Oliver quoted Tanya ------------------------------------------------------- Diehard red takes a blue bundle
Kenyon loyalty questioned after joining Roman empire Daniel Taylor Tuesday September 9, 2003 The Guardian The number of Manchester United "diehards" based in London just increased by one. If, that is, Peter Kenyon can seriously still claim "this club are in my blood". Kenyon says he has been hooked since his first United game, the European Cup final against Benfica in 1968, but now he stands accused of putting avarice ahead of his supposed love of the club. Rumours have been circulating that Kenyon was looking for another job for the best part of six months, but that still did not lessen the impact when news of his defection to Chelsea broke yesterday. Immediately, there was talk of a split in the United boardroom, that certain people had been distinctly unimpressed with his recent business dealings, not least David Beckham's transfer saga and the failed attempts to woo Ronaldinho. Some of the stories might be true but, rightly or wrongly, Kenyon will walk away from Old Trafford with a double-your-money deal and his reputation vastly improved by the kudos that accompanies being headhunted by Roman Abramovich. Whether it is an accurate assessment of his three years as chief executive at Old Trafford depends on whether you differentiate between the non-football business transactions he has successfully concluded (Nike, Vodafone, Pepsi etc etc) and his dubious record when it comes to getting value for money in the transfer market. The Shareholders United pressure group accused him of making "amateurish errors" in the convoluted saga that culminated in United receiving only a basic £18m from Real Madrid for Beckham rather than the £35m asking price that had initially been mooted. Kenyon's failure to replace Beckham with Ronaldinho also highlighted the underlying suspicion that, when it came to negotiating the really big transfers, his results were open to criticism. Last year Leeds managed to increase the price for Rio Ferdinand from £20m to £33m on the back of his World Cup campaign and, a year earlier, Kenyon is reputed to have signed more than £4m over to agents in signing Juan Sebastian Verón for £29.1m from Lazio. Most recently, Kenyon had to defend himself from accusations of paying over the odds when Cristiano Ronaldo joined from Sporting Lisbon for £12.2m. Kenyon's boardroom colleagues were aware of the disquiet and, according to sources at Old Trafford, his departure might not go down as badly as might be imagined. While Kenyon did well to establish a working relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson, some thing that was largely beyond his predecessor Martin Edwards, some people felt he was too soft with the manager. "He was in Ferguson's pocket," said one source. Nevertheless, Kenyon can point to United's immense turnover to support his case that he has done his job well and that he will be leaving the club in a strong position. His argument is that he felt he had taken United as far as he could and wanted a fresh challenge. In July, Kenyon acknowledged the new challenges that the wealth of Abromivich would present but suggested that money did not automatically bring success: "I am sure they [Chelsea] will become a bigger force. Having money is not necessarily a route to automatic success. A 'buy everything' policy can create problems when you are recruiting players for financial reasons." Now, how he approaches the question of loyalty is a different matter entirely. "We can only speculate on the sort of remuneration package that would be needed to take him from one of the world's biggest clubs to one with very little international reach or profile, but it's clear he's not quite as much a United fan as he al ways professed," said Oliver Houston, the SU spokesman. "It would be different if he were leaving for Nike or Umbro or Pepsi but he's not - he's going to one of our major rivals in the Premiership." Kenyon has some awkward questions to answer, not least the timing of Chelsea's approach. Although there is no suggestion he has done anything improper, United will want clarification that the talks did not begin until after Verón's transfer to Stamford Bridge and therefore that there could not have been a possible conflict of interests. Contrary to popular opinion, Verón's transfer went down badly among most United fans but, as Kenyon showed yesterday, he has never been frightened to make controversial decisions. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Buy Ink Cartridges or Refill Kits for Your HP, Epson, Canon or Lexmark Printer at Myinks.com. Free s/h on orders $50 or more to the US & Canada. http://www.c1tracking.com/l.asp?cid=5511 http://us.click.yahoo.com/l.m7sD/LIdGAA/qnsNAA/tsUolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> *************************************** Reply to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe from the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
