Kenyon can leave Chelsea satisfied

EDITORIAL: When he eventually leaves Chelsea, Peter Kenyon can go satisfied with what he's achieved at Stamford Bridge.

There's nothing wrong with talking big and while critics have enjoyed picking holes in Kenyon's claims of "turning the world blue", the foundations are in place for Chelsea to continue to build their profile around the world.

Along with the high-profile sponsorship deals struck with the likes of adidas, Samsung and 188 Bet, Kenyon also established strategic partnerships with the Chinese FA, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and Walt Disney in the USA.

He won't be around at Stamford Bridge to see his vision fulfilled, but Kenyon has made sure the building blocks are there for Chelsea to capitalise like no other club starting from a similar base. Under Kenyon, Chelsea have become a media powerhouse. They've left the likes of Roma and Valencia in their dust and now are well positioned to compete successfully with the game's biggest clubs for sponsorship and commercial dollars.

AC Milan doesn't have a formal association with the AFC, nor does Real Madrid. Indeed, they're still on the nose in China after a series of disastrous preseason tours. Through Kenyon, Chelsea now have a relationship with the two biggest and potentially most important federations in the game. The partnership is now established - and it will down to those succeeding Kenyon as to whether it thrives or fades away.

For some fans, these achievements matter little. Kenyon will be remembered for his walk up the steps to receive a Champions League losers' medal in Moscow - even though this was a Michel Platini idea and left both Kenyon and Sir Bobby Charlton, Manchester United's representative on the night, embarrassed. And yes, there was his overstepping the mark in transfer negotiations - the controversy involving Rio Ferdinand and Ashley Cole were two lowlights.

But he was prised away from United, essentially, to lift the global profile of Chelsea. And by any measurement, for a club of Chelsea's supporter base pre-the Abramovich era, he's met these targets.

Now more than ever, the Premier League needs people of the calibre of Kenyon to maintain their status as the world's best competition. Christian Purslow has just delivered Liverpool a world record shirt deal, while Garry Cook arrived at Manchester City from Nike with plans to maximise the individual profiles of City's players just as he did with Michael Jordan.

It's no longer 1985. The game is global. The Premier League is global and these new skills-sets are needed by English clubs in the face of the no longer veiled threats coming from FIFA and UEFA. If the best of the best are still to be found in England, then the Premier League needs people of the ability of Peter Kenyon.

 
Richards at the crossroads

In his first Manchester derby, Micah Richards was a colossus at centre-half. For Sunday's classic, all four of Manchester United's goals came from Richards' right-side.

Is it really good enough for a lad of 21 to tell his manager where he should be playing?

Richards had an outstanding U21 European Championships in the summer and this season appeared to have accepted he'd gone over the top with his cars and jewellery. But the alarm bells were ringing in the lead-up to the derby when he spoke openly of convincing Mark Hughes that his best position was right-back.

Richards could be anything - and many in the game believe his best position is centre-half. If he is to fulfill his potential, Micah needs to start listening to those outside his inner circle.