Kevin Thelwell

[Deleted member 4124]

Didnt we try that with Butti, and it caused a huge rift behind the scenes?

Yeah but I wouldn’t be surprised if they tried again, especially with all the old guard gone.

 

[Big Saft Kid]

A compliment, yes, but slightly worrying that we've lost three of the senior figures on the non-playing side of the club in the space of 6 months. Doesn't sound like a very happy ship, given the huge ambition that FOSUN are supposed to have for us as a club. They have been selling 'the project' to the players very successfully, it seems, but have they been selling it to the staff? Having said that, I have always had doubts about Thelwell and his dossiers.

 

[Streathamwolf]

Easily replaced

 

[JayStringer]

Very highly thought of within football. Cannot win with a certain section of our fanbase.

Wolves have had a meteoric rise during his time as DoF/Sporting Director, yet apparently it's all down to everyone else at the club apart from him. When there's a bad result or we don't sign a megastar, everything is down to him.

This strikes me as a very recent move. Fosun put Laurie on gardening leave the moment they found out he'd applied for another job. So signs are that Thelwell has been headhunted and a recent approach made.

Good luck to him. And for us...we move on. It will be interesting to see who Fosun target to fill the vacancy. Fabio Paratici has talked to Premier League clubs in the past and would be a statement of intent, or do they look internally, promote someone from within, or bring in someone Nuno chooses?

 

[Deleted member 5962]

A compliment, yes, but slightly worrying that we've lost three of the senior figures on the non-playing side of the club in the space of 6 months. Doesn't sound like a very happy ship, given the huge ambition that FOSUN are supposed to have for us as a club. They have been selling 'the project' to the players very successfully, it seems, but have they been selling it to the staff? Having said that, I have always had doubts about Thelwell and his dossiers.

The New York job seems ideal for him. Its within the Man City family, and from what Ive seen, theyre mainly aiming at grabbing up youth players, which is what Thelwell is supposedly good at.

 

[Sketchead]

Yeah blaming the sporting director for shortcomings in the sporting department is sooo illogical, right?

The whole club is a sporting department tbf. Just always seemed to be the go-to fall guy if something went wrong. If he was a better public speaker than he is at his actual job, the fans would probably like him more, ala Laurie.

 

[Deleted member 4124]

A compliment, yes, but slightly worrying that we've lost three of the senior figures on the non-playing side of the club in the space of 6 months. Doesn't sound like a very happy ship, given the huge ambition that FOSUN are supposed to have for us as a club. They have been selling 'the project' to the players very successfully, it seems, but have they been selling it to the staff? Having said that, I have always had doubts about Thelwell and his dossiers.

The staff going have all got very different roles though. I’d be slightly worried if they had gone to Everton or Southampton or something, but two going to the US and one switching sports doesn’t really say anything regarding their roles at Wolves.

 

[StraightToPopworld]

BRING BACK BUTTI

 

[Coshamwolves]

Our Jeff the terminator!

 

[JayStringer]

A compliment, yes, but slightly worrying that we've lost three of the senior figures on the non-playing side of the club in the space of 6 months.

My sense -speculation, not ITK- is that Fosun are very demanding to work with and can burn people out. That's neither praise or criticism. I don't really care care how difficult they are if the result is success and growth for my club.

But two other points. Firstly, this is easily a sign of how well the club are doing off the pitch. Key off-field figures are being headhunted for roles elsewhere. Annoying, yes. But how many times in our recent stagnant past would we have killed to be doing so well as to risk our staff being lured away?

Secondly, three in six months could be a worry, agreed, BUT let's look at each of them. One was a Rugby man who applied for a 'dream' job at HIS club, nearer to his home. One was offered a chance to live in Los Angeles...which most people would take. The other was offered a chance to live in New York...which I would take. So, frustrating to lose three key players close together but each one is an understandable decision, and not something we need to worry about as a larger trend...at this point.

 

[Stafford]

Is Kevin really that important?

We always turn to Mendes stable of players and how good are these young lads that are really coming through?

MGW is the most thought of and even he isn’t quite good enough.

The amount of u23s that don’t make the step up let alone hack it out on loan is staggering

You can't just turn to mid range Mendes players and expect them to form a unified top 7 Premier League side in the space of 2 seasons,
Ofcourse lots of research has gone to creating the perfect blend, where players are suited to the system and have the right attitude.

There are loads of examples of Mendes teams failing. It's insulting to not give our recruitment team any credit. This didn't happen by accident. We don't even get Mendes elite players, we get the ones Manu and Spurs don't want

 

[Wolfheart]

If there is one man that is replaceable in the higher echelons of Wolves it’s Thelwell.

what he is expected to do is promote the club and sell wolves to new recruits.

He is awful at communicating and isn’t a likeable face at all.

Need someone much more highly regarded within the footballing spheres with greater contacts than Thelwell offers us.

Wish him the best but really couldn’t care less that he is off .

 

[WasStefan]

Huge loss

why are the US poaching our staff all of a sudden

 

[oldgoldheart]

2?

The doctor left too.

 

[DDPPwolf313]

Well, many wanted it, and now it's happened. An astute replacement required and make no mistake, it's a huge loss behind the scenes until then. Let's hope it turns into an opportunity to grow.

 

[oldgoldheart]

I wonder what fosun are like to work for/with? There has been a lot of churn at the club in all departments. If he isn’t being replaced then Jeff is basically running the show alone. Its a very odd structure already with Jeff calling all the shots. I just hope Nuno stays

 

[Big Saft Kid]

The staff going have all got very different roles though. I’d be slightly worried if they had gone to Everton or Southampton or something, but two going to the US and one switching sports doesn’t really say anything regarding their roles at Wolves.

It possibly says something about an inability to retain good quality staff, e.g. by making them an enhanced offer to hang on to them. But maybe it's just coincidence, it's difficult to tell.

 

[JayStringer]

Need someone much more highly regarded within the footballing spheres with greater contacts than Thelwell offers us.

Would that be the same reputation within footballing spheres that just led a club to create a brand new role and headhunt him? Or the footballing spheres on message boards?

 

[Big Saft Kid]

I'd like to bet the new guy will be one of Mendes's contacts

 

[Keyser Soze]

I suppose if we're going to make a change in this position its the right time to do it, in terms of transfers anyway. Jan window gone and a few months before the summer window opens. Time to get a strong candidate into the role, Fosun say they want the best in the business so now the time to go and do it

If this is the summer we 'go big' we need the right man to lead that in place and well bedded in with our philosophises before its time to make those moves in the transfer market

Perhaps a structure change may come with it as its a good time to do that too, if it's still what Fosun want. Good luck to Thelwell, well respected in the game regardless of his successes and failures with us and it looks like an exciting role (not sure how quickly this must have come about considering his recent promotion to the board) and I hope he does well

All about his replacement then, has to be a big hitter, if all this is true of course

 

[Wolfheart]

Would that be the same reputation within footballing spheres that just led a club to create a brand new role and headhunt him? Or the footballing spheres on message boards?

He is leaving the EPL (biggest league in the world) to help develop a brand within the MLS.

He isn’t going to ****ing Barcelona.

Thelwell is not a type of guy that helps sell a business or company by the way he dresses or the way he communicates. That’s more or less was his position now at Wolves after being promoted.

We lost a top quality MD and Jeff Shi took the reigns on himself, just needed more help from Thelwell as he knew the club and had been there for 10 years.

There is NOTHING special about him that can’t be found elsewhere.

Stop wetting your pants over it.

 

[Deleted member 4124]

It possibly says something about an inability to retain good quality staff, e.g. by making them an enhanced offer to hang on to them. But maybe it's just coincidence, it's difficult to tell.

Are they really that good quality though? None of them have stepped up to an arguably "bigger" role. If we really wanted to keep them we likely would have.

 

[JayStringer]

I'd like to bet the new guy will be one of Mendes's contacts

I mentioned Paratici above. But I think you're right. Michael Emanalo is available, was well regarded at Chelsea, did a decent job up to a point with Monaco, and has worked within the Mendes network.

 

[JayStringer]

He is leaving the EPL (biggest league in the world) to help develop a brand within the MLS.

He isn’t going to ****ing Barcelona.

Thelwell is not a type of guy that helps sell a business or company by the way he dresses or the way he communicates. That’s more or less was his position now at Wolves after being promoted.

We lost a top quality MD and Jeff Shi took the reigns on himself, just needed more help from Thelwell as he knew the club and had been there for 10 years.

There is NOTHING special about him that can’t be found elsewhere.

Stop wetting your pants over it.

Who is wetting their pants? I clearly bow to your expert knowledge of footballing spheres. I assume you're next in line for his job?

 

[JayStringer]

Also, a Wolves-friendly contact at a major MLS club is no bad thing. Good marketing link up, decent training camp and friendly game option.

 

[oldgoldheart]

I doubt very much we will “go big” in the summer. I think the club is a bit shaky. The big signing we need is Nuno

 

[clivewolves]

Huge loss

why are the US poaching our staff all of a sudden

USA trade war with China? Fosun trying to find a vaccine for the coronavirus? Talisca? Somewhere in there we can weave together a conspiracy.

 

[BigSteve]

The last remnants of the old regime have been swept away

But the new regime promoted him to the board....?

 

[Big Saft Kid]

I mentioned Paratici above. But I think you're right. Michael Emanalo is available, was well regarded at Chelsea, did a decent job up to a point with Monaco, and has worked within the Mendes network.

If we get someone with that profile, you can guarantee all the corruption hunters will be out in force again: 'I smell a rat at Molineux' etc. Jeff Stelling even started calling us a Mendes franchise, or some such phrase when Mendes first came on the scene, IIRC

 

[MinsterWolf]

Very interesting this. Let's remember Fosun respected Thelwell enough not just to keep him on when they arrived (would have been easy to bring their own man in), then again after a poor first year, and then to promote him to the Board last summer. Clearly they value him and I imagine he has a lot to do with the running of the football side of the club behind the scenes. A lot of senior people from the football/Academy side moving on over the last year or so if you include Laurie, Phil Hayward, Gareth Prosser and Rob Edwards. The price of progress?

 

[Stafford]

He is leaving the EPL (biggest league in the world) to help develop a brand within the MLS.

He isn’t going to ****ing Barcelona.

Thelwell is not a type of guy that helps sell a business or company by the way he dresses or the way he communicates. That’s more or less was his position now at Wolves after being promoted.

We lost a top quality MD and Jeff Shi took the reigns on himself, just needed more help from Thelwell as he knew the club and had been there for 10 years.

There is NOTHING special about him that can’t be found elsewhere.

Stop wetting your pants over it.

You're talking ****. Thelwell and Dalrymple are opposite sides of the club.

Dalrymple was your salesman sort of figure, a marketer he was there to please the masses on Twitter etc. Thelwell was behind the strategy and has had a far bigger impact to the success of this club. A far greater miss than Dalrymple.

 

[Wolfheart]

Who is wetting their pants? I clearly bow to your expert knowledge of footballing spheres. I assume you're next in line for his job?

what because someone doesn’t give a **** that he is leaving we should believe in your footballing knowledge that we’re losing an absolute gem?

I think you need a reality check. If Wolves didn’t think he was replaceable, do you think we would’ve let him leave?

Maybe you need Jeff Shi’s role and take over Fosun while you’re at it.

 

[DDPPwolf313]

He is leaving the EPL (biggest league in the world) to help develop a brand within the MLS.

He isn’t going to ****ing Barcelona.

Thelwell is not a type of guy that helps sell a business or company by the way he dresses or the way he communicates. That’s more or less was his position now at Wolves after being promoted.

We lost a top quality MD and Jeff Shi took the reigns on himself, just needed more help from Thelwell as he knew the club and had been there for 10 years.

There is NOTHING special about him that can’t be found elsewhere.

Stop wetting your pants over it.

I'd love to know where you've got this load of rubbish from?

 

[JamesWolves]

The New York job seems ideal for him. Its within the Man City family, and from what Ive seen, theyre mainly aiming at grabbing up youth players, which is what Thelwell is supposedly good at.

He's going to the NY Red Bulls not City, Red Bulls are as it says part of the Red Bull carousel of clubs.

Losing staff to US clubs isnt really nothing of concern, I mean Hayward is gonna be on a huge wage in LA I'd be jumping ship the same if I could. Just a shame the MLS is going backwards and not forwads

 

[Wolfheart]

You're talking ****. Thelwell and Dalrymple are opposite sides of the club.

Dalrymple was your salesman sort of figure, a marketer he was there to please the masses on Twitter etc. Thelwell was behind the strategy and has had a far bigger impact to the success of this club. A far greater miss than Dalrymple.

Is he ****.

 

[Wolfheart]

I'd love to know where you've got this load of rubbish from?

Give it a rest Kevin. Enjoy New York. Won’t be missed.

 

[Mrs E]

what because someone doesn’t give a **** that he is leaving we should believe in your footballing knowledge that we’re losing an absolute gem?

I think you need a reality check. If Wolves didn’t think he was replaceable, do you think we would’ve let him leave?

Maybe you need Jeff Shi’a role and take over Fosun while you’re at it.

How do you stop someone from leaving if that's what they want to do just out of interest?

 

[Pessimistic Wolf]

It's interesting how many posters are so knowledgeable about Kevin Thelwell and his specific abilities and contributions to the club. I wouldn't have been able to make those inferences, as I don't work in the industry or have an in-depth knowledge of how the club runs day to day.

Some very learned people on this forum!

 

[Wolfheart]

How do you stop someone from leaving if that's what they want to do just out of interest?

Money.

And if Money doesn’t solve it. If he does want to leave, then who gives a flying ****.

Exactly the same with players.

Who cares if he is leaving.

 

[beppe7619]

I'd like to bet the new guy will be one of Mendes's contacts

It might be mendes