Manly's budget may be much less than the $500 million he had to play with at Chelsea but new Sea Eagles chief executive Joe Kelly is adamant he can bring the stability the club needs to turn it into a major off-field force.
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Kelly spent five years with the football giants, including a stint as group financial controller, before joining South Sydney as their chief financial officer in 2007.
He learnt the importance of membership at the Rabbitohs and wants to grow the Sea Eagles fan base.
"Souths have developed a really good business model off the field," Kelly said. "Their membership is strong. Members are key to the other panels of the business. They have a good community aspect. I take that from Souths and my time in the UK. At Chelsea I finished up across the whole capacity [of the club], which included looking after the precinct around the stadium, which was about getting people into the venue more than just when home games are played. It's about [making] the stadium sustainable."
Kelly replaces David Perry, who spent three and a half years as the Sea Eagles' general manager.
A northern beaches resident, Kelly has spent the past 18 years in sports administration. He has watched in awe of Manly's achievements on the field despite the off-field turmoil.
"I'm very emotional," Kelly said. "I've known the Penn family for a while now. Football is a small place. You tend to have the pleasure of each other's company at games when you play against each other. From there the conversations have grown. It got to a point where they knew who I was, and when the appropriate time came they were very quick to make a move, and I was very quick to accept.
"As long as we improve every day and everyone internally is working together. The word 'team' is very powerful but we want that unified approach. For me really, it's about moving the business forward and being able to grow the resources for the football department."
One of his first tasks will be signing halves Daly Cherry-Evans and Kieran Foran to long-term deals at the club following the departure of veterans Glenn Stewart and Anthony Watmough. Kelly said it was "absolutely" important to keep the pair at the club.
"In any good team, they halves are instrumental in terms of the future," Kelly said. "I haven't met the guys yet. The first things [for me to do] is actually meet them."
