It’s hard to believe that the loveable Peter Kenyon has any enemies in this world. However, it appears that one of Chelsea’s former employees has a bone to pick with him and Roman Abramovich, according to the Daily Telegraph.
Paul Smith, not to be confused with the fashion designer, has taken Chelsea to an industrial tribunal, claming that he is owed around £370k after being ousted in July 2007. He held a director position up until this time, but was given the axe and now wants suitable compensation, claiming that he was betrayed by the Blues chief executive. He also has some interesting comments to make about the club’s Russian owner, although they’re hardly surprising.
Yesterday, as the case got under way, Smith spoke of his “sense of betrayal” at the way he was treated by Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon, likening it to the “shabby” way former manager Jose Mourinho was sacked last year.
“I think I did a good job out of adversity in that first year and subsequently and my treatment at the hands of Chelsea has been shabby.
“You will have to ask Jose about his treatment. He got similar treatment.”
He told the tribunal: “Curiously, Mr Kenyon declared that he was sympathetic to my position and believed that Mr Abramovich was so detached from the real world that he didn’t make decisions that would be regarded as rational by the general public.
“Maybe Mr Abramovich thought everyone had their own plane and yacht and he wasn’t familiar with the concept of a mortgage.”
It’s probably a bit far-fetched to suggest Roman thinks everyone has a yacht – after all, they’d be crashing into his all the time if that was the case! Still, it doesn’t paint a very good picture of the good ship Chelsea, who seem to receive more than their fair share of bad publicity. Not very good when you’re trying to rule the world but perhaps evidence that karma is in existence.