Arsenal’s second largest shareholder, Alisher Usmanov, claims that Thierry Henry is urging him to force a takeover of the club by buying up ‘all’ of Arsenal’s shares.
Speaking to L’Equipe, the Uzbeki billionaire said, “I like many footballers, and I’m in contact with some of them. Perhaps my favourite of the last ten, 15 years is Thierry Henry. He’s pushing me to buy all of Arsenal’s shares, but I cannot predict the future.”
Nor, indeed, can he buy all the shares unless Stan Kroenke decides to sell them. Arseblog News loves Thierry Henry for what he did on the pitch but this kind of behind the scenes political manouvering seems a bit grotty to us. But then you remember Henry’s best friend is Darren Dein, whose father is David Dein, the ex-vice chairman who sold his shares to Usmanov for £75m in 2007.
There were reports last month of meetings between Henry and Usmanov in Moscow after the pair attended a charity dinner together.
Usmanov continued, “When I had the chance to buy some shares and become one of the main shareholders in the club, I didn’t hesitate for a second. I was even ready to take total control. That wasn’t possible because certain people preferred to make a profit and create, using me, an outside enemy. I remain portrayed as a pirate, an enemy. They have won that game.”
He also gave his backing to manager Arsene Wenger, of whom he is a big supporter and, given his association with Dein, if he did somehow take over the club, it’s unthinkable that he would make any change there.
“For me, he’s one of the best coaches in the world, but it’s not easy for him,” Usmanov said. “I think he deserves that players are brought in at Arsenal when they’re needed.”
Which ignores the fact that there is money at Arsenal, it’s just that Arsene Wenger seems reluctant spend it. Usmanov’s latest broadside really contains nothing new, it’s the same populist mantra we’ve heard from him in the past and will, no doubt, hear again.
We can’t help but feel sad that Arsenal Football Club is in the hands of a man who appears to see it as little more than an investment vehicle, showing precious little ambition to make the club as good as it can be, and the only other option is one which makes many people uneasy because of the man in question.
Can we, one one hand, bemoan the effect that sugar-daddy owners have on football, wages, ticket prices, and so on, and then court the advances of a bottomless billionaire on the other?
Especially when many of our current problems could be solved by just using what we have.
I’d prefer Usmanov to Kroenke. At least Usmanov would probably force Wenger to sign more players (and no Chamakhs and Squillacis).
Neither being in charge is ultimately all that good for the club in the long term, but Kroenke is just a waste of space who’s only interested in using Arsenal to fill his own pockets.
And do you think Usmanov would stay out of team affairs? I think your statement about forcing Wenger to sign players answers that. I am not saying one would be better than the other, just that Usmanov seems to like the spotlight
There are a tons of oligarchs in football. And not everybody intervenes in team affairs.
But both men should go away from this club.
Well, he seems like someone who at least gives a rat’s ass about the club as opposed to Kroenke. And who says that interfering in the club’s affairs every now and then is a bad thing? The way I see it, if he is in charge, he will take more interest in running the club and strive for success – which in my opinion is exactly what Wenger is trying to do. So, if we have two people who want the same thing, at the helm of the club, then tell me how that is a bad thing?
I didnt say “the club’s affairs”, you wrote that. I said “the teams affairs”. So yes, I dont think its a good idea having someone with no experience in professional football management interfering in team affairs. Dont you?
I agree. If we have to be owned by someone, I’d far rather it was someone who just sat on the shares and let the club get on with things.
Rather than, say, someone who buys expensive but crap marquee players because their agent’s a clever weasel and invents an excuse to sack the manager every third week.
They’re both cunts really, but cunts in their own special way.
The grass is always greener on the other side eh? What could possibly go wrong?
It’s hard to know where to point the finger because there’s so much wrong with how we’re run at the moment. The scuffle in the away end at Brighton over the weekend just indicates how divided we all are and how strongly we feel about what’s going on.
That’s not to say Usmanov’s ownership would be any better though. I couldn’t stand to see us turn into Chelsea.
This Usmanov character seems to be under the impression that the supporters want a sugar daddy controlling the Arse like a expensive play thing that they can gloat on when they gather for a circle jerk. Clearly compensating. Well…..do we really want that?? I dont. Not sure bout the rest of you. Why the fuck is Henry getting involved in this for? And does this Usmanov character really really think the fans will welcome it cause its endorsed by Henry. You got your statue , move along. Get your coaching badge or go be a pundit or something for fucks… Read more »
If the grass is greener on the other side, then the guy with the greener grass doesn’t think your grass is greener, now does he?
I’ll get me coat..
I have just 2 words for you: Rafa Benitez.
Forcing your manager to buy players….yeah that a recipe for success!
Chelsea did it and won the champions league so what are you talking about
Maybe ask Roberto di Matteo that question.
He hasn’t said that he will force us to buy players. Just look at the facts: For the past 4-5 years we have had a surplus in the transfer market and I don’t even mind that – given the handicapped situation we are in due to the massive investment in the stadium, however, we cannot lose our best players every year! You can’t cite wage ceilings as a reason when you are willing to play 100k a week to Walcott. If Walcott gets that much money RvP deserved every penny he was demanding. If Usmanov says that this won’t happen… Read more »
Are you doing your happy dance when Venger says we have enough quality?
I mean get your facts right. Everyone here is complaining about lack of quality and yet we hear crap like ‘oh he is going to force Venger to buy players and that is bad’
Can you hear yourself what you are saying here?
I find it funny that people forget certain things so quickly. When Kroenke took over, the impression we all got is a takeover was inevitable, and it was just a question of who would take over, In the end people took sides and the majority supported Kroenke because he seemed more genuine and Usmanov came off as a bit of crook, as he says here himself. Almost all of us wanted Kroenke, and still most of us don’t want Usmanov. Stan said when he took over that he would leave the job to carry on running the club, since he… Read more »
*leave the job of running the club to the board
“Almost all of us wanted Kroenke”
Any proof of this?
I don’t like the fat fucker, but all the talk about his shady past is ridiculous when people see Kroenke as some kind of impeccable businessman.
So, if you give the chance to Usmanov, who continously said he will strengthen the squad (not the bank account), you may get what you wish for, like trophies may be?
And we’ll end up like Chelski. Usmanov doesn’t look like the patient type.
I’m not the fucking patient type! Seven years of this shit is long enough, we’ve only been goin in one direction, down. Not the time to be patient, time we stopped losing our best players because of the bargain buys the squad is patched together with.
How do you know Usmanov will turn us to Chelsea? Have you heard press confress of Abramovic? He doesn’t say what his plan is to the supporters, and yet he makes changes. Usmanov already put his plan on the table, and eager to strengthen the squad. It is hard to imagine any Arsenal supporter being happy with Kronke, really.
How fucking dare you say anything remotely positive about Usamanov on this site?!
look, i don’t know much because i’m not really from England, and have just been interested in Arsenal ever since i started watching football around the turn of the millenium… not a “real” fan. but it wasn’t like Arsenal were the most successful club or something like that for me to attach myself to it – there was just something else about the club. i recently read somewhere when reading about the history of English football that Arsenal have always been considered a club of gentleman. the “Bank of England” club. not the elite, but the gentry. class. standards. a… Read more »
Sir, I agree. The club should stand for class, skill, and integrity. Paying through the nose via some sugar daddy, forgoing a meritocratic wage structure, and keeping unsavory disruptive characters in the squad is not the club I want to support. There will always be something frustrating with the Arsenal, some flaw we will always find- the Invincibles lost, after all, and we broken up- but to succeed in our own style is ideal. I don’t want to root for a Citeh or Chelski petro-club. I don’t want some boozy, shouty manager who wants large men to play simple Route… Read more »
I applaud thee! Bravo.. Bravo.. Couldn’t have said it better.
That was for Jai Jawan Jai Kisan btw..
I would take Uzzy! He is much connected to our club. He says he likes Venger. So, he will accept venger’s wishes. This guy is professional with his business. Not once have I read chelsea’s owner going to the press on his clubs plan, hence the distraction we all know related with them. At least, this guy came out to show to the fans he cares. I don’t see the relationship b/n him and chelsea. Now, are you all happy with Kronke? if yes then stop bitching the board. If no, then start supporting Usmanov. You can’t be unhappy about… Read more »
You will read in Wengers future topseller diary that Kroenke is behind all this saving of money. Be so sure. Why would Wenger make it harder for himself to win titles? He’s a winner through and through. No man chose to deliberately going through what he is going through at the moment.
Part of me thinks he would choose to go through what he is at the moment. Wait… wait come back, hear me out, I’m not nuts I promise! I think this because he is stubborn. I think he really wanted to be known as the manager who won the PL with a very young, very cheap side and he had a brutal reluctance to give up on this. This has changed recently, but I still think there is an element of wanting to make a great team and not buy it. He wants players to join and become better, he… Read more »
The problem there is we won’t win the league that way. When he turns them into the finished article they forget what he has done for them whine the squad isn’t good enough and fuck off.
Here is a simple example. If Wenger wanted a player like, say Mata, which he did. Then he and the scouts identify the player and the club approach the player. Who deals with the negotiations? It’s not just Wenger, there’s a team for that. And who do they report to? Not just Wenger, there’s a finance team for that? And who do they report to? The board, who now report to the owner. Does that make sense? Kind of. Look at someone like Chambo who we did sign for a slightly substantial fee for his age. A signing like this… Read more »
Wenger has enough power and strength at the club to say Kroenke is being a tight get. Think its a bit of both Greedy board stubborn manager. As for Usmanov well we just don’t know. Could he be worse than the silent one.
Now I want the board to pull out the cheque books too but really, are they actually greedy when we’re being one of the few financially responsible teams in the premier league who are trying to remove a debt? A debt that peaked at £400+mill in 2008 and last year was down to £90+m. It would be great to spend, but if anything I think the board are morons for not sorting out better commercial deals from the get go, I doubt the board are greedy (well, AS greedy as people are quick to presume). Chelski have spent £1+billion in… Read more »
I don’t think there will ever be a Wenger book. He has way too much respect for the club and the people he works with to dish dirt on them. As much of an amazing read it would probably be I don’t see it ever happening.
Wenger’s also an economist who thinks of ‘fair value’
I have no doubt that whoever the owner, he will act in the market the way he now does.
Basically, he won’t pay above market rates, which means above the price that would be likely be charged if the distortions of oil money does not enter into the equation.
And I’m completely behind him on this. Principled stewardship of the club over filthy lucre, but I know many would disagree with me.
I have this theory: Venger is a all about proving people wrong. He will spend on unknown players and likes to make them shiny. Now, that part of his game went A.Santos! So, he is reluctant to spend on players of average quality and with the current market, price is untouchable for finished articles. He does not want to bring players that are in it for the money (appparently, they are the once we needed). So, there is no dilema about his situation. He is afraid even quality players loose their form, and his investment will go to waist. He… Read more »
Anybody else reading Usmanov’s quote with Russian accent?
What, while he slowly strokes a white cat, whilst seated on a leather chair, behind an enormous desk, with the journalist tugging nervously at his collar and wincing every time he glances through the metal grilled floor under his chair, through which he can see and hear several vicious, ravenous crocodiles snapping their large jaws, hungry for meat – human journalist meat?
Er, nope.
No, with a Hutt accent.
Do you think Usmanov would free Han Solo if he was allowed a seat on the board??
Lol, I can’t not read it that way now. Jabba the Hutt – brilliant synonym.
Oh no! Money!? a team with van Persie, Fabregas, Flamini, Nasri, Mata, Toure, etc.? that would be terrible! let’s stay with the St. Louis Rams guy, and wonder aloud: will Jack look better in Chelsea blue, or City blue?
Yes, because that’s what it’s all about.
I’m no fan of Stan but over-simplification of the situation like this doesn’t do any good either.
Isn’t “Russian bad – American good” also an over simplification? At least KWE have had a chance to show their intentions for Arsenal – “Fiddling while Rome burns”
It does raise an interesting point though. In 1 or 2 seasons, Jack will start getting seriously courted and despite putting pen-to-paper, he will inevitably start to take notice. We seem to be in a perpetual state of rebuilding (yes I know the likes of Man Utd and Chelski are too, but they have a core of key players which seems to remain constant), so I’d like to see our intentions made to the league by signing and keeping a couple of fucking amazing players. Will that happen without the influence of the owner? Doubt it. Simplified? You betcha, but… Read more »
With respect Blogs, you do a fair bit of over-simplification yourself when you summarise Arsenal’s entire situation with sentences like this: “Which ignores the fact that there is money at Arsenal, it’s just that Arsene Wenger seems reluctant [to] spend it.” Saying things like this gives the impression that the board has laid out piles upon piles of dosh, and stubborn old Wenger’s just waving it away like a plate of inferior-quality camembert. While I have no doubt that Wenger has given his personal backing to a path of restricted spending, the restricted spending is transparently a club policy that… Read more »
To be honest, based on the evidence so far from premier league owners, Russian bad- American good does not stand so true.
Fair enough, Cyril – my point was based on this transfer window though, and that I know there’s money for Arsene to spend, but he has, until now, chosen not to.
Cyril Washbrook you are beautiful.
Fantastic Cyril, brilliantly laid out!
I agree with Cyrils anaylsis as the most likely “reality” of the situation. It will probably not get read by many on here as it has too many words, none of which are abusive. I saw somewhere else this morning a blogger use the analogy of a child wandering around Hamleys Toy Store blindly screaming !I want something” until it ends up puce in the face and hanging off a display threatening to throw itself on the floor. Pretty much sums up most of the comments I have seen since January 1st. The club must have a list of target… Read more »
Because that’s what we’d get from Usmanov, right? Free money! With nothing expected in return! And it’s not like any of those big take overs from wealthy old men with opaque histories has ever gone a bit tits up is it?
Also, pretty sure he is the ‘largest’ shareholder, blogs.
mata? since when are we counting mata as one of ours? because we tried to sign him but he went elsewhere?
why not add ronaldo and messi to that list?
how about sahin? we tried to sign him but he went on loan to liverpool, was he such a success?
and dont forget adebayor on your list of ‘greats’, we got £25m for that sucker
That was seriously funny. I have no doubt that even jack can be sold. I like Arsenal as a well run club so i think best think is to wait and see what effect FFP has. If it doesn’t level the playing field then a passionate billionaire owner might just be the only way out. If it does then stan and wenger can be left to their devices
I wish some of you 12 year olds would fuck off and support City or something. Football has always been about peaks and troughs, highs and lows. You can’t win something every damn season.
To be quite honest, dont think Jack can be sold whoever be it the one deciding it. There’s a need for the player to sign a contract and our splendid Jack’s heart beats for Arsenal. Finally I feel I have a player whom I can immortalise in our hearts after all those DNA boys and cunts.
No, you can’t win something every year, but when you support a top club like Arsenal and pay good (very f***ing good) money, you expect the team – from players to the board – to try to win something every year. I am astounded by the lack of desire from the board and would like to see a change. The board vehemently highlights our economic stability and how it will help us run in the long run – but the fact of the matter is that ManU have been doing this for years. And, if we truly believe that we… Read more »
“You can’t win something every damn season.”
No, that’s true. But you’d think we could beat Birmingham in a cup final, wouldn’t you.
The vast majority of players you’ve just listed were sold before Stan bought us, though.
Trouble is, we’d have to change the home shirts and play in blue.
I believe it’s a rule that if you’re going to be a bunch of cunts who buy trophies, you have to wear a blue strip.
it’s the board.
unfortunately, that isn’t how the world works, young man. “if only”s are mere rhetoric and amount to nothing in this vicious football world (politically & economically). frankly, it isn’t just a sport anymore.
kroenke/ usmanov/ anyone else… you really can’t know what you’re getting into. and one is as good/ bad as the other…
i’m just glad that we have Arsene. he makes you want to believe that this is indeed a beautiful sport. the man is clearly idealistic, and it’s just beautiful… like a Dennis Bergkamp goal… sigh…
I’ll need a tissue after that.
Willing to bet that Usmanov is Arsenal’s largest shareholder by a good 7 or 8 stone.
Cant wait to read Wenger’s autobiography when it eventually comes out, so we can all learn whats REALLY been going on behind the scenes.
Only way we’ll ever know.
It won’t come out.
Kroenke is playing a game with Arsenal.He’s bought shares and is now biding his time as their value increases.I read somewhere he can make a 250m profit if he sells up in a few years which i find disgusting.A football club shouldn’t be an investment vehicle.
Usmanov repeatedly uses the word investment in his statements. He would be looking for return on his investment, hasnt he previously refererred to making dividend payments. The Board decided Kronke was the lesser of two evils and brought him on board. They would have made this decision after undertaking appropriate due diligence on both men. Like it or not football clubs are businesses, alway have been, it is just the Revenue streams are much larger today.
That is true only if the club is worth more pal, if we under perform for a number of years, not only will he be funding his “investment” it will likely be worth less, giving an inherent risk in the trade.
If we underachieve and this is the case it will not have much of an effect on arsenal as a whole, but could be very detrimental (monetary wise) for Stan, hence reading the Daily Fail tell you he will make £250m profit is both speculation and likely nonsense.
Jesus, if he only wanted to make money, he would have bought shares in google or apple instead of buying major shares in Arsenal. He is a major shareholder in Metalloinvest (I just wiki’d this to prove a point – I know, and I am sorry) and the net income from his investment there is approximately 1 billion USD a year. Given I do not know how much of that company he legitimately own I will go for a conservative (IMO) figure of 10% and claim that he makes 100 million USD a year from that company. And this is… Read more »
Fuck off stan….!!! At least Usmanov is saying all the right things. Unlike that fucking cock of a cowboy.
The guy in your user name used to say all the right things, too.
Talk is cheap.
Henry actually even in the same room with scumanov? pix or didn’t happen
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/thierry-henry-forms-alliance-with-alisher-usmanov-to-pile-pressure-on-embattled-arsenal-board-8413636.html
No pics, but widely reported
Usmanov told L’Equipe: “There are a few Arsenal players whom I am in contact with and my favourite is probably Thierry Henry.”
“W…w.. what about me boss?” said Usmanov grunt David Bentley.
“Shut up ratboy”
“Hissssss”
it can all be BS..we know usmanov is full of it..
Is Wenger playing the “kamikaze warrior” thing? He’s virtually killing himself. For what? To set up stan? Is there a bigger picture to this? A conspiracy? Against whom?
So you would rather be known as Arski? The current board is setting the team up to be self sufficient and not require the input of a billionaire. Only problem is that there are black scarf loving morons like yourself who have no patience for tomorrow. I am not a fan of Stan, but I am a fan of the model they are building. Much better than the situation Chelsea and City will find themselves when the billionaire gets board and wants a new toy.
A little harsh. The one thing they also have, is success…. Just balancing the arguement.
@steve 1)please dont pull that hyper used joke of self sustaining model …is the arsenal only club who wants to self sustain.give me a break! There are so many teams who have invested heavily and yet remain higher then arsenal in riches. 2) dont hypothise. Who told you these so called sugar daddies will get bored and leave chelsea, mancity, psgs high and dry. Do you have an insider or are you some fortune teller. what if kroenke breaks this club into peices and sells them can you guarantee that. 3) Just embrace the reality. I am jealous of these… Read more »
@Bobby-Sue We had success too. Who’s to say we won’t have more 10, 20, 30 years down the line? You’ve drawn up a a correlation, but it’s a correlation made out of a sample of the last 6-7 years only. A sustainable model is meant to last us for longer than that. @wengers funny transfer window 1) Fucking nonsense. There are only 5 clubs that have higher revenues than us and only 4 of them are self-sustaining – Real Madrid, Barcelona, Man Utd and Bayern Munich. The fifth, Chelsea, is nowhere near self-sustaining. The four clubs mention have a longer… Read more »
@wengers funny transfer window
Also, saying, “dont put comments which has been over used by board and the manager. it has become repulsively boring and ancient”, only goes to show how fucking short-sighted you are.
“Ancient”, the last 4-5 years is considered “ancient” to you? Arsenal has been around for more than a century, so take your fucking relative timescales back home and reflect on its short, insignificant length.
Ok, I really do not understand these prevailing views. Firstly, let us consider Abrahimovich (I think I got the spelling wrong – but hopefully you know of whom I speak). He has invested $1 billion in Chelsea and during his 9 year tenure at the club Chelsea only reported a profit once – last year – of a mere 1.4 million pounds ($2.5 million). Now, what does that tell us about this guy: A simplistic approach would suggest he is a lunatic; and a slightly more rigorous approach would tell us that he is a egotistical lunatic – where his… Read more »
Is usmanov the second coming of danny fiszman? The messiah? That will lead us gooners to the land of trophies and titles (as opposed to milk and honey)? The messiah that will throw dosh around to bring the likes of messi and yaya? Please please please let this be him!!!
I have an idea. Why don’t we invite Mike O’Leary to take over Arsenal? That would be fun eh?
Why is it always assumed that Wenger has a huge “war chest” that he just chooses not to use? It’s not like we have enough money to go out and buy some superstar like Falcao and still afford to pay his wages, it’s more like he has the money to try and buy players on the cheap who likely wouldn’t be able to get into the first XI. Arsene wants to bring players of quality in, but in today’s market great players demand huge transfer fees to go along with huge wages.
Because Arsenal are a public company, and their accounts and details are open to access. From there, we (and many people have) can go through their financial details to know just how much arsenal make, how much is saved, and how much is used. So there are few “assumptions”. Sure people can be out by a certain numbers, but by and large, the details are there to be assessed, and virtually all who have gone through have concluded that arsenal have an estimated savings for spend in the tens of millions. The figure fluctuates based on the individual assessment, but… Read more »
Ok, so we have £30m. Should we buy someone that isn’t really on our list of wanted players for an inflated ‘January’ price and then not be able to buy anyone in the summer? Or should we wait until the summer to buy someone? Gambling on the fact that our team is good enough to get first. Even if you buy a player, you are gambling that they will slip seamlessly into the team. If you can, its much better to buy in the summer. £30m is not a lot of money in the bank for a team that has… Read more »
The main reason that we can’t use the war chest money is the great big bloody dragon that uses it for a bed
Why would we need Usmanovs money when we don’t even use the money that we have available to us now?
It is time that he is at least given a seat on the board. He’s our second biggest shareholder yet is kept out of it by the closed shop money grabbers.
While I’m highly sceptical about a dodgy Uzbek oligarch, I do support, in an ideal and fair world, a board seat for him.
But money grabbers, they all are.
However, everyone must understand that it is because of these money grabbers that we need a self-sustaining financial model. It is the only check against the rapacious “investors”.
Just when the team is winning a bit , with Poldi , Giroud improving, this idiot comes out with this press release, clearly trying to destabalise the club.
Undoubtably Kroeke has his flaw and hasn’t exactly been the knight in white shining armour that many of us hoped he would have been. However, and this is the sad situation, the other side seems to have the morality and likeabilty of a Terry family christmas with all the stolen goods, intelligent discussion and racism that goes with that. David Dein sold out, plain an simple to a man that morally suspect, to put it in a mild manner, for his own beenfit. Yet he continues to ride this wave of popularity that if it is analysed properly makes no… Read more »
It’s DD’s job to get the best deal for his clients. It’s the club’s job to keep the best players. One of them is doing a great job, the other, fucking abject. To blame the loss of our best players on their agents is a bit facile
That’s fine. Darren Dein is entitled to do his job, even if by doing it makes him a complete twat. However, this does exclude him from being any way associated with, with a straight face, a thing that is good for this football club.
Unfortunately it appears, fans are stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Either line the pockets of the Dallas cowboy and except mediocrity, but a well run club Or become a Russian billionaires plaything, maybe make a few marquee signing and perhaps even a few trophies but no guarantee that it could all end up up in tears soon as he’s bored and loses interest.
to be fair though that’s what people have been saying about abramovich for ages and yet he’s still here…
Precisely. It’s become a competition between billionaires and none want to lose face. For that reason no-one wants to be the one to quit.
Still there forcing signings like Torres on the club, binning people like Di Matteo and hiring absolutely anyone he fancies regardless of how the fans feel. Chelsea are a disgusting club and, as much as I’m not happy with our current situation, any move toward their model is in the wrong direction.
‘Precisely. It’s become a competition between billionaires and none want to lose face. For that reason no-one wants to be the one to quit.’
is that a bad thing? I’ve often wondered- why are we so sure Usmanov will destroy our club? Is it his dodgy background? What is it about him that made so many Gooners label him an an enemy anyway?
I’m only asking because I’m interested in seeing what people think, because it’s a issue i’ve never actually thought about much before. The only thing differentiating him from stan at the time was their background.
But their not taking dividends? They may as well not be there, which is fine!
Careful what you wish for gooners
Both ways we’ll still be bitching about what goes on on the pitch. Arsene can start by using the funds he has then we can take all of this billionare bingo seriously.
He looks like the giant toad from Pan’s Labyrinth
Usmanov [insert self promotion line here]
Eastern European take over.Thanks but no thanks I’m from there I’ve ssen enough clubs being destroyed by so called owners
i hate having to read that there is money available to be spent on new players or improved contracts. there’s a massive difference in Arsenal having money and Arsenal having money to spend. we’ve heard everyone and their mother complain about how Wenger’s dictatorial rule stops the money from being used, or used well, but somehow no one bothers to wonder why there isn’t anyone else spending that money for him. take Mata’s case for instance, where we fell short by a couple of packets of peanuts. anyone higher up the hierarchy (who cares ever half as much as Le… Read more »
It’s not quite that simple. Buy Mata on a very big wage that breaks the existing wage structure and suddenly all the existing squad want a new contract at higher wages. And if they don’t get it, they get stroppy
the wage structure (among other growing concerns) isn’t what Wenger should be preoccupied with. yes,we’d all prefer to have a sensible distribution of payments but to task Wenger alone with trying to get people to commit to a system which is not only out-dated, but also becoming a hindrance, is ludicrous in my opinion. it’s like complaining that a lactose-intolerant kid won’t finish his glass of milk.
I bet Chamakh is lactose intolerant.
Mata was on £57000 a week until December and he’s now on £100000.
http://chelsea.theoffside.com/transfer-news/chelsea-capture-juan-manuel-mata.html
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/juan-mata-new-contract-chelsea-1502569
Some football wages are fucking ridiculous! How can you be unhappy with tens of thousands of pounds a week, what can you buy for £100000 a week which you couldnt for £75000? :/
I get £13 an hour and am buzzing that its more than twice minimum wage!
Rummy, in hindsight 57K is very reasonable but it’s much less than was reported elsewhere at the time. But If he’d been average or a flop, that would have been a problem.
Mike Dexter, you make a salary structure to meet your finances.
Without a salary structure we would not have the grove.
It wasn’t ‘out dated’ at the time and it may turn out to be a fine system when FFP arrives (with some fine tuning). Or it could turn out to be cr4p as it feels now. But back then it was necessary.
“…what can you buy for £100000 a week which you couldnt for £75000?”
Er……Walcott?
Thank you, I’m here all week. Matinees at weekends, bring the kids.
Usmanov+Dein+Wenger+£200M kitty VS Kronke+Gazidis+Wenger+£15M kitty?
No contest. Ithe current plan hasn’t worked for years, Thierry has spoken more to the russian than we have, and if he says it’s ok, it ok with me.
Still, this won’t even be an argument at the end of the season when we finish 5th behind tottingham and lost out on the CL. The shame will be too much for even the most rose-tinted of arsers.
“Which ignores the fact that there is money at Arsenal, it’s just that Arsene Wenger seems reluctant spend it.” Seriously, is everyone still swallowing that one? Isn’t it obvious that Arsene Wenger is tasked with spending as little as possible whilst keeping us competitive? (Competitive = qualifying for the Champions League in the eyes of the club). Agreed, he could in reality most likely spend a little more, but it’s clear the funds are not there (yet, hopefully, rather than never) to make us truly competitive. The sad thing is I don’t think we need Man City levels of investment… Read more »
Sorry, but wrong. There is money there. The reason it’s not being spent is because Arsene Wenger isn’t spending it. He’s not being prevented from doing so, he’s choosing not to.
Perhaps his wife has influence?
What evidence is there of the money being there?
Besides, I am sure there is SOME money there for spending, but not enough to really make us compete. And my point is really that Arsene Wenger has two main duties it seems, and it is clear that one of those is to help reduce our debt.
I know that you are keen to see some money spent on squad cover, and there may well be money available for that, but squad cover is not what will make up be able to genuinely go for the title again.
‘There is money there’ ??? You don’t know that and if you ignore WORDS but take ACTIONS seriously, things become clearer.
Arseblog, you constantly take this line that we have the cash and you just don’t understand X,Y,Z. If you accept Wenger is operating under severe financial restrictions but trots out the public line that funds are available, to take pressure of the board, eveyhing becomes obvious.
Just like every other franchise Kroenke owns.
ummm… blogs… how do you know that Arsene “chooses” not to spend? i mean, the way you say it makes him sound irrational and whimsical about spending money – like he’s got a phobia or something. maybe he believes in keeping money aside for a rainy day? or spend when the time is right? player sales have played a huge part in keeping us in the black (i read swissramble too), so clearly this money is pretty hard earned and i don’t blame him for being afraid to spend it foolishly. i mean, he just wants to be certain before… Read more »
And why would anybody in his right sense stayed at a club that wouldn’t want successes, by strangling him of spending money to buy good player instead of shit ones to boost his squad?
I don’t believe that crap. If the board are hindering Wenger from winning trophies by giving limited funds and content with fourth place and the CL qualifications only, I don’t think Wenger will still be here, when clubs like Madrid and PSG are running after his signature.
There is lot happening behind the scene that we know little of.
Yeah I agree that there’s a lot going on we don’t know about. All we can do is look at the evidence we have and draw our own conclusions. I would say though that I disagree with you comment, because if you flip it round you can ask why would any manager in his right mind sell world class players for big money if he did not intend to use that money to buy more or better quality players? The only logical answer I can see to both your question and mine is that Arsene Wenger has agreed to try… Read more »
Not sure if usmanov is the answer but when stan starts taking his dividends from the club and we still won’t spend on decent players then it will be interesting to hear what those who back the board say then about who they want to run the club.
If I recall correctly, Usmanov is in favour of dividend payouts.
I do recall correctly – unfortunately the only links are for the FT and Telegraph, both of which require subscription. Telegraph (7/10/2007): “Although Arsenal is now the richest club in the Premiership, with the largest weekly match-day turnover, the shareholders do not pay themselves dividends. Usmanov, worth an estimated £2.7bn, last week called for Arsenal to start paying dividends to shareholders for the first time in 30 years.” FT (17/10/2007): “Mr Usmanov earlier this month told journalists he believed the structure of the board needed changing. Red & White also let it be known that it believed the club should… Read more »
Also, we fell down the pecking order of the rich clubs this year. How did we get up there? We won things! Lots of things!
Just as Man United manage to make money without needing a sugar daddy, by investing £25M in RvP they will win things again and make money! Lots of money!
We’d be much further down the list if we hadn’t moved to the grove.
That move restricted our spend.
The question is, When can AW spend again… Now or when?
I get a dull feeling if dread when I think of a future with Usmanov in charge. Lke when Biff changes history in back to the future and everything goes shite except for Martys mums tits. I know those tits sound like the promise land now but if you open the door to these vampires pretty soon we’ll live in a dark dystopian world where people put polonium in your Bovril just for questioning the Great Leader.
Yeah ok we might win something but….
We’ll be (shudders) Chelsea.
I think Usmanov doesn’t care about making money. He has enough and will invest in the club to bring success. Of course this will be a short term fix and not long term. It’s a shame him and Stan could never work together. Our current model may bring us stability but to compete you do need to spend some money and take risks which is what Usmanov will bring.
I do fear we could end up with the managerial merry go round that Chelsea have. Extra investment brings extra pressure and I think Usmanov would be more ruthless than Stan.
Is any arsenal fan going to complain about sugar daddy billionaire, provided with lots of top quality players on the pitch & bench with trophies to show for…if they are gonna complain then they are just hypocritical twats. FFP is just another invisible security blanket we are looking for. The current board mentality is, we could have come first if we were running alone but since there were other competitors with better physical condition we lost. So now we gonna moan and sob like a wuss and keep on complaining that race was unfair because they had better muscles or… Read more »
That statement is derogatory to the crest Mr!
Don’t talk about our canon like that! That’s what I love most about the Arsenal.
We need an apology from you, now!!!
Real and Barca have such a large income that they’ll pass FFP quite easily.
They are slightly ‘doped’ as spain doesn’t have a collective TV deal so those 2 clubs do theirown deals and get multiples more than the rest.
Everytime I hear another boardroom story I fall out of love with football a little bit more. The fact that we as fans are then aligning ourselves with one party or another causes further friction in a support already divided by Arsene in/Arsene out. Hmm do I choose the American from The Big Lebowski who puts no money into the club and doesn’t appear to give a shit if we win anything as long as his investment increases. Or do I plump for the Jabba the Hut tribute act with a questionable history of boiling his enemies alive, who says… Read more »
What I don’t get with all the Kroenke & board bashing is, if indeed he is in this solely for the monetary reward, and I think that’s a fair assumption, he’s a business man after all. Surely it would be in his best interests that the club is successful and therefore generating more commercial revenue? I just don’t buy this whole conspiracy thing. Is it not more likely that some reasonably intelligent men who know more about football (Wenger) and running sporting operations (Gazidis, Kroenke) than all of us keyboard warriors do have a clear strategy to improve the club… Read more »
Logic, rational thinking and reason on the internet?
TO THE DOGS WITH YOU!!!
Fair comment, but football history is littered with ‘intelligent’ men who act irrationally when taking over a club. I don’t think Stan is irrational but he is running the club conservatively. His investment will grow if AW keeps doing what he has done, but treading water is dangerous in any business. If he invested £100m and we start winning thing his investment will surely be worth more?
I don’t mind Usmamov as long as he keeps Wenger.
Do you really think Usmanov would be any less meddlesome than Abramovich? And what would we get in return now that UEFA has gone down the FFP route?
I rather think that if Usmanov were to take the club over Wenger would be out of the door in a heartbeat.
Given a choice between the dull sober Kroenke and a fat-face squinty-chops ManU supporter … I’d go with the former every day of the week.
You never know without hindsight and all that, but maybe Silent Stan has saved Arsenal FC from a fate worse than just being recently trophyless.
I see Jabba sitting next to Roman at chelsea games on TV, they seem cut from the same cloth.
I’d hate to be the new Chelsea…….
[…] Read More Here: Usmanov claims Henry ‘pushing’ for takeover […]
Other teams owned by Stan: Denver Nuggets of the NBA, Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer, Colorado Avalanche of the NHL, Colorado Mammoth of the National Lacrosse League and St. Louis Rams of the NFL. What do they all have in common? They’re all stuck in rutted mediocrity and are content with where they are at! Across these several formats of sport, all these teams severely lack ambition! If this isn’t warning enough, I don’t know what is. I understand that a lot of people are reluctant for Usmanov to takeover, wary even; but something has got to give, hasn’t… Read more »
Just to clarify, I definitely don’t want the owner to interfere but my point is if that interference comes with trophies, I’ll take it over our current predicament any hour of the day.
Why should Kroenke go about his business in full light of the media? Historically Arsenal has always been a very private company. We also have had a huge new home to pay for so if you didn’t think it would effect the team in the medium to short term you was/are very naive.
The only real stick I would beat the board up about is the commercial side of the business it was neglected for far to long and now we are playing catchup and have an over reliance of ticket sales to generate income.
Kronke’s silence isn’t really the issue. It wouldn’t have bothered anyone if we weren’t in such a decline. Sure, building the stadium would leave us cash strapped but my understanding is that we have the funds available now. I think we can all identify what positions need strengthening but it looks as though no business will be done yet again (because of we have a ‘strong enough’ team., which is ludicrous). It’s just frustrating to see gaping holes left to fester when swift action can be taken to remedy the entire affair. We’re the Arsenal for crying out loud! Surely… Read more »
I like Wenger, and despise most of the board. Someone who would come in, keep Wenger and oust the current board; as well as bringing back someone who forces Wenger to make up his mind about transfers and spend some money seems like a good idea to me. Especially when the current owner shows absolutely no ambition whatsoever.
Excuse the tautologous last sentence.
Ya right!..so its now Henry and NOT him.Try again..another trick falls flat!
At the end of the day, we’ve seen Stan Kroenke and he hasn’t really helped the club that much. Perhaps it’s time for Usmanov to step in?. I’m no fan of either but we’ve gone a long time without change I feel it’s about damn time for one.
And if he’s been talking to legend henry whom we all know wants what’s best for the club I don’t think he’ll be all bad news.
You might want to take a look at this !
http://justarsenal.com/arsenal-will-win-nothing-with-kroenke-an-american-view/20268
Few weeks back: Man City fans complain about ticket prices and we retort saying that we are forced to do it because of their artificially induced spending power. Today: Some fans want Usmanov to take over so we can join in on the madness so we can continue to encourage footballers to get paid ridiculous amounts in a week which we would be lucky to earn in a couple of years. We have 3 new players in our core and the likes of Jack and Gibbs returning from long term injuries and we are finally starting to see what sort… Read more »
There are no rival teams with billionaire playboys in the bundesliga Reality check. But i gave you a thumbs up cos it would be great to win something instead of one of the big spenders.
While Usmanov is still there, Kroenke is a bit under pressure to do something for the club. You don’t think he lives in a village with no electricity and gadgets, do you ? He surely gets these news of Arsenal fans and shareholders being Upset ( Though it is frightening that he has done little in the years). When Usmanov takes over, he’ll become the absolute owner. No another majority billionaire share holder to challenge him. I think it is ‘okay’ how the club is running. Although this statement comes by force not by choice. *SIGH*
it appears Usmanov will demand a manager who will be willing to test the depth of his bottomless well of money. Do you think wenger is that type of a guy?
Anyone who think wenger isn’t part of all this money business needs round the clock care. Do you really think a bloke who can supposedly walk in and manage any club in the world would put up with this shit unless there was something in it for him. Wenger is meant to be a football genius; do you really think he believes that the squad is ‘complete’ and that there’s no one around who could improve it? The deal with him and kroenke is get us 4th place as cheap as possible and you get your cut. I’ve long thought… Read more »
The burden of proof is on you to prove your conspiracy theory, not on others to challenge it.
Arsene is clearly (and sometimes too much so) a very idealistic man, who loves football and loves Arsenal. The chances of him selling his soul and destroying Arsenal (and his own reputation) for a payout is slim to none. He is already a millionaire. He wants Arsenal to compete and he wants to do it in a self-sustainable way. In a way that him, we, Arsenal have done on our own. Not simple going around buying trophies. I for one believe he can do it again. I think if he can hold this team together we will become more and… Read more »
Is the stadium paid for?
But I agree with everything else you say!
Mr Usmanov owns 30% AFC but is shown scant respect because…………..
I don’t actually know why. Does anyone. Stan’s family have been instrumental in destroying the American Dream. Before him we had Mr Blood Diamond running things. The Dien’s, Arsenal to the core always got our best interests at heart. Oh and PHW thats a man you can trust to walk on by if you needed a hand.
What is the point of arguing which one is better. They are all arseholes. Only interested in making themselves richer at our expense.
Fuck all this- I’m going to start a new team, FC Arsenal. We’ll start over the park with jumpers for goalposts, when we’ve a few good players we’ll join a local league. We can all have a good drink after the match and talk plenty of bollox. We’ll gradually move up the leagues and eventually some Russian or Yank will want to buy us out and we can tell them to fuck off. who’s in?
I’m with you…until somebody offers me millions for my share, then I’m doing the offs and buying myself an island.
I would be delighted if Usmanov bought out Kroenke – but I can’t see that happening any time soon. I’m still amazed at all this anti-Usmanov feeling on this website. Yes,he has been clumsy with his public utterances, but at least he appears to actually love our club, unlike the greedy Yank businessman. Under Kroenke we are going absolutely nowhere. I was watching the Oldham-Liverpool game yesterday, and I couldn’t help but wonder what it must be like to be a fan of the Scoucers right now. They were once the most successful team in Europe, but now they are… Read more »
You do have some understanding of the man’s background right?
It does’t matter who owns the club if they don’t start playing until they are 2-0 down and the defence remains a joke