By Tony Attwood
There is a document doing the rounds of supporters clubs in which it is argued that the Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke is holding back the club by refusing to invest in player transfers to a sufficient degree. This follows on from the widely held view that the transfer budget for the summer is £45m, and that anything beyond that has to be funded by sales and the resultant cuts in salaries achieved through sales. £45m, it is argued, is far from adequate if Arsenal want to challenge for trophies.
As a result, it is suggested, Ozil, currently on the highest salary, will go to Turkey on loan to play, but that Arsenal will still pay part of his salary. Of course this is just one of the 100 or more daily rumours that are propagated by newspapers and blogs, so we shouldn’t take it seriously (particulary as virtually every player in the entire first team squad has now been tipped to depart). But getting rid of such a talented player in such a way does not seem very sensible. But it is an outcome of the way that Arsenal is not being invested in, in the way that Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United have been invested in.
So far this summer (and here I am speaking only in general terms – we’ll do an up to date list of all transfers shortly) Arsenal is showing a net loss on transfers of £2.5m. Chelsea (who now have what we might call an absentee owner) are showing a profit of some £65m having bought Kovacic and sold Hazard and others.
Liverpool are £21m in profit having sold Ings and others. But Manchester City are £65m down having bought Rodri. Manchester United are £60m down much of that from buying Aaron Wan-Bissaka. Tottenham are £65m out of pocket from having bought Ndombele and Clarke.
So it can be argued that Arsenal are already falling behind – although of course the window is open until just before the start of the new season.
Such is the strength of the feeling that I have heard it proposed within some of the more excitable supporters’ groups that they plan to disrupt the annual invite-only meeting for supporters at the Arsenal Stadium before the season starts, at which a special guest will be introduced to fans.
We had one of those last year, and it was a great success, given that Arsenal’s new manager was the special guest – and despite is limited time to adjust to the language and the club Mr Emery took questions from the fans. This year my guess is that the guest will be Edu. But if the plan to disrupt the meeting goes ahead, then that I suspect will be the end of such occasions, which would be a shame.
Vinai Venkatesham, Arsenal’s managing director, has of course fully backed Kroenke, and spoken up about the Kroenke family’s engagement with the club. He was reported on the Arsenal web site as saying “Stan and Josh Kroenke are in sport because they’re passionate about sport and because they want to win. They’re hugely ambitious around where they want to take this football club and they remind us of that all the time. They’re massively involved.”
But that doesn’t accord with the success, or lack of it, of other Kroenke franchises, nor with the way in which fans are treated. We all remember how he took vast amounts of tax payers money to build a new stadium in St Louis, and then without any consultation simply moved the club to LA. That is the man we are dealing with.
So when Venkatesham says of the owning family, “They’re hugely involved in what we do, they are hugely knowledgeable about sport. It’s well-known that they have an American Football team, an NBA team, an NHL team, an MLS team and a lacrosse team, so they know sport… ” we know what he means.
They know about how to manipulate the clubs they own to make a fortune without any respect of tradition, or the fans.
I doubt that there are many if any Arsenal fans who are in favour of Kroenke ownership, and I suspect not many are pleased that the previous major shareholders sold out to Kroenke in the first place simply for their own personal gain and without any thought as to the future of the club (given how Kroenke has worked with other sports clubs he owns). The Bracewell-Smith and Hill-Wood families are the people who betrayed the original vision of Arsenal as a club owned by its fans.
I suspect therefore that most Arsenal supporters are against the ownership of the club by its current owner, but the question is, what should be done about it.
The problem is that after two years of “Wenger Out” banners and placards, the move over to a series of “Kroenke out” demonstrations and signs carries far less weight, and is very likely to have no impact and make the supporters who want progress look inept. Even the media, always ready to run negative stories about Arsenal, will probably laugh at supporters who campaigned for Wenger Out, got what they wanted, and now are realising that they hit the wrong target.
This is an area where actions and statements need to be chosen carefully. Thus far I am not at all sure this is happening. But certainly, in answer to the question above, on the basis of such evidence we have, I’d say, it is money money money in the bank that is the objective of the owner.
I don’t agree that Arsenal have been given money to buy players because they failed to reach Champions League. Here’s my question to Kroenke: Have the likes of Leicester, Westham Utd, Man Utd, Aston Villa,etc qualified for ECL that’s why they’re buying good players? Arsenal won’t improve with Kroenke as the owner. ArsenalFC need just another investor not a stingy person like Kroenke.
Tony
This still just an hypothesis which is most likely not to occur. Do we want more investment into the team? Sure. Would we want to be like Man City or Chelsea? Their owners are investing $Billions into the club but I wouldn’t want want Arsenal to go in that direction and not continue to become self sustaining. Like Man Utd? Yes in the area of marketing so we can have better players within the team.
But I’d like us to be more like Ajax where we can produce more world class players from our Academy.
Lets just watch and see Tony. We don’t yet know what is happening behind the scene. Edu’s arrival maybe a master stroke in the South American market.
Interesting read. Don’t think there can be any doubt what Stan values above all, but whether it is to the detriment of the club is the question.
Have long suspected that though Stan may take little out, so far at least, he uses the club as collateral for other projects, all perfectly legal of course, as are many other things in the state of Delaware! suggesting it has to be in a fairly healthy position financially.
Is it possible there are loan stipulations still in play for the stadium move as well?
What I don’t believe is it is all down to the club just adhering to FFP
What Stan doesn’t seem to do is get involved, that can be a good thing at times, and a bad thing at other times. For instance, and only my opinion which I cannot really substantiate, I firmly believe there was a power struggle between Wenger and Gazidis in wengers last few years which may have caused both to become entrenched , defensive, and ultimately maybe did neither any good, nor the club. If so, maybe someone should have mediated a little? Doubt if Stan did.
Think the very best we can hope for under Stan , apart from a sale, is spend what we earn, nothing taken out, smart people and policies in place, an excellent youth, and scouting policy. And perhaps for Josh to be a little more engaged than his father. Looks to me like they are at least trying to build that, but Arsenal seem to move slowly!.
Whether that is enough to keep up with the petro and state funded, and also clubs below us that seem far better funded is another question.
But Maybe someone needs to argue the case that a successful club could be better on the bank balance, nobody expects City levels of funding, but I am sure a man of Stans financial vehicles could legally help out if he were so minded.
We need people in place who live and breathe a desire for the clubs success, it is said Danny F and David Dein started each day thinking how to make Arsenal better. I am sure Wenger had a similar mindset. I doubt very much Stan has such desires burning inside him. Let’s hope Edu can bring that mindset.
As for protests, hope against hope people just at least give it time, but if Stan really is holding us back for his own gains, guess the time will come to protest.
I suspect you might be right, but the previous shareholders sold out to Kroenke, and he is not going to sell up. So that’s where we are.
an issue with Kroenke, he isn’t a lifelong fan, his blood doesn’t run the red of Arsenal, but neither is he a tyrant seeking approval, I am sure he operates on the limits of business and tax law, but as far as we know, he is a legit businessman, not a money launderer or maybe part of a match fixing syndicate, or if he is the latter, at Arsenal, he is especially crap at it. This makes him different from some other owners I can think of , or potential owners of Arsenal. If he sold, some of people lining up to buy this club would make an Amnesty International and Interpol blacklist.
Basically, Stan seems a bland, passive, disengaged shareholder who doesn’t seem to care about winning on the field. That inspires nobody.Let’s hope he gets great people in, and edu is one of them. But Stans lack of engagement and success at many other clubs has to be a worry.
One thing I will say about some of the loudest voices calling for protest, many of them have been the first to chastise the club for spending , or wasting, in their words, obscene amounts of money during the Wenger Gazidis era, they can’t have it both ways. Maybe we did spend too much, and they are having to correct it for a while? Not saying I necessecarily believe this, just putting it out there.
Yes, the prev shareholders certainly sold us out, prob without much due diligence, and for vast personal gain. It is said Lady Nina regrets it.
David Dein is on record as saying Wenger has been badly let down,
without clarifying further, but can guess what he meant. https://www.derehamtimes.co.uk/news/arsene-wenger-has-been-let-down-and-would-be-an-impossible-act-to-follow-former-arsenal-and-fa-chairman-david-dein-speaks-to-dereham-sixth-form-college-students-1-4951666
A real shame Danny F and Dein fell out , paving the way for Stan, or Usmanov. It seems Abramovich, and various mid eastern royals would have bought this club given half the chance, not saying this would be a good thing in all terms, but just illustrates the game is now mainly about who has the most generous owner. And it seems we lag somewhere around Newcastle’s level on that front at the moment, without their prospect of being sold.
Well, it is evidently clear that Stan Kroenke, the AFC owner is not a passionate big time football club owner that will not feel heavy in his heart to give out money to his club Arsenal from his personal made profit money for players buying to enabled his club Arsenal sign top quality and world class players to be winning titles.
This is unlike the football passionate business oil mogul man Abraham Abramovich, the Chelsea FC owner who is reported to have sunk over $1 billion of his personal money into his club Chelsea to buy top quality and world class players. A buy that has seen Chelsea won every title available for winning twice or more. But the World clubs Cup I think they’ve not won yet.
Man City FC has a passionate football Middle East oil magnet owner who spills money unlimited regularly into his club Man City to enabled it to be buying top class players regularly to compete for title wins. So, it is not surprising to when we saw Man City won the domestic treble titles last season that have never been won before by any PL club side. This is apart of we seeing them winning titles at some occasions since the present owner of the club bought it.
But in the case of Man Utd And Liverpool FC who both have American owners like Arsenal FC do. I think Man Utd, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur have the kinds of owners who preferred seeing their clubs operate on the self sustaining business model. Where these clubs spend out of what they generate from Match Ticket Sales, TV Cable Subscriptions through Sky Sports and BT Sports sales, Sponsorship, General Merchandise Marketing and big time players sales. And still make profits for their owners to take home after signing players, paying wages and paying for capital projects and recurrent expenditures. Instead of their owners to be spending their personal money on players recruitment for their clubs.
This operating on self sustaining business model I believe is what Stan Kroenke has introduced to Arsenal to start adopting it as from next season’s campaign. Arsenal FC is looking to have fairly done well in all the areas of the self sustaining business model that Kroenke has imposed on his club Arsenal before it’s fully operational last season as they have been able to generate £45m into the club’s summer transfer kitty. I think Arsenal hierarchy bosses have to come with terms of the self sustaining business model that will now begin to operated fully at Arsenal from next season. And start generating big money making for the club to include big money player sales. An area Arsenal are looking to be weak currently. Unlike their 5 top PL club sides who are looking to be strong at doing.
Arsenal stalled on selling Alexis Sanchez to Man City for £60m excluding add ons in a transfer window. But only to later lost him to Man Utd for a player exchange deal. But wouldn’t it be better if Arsenal had collected the £60m and reinvest it wisely on the incoming signings?
In the regret of past big player sales in time for big money making for the club, would Arsenal want to sell PEA this summer for say £70m minimum? But reinvest the money wisely to sign new top quality players for the club this summer.
Well, it is evidently clear that Stan Kroenke, the AFC owner is not a passionate big time football club owner that will not feel heavy in his heart to give out money to his club Arsenal from his personal made profit money for players buying to enabled his club Arsenal sign top quality and world class players to be winning titles.
This is unlike the football passionate business oil mogul man Abraham Abramovich, the Chelsea FC owner who is reported to have sunk over $1 billion of his personal money into his club Chelsea to buy top quality and world class players. A buy that has seen Chelsea won every title available for winning twice or more. But the World clubs Cup I think they’ve not won yet.
Man City FC has a passionate football Middle East oil magnet owner who spills money unlimited regularly into his club Man City to enabled it to be buying top class players regularly to compete for title wins. So, it is not surprising when we saw Man City won the domestic treble titles last season that have never been won before by any PL club side. This is apart of us seeing them winning titles at some season occasions since the present owner of the club bought it.
But in the case of Man Utd And Liverpool FC who both have American owners like Arsenal FC do. I think Man Utd, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur have the kinds of owners who preferred seeing their clubs operate on the self sustaining business model. Where these clubs spend out of what they generate from Match Ticket Sales, TV Cable Subscriptions through Sky Sports and BT Sports telecasting sales, Sponsorship, General Merchandise Marketing and big time players sales. And still make profits for their owners to take home after signing players, paying wages and paying for capital projects and recurrent expenditures. Instead of their owners to be spending their personal money on players recruitment for their clubs.
This operating on self sustaining business model I believe is what Stan Kroenke has introduced to Arsenal to start adopting it as from next season’s campaign. Arsenal FC is looking to have fairly done well in all the areas of the self sustaining business model that Kroenke has imposed on his club Arsenal before it’s fully operational last season as they have been able to generate £45m into the club’s summer transfer kitty. But I think Arsenal hierarchy bosses have to come with terms of the self sustaining business model that will now begin to operate fully at Arsenal from next season. And start generating big money making for the club to include big money from player sales. An area that Arsenal have looked to seriously lagged behind their 5 top PL club sides who have looked to be strong at doing.
Arsenal stalled on selling Alexis Sanchez to Man City for £60m excluding add ons in a transfer window. But only to later lost him to Man Utd for a player exchange deal. But wouldn’t it have been better if Arsenal had collected the £60m and reinvest it wisely on the incoming signings?
In the regret of the past big player sales in time for big money making which Arsenal have occasioned, but would Arsenal want to sell PEA this summer for say £70m minimum? And reinvest the money wisely to sign new top quality players for the club this summer.
et oui, tout change et tout reste pareil
Taking SAA’s last paragraph again, translated into Jive:
Translated into Leet/H4X0R:
Tony…….would you please advise Samuel A.A. to stop double posting and possibly try 25 words or less. He is an avid Gooner for sure but his sermons are ridiculously long!
Damn sermons!! He should be preaching! I said he should be preaching! So good I said it twice.
Its bad enough being verbose but then it gets repeated.
And Tony used to be a staunch supporter of kroenke. Eventually, they all turn AAA