RON Gourlay might have a name redolent of 1970s adult films, but he's a forward-thinking kind of guy. The Scot is now swigging from the poisoned chalice that was Peter Kenyon's job as chief executive at Chelsea, and has issued the workforce with a few business targets. Two Champions Cups in the next five years in short, although he acknowledged that all that Kenyon guff about being self-sufficient by 2010 wasn't going to happen.
Even post-Kenyon, Chelsea's image remains that of vulgar super-rich upstarts demanding respect from the venerable buffers in the Premier League elite. From Gourlay to Joe Cole there is a consensus that the only way to earn that degree of coveted grav
itas is to win the big cup – and win it regularly. It must be galling to recall that if John Terry had been able to keep himself upright for half-a-second two years ago, they would be a member of that privileged cadre already.
Understandably given contrasting roles drumming up commercial interest and providing deft passes from midfield, Gourlay and Cole's perspectives are somewhat different. Gourlay regards European success as a key part of Chelsea's attempts to match Manchester United's commercial clout in Asia and the USA. Cole just wants recognition for the ultimate football achievement in club football (Fifa's World Club Championship is still suspect in European terms, even if the South Americans take it seriously).
Gourlay, like Kenyon, honed his football business reputation at United, still the yardstick for any commercial operation within the sport. As current champions, they are also the yardstick for success on the field, that realm of the inexact science of winning games, that just happens to underpin the business of selling replica shirts to the fickle consumers of Shanghai or Saigon.
Tomorrow's showdown at Stamford Bridge (until Gourlay can flog the naming rights) finds Chelsea in an advantageous position, in terms of form, league position, consistency and general tactical cohesion. Carlo Ancelotti's appointment at Chelsea is entirely due to two results, from 2003 and 2007, in the finals of the Champions League. A penalty shootout win over Juventus and a 2-1 victory over Liverpool were slender enough, but they marked Ancelotti as a Champions League winning coach. It is an achievement that was also on the CV of Jose Mourinho, but Mourinho couldn't repeat it at Chelsea. Ancelotti is there to win the European title, but seems to have instilled a discipline and team spirit at Stamford Bridge that could take the title from a United side disjointed and blunted by the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo.
The two sides both experienced eventful draws in the Champions League in midweek without having to worry about damaging their chances of progression. Both showed resilience in scoring twice in the closing minutes. It rather depends on the managers as to how the players interpret the matches' outcome.
United will either take heart from their ability to salvage their unbeaten record at Old Trafford with two goals in the last six minutes, or will brood on the defensive uncertainties that put them 3-1 behind against CSKA Moscow. Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, neither of whom had been playing anywhere near their best, could also miss out on Sunday's game, although Vidic is hopeful of making a recovery. Their deputies, Wes Brown and Jonny Evans looked far from comfortable against CSKA. Their prospects against the daunting strike-pairing of Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba wouldn't be too rosy.
If Ronaldo is the most conspicuously-missed attacking element from United's side this season, it could be argued that the continued absence of Owen Hargreaves is as significant from a defensive point of view. United lack a credible alternative as a defensive holding midfielder. While Hargreaves provided cover, endless energy and effective tackling, Michael Carrick is more of a floating quarterback figure, offering visionary passing and neat distribution, but little of Hargreaves's harrying presence. Darren Fletcher has papered over the cracks, but it isn't his natural role, and he has his own injury problems. A soft-centred midfield is an alarming ingredient at any time, but against a Chelsea line built around the robust trio of Michael Essien, Frank Lampard and Michael Ballack, seasoned with the invention of Cole or Deco or Florent Malouda, it looks a recipe for disappointment.
The indications are that Ancelotti has a Plan B, and probably a C and D, too. Sir Alex Ferguson, lacking tactical alternatives, has to rely on the fitness and form of key players like Ferdinand, Vidic and Wayne Rooney, wait for Hargreaves, and treasure his club's peerless capacity for heroic escapes.
On form, tomorrow's result should bring a smile to Gourlay, as he contemplates the commercial impact of a Chelsea win in those key markets across South-East Asia and North America. A five-point lead in the Premier League would buy a lot of respect.
