'More than football' - Susan Whelan opens up on Leicester City role in rare interview

[davieG]

https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/leicester-city-susan-whelan-ceo-6891135

 

Leicester City CEO Susan Whelan has spoken about running the club and what it means to the community in a rare media interview with the Irish Times

ByLuke PawleyMidlands Football Writer
08:45, 1 APR 2022

Leicester City chief executive Susan Whelan has explained why she "loves" her job at the club.

Whelan has been in the CEO role since King Power bought Leicester City from Milan Mandaric in 2010. During that time, she has overseen promotion from the Championship, the great escape, the Premier League miracle, FA Cup glory and three seasons of European football.

It is refreshing to hear that the club recognise what they mean to the community of Leicester and Leicestershire more widely, with Whelan also explaining the hardest aspect of running a football club.

Read more: Brendan Rodgers can implement Leicester City plan against Manchester United after year-long wait

Read more: Vardy, Thomas, Albrighton – Leicester City injury news ahead of Manchester United clash

“Of course I love it," Whelan told the Irish Times. "The buzz of a match day is very important. Being able to do the charity side of things, the business, the retail, the hospitality, it’s quite all-encompassing and it’s really great fun.

“It’s how much it means to so many people. It’s so important to remember that. It is for the community and for the fans and that is something that is really important. The visibility of a football club is very different to other businesses from that point of view.

“I think the hardest bit is the fact that there is so much that is outside your control. You have all of the infrastructure in place for success and all of the things that should guarantee success, but because it is sport there is no guarantee of the outcome. I suppose that’s what makes it exciting, but in other businesses you have a lot more levers you can pull to influence what the outcome is. When it’s sport it’s not quite as easy.

"We built it up slowly because we never wanted to be subject to terrible crises if there was a change in our league position. People depend on us for their mortgages, for their livelihoods, for all of those things.”

There is a spirit at Leicester City, among staff and players alike, that is different to what you hear of many other clubs. There is a family feel, a community spirit and a togetherness which makes the club unique in so many ways.

Whelan said: "During the pandemic we didn’t let any of the staff go, we didn’t furlough them, we kept them together, we got them doing outreach stuff into the community to keep them occupied and doing something beneficial.

“I always say to my own team that we have to be about more than football. You can’t win every single weekend and you have to represent something that is bigger than a single result or set of results. We’re very fortunate that we can make – it sounds very cliched – a positive difference to people’s lives sometimes. You hear someone is unwell and you can invite them down to the training ground.”

[davieG]

The original article but you have to register

 

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer/english-soccer/meet-the-howth-woman-playing-a-leading-role-at-leicester-city-1.4836235?mode=sample&auth-failed=1&pw-origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fsport%2Fsoccer%2Fenglish-soccer%2Fmeet-the-howth-woman-playing-a-leading-role-at-leicester-city-1.4836235

[sylofox]

On 01/04/2022 at 10:36, davieG said:

https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/leicester-city-susan-whelan-ceo-6891135

 

Leicester City CEO Susan Whelan has spoken about running the club and what it means to the community in a rare media interview with the Irish Times

ByLuke PawleyMidlands Football Writer
08:45, 1 APR 2022

Leicester City chief executive Susan Whelan has explained why she "loves" her job at the club.

Whelan has been in the CEO role since King Power bought Leicester City from Milan Mandaric in 2010. During that time, she has overseen promotion from the Championship, the great escape, the Premier League miracle, FA Cup glory and three seasons of European football.

It is refreshing to hear that the club recognise what they mean to the community of Leicester and Leicestershire more widely, with Whelan also explaining the hardest aspect of running a football club.

Read more: Brendan Rodgers can implement Leicester City plan against Manchester United after year-long wait

Read more: Vardy, Thomas, Albrighton – Leicester City injury news ahead of Manchester United clash

“Of course I love it," Whelan told the Irish Times. "The buzz of a match day is very important. Being able to do the charity side of things, the business, the retail, the hospitality, it’s quite all-encompassing and it’s really great fun.

“It’s how much it means to so many people. It’s so important to remember that. It is for the community and for the fans and that is something that is really important. The visibility of a football club is very different to other businesses from that point of view.

“I think the hardest bit is the fact that there is so much that is outside your control. You have all of the infrastructure in place for success and all of the things that should guarantee success, but because it is sport there is no guarantee of the outcome. I suppose that’s what makes it exciting, but in other businesses you have a lot more levers you can pull to influence what the outcome is. When it’s sport it’s not quite as easy.

"We built it up slowly because we never wanted to be subject to terrible crises if there was a change in our league position. People depend on us for their mortgages, for their livelihoods, for all of those things.”

There is a spirit at Leicester City, among staff and players alike, that is different to what you hear of many other clubs. There is a family feel, a community spirit and a togetherness which makes the club unique in so many ways.

Whelan said: "During the pandemic we didn’t let any of the staff go, we didn’t furlough them, we kept them together, we got them doing outreach stuff into the community to keep them occupied and doing something beneficial.

“I always say to my own team that we have to be about more than football. You can’t win every single weekend and you have to represent something that is bigger than a single result or set of results. We’re very fortunate that we can make – it sounds very cliched – a positive difference to people’s lives sometimes. You hear someone is unwell and you can invite them down to the training ground.”

I think that just confirms to us what we already know.

 

The club is run right from top to bottom.

[sacreblueits442]

2 hours ago, sylofox said:

I think that just confirms to us what we already know.

 

The club is run right from top to bottom.

.. you must have missed the "PSV UPDATE"  thread!!!

[sylofox]

1 hour ago, sacreblueits442 said:

.. you must have missed the "PSV UPDATE"  thread!!!

Not at all. But we are never all going to agree with everything.

 

That dont mean it's being run wrong.

[foxes_rule1978]

Nice read that, she has done a lot for our club 😊 

[sacreblueits442]

4 minutes ago, sylofox said:

Not at all. But we are never all going to agree with everything.

 

That dont mean it's being run wrong.

....not having a go at the club, just that having gone through the thread, there are a few aspects of the way the club is run which needs to be addressed!!!

Communication is something that needs to be addressed as a matter of some urgency, as many feels that they are not being listened to. For all the good that they have given us, it is clear that all is not that it should be.

[Clever Fox]

You don't get to where we are as a Club without a CEO as good as she is. She's possibly the best in the league.

[TrentFox]

I think she’s outstanding, as much as one can tell from the outside. 

[Spudulike]

On 01/04/2022 at 10:36, davieG said:

https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/leicester-city-susan-whelan-ceo-6891135

 

Leicester City CEO Susan Whelan has spoken about running the club and what it means to the community in a rare media interview with the Irish Times

ByLuke PawleyMidlands Football Writer
08:45, 1 APR 2022

Leicester City chief executive Susan Whelan has explained why she "loves" her job at the club.

Whelan has been in the CEO role since King Power bought Leicester City from Milan Mandaric in 2010. During that time, she has overseen promotion from the Championship, the great escape, the Premier League miracle, FA Cup glory and three seasons of European football.

It is refreshing to hear that the club recognise what they mean to the community of Leicester and Leicestershire more widely, with Whelan also explaining the hardest aspect of running a football club.

Read more: Brendan Rodgers can implement Leicester City plan against Manchester United after year-long wait

Read more: Vardy, Thomas, Albrighton – Leicester City injury news ahead of Manchester United clash

“Of course I love it," Whelan told the Irish Times. "The buzz of a match day is very important. Being able to do the charity side of things, the business, the retail, the hospitality, it’s quite all-encompassing and it’s really great fun.

“It’s how much it means to so many people. It’s so important to remember that. It is for the community and for the fans and that is something that is really important. The visibility of a football club is very different to other businesses from that point of view.

“I think the hardest bit is the fact that there is so much that is outside your control. You have all of the infrastructure in place for success and all of the things that should guarantee success, but because it is sport there is no guarantee of the outcome. I suppose that’s what makes it exciting, but in other businesses you have a lot more levers you can pull to influence what the outcome is. When it’s sport it’s not quite as easy.

"We built it up slowly because we never wanted to be subject to terrible crises if there was a change in our league position. People depend on us for their mortgages, for their livelihoods, for all of those things.”

There is a spirit at Leicester City, among staff and players alike, that is different to what you hear of many other clubs. There is a family feel, a community spirit and a togetherness which makes the club unique in so many ways.

Whelan said: "During the pandemic we didn’t let any of the staff go, we didn’t furlough them, we kept them together, we got them doing outreach stuff into the community to keep them occupied and doing something beneficial.

“I always say to my own team that we have to be about more than football. You can’t win every single weekend and you have to represent something that is bigger than a single result or set of results. We’re very fortunate that we can make – it sounds very cliched – a positive difference to people’s lives sometimes. You hear someone is unwell and you can invite them down to the training ground.”

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