Peter Kenyon’s successor at Stamford Bridge wants to lead the club to new heights

On the face of it, Ron Gourlay has taken on one of the cushiest jobs in English football. Chelsea are top of the Premier League, having entranced with a scintillating style, sweeping all-comers aside. The new manager is winning allies, the club’s ambitious owner is enthused, and on a summer tour of the United States games were played in crammed stadiums in a country apparently still sceptical of all things soccer.

Yet, as Peter Kenyon’s successor settled into his new office this week, the clutter in the chief executive’s in-tray will have served as a reminder that everything at Chelsea remains a work in progress. The perception of this as a flashy club, prone to “brashness”, lingers. Neither of the two European Cups targeted for the first decade of the Roman Abramovich era have been secured, with Manchester City usurping the London club in the nouveaux riches of the modern era. Manchester United remain the trailblazers all pursue, while the potential of a 12-month transfer ban over the Gaël Kakuta affair looms large. Gourlay is braced to work seven-day weeks. Daunted? Apparently not.

The Dundee fan who shivered on the terraces at Dens Park from the age of seven and followed Kenyon from United to south-west London five years ago, initially joining as chief operating officer, is in contact with Abramovich “two or three times a week”. The discussions touch upon various aspects of a business whose turnover swelled to £213.1m in the most recent accounts, for the financial year ending 30 June 2008. “Roman wants Chelsea to be the best, and we all do,” Gourlay says. “He wants to win games playing exciting football. He would like us to continue identifying good, home-grown players and nurturing them through our academy.”

Ideally he would also like this business to be self-sufficient, though that will have to wait. That target has, for now, been put back and, rather than make bold predictions of a financial future free of reliance upon the oligarch, the CEO is preaching realism. “It would be nice to go to the owner and say we don’t need any more cash, but that’s not where we are today,” he says. “I like to operate honestly but realistically. Self-sufficiency is still the goal. That’s what we’re trying to attain. Is it going to happen this year? No. I’m not going to make any claim on that front because, realistically, it isn’t going to happen this year but we’re not that far away. But there’s probably more pressure from ourselves as a board of directors [to achieve self-sufficiency] than from the owner.

“You get what you see with me. I like to manage people and I like them to get on with their jobs. I don’t like to do their jobs for them. Brashness? Everybody has a different style. People always say to me: ‘You worked with Peter Kenyon for a long time,’ but we’re two completely different personalities and I do things different. Hopefully, if there was brashness there then maybe you won’t see as much brashness going forward. You’ll still see as much energy, you’ll probably see more will to win with realistic goals.

“We’ve learned a lot in the last five years. And I know exactly what I’ve got to achieve in the next three years. The challenge has always been the cost of running the business. It’s no secret about our wage bill and that isn’t going to go away, so we will be looking to drive up revenue.” Wages made up 70.6% of turnover in 2008 before “exceptional items” – the £23.1m of compensation payments made to José Mourinho, Avram Grant and five coaching staff – were taken into account. The figures to be announced next year will include the pay-offs since forked out to Luiz Felipe Scolari and his backroom team. There is confidence such costly mistakes will not be repeated in the foreseeable future.

“When you look at Carlo [(Ancelotti] and what he’s done in his career, there’s always been stability. He’s been at the same club, Milan, a long time and he’s delivered the top trophy twice. His background is slightly different to where we’ve been in the past. Carlo will be given the time. Of course, we will all feel the pressure if we don’t win any trophies. Not only will there be pressure on Carlo, there will be pressure on me. That doesn’t mean to say we’re going to sack the manager. I don’t think I’ll find myself in that position.

“The goal is to win the Champions League and that does take you up another bar: your sponsorship ability and your commercial ability just rise to another level. The impact on your merchandising sales alone is huge overnight. You can start to generate licensing fees for different products in different parts of the world, the awareness of the football club grows. I witnessed that in a past life [at Manchester United] and I’ve seen just exactly what you can do. In the 10-year plan [drawn up in 2004] there were two Champions Leagues and we’ve been very unlucky. Over the next five years we’ve still got to shoot for the stars. I’d still like to think we can win the Champions League twice in the next five years. That might sound aggressive but I think we can still do it.”

The Kakuta issue could yet have implications on that ambition. Chelsea expect to discover next week whether the Court of Arbitration for Sport is willing to freeze Fifa’s 12-month ban from registering players pending an appeal hearing early next year. Should that be confirmed then the league leaders would have an opportunity to strengthen their squad – potentially for the last time until the summer of 2011 – in January. “But we already have one of the strongest pools of players out there, undoubtedly the most experienced in the Premier League,” Gourlay says. “We have the ability to be in the market if we feel we need it. At the present time, I don’t think we need it.”

The reality is that transfer policy is in limbo while CAS deliberates. “We feel we’ve got a strong case, but who knows? We didn’t expect the ban in the first place. For it to be so severe was very much a shock, but we’ll deal with it whatever way it goes. We won’t go around feeling sorry for ourselves if the ban stands. We still have a top squad and, at times like that, you’ve got to buckle down and get on with it.”

That squad is as settled as it has ever been. Joe Cole should follow the recent trend by signing extended terms imminently. The futures of Nicolas Anelka and Michael Ballack may be revisited over the course of the season, with Chelsea confident they will be able to ward off the likes of City in an increasingly distorted wage market. “We’re setting ourselves goals that will see the percentage of wages of our turnover will remain static,” said Gourlay. “That is still one hell of a lot of money to play with.”

Are Manchester City will be active in the transfer window. Are they yet a threat? “I’m not really sure they’ve signed anybody recently that we were interested in,” he says, glossing over the unsettling interest in John Terry last summer. “It’s a competitive marketplace. That’s something that we’ve got to deal with going forward. With the players they have, they’re certainly going to try and push their way into the top five. Commercially, it’s not that easy. They’re very much a Manchester-centric club. To break into the ‘big world’ and start developing your business in Asia and the US, you need to really start winning some trophies, and not just one Premier League. They can attain it with consistency over the next few years. But there are one or two other clubs out there who may have something to say about that.”

For now, it is Manchester United who focus minds at Stamford Bridge. The champions visit on Sunday trailing their hosts by two points in the Premier League but braced to confront a team that has won all nine home games under Ancelotti. “Anybody who finishes above United will win the league, so I do see them as our biggest rivals,” says Gourlayadds of his former employers. “But we look forward to it. For me, this job is a great challenge. This business is growing. I think I’m the correct person to build on the hard work of the last five years and take it on to the next level.”
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Chelsea and Tottenham both maintained their 100 per cent starts to the new season on an afternoon when Liverpool came from behind to beat Bolton.

Champions Manchester United also hit back in the evening game to defeat Arsenal 2-1 at Old Trafford.

The Gunners controlled much of the first half and took the lead through an excellent long-range strike from Andrey Arshavin five minutes before the interval.

United improved in the second period and Wayne Rooney equalised from the penalty spot in the 59th minute after being brought down by Manuel Almunia.

Abou Diaby then headed a Ryan Giggs free-kick into his own net five minutes later to put United ahead, while the game ended with Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger being sent off.

Chelsea were highly impressive as they chalked up a fourth successive league win via a 3-0 defeat of Burnley.

The Clarets will rue Martin Paterson’s profligacy in front of goal with the scoreline blank, as once Nicolas Anelka broke the deadlock on the stroke of half-time there was no way back.

Michael Ballack stooped to double Chelsea’s lead after the break before Ashley Cole’s stunning angled drive capped another imperious display from Carlo Ancelotti’s side.

Tottenham left it late at White Hart Lane as Aaron Lennon’s last minute strike against Birmingham City secured a 2-1 victory.

Worryingly for Harry Redknapp, Ledley King and Luka Modric hobbled off injured before the latter’s replacement, Peter Crouch, scored his first Spurs goal with a looping second-half header.

Lee Bowyer restored parity via the scruffiest of efforts as Christian Benitez appeared to push Alan Hutton in the build-up to the goal, much to the ire of Redknapp, and the delight of a travelling Blues faithful.

It was, though, Spurs who had the last laugh as Lennon’s impressive drive won it at the death.

Rafa Benitez has experienced better weeks in his football career and he’ll be thankful for Steven Gerrard after his captain scored a thumping winner as Liverpool won 3-2 at ten-man Bolton.

Following Monday night’s defeat to Aston Villa, things got a whole lot worse for Liverpool just past the half-hour mark when Bolton striker Kevin Davies stabbed home after a scramble in the box.

Davies’ opener had come against the run of play so it came as little surprise when the in-form Glen Johnson restored parity before half-time when he cut inside on the edge of Bolton’s box, before firing a daisy cutter beyond Jussi Jaaskelainen.

It was, though, a frailty at the heart of Liverpool’s defence that was exposed again after half-time as Davies’ flick header from a set-piece fell invitingly for Tamir Cohen to ram home.

Sean Davis saw red for two bookable offences before Gerrard struck the bar and Fernando Torres levelled matters with a neat finish. The scene was set for Gerrard to emerge as a hero and he did just that with seven minutes remaining, via a searing drive from range.

Hull City and Wolves both went for three points in a bright game at Molineux but had to settle for one apiece after a 1-1 draw.

Stephen Hunt continued an encouraging start to his Hull career as his powerful run and cross from the left was headed in by Geovanni past Wolves goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey.

Wolves struck back early in the second half when a free-kick from deep fell to Richard Stearman, who finished with aplomb for a centre-half.

Dave Kitson followed up his first ever Stoke goal in midweek, in the Carling Cup, with a debut league strike as his first-half effort was enough to give the Potters a 1-0 win at home to Sunderland following a scramble in the box.

Blackburn’s game with West Ham at Ewood Park ended in a disappointing stalemate as neither club did enough to take the spoils.

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Chelsea and England captain John Terry is set to put pen to paper on a lucrative new contract that will see the player become the second highest paid player in the Premier League – according to a report in The Telegraph.

Manchester City winger Robinho will be the only player earning more than Terry when the deal is signed, the Brazilian already on £160,000 a week while Terry will move up to £150,000.

The contract ties the skipper to Stamford Bridge for a further five years, meaning he will have earned £39 million by the time he reaches his 34th birthday.

It is said that the 28-year-old’s new deal is a reward for resisting the monetary charms of Man City, the cash-rich Eastlands outfit having recently offered Terry a five-year deal worth £200,000 a week.

However, after talks with Roman Abramovich, the defender was reassured of the ambition at Chelsea and chose to remain with the Blues until the end of his career.

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• Everton centre-back asks David Moyes for transfer
• Manchester City must improve bid of £18m to revive deal

Joleon Lescott’s hope of securing a lucrative move to Manchester City has receded after the Everton manager, David Moyes, rejected a verbal transfer request from the England international.

The defender told Moyes in a meeting at the club’s Finch Farm training base yesterday morning that he wants to leave Goodison Park for Eastlands, where he would double his £40,000-a-week salary. Moyes responded by informing the 26-year-old he would not be sold regardless of City’s offer or Lescott’s desire to quit the club he joined for £5m from Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2006.

Everton last night signed the Switzerland centre-half Philippe Senderos from Arsenal, the Swiss football federation announced. But Moyes had lined up that £2.5m transfer as cover for Phil Jagielka, who is expected to be out until December with a cruciate ligament injury.

Moyes’s intransigence over Lescott, a stance supported by the Everton chairman, Bill Kenwright, may still be challenged by an astronomical offer from City before the start of the new Premier League season but Everton have been consistent about Lescott’s future for several months. The club have rejected two bids from City, for £15m and £18m plus add-ons, and Lescott has so far stopped short of submitting a written transfer request. He does intend, however, to write to Kenwright to explain his reasons for wanting to join City after a successful three-year stay on Merseyside.

Everton’s position has left City little option but to lodge a vastly improved offer for Lescott, who has now given his suitors more encouragement that a deal can be done than Chelsea’s John Terry ever did. Moyes is determined to prevent a club he views as a rival for next season from strengthening at his expense.

Lescott missed Everton’s pre-season game at Coventry City on Sunday and will also sit out tonight’s friendly at Blackpool. Moyes, however, has insisted the defender’s absence is not connected to his desire to join City. “Joleon picked up a hip injury while we were in America,” he said. “We don’t expect him to be fit for Tuesday but hopefully he can make it on Friday against Málaga.”

An added concern for Everton is the club’s record signing Marouane Fellaini, who is unlikely to be 100% fit for the league opener against Arsenal on 15 August. The £15m midfielder contracted a debilitating virus that has resulted in significant weight loss and Moyes admits the Belgium international remains short of fitness despite playing 90 minutes at Coventry.

“Fellaini picked up a viral infection in the summer,” Moyes said. “It got into his blood, he lost a lot of weight and he wasn’t a boy that could afford to lose any weight. It’s noticeable looking at him how thin he has become. It has definitely had an effect on his overall performance. It is going to take a little while for him to get his full strength back. I don’t think he is there yet. He has not been right all through pre-season and he is still not right. When you are the shape and build he is, when you lose weight it’s not all that easy to put it back on. Since he has come back we’ve been trying to get him built up, but the weight is not going back on at the moment.”

Moyes hopes to sign Rasmus Elm for £4m from Kalmar FF, although the 21-year-old Swedish midfielder has several options including Fulham.
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This extraordinary Spain team are determined to make history. As dusk descended on the Highveld, the European champions levelled the record for consecutive wins in international football as David Villa’s header gave them victory over Iraq.

A 15th straight win against South Africa on Saturday and Spain will surpass Australia (1996-97), Brazil (1997) and France (2003-04) as the national side with the longest winning streak in football history.

The statistics make formidable reading. This was Spain’s 34th game unbeaten, extending the record they set earlier this month. They haven’t lost since they were beaten by Romania in November 2006. However, there is a bit of bureaucratic ambiguity: for the overall record Fifa do not count losing as penalties as a defeat so they will need to make it 35 against South Africa here in Bloemfontein to draw level with Brazil’s run between 1993 and 1996, which included a shoot-out defeat to Uruguay. That, surely, will tumble too.

Having watched his strike partner, Fernando Torres, score a hat-trick against New Zealand in the previous game, Valencia’s Villa was clearly desperate to get among the goals. He hit the outside of the side-netting with a first-half volley and should have headed in a Xavi corner.

With Iraq defending en masse it was getting frustrating for Villa and Spain, with that record to play for. However, just 10 minutes into the second half, having just missed two more terrific chances, Villa finally put Spain on track and showed why the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Liverpool and Chelsea are eager to sign him.

Joan Capdevila, the left back playing effectively as a left winger, sent in a deep cross from the by-line and Villa, who had split two Iraqi defenders, met the ball with an exquisite glancing header that crept just inside the far post.

Having played effective congestive football, Iraq threatened to end Spain’s streak in the closing minutes. Spain had missed plenty of chances and both man-of-the-match Xabi Alonso and the excellent Sergio Ramos had gone close from range, when Nashat Akram, the Iraq captain, shot just wide from the edge of the box in the closing moments. It will take more than that to stop this Spanish team though.

Match details

Spain (4-4-2): Casillas; Ramos, Marchena, Pique, Capdevila; Cazorla (Silva 67), Xavi, Alonso, Mata; Torres, Villa (Guiza 74).

Iraq (5-4-1): Kassid; Ali Kareem, Khalid, Rehema, Shaker, Abbas; Saeed, Akram, Majeed, Mohammed; Zahra (Mahmoud 82).
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Chelsea have hired the right man for the job in Carlo Ancelotti according to AC Milan defender Gennaro Gattuso, who insists the Italian will enjoy more success at Stamford Bridge than Jose Mourinho.

Ancelotti is the fourth manager to be introduced to the West London club since Mourinho’s departure in September 2007. And it is the legacy the Portuguese coach left behind that Gattuso thinks has over shadowed the efforts of his successors.

Nonetheless, having been led by Ancelotti for eight seasons, Gattuso is under no illusions that the 49-year-old has the ability to dwarf Mourinho’s achievements and help the club win the cup that continues to evade them.

“I know Mourinho left a big legacy at Chelsea – and perhaps that has not helped managers who have joined since he has left,” he told the Sun. “But Carlo can create a bigger legacy than that of Jose – of that I am sure.

“Carlo is an expert in the Champions League and that is still something Chelsea are missing, even though they have come close.

“If anybody can guide them to the biggest prize it will be Carlo, there is no one more qualified.”

With no doubt his former coach will adapt to the Premier League with ease, the 31-year-old compared Ancelotti’s temperament and reputation to that of Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson’s.

Should Chelsea players not share their new manager’s attitude and way of thinking – they are sure to know about it sooner rather than later according to Gattuso.

“In England Sir Alex Ferguson is famous for his treatment in the dressing room when things are not as he wants and the same is true of Carlo – when he is not happy, you will know about it,” said Gattuso.

“If there are any attitudes that do not fit with his way of thinking at Chelsea, they will learn very quickly they need to change their attitude.

“He does it because he knows it is for the good of the team – with Carlo the players are under no doubt who is boss.”
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Guus Hiddink emerged from a farewell post-match break-dancing party in the Wembley dressing room with his players and owner Roman Abramovich to admit he was “sad but satisfied” after Chelsea had beaten Everton 2-1 in the 128th FA Cup final.

It was Hiddink’s final match after three and a half months in charge at Stamford Bridge. Now he will return to coach Russia after visiting his ageing father tomorrow and telling him how he won the FA Cup.

Hiddink said: “There were some extra-normal circumstances in the dressing room. We have a multi-cultural squad and we had a nice dance party with the staff.”

He added: “Roman danced with us. He enjoyed it. He was in the middle of the party. He is not a man of many words but there were some beautiful pictures.

“It was emotional in the dressing room. I got my players together and thanked them in an emotional way for how we have worked together.”

Hiddink revealed that Michael Essien led the African dancing after goals from Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard had delivered Chelsea’s fifth FA Cup.

Everton striker Louis Saha had given the match a stunning start when he thundered home a left-foot shot after just 25 seconds to record the fastest goal in FA Cup final history. Drogba’s equaliser came via a powerful header in the first half and Lampard’s winner in the second was a trademark strike from outside the penalty area.

Hiddink said: “I feel sadness because the attitude of the players was superb, but leaving with silverware gives a feeling of satisfaction. This is the best way. The standard of this club means it must win some silverware each year.”

Hiddink, however, admitted there was also a feeling of frustration at missing out on the Champions League final.

He said: “It would have been more perfect if we had been somewhere else a few days ago. I would have loved to have played Man U. It was almost a perfect goodbye. Not winning today would have left unfinished business.”
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The England contingent of Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole and John Terry are desperate to ensure that Chelsea win Saturday’s FA Cup final against Everton in order to ensure that departing manager Guus Hiddink does not leave the club without winning a trophy.

Hiddink has done nothing to dent his already lofty ambition since riding into West London following Luiz Felipe Scolari’s exit but has already seen the chance to triumph in Europe slip through his grasp.

The Premier League was already all but out of the question upon his arrival, leaving only the FA Cup for him to turn his attentions to as The Blues seek to end their two-year wait for silverware.

Cole, a certain starter at Wembley, has been at the forefront of those calling on Hiddink to stay beyond the summer but now looks to have consigned himself to bidding the Dutchman a triumphant farewell.

“I think the manager deserves to win something because he’s done a great job with us,” he told Setanta Sports News.

“We’ll be sad to see him leave so hopefully when he does leave we can see him leave with a trophy.

“We don’t want to go through another season without winning a trophy and the FA Cup is a great trophy to win.

“We’ve got a tough game ahead of us but we need to win something this year to make it a decent season.

“Then hopefully we can push on next season.”

Lampard, who has been passed fit after recovering from a ‘knee niggle’, is equally eager that his manager is given the send-off that his impressive whistlestop tour of the club merits, but is also keen not to draw attention away from the match itself.

“I’m sure it will be quite emotional because I know the fans have a great feeling for him and what he’s done for the club in the last six months or so,” the midfielder added.

“It will be quite emotional but more than that is winning the game.”

Captain Terry feels his team are also deserving of a trophy after the manner in which they bounced back from Scolari’s shaky time in charge.

“We’ve had to regroup after Scolari went and we have done that,” said the England skipper. “The manager’s been fantastic so it would be a nice way to send him off and bring it back to Chelsea.”
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A game within a game. A game within the biggest game in club football. A two-speed contest. Give the ball to Lionel Messi and watch him go. Give the ball to Cristiano Ronaldo and, ditto.

This final was the all-star play-off for the title of the undisputed world’s best player from the world’s best teams; the special, precocious talents but, also, little against large; the pocket dynamo against the powerhouse; the introvert against the extrovert; the pert against the pout; Messi against Ronaldo.

Some billing then. And it was Messi who won. In the end it was hands down. His goal, a header no less, finely executed, all the finer because it came from a young man of precisely 5ft 6in, sealed it. Sealed his colossal status. Sealed his right to be regarded as No 1.

It was his 38th goal of the season no less. And his first ever against an English team, by the way. A Messi season – just as coach Pep Guardiola had promised.

Messi has been the defining figure for Barca in the way that Ronaldo was in the last campaign for United. Messi is also becoming the club’s emblematic figure, something that Sir Alex Ferguson would not allow Ronaldo to believe at United.

This morning Ronaldo will stand accused of being one of those United players who failed to perform, who did not turn up. A second-half miss could be construed as vital.

There was also a sign also that he was losing it as he hammered the ball at the Barca bench in frustration, and quickly whipped off his loser’s medal as if it was unworthy of being around his neck.

But he had threatened. He yearned to be the defining figure. Three times inside the opening minutes he showed his power. He struck for goal – Victor Valdes spilling his wicked free-kick and, twice, the ball was dragged narrowly wide. He was a man on a mission. And then Barcelona scored. Messi was not involved.

The combinations were elsewhere this time and it was not until the 19th minute that he cut inside, only for his vicious drive to narrowly clear the bar. Ronaldo had already dipped inside, outside Gerard Pique, forcing the challenge and the yellow card for his former team-mate.

The contest was hotting up but so was Ronaldo’s frustration. His pout. Already both players had demonstrated another of the great services they have done to football beyond their fearless play – they have helped revive the art of dribbling and showed how. Ronaldo all hustle, rapid feet, power.

Not that Messi lacks either courage or a muscular edge. Ferguson had commented how he has bulked up his upper body and he is, to add to the silver feet and elastic touch, far harder to shrug off the ball.

Galvanised by the goal, Barca were shifting through the gears, United crunching theirs. Messi, Andres Iniesta and Xavi were weaving their patterns in ever-decreasing spaces. Messi invited the pass in almost impossible

cul-de-sacs. And then showed why it was no problem at all.

Two snap-shots caught the eye. First Messi ran between Michael Carrick and Nemanja Vidic and was fouled by both; he fell to the ground, bounced up and was away, possession retained. Except the referee had already blown for the free-kick.

Then, on half-time, he collected a throw-in and surged towards the United goal, escaping three challenges with his sprinter’s pace and handing off Carrick. Edwin van der Sar failed to hold the cross.

Ronaldo looked furious. After all he had gone into the game with the edge. He is the current world player of the year, with Messi runner-up, and although the Argentine is the competition’s top scorer this season, now with nine goals, Ronaldo had the knowledge that not only had he scored in the final before, last year against Chelsea in Moscow, he had won the trophy.

But he was isolated. Messi was central, integral. United were sending the ball up to Ronaldo, playing through the middle and hoping he would do something. He did. But he needed support.

By now Messi was sensing it could be his final. After all, three years ago, when Barca were coming from behind to beat Arsenal in Paris, he was, aged 18, on the bench, not fully fit.

Messi continued to drop deep, knit the play, bring more cohesion and drift away from the United defenders and Ferguson recognised the danger. In midfield he was even more of a problem.

Ronaldo was becoming more frantic. Both players – as is consistent with their backgrounds – continued to fight but maybe a little too much for Ronaldo and it was beginning to unravel. Sure United needed him but it was not a contest he could win on his own. Carlos Tevez made a difference but not enough.

Messi had plunged the knife with that second goal, killed off hopes of a revival. Proved to be the man for the occasion.

“He has done so many great things for Barcelona,” Guardiola said and none greater than last night.

The verdict on who is the best? For now it belongs to Lionel, as does the Champions League and the right to be named the world’s best player.
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