THE PETER KENYON FILE
Thursday August 08 2002
By Pete Gill
He’s the man in charge of the world’s richest football club.
He’s the man who persuaded David Beckham, arguably the world’s most famous footballer, to stay at Old Trafford.
He’s the man who gave Alex Ferguson the go-ahead to break the British transfer record three times in 15 months and he’s the man who has now told Fergie that he has to sell before buying again.
‘He’ is of course Peter Kenyon, Manchester United’s Chief Executive. But what do we know about him? F365 set out to investigate...
What We Know
- Kenyon was born in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester, and he’s been a ManUtd fan since he was a boy. You could say he's the ultimate glory supporter - the first time he watched United was at Wembley in 1968 when his dad took him to see the European Cup Final. Not bad for your first match. Funnily enough, it wasn't his last.
- Kenyon was supposedly a very reasonable amateur footballer in his youth.
- Kenyon began his career in the financial sector. He specialised in management accounting, then worked for some of the country’s major textile companies.
- In 1986 Kenyon joined sportswear giants Umbro, where he was to really make his name.
- By 1988, Kenyon had become the company’s managing director, and it was from that post that he orchestrated the decision to focus all of Umbro’s business around football. In 1992, he handled the deal which saw Umbro UK sold to an American company.
- It was during Kenyon’s gig at Umbro that he first met and worked with Pele, with whom he is still said to have ‘a very warm relationship’. Aaaah, that's nice.
- In December 1996, Kenyon decided to leave Umbro. He claims he hadn’t decided where he would go next, and that he only arranged to meet then-Manchester United chief executive Martin Edwards to inform him of his decision as a courtesy. It was at this meeting with Edwards, having first told him that he was leaving Umbro, that Kenyon was asked to join United.
- In May 1997, Kenyon officially joined United as deputy chief executive. It was a newly created position in which his principal role was to build the ‘Manchester United brand’ internationally. However, it was taken as read he was being groomed as Edwards’ successor. Kenyon has since described it as “a nice apprenticeship".
- Kenyon’s appointment so upset Edward Freedman, Manchester United’s then-head of merchandising, that he left. Freedman was to tell Mihir Bose for his book ‘Manchester Unlimited', that while he thought Kenyon was “very easy-going,“ he also found him “very boring and very corporate. He plays very much by the rules".
- Kenyon has admitted that he supported Rupert Murdoch/Sky’s unsuccssful bid to buy Man United.
- Kenyon, Alex Ferguson reported in his autobiography, was happy to see assistant manager Brian Kidd move on to Blackburn midway through the 1998-99 season because he had "the feeling that every time a job came up they would have to give Brian a new contract".
- Kenyon was at the forefront of the deal which saw Vodafone take on United’s shirt sponsorship to the tune of £30m over four years.
- Kenyon was finally appointed chief executive on August 1 2000, around ten months after taking over from Edwards in all but name. His appointment meant that the top man at Old Trafford wasn’t a member of the Edwards family for the first time in more than 30 years. “Obviously having grown up just eight miles from here, it's a dream job for me," he said at the time. "It's a great opportunity and one that I have been working towards ever since I joined the club.”
- Kenyon is thought to be on in the region of £325,000 a year.
- When he took over as chief executive, he announced that improving ‘communications’ and United’s public image were top of his priority list. "We have learnt from all our overseas forays, and the thing is, we have got to get better at communication. It's our number one priority for 2000," he said.
- To that end, one of Kenyon’s first moves was to appoint Patrick Harverson as the club’s Director of Communications (Harverson was actually the second appointment for the post. The first, Alison Ryan, lasted only days once it emerged that she had been banned from practising law because of ‘serious professional misconduct’, that she claimed that she had a first from Cambridge when she had a second, and that she had also given a false reference).
- Harverson, then working for The Financial Times, was the first journalist to reveal that United, and other clubs, were in talks with Media Partners about forming a new European ‘Super’ League. Before writing the story, Harverson had phoned Edwards, and was told that United hadn’t been approached. In fact, they had, but Kenyon (one of just two United directors to know about Media Partners’ interest at that point) hadn’t told him yet.
- It was during this Super League episode that Kenyon first came to public prominence, with the Daily Mail describing him as: "the man with soccer’s future in his hands".
- As part of his drive to improve relationships with the fans, which included the new United chief watching a match from the Stretford End Tier Two, Kenyon met members of the Independent Manchester United Supporters' Association in a room above a pub in Stretford less than two months after officially taking on the post. At the meeting he pledged: "I will under-promise and over-deliver".
- A year on, IMUSA mused: "So, what's the verdict now? Has Kenyon delivered or not? It is our view that the answer is a resounding NO!" They went on to argue that "Peter 'working class Bolton lad made good' Kenyon is no better than his predecessor, the silver spooned Martin Edwards".
- Kenyon’s reputation - especially with the fans - took a battering in May 2001 when Alex Ferguson threatened to walk out of the club completely after retiring instead of taking on some sort of ‘ambassadorial role’. The two parties couldn’t agree the terms for Fergie’s new role, with Kenyon allegedly telling Jason Ferguson, who was representing his father, that: “He may be a good manager but he doesn't exactly sell the strips, does he?”
- It was Kenyon, at the turn of this year, who began the search for Ferguson’s successor. He told the BBC that: “There is probably one name in my head - but I am not going to share that." And nor did he ever share it, for, as you may have noticed, Fergie decided not to retire. But it’s Kenyon who will, one day, decide who the next ManYoo boss will be.
What He’s Said
- “A lot of our strategy now is figuring out ways to bring the experience of Old Trafford to the rest of the world."
- “Alex Ferguson has unlocked in some magical way the understanding of what Manchester United is all about - winning with style and flair. Everything Manchester United does should be like that."
- “Our is a passion-based brand, a loyalty-based brand. If we don't continue to stoke that passion, reward that loyalty, we still haven't done what we've set out to accomplish."
- “The exciting thing is that 98 percent of our revenue is what we still consider [Britain] based, so we think we're just at the tip of the iceberg."
- [Re: A salary cap] “There is no ready-made format that could be implemented. The US model doesn't apply to football because of the open competition system of relegation and promotion, different club ownership structures and varying national taxation systems."
- "The Premiership already has 20 clubs and some people would say that is already too many."
- "There are values associated with Manchester United that should not be bastardised in any way. Much about United is sacrosanct.”
Thursday August 08 2002
By Pete Gill
He’s the man in charge of the world’s richest football club.
He’s the man who persuaded David Beckham, arguably the world’s most famous footballer, to stay at Old Trafford.
He’s the man who gave Alex Ferguson the go-ahead to break the British transfer record three times in 15 months and he’s the man who has now told Fergie that he has to sell before buying again.
‘He’ is of course Peter Kenyon, Manchester United’s Chief Executive. But what do we know about him? F365 set out to investigate...
What We Know
- Kenyon was born in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester, and he’s been a ManUtd fan since he was a boy. You could say he's the ultimate glory supporter - the first time he watched United was at Wembley in 1968 when his dad took him to see the European Cup Final. Not bad for your first match. Funnily enough, it wasn't his last.
- Kenyon was supposedly a very reasonable amateur footballer in his youth.
- Kenyon began his career in the financial sector. He specialised in management accounting, then worked for some of the country’s major textile companies.
- In 1986 Kenyon joined sportswear giants Umbro, where he was to really make his name.
- By 1988, Kenyon had become the company’s managing director, and it was from that post that he orchestrated the decision to focus all of Umbro’s business around football. In 1992, he handled the deal which saw Umbro UK sold to an American company.
- It was during Kenyon’s gig at Umbro that he first met and worked with Pele, with whom he is still said to have ‘a very warm relationship’. Aaaah, that's nice.
- In December 1996, Kenyon decided to leave Umbro. He claims he hadn’t decided where he would go next, and that he only arranged to meet then-Manchester United chief executive Martin Edwards to inform him of his decision as a courtesy. It was at this meeting with Edwards, having first told him that he was leaving Umbro, that Kenyon was asked to join United.
- In May 1997, Kenyon officially joined United as deputy chief executive. It was a newly created position in which his principal role was to build the ‘Manchester United brand’ internationally. However, it was taken as read he was being groomed as Edwards’ successor. Kenyon has since described it as “a nice apprenticeship".
- Kenyon’s appointment so upset Edward Freedman, Manchester United’s then-head of merchandising, that he left. Freedman was to tell Mihir Bose for his book ‘Manchester Unlimited', that while he thought Kenyon was “very easy-going,“ he also found him “very boring and very corporate. He plays very much by the rules".
- Kenyon has admitted that he supported Rupert Murdoch/Sky’s unsuccssful bid to buy Man United.
- Kenyon, Alex Ferguson reported in his autobiography, was happy to see assistant manager Brian Kidd move on to Blackburn midway through the 1998-99 season because he had "the feeling that every time a job came up they would have to give Brian a new contract".
- Kenyon was at the forefront of the deal which saw Vodafone take on United’s shirt sponsorship to the tune of £30m over four years.
- Kenyon was finally appointed chief executive on August 1 2000, around ten months after taking over from Edwards in all but name. His appointment meant that the top man at Old Trafford wasn’t a member of the Edwards family for the first time in more than 30 years. “Obviously having grown up just eight miles from here, it's a dream job for me," he said at the time. "It's a great opportunity and one that I have been working towards ever since I joined the club.”
- Kenyon is thought to be on in the region of £325,000 a year.
- When he took over as chief executive, he announced that improving ‘communications’ and United’s public image were top of his priority list. "We have learnt from all our overseas forays, and the thing is, we have got to get better at communication. It's our number one priority for 2000," he said.
- To that end, one of Kenyon’s first moves was to appoint Patrick Harverson as the club’s Director of Communications (Harverson was actually the second appointment for the post. The first, Alison Ryan, lasted only days once it emerged that she had been banned from practising law because of ‘serious professional misconduct’, that she claimed that she had a first from Cambridge when she had a second, and that she had also given a false reference).
- Harverson, then working for The Financial Times, was the first journalist to reveal that United, and other clubs, were in talks with Media Partners about forming a new European ‘Super’ League. Before writing the story, Harverson had phoned Edwards, and was told that United hadn’t been approached. In fact, they had, but Kenyon (one of just two United directors to know about Media Partners’ interest at that point) hadn’t told him yet.
- It was during this Super League episode that Kenyon first came to public prominence, with the Daily Mail describing him as: "the man with soccer’s future in his hands".
- As part of his drive to improve relationships with the fans, which included the new United chief watching a match from the Stretford End Tier Two, Kenyon met members of the Independent Manchester United Supporters' Association in a room above a pub in Stretford less than two months after officially taking on the post. At the meeting he pledged: "I will under-promise and over-deliver".
- A year on, IMUSA mused: "So, what's the verdict now? Has Kenyon delivered or not? It is our view that the answer is a resounding NO!" They went on to argue that "Peter 'working class Bolton lad made good' Kenyon is no better than his predecessor, the silver spooned Martin Edwards".
- Kenyon’s reputation - especially with the fans - took a battering in May 2001 when Alex Ferguson threatened to walk out of the club completely after retiring instead of taking on some sort of ‘ambassadorial role’. The two parties couldn’t agree the terms for Fergie’s new role, with Kenyon allegedly telling Jason Ferguson, who was representing his father, that: “He may be a good manager but he doesn't exactly sell the strips, does he?”
- It was Kenyon, at the turn of this year, who began the search for Ferguson’s successor. He told the BBC that: “There is probably one name in my head - but I am not going to share that." And nor did he ever share it, for, as you may have noticed, Fergie decided not to retire. But it’s Kenyon who will, one day, decide who the next ManYoo boss will be.
What He’s Said
- “A lot of our strategy now is figuring out ways to bring the experience of Old Trafford to the rest of the world."
- “Alex Ferguson has unlocked in some magical way the understanding of what Manchester United is all about - winning with style and flair. Everything Manchester United does should be like that."
- “Our is a passion-based brand, a loyalty-based brand. If we don't continue to stoke that passion, reward that loyalty, we still haven't done what we've set out to accomplish."
- “The exciting thing is that 98 percent of our revenue is what we still consider [Britain] based, so we think we're just at the tip of the iceberg."
- [Re: A salary cap] “There is no ready-made format that could be implemented. The US model doesn't apply to football because of the open competition system of relegation and promotion, different club ownership structures and varying national taxation systems."
- "The Premiership already has 20 clubs and some people would say that is already too many."
- "There are values associated with Manchester United that should not be bastardised in any way. Much about United is sacrosanct.”
