Big Inteview With Peter Kenyon

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Peter Kenyon was the guest on Chelsea TV's The Big Interview this evening, where he talked for half an hour on a whole host of things to do with the club.

Here is a full transcript, and don't forget, to subscribe to Chelsea TV, call 08700 240 490.

After some years of change since Roman Abramovich arrived, we've had a summer of real stability. How important has it been that José Mourinho's still our manager?

I think it's critically important and I think it comes off a season of lots of speculation which didn't help and I think we got to a stage where nobody thought that José would be here apart from the people inside the club so it's important from that point of view. But you know, I think what he's been doing over the past three full years, building a foundation to take the club onward and upwards and I think that was the job day one, and its continued so I think this season is the combination of not just this closed season but what's been put in place over the last three years.

Jimmy Hill always claims that it gets harder and harder for a manager to motivate his players because he's saying the same things perhaps at half-time when he needs to turn the team around. Is that a concern ever?

The team changes anyway, so I think even when you're at the top, I think you'll always see the team being refreshed so that's natural, people coming to the end of their career, the end of their ability to play at that level or contract issues so there's always that new infusion. I think what's critically important is to keep a base that is there, than can grow with it and you're creating the next base behind it so I'm not sure that's a bigger threat although it is quite interesting that a lot of the European clubs do believe that it's got a time span and consciously, irrespective of what success the clubs having, they tend to change.

José has brought in the pre-season, as we've seen in Los Angeles, the most incredible detail to his preparation. The way management has gone, are there less and less of them who can operate at that level?

There are two things with it, one is, there was a quantum change when Jose joined us to what we had previously and I think that blew everybody away. I think the modern day coach will forever more be in the style of Jose than the old coaches, I think the game has moved on and we've got all kinds of technology that tells us how far we've run and who's done what, so having all that available to us, I mean we just didn't have it ten years ago so that in itself changes the job and I think everybody today is going down a more methodical, technical type of programme but it's how you apply it that's a bit special and that's what will continue to make good coaches and ok coaches.

Because he applies it in such a precise and methodical way when he left Porto, they fell apart for a year, does it make it harder to change, harder for the next man when he comes in?

There are two things with it, one is, there was a quantum change when Jose joined us to what we had previously and I think that blew everybody away. I think the modern day coach will forever more be in the style of Jose than the old coaches, I think the game has moved on and we've got all kinds of technology that tells us how far we've run and who's done what, so having all that available to us, I mean we just didn't have it ten years ago so that in itself changes the job and I think everybody today is going down a more methodical, technical type of programme but it's how you apply it that's a bit special and that's what will continue to make good coaches and ok coaches.

Because he applies it in such a precise and methodical way when he left Porto, they fell apart for a year, does it make it harder to change, harder for the next man when he comes in?

I think that our job is to make sure that there is a core part of Chelsea that, irrespective of the manager, remains and that's that constant piece because when I first sat down with Jose we talked about a long term plan for Chelsea and where we wanted to be. We're not thinking about a change, what we're doing is looking at how Jose builds on what we've done over the last three years for the next several and there's still alot to do.

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It's also been a quiet summer in recent history in terms of the players. In 2002 when we were nearly bankrupt and we couldn't sign anyone, we had our most successful season in several years, could it be the same this year?

I think for very different reasons, I mean it's been quiet but we've still bought in four new players. I think what there hasn't been is the noise of how much we've spent but I think we've been very targeted and very shrewd in what we've done. We wanted to strengthen the squad and we went for specific players, the fact that three of those players were free was not the reason we went for them, we went for them because we genuinely believed they could add to the squad and add to the team, and it's really easy to say we can replace this guy with this guy, what you're looking for all the time is improving it and that's the difficult thing, and I have to say we've got a fantastic squad here right now and that's

even with Ballack and Pizarro not in there, we've got loads still to join us and Alex, so you look at the squad and the way they're performing out here and the last few days and we're definitely stronger than last season.

Last season there was a lot of talk when we signed Andriy Schevchenko and Michael Ballack about how they fit in but the one thing they had to do because they were such established and great players was fit in straight away because you play those players when you sign them. Might it be this time that the players will have to take a little longer to fight their way into the starting line?

sign them. Might it be this time that the players will have to take a little longer to fight their way into the starting line?

I think on the Michael and Andriy situation, we signed them for four years, it was everyone else that wanted instant success and I think we know enough about football and Chelsea and English football to settle in and we've definitely got the best to come from those two players which is great news. With Tal and Sidwell and Pizarro, they are big pros and are hungry to prove, with Sidwell he said he knew exactly what he was up against coming here, he's never shied away from a challenge and he sees this as a big one in his career and he's determined to make it work and that sort of spirit is fantastic to add to the team.

Did you have to make an argument for him to come or was that already set in his mind?

No, that was very much part of why we wanted him and why he should join us versus actually going in a team and be an instant regular. But I think such is the stature that Chelsea's now getting but you've still got to convince, these players want to play but again, the way they've fitted in over here it's been fantastic.

Pizarro's coming to battle for a place against arguably two of the best centre forwards in the world.

Yeah, but he's not the sort of person that it will frighten him. He did seven years at Bayern, a big club, operated in a big stage, and just completed Copa America. This is a guy who believes in his ability and is up for the challenge.

Obviously the biggest signing financially was Malouda, there was a lot of talk about how much Chelsea would or wouldn't spend. If a big player had become available would we suddenly have decided to go for him?

wouldn't spend. If a big player had become available would we suddenly have decided to go for him?

Again, we've been big news because we've spent a lot, we've been big news now because we haven't spent any, the money has been available and both José and I have said it on several occasions, for the right player, the money was there and it is there so it's not about being broke or restrained it's actually looking at what we needed as a team to progress from where we were last season and last season was not a bad season.

We've also got increasingly in the back of our minds the new UEFA structures for what you need in your squad to qualify you to be legal in the Champions League, how are we doing there?

Good, in addition to that, we've always said that having a core of our team being English is critical to our identity and the way we play football, and at the end of the day we play football in the English Premier League which is one of the best in the world so we should be proud of having English players and we're well equipped, and we're as well equipped as anybody to fulfil the regulations.

Are you concerned about staleness, because we haven't had so much change?

had so much change?

No not at all, I think we've bought in some good players. If there was ever any concern about that then first mornings training blew it away, the freshness, the eagerness, there's an absolute hunger on this team for success and there's hunger for getting the Premiership title back, that hurt everyone last year, there was no complacency, everyone worked hard and I think the way everybody's come back good rest, first time that they've had that much rest for a long time, I feel very confident about the team.

And how important is it that we come out of the tracks running season?

Well we've seen it. The quality of the teams around us, you can't afford to drop points early because picking them up, in then puts the onus on someone else and we never like someone else to determine our future.

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José thinks the Premier League could be more competitive this season than probably since he's been here.

I think that's right, you've got to say that all our rivals have significantly strengthened and I think it does all point to a more competitive Premier League.

We've won all the domestic trophies since José's come, he won the Champions League the year before he came. Is it the Holy Grail?

Is it the Holy Grail?

I think it is one of the hardest trophies to pick up, to fulfil our ambitions as a world club, you have to win the Champions League. It doesn't all rest on that this season, that's not what it's about, but two things what we've said is you have to win trophies on a regular basis, you have to win Premier League and Champions League more than once to reach those heights of being truly recognised as a world club and I think we're well equipped and as always we're confident going into all these campaigns because we've got a great squad and a great manager who knows what needs to be done.

Peter, there's been a lot of talk in the media about Roman Abramovich's continued loyalty to Chelsea. Anyone who goes down to Cobham and will see not just the first team or the professionals' facilities but looks across to where the academy is now being started can't question that. Can you take us through exactly what's happened?

Two weeks before we started pre season we completed and opened up the Cobham academy and first team training facility and of all we've achieved over the last three and a half years.

I think that was one of the proudest moments because from the outside we're seen as the new team who spend money but what we've been doing behind the scenes as well as really up front in building a first team, planning, buying and acquiring, what I think is one of the best facilities in Europe and could be one of the best in the world and that underpins all types of things, Roman's commitment to Chelsea because at the end of the day he's been responsible for buying into that vision, signing off on the project and ultimately paying for it, it's about really securing and doing what we say we're going to do which is put emphasis behind our youth development not only for the UEFA rules, we do think it's critically important to develop our own talent and bring it through and once you've done that, the affinity that everyone has with that player, the fans, the identity of that player with the club is immeasurable and what we are doing is putting in facilities there that will attract the very best footballer.

So whether it is a big name who's used to operating, if he came, he'd be blown away, and equally, a 12-year-old and a 16-year-old with his parents who know that they're going to be looked after which is critical to that decision making process.

So I think, if you talk about stability, if you talk about building a foundation for the future, Cobham to me really underpinned it and I think it says we're going to be around for a long time and we're going to be serious for an awful long time to come and that's a great message to send to everybody.

How long will the process take on the academy overflow and community building?

Really quite quick now, I mean 12 months, again all the planning and all the site acquisition. Literally as we opened up one we demolished another, it's that quick and in 12 months' time there will be an academy and community building 100 metres away. It's aspirational and it is a campus-type environment and it's fantastic.

How difficult will it be when the first team is at such a high level to actually bring youngsters through?

I think it's always difficult but we go back to, it's easy to say we've got two right backs, we can go and get two more right backs, the question is, can you get two right backs that are better than the ones we've got, that's the challenge, but we've had people out in LA with us, we've had three young boys, we've got a good crop coming back, we've been putting our players who are not quite ready to join the first team squad and to other teams to learn the skills, and to learn the skills of a footballer, you've got to play regular football so I think we've got a great plan in place that I think we'll start to see very quickly, players breaking through, who have come through that structure.

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Do we have to, because of our level be a little bit more patient than we might have had to have been when even John Terry came into the team because, for instance, we've signed Steve Sidwell who was an Arsenal youngster at 24 years of age, do we almost have to give these guys until 24 going out on loan and coming back?

I think it varies, but I think one of the issues we have introduced is at 18 or 19 they can sit on a bench and go backwards at 20, 21 even so I think we have to look as part of the development here is we will put you out to various clubs, keep an eye on you, you come back regularly to the campus, medically you're supervised, you're our player, even if you're playing at another club but it is important because the last thing you want to do is develop a player from 12, and 19 move him on and at 24 he becomes the star you thought he was at 12 and it is a time process and within that there will always be one guy who comes through at 18 and blows everyone away so you've got to be prepared for everything.

The European Cup winners of the last few years remarkably have all had home grown captains, obviously this year it was Milan and Maldini and last year it was Barcelona and Puyol and the year before that, Liverpool and Gerrard, the last three years, the Premiership captains have been Gary Neville home grown and John Terry twice, does that tell us something?

I think what it tells you and if you've watched all those games or you've watched enough of those games, it will tell you about the influence a home grown captain has, it does go an extra mile. I think John Terry's been the difference on some of our key games and that's not about winning, it's about motivation of the team. Steven Gerrard's role when they won the European Cup was phenomenal. Now Maldini is a legend in his own right but I think it's that added piece that you just can't take away and the understanding of the club is just incredible.

So are you actually saying, therefore, that it's crucial in the end, never mind the ability to buy, that it's actually crucial to the team itself that we bring youngsters in?

I think it is, I think it's crucial to Chelsea and I think you can never trade ability and you can never afford to be too sympathetic. John Terry is captain of Chelsea because he's the best person to be captain of Chelsea and that's fact, but it would be very nice to think that we've got the next captain of Chelsea coming through the ranks now because it does add another value.

Your responsibility is not only to bring stability to the football side of things but to bring stability to the balance sheets, which is a big pressure when we've been such a big spending club?

football side of things but to bring stability to the balance sheets, which is a big pressure when we've been such a big spending club?

It's pressure enough. The benefit of having someone like Roman who understands that we needed to invest in order to get success but that investment has to pay back, that gives us a luxury of time, it doesn't give us a luxury of making huge losses every year and our losses have reduced every year and will reduce again this year. It's not affecting the team which is great because I've always believed you can have a successful team and a successful club business which I think is the ultimate stability that any football club can have because we see on too many occasions, where, if you get that balance wrong it's a disaster, so this is about having stability on and off the field for Chelsea for many, many years to come and irrespective of who the owner is.

How hard does that make the contractual negotiations because that of course has been the big media talk this summer?

It makes them tough, but we've got to balance that by saying that that will not stop us from retaining our best players because retaining our best players is the core of our business anyway.

Pre season, here we are, fourth year in the United States, second year in Los Angeles, second year training at UCLA, that does seem to have brought a different atmosphere this year, it does seem to have brought a bit more knowledge about the whole routine and it seems to have affected things.

Yeah, again I think this goes to the heart and core of Chelsea really, even though you come back to the same country and come back to the same hotel facilities, everything is so much better this year because we learned from the things that didn't quite work as well and implemented it.

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Like the relaying of new pitches.

Like the relaying of new pitches, more enclosed training facilities, the hotel here knows exactly what we require so that it doesn't become an issue so our players and our coaching staff can just get on with what they need to do in order to prepare the team for next season and this, I've always said is the most critical time of our season. Having the players that we're bringing in, here, fitness facilities are critical because this is probably the longest time we have with our squad outside of a competitive environment because come August 5th, we're running and it's game after game from that point so this is absolutely critical.

And as we stand, 42,000 capacity, if it stays like that then obviously the business has got to make its money elsewhere. How are we doing in America?

I think it's really encouraging, people know us now in the US, they didn't four years ago and that's not just because we're coming but equally it's not just because we've won trophies, it is that combination. We've been announcing some good things while we're in LA, which again will make us more relevant every week, not just every year when we come for ten days and that's what will make the difference in the long term.

And can that happen in other countries?

Yes, it's happening in China, it's happening in Asia. The plans are for the team to go there next year. Big diversion from where we've been but it's important if we're to do the same things. The facilities will be great, the interest out there is at a completely different level because football's at a completely different level but Chelsea's name around the world is growing by the day.

And just explain exactly what the agreements are you've got in place with the Asia Federation that is so specific to Chelsea.

We've got an exclusive arrangement with the Asian Football Confederation which is effectively the equivalent of UEFA, there's no other football club involved and that in itself was quite unique and we're involved in their Vision China project and their Vision China project is about developing football in China at city level so we will be in the top 15 cities covering about 150 million people, we will be the only club represented on those programmes, the Asian player of the year has the option to come over to Cobham and train with us which is a big thing. We've had the Chinese Olympic squad over and there will be if you like an all star eleven from the city leagues that again have the opportunity of coming over to Cobham and training, not just training but understanding what a professional top world class football club needs to do and all that puts us in a different position

with football fans in China.

We're talking about stability, let's talk about change. If you could change something, for instance the European structure, that's been talked about a lot.

On that subject I'm an advocate of stability. I think we've got a fantastic competition. Chelsea as a club, in one aspect we're so lucky, we're playing the best league in the world and we have access to what I think is the best club competition in the world, and why would you change it? we've got to be careful we don't change for change sake, you've got to look at what's working, do that better and really look at what's not working so well and make that better as well, and that's what will improve the club and the game.

You've stated again and again we're still looking at Stamford Bridge and staying there and developing there but it's been a summer of change at Stamford Bridge in as much as there has been quite a lot of investment in the current stadium.

Again, we're sort of stuck at the moment with the 42,055. What we've got to do is make it better so the experience next year, off the pitch is better than it was and that's whatI mean our fans spend a lot of money and they've got to have the best experience and that experience goes away from just watching football so just because we can't move, it's not an excuse for not having facilities that we experience going to new grounds this year.

And would you change anything within the game itself?

I think we're pretty healthy, you can't become complacent but I think what we shouldn't do is think we have to change. We've not got to forget that the Premier League is the most watched league in the world, it's the most admired league in the world for the football we play and I think you've got to be very careful about saying that you want to change some of these things because you know what works and if you change it you're not quite sure what the impact of that is and I think we're in good shape.