Ever ready Emenalo is owner’s go-to guy
WHEN Roman Abramovich strolled across the open fields at Chelsea’s Surrey training base yesterday, the smartly- dressed former Nigeria (and Notts County) footballer in the dark glasses on his left was Michael Emenalo.
When Chelsea needed a spokesman to explain the ‘palpable discord’ between the failing players and their former manager Jose Mourinho, they sent out Emenalo to explain what had gone wrong to subscribers of Chelsea TV.
And when Abramovich required confirmation of the growing turmoil in his dressing room, he sent technical director Emenalo to gauge the mood among senior members of the first-team squad. What was reported back appears to have sealed the Portuguese’s fate.
Emenalo, who had an undistinguished career as a player — apart from 14 caps for his country including two appearances in the 1994 World Cup — has become one of Abramovich’s closest allies and is his eyes and ears at the club’s Cobham HQ.
Having arrived in 2007, he has been chief scout, assistant coach and is now technical director. He has worked with eight managers in that time.
He is no longer a member of the coaching staff but, more often than
not, he is out watching first-team training on behalf of his boss.
Having been promoted in 2011 by Avram Grant, another Abramovich aide, the 50-year- old has seen his role grow, including offering his opinion on the next manager and potential signings.
For example, during the previous summer transfer window a £21.7million deal for Augsburg left back Baba Rahman was dragging its heels. One of the reasons was a growing belief that Tottenham’s Danny Rose was a better option. Emenalo played a key role in ensuring the Rahman deal made it over the line. Rahman got three Premier League starts under Mourinho.
Emenalo also played a key role in the unexpected move for relatively unknown Senegal international Papy Djilobodji from Nantes for £ 2.7million. The 27- year- old defender played one minute of football under Mourinho.
You don’t have to be a detective to work out Rahman and Djilobodji were Emenalo productions.
Likewise, it was Emenalo, in 2013, who decided a move for Edinson Cavani, then at Napoli, didn’t meet Chelsea’s financial parameters. Those who know Emenalo describe him as cool and distant.
Dealing with the representatives of current and prospective Chelsea players features prominently on his job specification.
Unless you’ve got a direct line to Abramovich’s influential boardroom confidant Marina Granovskaia or the first-team manager, then Emenalo is the point of contact.
He’s guarded, almost poker-faced in his discussions — giving little away in search of the best possible deal for Chelsea — and more pertinently Abramovich.
He spoke out, for the first time, about his boss in an interview with The Daily Telegraph last month. ‘When it comes to decisions, we feel confident we have an owner who has a very good track record, who is astute at making decisions of this kind at the right time to get us to where we want to be,’ he said.
‘We have never put ourselves in a position where we second-guess him. Part of the reasons he can make those decisions and be successful is because he has the information that a lot of people don’t.
‘ He has the whole picture of what is happening at the club, not just from certain individuals but every sector of the club. When he needs to make a decision he can make it.
‘Right now, the statement from the owner and from the board comes from a belief that we are in a position to trust a manager who has delivered so much. We are in a position to trust a group of players who have delivered in the last couple of seasons. We are in a position to see that there is light at the end of the tunnel . . . and that we can get out of the situation.’
That all changed on Thursday, when he revealed the board felt it was ‘time to act’ after noticing how the relationship between the manager and his squad had broken down. He did not even mention Mourinho by name.
‘It was a decision taken to protect the interest of the club,’ Emenalo said. ‘While there is huge sentiment for the individual who has done so much for the club, the fact of the matter remains that Chelsea Football Club is in trouble. The results are not good.
‘The owner was forced to make a very tough decision for the good of the club,’ he continued. ‘Make no mistake about it, Chelsea Football Club, one of the biggest clubs in the world, is one point above relegation in the English Premier League and that’s not good enough.’
PICTURES: JIM BENNETT
He could, though, find his position as technical director under review in the aftermath of Mourinho’s sacking, although he knows how to fight his corner.
He forged relationships with dressing-room heavyweights Didier Drogba, Michael Ballack, Frank Lampard and Petr Cech during their respective periods at Stamford Bridge.
With those characters departed, Chelsea’s fortunes have waned. It has come as no surprise to Emenalo.
Neither have the success stories of Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne, who were both allowed to leave Stamford Bridge by Mourinho. Their emergence has irked the Chelsea board and displeased Emenalo. It appears you do not want to get on the wrong side of the owner’s go-to guy.