Some directors of football (see Steve Walsh right now at Everton) seem to skip through bad times without so much as an angry finger pointed at them. Whereas others, such as Michael Emenalo who recently left Chelsea, often receive blame and have responsibility put upon them for choices which aren’t down to them.
Emenalo helped build and manage Chelsea’s transfer policy over a long period with the club, getting on with his job and providing what Roman Abramovich requested. It’s easy to know Emenalo did what Abramovich requested, given the length of time he stayed at Chelsea.
The director of football is now in a similar role at AS Monaco, and French newspaper L’Equipe have spoken to an agent who kept in touch with Emenalo after a Chelsea transfer.
Explaining Emenalo provided a Chelsea ‘buffer’ between the club’s owner and managers, the agent stated Antonio Conte was fuming with Emenalo at times over transfers, but then every manager was. That’s not meant as a criticism to any involved, but the anger was inevitable given Emenalo was providing that buffer for Abramovich.
“He didn’t have a great playing career, it’s not common to see an African perform such a function, and he had to make the buffer between Abramovich and the coaches. They all wanted to knock him out because they wanted to expand their prerogatives.”
That’s the nature of the job, and it may not be too different at AS Monaco.
