – but we get the picture. He was a high profile CEO with far more public scrutiny than any other peer in this country.
It bears mentioning we have within our support a core of clever arses. Those who said Lampard was ‘gone’ in January 2008, those who said Grant was here to stay etc. It’s always a good idea to ignore these self important tits, especially if they work for the media, as often that profession scrabbles for whatever tit-bit clubs throw them. A profession with less earned self worth or integrity would be hard to find, and it’s a good idea to make your own mind up from facts, which applies to Kenyon and his time at the club.
Peter’s influence at Chelsea wasn’t to be judged simply on transfer deals and sponsorship agreements. The fans forum, subsidised travel, frozen ticket prices etc – all came from his influence and backing, and should be a big tick next to his name with any of our supporters.
‘Expand the brand’ – The time when all youngsters would don a Man Utd or Liverpool shirt (or even worse, Arsenal) is long gone. Walk down the street and you will more often than not see a kiddywinkle in a fluorescent yellow away shirt (ours, not the Wigan effort) or the familiar blue sporting a ‘Lampard’ or a ‘Drogba’. Net sites dedicated to Asian and US fans, money spinning trips in both locations in the last few years etc has seen our turnover multiply. You need only look at the packed houses for our most reason US tour compared to that of 2004 to see the progress.
‘Break even’ – if ever there was an impossible goal, here it is. But let’s try and be realistic on this one for a moment. When PK was making his promises on this he could hardly have predicted the revolving door managerial policy that was to follow. We had a stable administration with Jose Mourinho, a seeming balance on the pitch meaning a less apparent need for high cost recruitment, an almost exponential growth in merchandise turnover etc. Lucrative deals with Adidas, Samsung and the like had seen our revenues burgeon, and on-pitch success was rolling and waxing. Whilst the breakeven target was always unrealistic, you do have to wonder how much closer we’d have been without the ‘one-offs’ to Mourinho, Grant and Scolari. Without having to write-off Roman’s folly with Shevchenko.
An oft overlooked but nonetheless important and early action from Kenyon was bringing our ex players back into the fold. Alienated by Bates as being critical and politically dangerous, we now see Pat Nevin with his own regular column, Jason Cundy, Kerry Dixon, Ron Harris et all regularly featuring on CTV and presenting on award nights for the club. It may not mean anything in financial terms, but they are part of the rich history of this club and their banishing to the footballing wilderness was one of the disgraces of the previous management.
Kenyon tended to be the figure head for peoples wrath at the club for pretty much every situation, and some would say that as the CEO it’s natural that it should be the case. But as we welcome Ron Gourlay, another ex-Man Utd lackey brought in with Kenyon and promoted through the ranks to eventually success him, we need to remember you can count Peter’s pros on as many fingers as his cons.
In 2008, UEFA stipulated clubs must send a director up to collect medals in the Champions League Final. The mocking that Kenyon got for leading our players up to collect their losers medals, in the pouring rain, can be remembered by all. But also remember this – Kenyon was and is aware of his promises, he’s reminded of them every week in the media. He was to lead the players of his club up to collect a medal having lost in the all-important final against the very club he ditched to join them.
Even in light of all the distaste, mocking, and all too obvious falling short of United’s option of Charlton – Kenyon had to show solidarity and walk up those steps in front of a global audience and acknowledge his failure.
I for one wish him luck in his continued role with the club, and hope it draws more favourable treatment from footballs European and global bodies. On a similar note, the best of luck to Ron Gourlay, as Peter’s underling for 5 years at the club it would pay dividends to learn from your predecessors mistakes.
The Kenyon’s dead, long live the Kenyon.
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