Michael Emenalo (Technical Director, Chelsea)

[daBlackMamba7 174]

Now we understand Eva's promotion to first team doc ...

[Term-X 7,891]

I have read some fine articles on we ain't got no history, but this not one of them. The author is speculating on Emenalo role and boosting about his accomplishments without any evidence. Chelsea management is very complex and Emenalo role is vaguely descried. I don't believe anyone outside of Chelsea hierarchy know what part Emenalo has taken in recent changes and transfers. He maybe doing a good job, but no one in the outside can know.

Agreed, this thread should be edited so that this^ is the first post people see.

Embarrassing article.

[cujo101 75]

Didn't he sign Robert Fleck and Chris Sutton?

[Paul1970 250]

He got rid of Flake cakes from greggs

[capriccioso 2,545]

I have read some fine articles on we ain't got no history, but this not one of them. The author is speculating on Emenalo role and boosting about his accomplishments without any evidence. Chelsea management is very complex and Emenalo role is vaguely descried. I don't believe anyone outside of Chelsea hierarchy know what part Emenalo has taken in recent changes and transfers. He maybe doing a good job, but no one in the outside can know.

It's hardly baseless speculation. Technical Directors/Directors of Football are supposed to be responsible for transfers. Unless we're paying this guy to do nothing, I remain convinced that every single signing since summer 2011 has been done exclusively by Mad Mike. Typically a manager gets little say when working under a TD/DoF, all they do is tell their superior what position they want strengthened. It is then up to the TD to decide which player fits that bill, and they can ignore the managers request if they feel like it.

Of course all of the above still is speculation, but it's not entirely baseless, given on knowledge known from how continental sides operate with their TD's.

[Tricky 301]

Personally think he I doing a great job, since his appointment out transfer policy has shifted from established stars to youth prospects. They have drastically cut the average age

[Tricky 301]

Personally think he I doing a great job, since his appointment out transfer policy has shifted from established stars to youth prospects. They have drastically cut the average age of the squad (expect it to drop more when Paulo, Benayoun and Malouda leave), and along with them the huge wages. Leaves us in a good position for the coming years and FFP.

I hope they pursue this policy and provide these youngsters with the opportunity (yes first team) to flourish. We have invested tens of milliins in facilities, coaches and players, it's about time we started to show some faith in our youth.

[Joey Zhou 14]

This guy is a total retard and ass licking c**t.

[MHL 47 378]

Emenalo's position is becoming increasing isolated and I'm not sure whether your opinion is based on information/knowledge from inside the club or is a personal opinion.

There will probably be more than just Benitez going at the end of the season, someone else will be made accountable for the appointment and the way we've performed since it. Let's be generous and say that the appointment hasn't had a galvanising effect. Gourlay's too cute to accept responsibility and that leaves Forde and Emenalo, there's only one person that'll be taking the hit and that'll be the man who Benitez said was dealing with him during his appointment.

The true gauge of performance is always the league and since ME coming to his current position our finishing place in the leagues got worse. We might get lucky this season, with Arsenal and L'pool performing even worse. However they've not invested to the degree we have.

He's been a failure in the role and he's had since 2007/8 to know the club, he's had two years in the role and we've been poor by our own recent high standards - That in itself is enough. Where's the improvement? The youth teams done well, the U21's have been mediocre but given the level of youth players in that set up and the constant change that goes on that is understandable. I watch enough non-first team football to know that there's no consistent system in place throughout the levels/teams at the club, isn't that one of his stated goals.

Continuity of approach would be great, getting the right man in the role is the key as well as his ability to work with whichever manager we have is just as key. Anyway and bottom line, my monies on him not being around much longer, where's yours?

We're just going to have to agree to disagree because we're just going round in circles. Personally I think it's too early to judge him but I like what I'm seeing since he took over. You haven't convinced me otherwise and I doubt I'll convince you.

Giving Eddie all the credit for the loan of Lukaku and Chalobah is a little unfair and I suspect it's based on the managers at those clubs. Eddie reports to Emenalo and so it would've been his say so, although it does hint at how many things are in play at the club and how important it is to have someone who co-ordinates it all. If Jose can help build a system that manages that efficiently then it might make sense to get rid of Emenalo (who isn't 'increasingly isolated' as you've suggested - in fact he's probably more powerful than he has been at any other time purely because of Benitez being a short-term appointment) but that has to be a system that can survive without Jose, which is what we have now.

But like I said, we both want what's best for the club we just have different opinions of how that's best achieved.

[MHL 47 378]

I'm afraid it isn't (to the best of my knowledge). All loans are ultimately Emenalo's decision which is why when there was a discussion about Chalobah's recall and a possible loan for Ake in January it was his call. That's one of his main roles at the club. I'm not saying Eddie wasn't involved in handling it and I'm sure you're aware of his role in monitoring players on-loan, but the person he reports to is Emenalo.

Maybe Emenalo believes he has the final sanction, these deals were done without Emenalo's involvement. He may, have ticked a box, but he did not sanction any deal. Especially the Lukaku one.

[The only place to be 11,313]

Maybe Emenalo believes he has the final sanction, these deals were done without Emenalo's involvement. He may, have ticked a box, but he did not sanction any deal. Especially the Lukaku one.

That's just factually incorrect. Sorry. Maybe we just have different sources and one of them is wrong, but I'm fairly sure that the Technical Director would have the final say on such things.

Emenalo's position is becoming increasing isolated and I'm not sure whether your opinion is based on information/knowledge from inside the club or is a personal opinion.

I wouldn't just guess something in the hopes of it sounding right. At this point in time he still has Roman's ear which (if the story is true) might be the source of Jose's objections.

There will probably be more than just Benitez going at the end of the season, someone else will be made accountable for the appointment and the way we've performed since it. Let's be generous and say that the appointment hasn't had a galvanising effect. Gourlay's too cute to accept responsibility and that leaves Forde and Emenalo, there's only one person that'll be taking the hit and that'll be the man who Benitez said was dealing with him

during his appointment.

I'm not sure why you'd think Mike Forde would be in trouble. The guy's massively respected within the game and one of the best sports minds in this country in my opinion.

If you're looking for a scapegoat who isn't a Russian billionaire then I'd personally look at Bruce Buck - the guy you put on your 'dream team', despite him being here for the entirety of Roman's reign even when we were acting in a kamikaze, short-term manner which is the root of many of our current problems in my opinion. In fact, you put Peter Kenyon alongside him as well who I think also bears the responsibility of many of our actions then. Yet you'd have both of them back in a 'dream team'?

The true gauge of performance is always the league and since ME coming to his current position our finishing place in the leagues got worse. We might get lucky this season, with Arsenal and L'pool performing even worse. However they've not invested to the degree we have.

I see our current predicament as the culmination of years of mismanagement. We simply didn't plan for the future which is why we're suffering now and we're actually building something sustainable. If you actually had expectations that it would be a faultless transition then I can see why you'd be disappointed in Emenalo.

He's been a failure in the role and he's had since 2007/8 to know the club, he's had two years in the role and we've been poor by our own recent high standards - That in itself is enough. Where's the improvement? The youth teams done well, the U21's have been mediocre but given the level of youth players in that set up and the constant change that goes on that is understandable. I watch enough non-first team football to know that there's no consistent system in place throughout the levels/teams at the club, isn't that one of his stated goals.

But there is a consistent system which is fairly amazing considering the change in managers we've had to endure. Each one comes in and wants to treat the youth differently yet Neil Bath and his coaches have done a remarkable job in engendering an ethos that goes from age-group to age-group. You say he's had two years, I say he's only had two years and that it's fair too early in his tenure to judge him based on the massive task he had after years of mistakes. We neglected players in the age group 18-24 for almost two seasons and now we're surprised that we're lacking key players in that age-group?

That to me is the biggest mistake this club made, it's the key to every problem our first team is facing now and that simply wasn't his fault in my opinion.

Continuity of approach would be great, getting the right man in the role is the key as well as his ability to work with whichever manager we have is just as key. Anyway and bottom line, my monies on him not being around much longer, where's yours?

I don't know at this stage. I'd personally like to see what the squad make-up would be at the start of next season before making a judgment because I don't think I can make a fair one at this stage. If we have Chalobah, Lukaku, De Bruyne and one other (possibly Piazon, maybe one of the younger defenders current in Holland) in the first-team squad, and we sign the right players (a midfielder is essential, other positions are up for debate) then I don't think he'd deserve to go.

If he doesn't do that then I'll be calling for his head too.

[bushman 2,043]

Emenalo should be applauded for Chelsea´s new crops of very talented players.

Whether he will be moved to scouting only, none of us know yet.

Certainly, he has done a very shitty job as DOF, I feel.

[The only place to be 11,313]

Emenalo should be applauded for Chelsea´s new crops of very talented players.

Whether he will be moved to scouting only, none of us know yet.

Certainly, he has done a very shitty job as DOF, I feel.

I think the main thing held against him has been the 'imbalanced' squad with too many attacking players, not enough for the double pivot. The problem I think we faced was the season ending injury for Romeu who was expected to play a bigger role in the second-half of the season and Lamps simply not being quite as suited for the position as everyone expected.

Meireles was seen as very much an AVB guy so it was felt his presence might not be good for squad cohesion, and the cash on offer was pretty good whilst Essien was simply seen as costing too much for too little productivity. The fact he's stayed injury-free this long has amazed everyone. It's not like we didn't go after a player for that position either, but Levy simply wouldn't sell to us.

[bushman 2,043]

I think the main thing held against him has been the 'imbalanced' squad with too many attacking players, not enough for the double pivot. The problem I think we faced was the season ending injury for Romeu who was expected to play a bigger role in the second-half of the season and Lamps simply not being quite as suited for the position as everyone expected.

Meireles was seen as very much an AVB guy so it was felt his presence might not be good for squad cohesion, and the cash on offer was pretty good whilst Essien was simply seen as costing too much for too little productivity. The fact he's stayed injury-free this long has amazed everyone. It's not like we didn't go after a player for that position either, but Levy simply wouldn't sell to us.

Partially, I may agree. Shouldn´t he accounted for injuries, then ? Chelsea cannot rely on one player like Romeo, I feel.

We both know, the squad is too thin now. DOF is responsible for it.

[Styles 9,790]

I'm not sure why you'd think Mike Forde would be in trouble. The guy's massively respected within the game and one of the best sports minds in this country in my opinion.

You would expect the 'director of football operations' to get some criticism for overseeing a club that has been an absolute mess for years, wastes vast resources and are struggling to compete due to the ridiculous size of its squad.

I don't know where you've got the 'massively respected within the game' part from. Any sources for that wild claim? I've heard him speak and he sounds like a conman; speaks in vague terms, uses buzzwords and doesn't articulate himself well at all. He actually doesn't get criticised enough because not many have heard of him.

[The only place to be 11,313]

You would expect the 'director of football operations' to get some criticism for overseeing a club that has been an absolute mess for years, wastes vast resources and are struggling to compete due to the ridiculous size of its squad.

Not much of that is on Mike Forde in my opinion.

I don't know where you've got the 'massively respected within the game' part from. Any sources for that wild claim? I've heard him speak and he sounds like a conman; speaks in vague terms, uses buzzwords and doesn't articulate himself well at all. He actually doesn't get criticised enough because not many have heard of him.

I got it from speaking to people within the game...sorry, but that wasn't on the record. He was one of the first people in this country who looked at a way of implementing analytics into the game of football which is why he's invited to conferences on the issue (analytics is essentially what the book/film Moneyball focused on and what the Red Sox used in order to help win the 04 World Series, and is what Henry has tried to bring to Liverpool). He's also become something of a go to guy for teams in other sports.

[bushman 2,043]

To compare baseball´s success to football games....?

[The only place to be 11,313]

To compare baseball´s success to football games....?

To look at new ways of analysing data in order to enhance future performance.