Chelsea to appoint Arnesen and Gourlay to replace Kenyon

Last updated : 17 September 2009 By Paul Lagan

The vacuum created by the exit of Peter Kenyon's as chief executive will be filled by not one man but two.
Chelsea-mad understands that the Kenyon's job is to be split into two - allowing for the promotion of chief operating officer Ron Gourlay to look after the so-called business activities with Dutchman Frank Arnesen taking full control of all footballing matters.
Everyone has probably heard of Arnesen and the director of football's recent move to an office beside coach Carlo Ancelotti means the Italian will see a lot more of him too. But Gourlay is very much a behind the scenes man but a very important cog in the Chelsea machinery.
Like Kenyon, Gourlay came from Manchester United in 2004 where he was commercial director. Like Kenyon who worked for Nike, Gourlay previously worked for Umbro.
His current role at Chelsea is to look after the matchday operations at the Bridge and have responsibilities for marketing and commercial activities.
He seems ably qualified to do his job, Arnesen will have the chance to show he is ably qualified to do his job too.
Chelsea announced yesterday that Kenyon was leaving Chelsea as a full-time job at the end of October but will retain non-executive roles.