Marina Granovskaia appreciation thread

[killer1257 3,282]

There has been he consensus that she does not pick our targets just leads the negotiations. If we apply this logic to our sales and extensions, she also does not pick the players to be sold or offered new contracts. She can only be judged by the terms of deals, contracts and negotiation outcomes. So she can be blamed for the fucked up no sale and extension of Alonso, Kepa's and Drinkies wages e.g. So it is a bit weird that we praise her now, when the only spectacular deal this window so far is Ziyech who we signed way under market value and on a decent contract. Werner was release clause, Havertz will go for above market value. I still think she excels most in sales. The real cock up was obviously Willian to Barca. on the other hand the Hazard and Schürrle sales were out of this world.
I honestly think the involvement of Lampard and Petr in the transfers is what helped us identify quality players and eventally convince them to join us. Those two were not there before and our record was mixed. I always attributed this to the lack of football knowledge on the board.
Overall I would give Marina a 7/10 for deals alone but i make it 8/10 bc of her dignified and professional presence and the good relationships she has established across Europe after we lost a bit of respect on an execute level after Peter Kenyon left.

You forgot the Morata sale, which was really good. If we sell Emerson for around 20 million Euros, another good deal.

According to Wikipedia, she got her new position 2014. I do not know if she got her new position at the beginning of 2014 or throughout 2014.
From my research, I think she got her new position around october 2014 because Matt Law wrote an article saying that Gourlay left the club and Marina will get more responsibilities .

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/chelsea/11180282/Marina-Granovskaias-ascent-to-most-powerful-woman-in-world-football-continues-as-Ron-Gourlay-leaves-Chelsea.html

So she can be judged after the summer window 14/15. Maybe, she was also part of the summer window, but I do not know. So the amazing sale of Schürrle was definitely her doing.
She sold Ramires for 28 million Euros, Filipe Luis for 16 million and Cech for 14 million Euros, which all are decent sales. 28 million for Ramires is amazing, considering he was not in his prime anymore and not playing as much, Cech was also never playing and older and getting 14 million is decent. Then 16/17 season she sold a completely average Oscar for 60 million Euros, which was an amazing deal due to the fact that Conte was not playing him anymore and Oscar was not Chelsea material. Amazing deal.
Then she sold Salah for just 15 million Euros, which still to this day, I do not why we sold him. He had 20 scorer during that season in Italy and Salahs showed his insane dribbling skills back then. Even if Conte thought that he was no Chelsea material, she should have gotten double the amount. During that time she also bought Kante for 35 million Euros, which is one of the greatest Chelsea deals ever. 17/18 season she sold Costa for 66 million Euros and Matic for 45 million. The Costa deal was from todays standpoint amazing and the Matic deal was also pretty good. I do not think that Matic was that good at Man United. Solid maybe, but nothing extraordinary.
So I think apart from Salah departure, nothing too serious. Most sales were very good.

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[Fernando 6,376]

So basically negotiation she is good. 

but identifying target I think we improved because we also have Cech. 

It's like the same thing we are saying that if Lampard gets someone in for Defense we will do good. 

Sometimes you just need a good balance in the team. Some are good for selling, others for identifying etc etc.

So it seems we finally got that right, now let's see if we can get balance in the playing team with Lampard. 

[Jase 43,479]

1 hour ago, BlueLyon said:

Yup because Lamps is here only since 2019 and we were absolutely superb on transfers before right? We also created hell of a team project in the last 10 years 😄

I couldnt give 2 tosses if Marina only job is to negotiate. She is a director of football or whatever we call that and this position DEMANDS knowledge on scouting and players because that is how a project can be successful. If she is only capable to work with numbers and negotiate, she doesnt have the right qualifications and shouldnt be DOF at all. 

Neither should Lamps or any other manager pick these players. Managers come and go and you are then stuck with bunch of Jorginhos who dont fit.

Every club needs a DOF who picks the strategy and follows a long term project. Which manager and players to bring has to tie in so that everything progresses and works. 

No wonder we have been a total clusterfuck in europe and PL (with exclusion of two titles who were definately not a proof we are anywhere near dominanant and improving side because we were crap in europe and the following seasons after winning title), yet you seem to be perfectly content and happy with that.

The entire board should be fired years ago for the KDB and Salah fuckups, not to mention all the garbage we spend the cash and time on. 

So yeah, I will judge Marina to be anywhere near deserving a praise once this season actualy kicks in and Kai, Ziyech, Werner, xyz deliver results.

Having Director of Football is one thing but having the Director of Football to be the one who picks and buys the players is silly because (a) having a Director of Football is not a foolproof approach, (b) what if the signings that the Director of Football make do not turn out great and (c) what if the manager does not like the players that the Director of Football bought? Then what? 

Like it or not, there are always gonna be hits and misses when it comes to transfers and ideally, we would want to have more hits than misses. The key things are (a) the club have a clear idea what they want to be like, what kind of football do they want the team to play etc and (b) Director of Football or not, the manager and the board work closely with each other to identify the targets that the manager wants and is aligned with the club's overall strategy/plan for the playing team. Liverpool and Man City, for example, have their own Director of Football but they do not go and buy the players and just throw them onto Klopp and Guardiola. They work closely with them to get who they want. 

The reasons why we have failed or have had mixed success with transfers in recent years are (a) the club have been yo-yo-ing between the kind of football they want the team to play and (b) recent managers were pain in the arse to work with. We had AVB and I guess to an extent RDM to introduce a more progressive playing style and move away from the pragmatic football. We even bought exciting young players like De Bruyne, Mata, Hazard, Oscar etc. But then after some bad results, the club reverted to type and went with pragmatic football and managers again - Benitez (albeit an interim manager), Mourinho and then Conte. And suddenly, the club decided to go for the progressive football and move away from the pragmatic style with Sarri and now Lampard. On top of that manager, those managers - Mourinho, Conte and Sarri - were also seemingly a pain to work with, one way or another. Mourinho and Conte threw their toys out of the pram immediately when they could not get their first choice targets and IIRC in Conte's case, he reportedly turned off his phone so that he could not be contacted by the board about transfers in the summer of 2017. As for Sarri, he was (still is I guess) a manager who doesn't fancy getting too much with all these transfer businesses.

Maybe this is still a bit early to form a definite conclusion about it but it finally looks like the club are getting their act together in terms of direction of the playing style and team and working with the manager to buy players. Lampard has constantly spoken about working closely with Marina, with Cech in the transfer market - as mentioned by other posters here, having Cech in the board does seem to have helped massively especially in bridging the gap between manager and board - and unlike previous managers, he does not moan and complain about the board in the media. He has always ensured that there is a positive working relationship between himself and the board. You might not be convinced about the signings of Werner, Havertz, Ziyech etc yet but I think overall, they have too much quality to be total flops for us. And it does seem clear that we want to play progressive football moving forward and so when we hire our next manager - whether because Lampard gets sacked, decides to move or for whatever reason - it is important then that we get a manager who has the same philosophy and progressive playing style to ensure the continuity. We can't just revert to type and hire another pragmatic manager again. 

[Johnnyeye 7,414]

this woman deserves some love right now, let's be honest, she is fine as hell and add to that her deal making skills 

[DANILA 290]

She is the girl of my dreams

[BlueLyon 9,359]

2 hours ago, Jason said:

Having Director of Football is one thing but having the Director of Football to be the one who picks and buys the players is silly because (a) having a Director of Football is not a foolproof approach, (b) what if the signings that the Director of Football make do not turn out great and (c) what if the manager does not like the players that the Director of Football bought? Then what? 

Like it or not, there are always gonna be hits and misses when it comes to transfers and ideally, we would want to have more hits than misses. The key things are (a) the club have a clear idea what they want to be like, what kind of football do they want the team to play etc and (b) Director of Football or not, the manager and the board work closely with each other to identify the targets that the manager wants and is aligned with the club's overall strategy/plan for the playing team. Liverpool and Man City, for example, have their own Director of Football but they do not go and buy the players and just throw them onto Klopp and Guardiola. They work closely with them to get who they want. 

The reasons why we have failed or have had mixed success with transfers in recent years are (a) the club have been yo-yo-ing between the kind of football they want the team to play and (b) recent managers were pain in the arse to work with. We had AVB and I guess to an extent RDM to introduce a more progressive playing style and move away from the pragmatic football. We even bought exciting young players like De Bruyne, Mata, Hazard, Oscar etc. But then after some bad results, the club reverted to type and went with pragmatic football and managers again - Benitez (albeit an interim manager), Mourinho and then Conte. And suddenly, the club decided to go for the progressive football and move away from the pragmatic style with Sarri and now Lampard. On top of that manager, those managers - Mourinho, Conte and Sarri - were also seemingly a pain to work with, one way or another. Mourinho and Conte threw their toys out of the pram immediately when they could not get their first choice targets and IIRC in Conte's case, he reportedly turned off his phone so that he could not be contacted by the board about transfers in the summer of 2017. As for Sarri, he was (still is I guess) a manager who doesn't fancy getting too much with all these transfer businesses.

Maybe this is still a bit early to form a definite conclusion about it but it finally looks like the club are getting their act together in terms of direction of the playing style and team and working with the manager to buy players. Lampard has constantly spoken about working closely with Marina, with Cech in the transfer market - as mentioned by other posters here, having Cech in the board does seem to have helped massively especially in bridging the gap between manager and board - and unlike previous managers, he does not moan and complain about the board in the media. He has always ensured that there is a positive working relationship between himself and the board. You might not be convinced about the signings of Werner, Havertz, Ziyech etc yet but I think overall, they have too much quality to be total flops for us. And it does seem clear that we want to play progressive football moving forward and so when we hire our next manager - whether because Lampard gets sacked, decides to move or for whatever reason - it is important then that we get a manager who has the same philosophy and progressive playing style to ensure the continuity. We can't just revert to type and hire another pragmatic manager again. 

Inter, Juve had Marotto, Campos in Lille, Monchi in sevilla, Edwards in Pool, Salihamidzic in Bayern, Zorc in bvb...etc etc

Obviously not anyone and it isnt foolproof, look at Abidal in barca or Woodward in United.

But if you have competent person, club goes in right direction and progresses. 

We had Kenyon back then. Terrible person, but he build hell of a squad. Managers came and went, the core players were good enough for everyone.

When it comes to coach, you always pick the one that suits the players and project. No coach will say no I wont manage Sancho, Kai, Ronaldo, Messi etc. While certain players on other hand, if not playing well are always replacable.

[Jase 43,479]

2 minutes ago, BlueLyon said:

Inter, Juve had Marotto, Campos in Lille, Monchi in sevilla, Edwards in Pool, Salihamidzic in Bayern, Zorc in bvb...etc etc

Obviously not anyone and it isnt foolproof, look at Abidal in barca or Woodward in United.

But if you have competent person, club goes in right direction and progresses. 

Am not against the idea of having a Director of Football, mind. More important is the relationship and ideas shared by the board and manager and as I said, we are seemingly moving in the right direction, especially with Cech on board.

Some of the names you mentioned there, work closely with the manager in regards to transfers. For example, Marotta now at Inter with Conte, again or Edwards at Liverpool (he certainly didn't buy players for Klopp to manage).

6 minutes ago, BlueLyon said:

When it comes to coach, you always pick the one that suits the players and project. No coach will say no I wont manage Sancho, Kai, Ronaldo, Messi etc. While certain players on other hand, if not playing well are always replacable.

Of course no one would turn down the obvious talents to work with and not many top managers out there would just take a back seat and let others buy players for them. They want to have their own say as well. 

[BlueLyon 9,359]

8 hours ago, Iggy Doonican said:

 

Your gif game is better than your arguments indeed😁

[OneMoSalah 8,614]

7 hours ago, 11Drogba said:

The difference is we have Petr Cech this year which makes Marina's job easier. He talks to players to convince them coming to Chelsea. Top players know what top players want to hear, what their concerns and ambitions are. We should have appointed someone like him years ago.

We had someone like him years ago. Called Michael Emenalo. Wasn’t precisely the same role but it wasnt hugely different to that of a director of football. 

Marina has done very well in terms of closing deals in recruitment and sales. The players getting selected isn't down to her. Or the players being sold. She just gets whatever the manager/coach wants for them done. 

I would hold back on the huge huge appreciations for everyone though because we seen this sort of thread blow up before for the board in January when we sold De Bruyne and Mata then signed Salah and Matic, then it blew up again the following summer we got Costa, Luis, Cesc etc and sold David Luiz. Then we just decided to cheap out the next year and it basically went from “great job to get the finger out you useless cunts”.

I know player scouting isn't Marina’s department but she does has a role of involvement with the transfers, negotiating on prices or wages so these can be held against her as well as praising her for other deals. 

As I keep saying football fans are fickle so next summer I wouldnt be surprised if its back to bashing her from half the people on here praising her at present. Its an endless cycle in football.

[11Drogba 2,000]

2 hours ago, OneMoSalah said:

We had someone like him years ago. Called Michael Emenalo. Wasn’t precisely the same role but it wasnt hugely different to that of a director of football. 

Marina has done very well in terms of closing deals in recruitment and sales. The players getting selected isn't down to her. Or the players being sold. She just gets whatever the manager/coach wants for them done. 

I would hold back on the huge huge appreciations for everyone though because we seen this sort of thread blow up before for the board in January when we sold De Bruyne and Mata then signed Salah and Matic, then it blew up again the following summer we got Costa, Luis, Cesc etc and sold David Luiz. Then we just decided to cheap out the next year and it basically went from “great job to get the finger out you useless cunts”.

I know player scouting isn't Marina’s department but she does has a role of involvement with the transfers, negotiating on prices or wages so these can be held against her as well as praising her for other deals. 

As I keep saying football fans are fickle so next summer I wouldnt be surprised if its back to bashing her from half the people on here praising her at present. Its an endless cycle in football.

Emenalo wasn't a top level footballer. He may be good scout but I think it makes a difference when someone like Cech or Lampard calls a young footballer.

[NikkiCFC 7,580]

She did it again! 🤩💙🤭✍️

[ahmedou 128]

The Godmother.

[Iggy Doonican 4,186]

Marina has just left London she's going to Siberia to sell ice to eskimos.

[Iggy Doonican 4,186]

On 25/08/2020 at 10:32 PM, BlueLyon said:

Your gif game is better than your arguments indeed😁

Well I have that in my locker there's no beginning to your talents. You're dimmer than a 30 watt light bulb.

[BlueLyon 9,359]

3 hours ago, Iggy Doonican said:

Well I have that in my locker there's no beginning to your talents. You're dimmer than a 30 watt light bulb.

1.) You are incredibly fast in forming constructive replies, I see. I mean Kai transfer impressed me, but this is on another level. 

2.) In your locker?  Who are you trying to impress mate? 😄

3.) Please check 30 watt led lightbulb and maybe you will figure it out eventualy 😂 I dont even need to make a counter reply here, you just shot yourself in the leg. Talk about dimmer lol.

[Iggy Doonican 4,186]

11 minutes ago, BlueLyon said:

1.) You are incredibly fast in forming constructive replies, I see. I mean Kai transfer impressed me, but this is on another level. 

2.) In your locker?  Who are you trying to impress mate? 😄

3.) Please check 30 watt led lightbulb and maybe you will figure it out eventualy 😂 I dont even need to make a counter reply here, you just shot yourself in the leg. Talk about dimmer lol.

I don't log in everyday I only noticed your reply this evening the rest of it well I know English isn't your first language because I can't make out most of what you're saying and it's shoot yourself in the foot not the leg. You can get 30 watt light bulbs in England we're not quite the swinging metropolis that Slovenia is. As for Havertz I've no idea mate I'm only interested in Chelsea I don't watch foreign football so can't give you an opinion on what's he like although I hear Slovenian football is really popular round the world and ND Triglav are a force to be reckoned with do you support them are they your local club ?

[BlueLyon 9,359]

21 minutes ago, Iggy Doonican said:

I don't log in everyday I only noticed your reply this evening the rest of it well I know English isn't your first language because I can't make out most of what you're saying and it's shoot yourself in the foot not the leg. You can get 30 watt light bulbs in England we're not quite the swinging metropolis that Slovenia is. As for Havertz I've no idea mate I'm only interested in Chelsea I don't watch foreign football so can't give you an opinion on what's he like although I hear Slovenian football is really popular round the world and ND Triglav are a force to be reckoned with do you support them are they your local club ?

There were quite a few comments from you, so Im pretty sure you checked up on this forum quite regularly, but ok if you want to play that card.

Picking on my language and country from where I am? Haha are you one of those entitled english pricks then? And so you know, there are many people who speak more understanding english than brits, but fair play you speak the language of a country where you were born better compared to a non-native speaker. Mad respect there brother. Hopefuly you dont sound like Harry Kane though, that would be a bummer.

Also, you still didnt get the lightbulb thing, did you? 😀

[BlueLyon 9,359]

2 hours ago, Iggy Doonican said:

Entitled English pricks are the gentry mate and I'm not one of them. There may well be people who speak more understanding English than Brits but you ain't one of them so you shot yourself in the foot I mean the leg there. I wouldn't say I was taking the piss out of Slovenia I'm sure it's a great country with great football teams with world class facilities and traditions if I lived there I would definitely support the mighty ND Triglav.

So now we are speaking in english? My bad, I thought we were writing in english...

If I gave you a mark for your responses, it would be unfair. But Pete will happily do it;

 

And yes Slovenia is a very nice country, thanks. 

Now if you want to be a bit more educated about footie from my country since you are so interested; NK Triglav is like Nottingham Forrest. Once they were good, now not so much.  Dont recommend to support them, they reached peak ages ago. You would get bored to death. But Olimpija and Maribor are "the" teams now, there is even extra spice of corruption to make it realy entertaining. You know Jan Oblak though, right? Or Luka Doncic to get you even more informed about what else we have in other sports, now it makes me wonder; is basketball in UK even a thing?

While this was entertaining, it was a bit too easy and im getting bored. So better to end it now before mods get mad haha. Looking forward to your future arguments though😉

Cheers and much love from Slovenia