FA’s hunt to replace gaffe-prone Glenn
THE long- term future of FA chief executive Martin Glenn at Wembley looks in serious doubt following the appointment of headhunters to pinpoint his successor.
The FA claim it is just ‘good corporate governance’ for chairman Greg Clarke to hire sports recruitment specialists Odgers to find potential replacements for Glenn and that there is no suggestion of the CEO leaving in the near future.
But there is no way Clarke would make such a move unless he had strong doubts about how long Glenn, who is independently wealthy from previous well-paid roles in the food industry, will stick around after numerous controversies.
Even if he stays on after the World Cup, it is likely that Glenn will have had enough by the end of Euro 2020, when Wembley will host the final.
Glenn has developed a reputation for gaffes in his three years at the helm. He did not read the full safeguarding report about former England women’s coach Mark Sampson when first shown it, made a woeful appearance in front of the parliamentary committee looking into Eni Aluko’s complaints of bullying and racism and, most recently, created a storm when referencing the Star of David, Robert Mugabe, the Nazi swastika and an ISIS badge following a question about Pep Guardiola’s yellow ribbon.
Neither the FA communications department nor members of the FA board were aware of the headhunter’s involvement when rumours reportedly started circulating from inside Odgers earlier this month.
It is understood that Clarke himself approached Odgers lead sports headhunter Simon Cummins to provide him with a list of possible successors to Glenn but wanted to keep it under wraps.
The FA statement said: ‘The FA, in accordance with good corporate governance, is conducting a talent mapping exercise for future CEO succession. This is not a recruitment process and there is no current or planned timeline for Martin Glenn to leave the Football Association.’ STACEY CARTWRIGHT (right), former chief executive of department store Harvey Nichols and a fervent Liverpool fan, is to become the third female member of the FA board, replacing Roger Devlin in July as an independent director. DELE ALLI, whose form has dipped to the extent he is no longer a certainty to start for England at the World Cup, seems to have lacked guidance off the pitch since he split with experienced agent Robert Segal at the start of the season. The Tottenham star, who now has a range of advisers including his best friend Harry Hickford, doesn’t have someone keeping an eye on him on a daily basis as Segal used to. MANCHESTER CITY brought in sleep consultants to ensure they installed the best possible beds and curtains for a good rest in accommodation at their Etihad complex. But it didn’t seem to do City’s international guests Argentina much good as they were thrashed 6-1 by Spain this week.