Holistic management, sustainable clubs, youth policies. Yep, its New Football and it starts now.

By Insideright

One of the great things about Untold is that it looks outside of the matters immediately concerning the Club and seeks to absorb lessons from elsewhere – whether those lessons be related to referees, FFP or the business affairs at other clubs.

Three recent quotes from such other clubs might be helpful to consider when we’re wondering whether or not our Club is still moving along the right lines.

Some weeks ago after Man City had sacked Roberto Mancini they announced that they were seeking to appoint a ‘holistic’ manager. They described this revolutionary new man as being one who would take a broader view across all of their clubs affairs, specifically in terms of young player development and matters financial.

In other words someone whose rationale was not just to keep throwing money at the problem until some of it stuck and one who would be capable of running a top club within the parameters set by FFP. So Holistic Management was born.

The other day Fulham’s owner, Mohammed Al Fayed (who had voted against the introduction of FFP within the EPL), announced that he was selling out to a new owner whose first words on future strategy were that the club would be run on ‘sustainable’ lines and that he saw himself as a custodian of Fulham on behalf of its fans.

Today Jose Mourinho heaped praise upon the owner of Chelsea because he had anticipated the introduction of FFP by getting young players to join the Club and, having loaned them out, was now ready to bring them into the fold at no (current) transfer cost to Chelsea. The fact that Abramovich has been there for ten years and that Chelsea’s record of bringing youngsters through to the first team during that decade has been appalling was glossed over. Never mind, revolutionary forward planning to meet the rigours of a new financially stringent football marketplace deserves all the praise it can get.

Except, of course, none of it is new – let alone revolutionary. All of it is very familiar to anyone paying the slightest bit of attention to how Arsenal having been operating for as long as anyone can remember and, even more so, over the past decade and a half under Arsene Wenger.

The Arsenal Board has been regularly criticised for giving Wenger ‘too much power over too many areas of Club affairs’ – but that is Holistic Management and its has suddenly become de rigueur.

Patient development of large numbers of youth players to drastically reduce the pressure on competing in an inflated transfer market is now, equally suddenly, a master-stroke.

Custodianship and sustainability are now the banners under which the new owners profess to march.

Welcome to planet Wenger – but will they all, coming to it late as they are, be able to operate within its rarefied atmosphere? I’m thinking not simply because it involves too much change in too short a time. Expertise takes too long to acquire and a great deal longer to fully become part of a clubs DNA.

There will be tears.

The books…

The sites from the same team…

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10 Replies to “Holistic management, sustainable clubs, youth policies. Yep, its New Football and it starts now.”

  1. I think i know why they all hate Arsene Wenger so much. Wenger has not joined their “little club” of want to be elites and i hope he stands fast to his values. The fact that he goes his own way and is a very private person is frowned upon. They feel he and Arsenal is a loose cannon(pun intended). Pressure is being put on Arsenal and AW to get with the program. But we are going to show them starting this season that Arsenal is a force to recon with.

  2. perhaps the important point to take out of el Moanio’s comments is that Chavski are taking FFP seriously. Gazidis said our strategy was not based on FFP, we have other options, but having been on board from day one we are certainly in a much better position to compete nationally and in Europe. It’s very hard to expect football fans to be patient, especially ones that have only been following their club for a decade or less, but that is the reality. Arsenal have taken the long view to ensure we are around and successful well into the future. Keep the faith people

  3. I was intrigued by this allegation that the Arsenal Board had given far too much power to Arsene in too many areas of the Club’s affairs.
    I asked my Gran (who cleans at the Emirates) whether this was true.
    She said (with a wry smile)”Since Arsene’s arrival, never once has he interfered with me. From the very start, I decided not to get involved in team selection and in turn he has never seen the inside of my Harpic store. Well, at least not with me he hasn’t. I can’t talk about others, particularly at the annual Christmas party.”
    And she quietly returned to her pipe of St Bruno (Rough Cut).

  4. @ Nicky, isn’t it just a little bit cruel to be forcing your nan out to work at her ripe old age? Have a heart man!

  5. Well done Insideright. A timely reminder that Arsene and Arsenal have been working tirelessly towards a self sustaining future (amidst much anger from “fans”) for a long time now and are an example to other clubs.

    Chelsea’s and Man City’s whole ethos has been forced to change and they will struggle to manage this in a short space of time.

    All you need to do is listen to any interview with other Premier League managers and they all (well mostly all) will compliment Arsene and Arsenal on what they are doing at the club.

    The reality is that they all wish they had the solidity and prospects that Arsenal do. The trophy’s will come as a result. Mark my words.

  6. So how come City have spent 100 mill already this transfer window? Hardly “Holistic”.Meanwhile PSG and Monaco continue to spend without any thought towards FFP;there is no way that it is going to be enforced by UEFA,at least not against those clubs with rich owners and dodgy sponsorship deals.The only clubs taking any notice of it are the ones who were already FFP compliant.

  7. @ linz

    i agree in regard to man city. they have obviously taken the typical corporate approach of saying one thing while doing quite another, of course with a certain amount of righteous indignation when anyone dares point out the obvious hypocrisy of their actions. they believe that they will get away with it….

    im not so sure. i have hope that uefa will enforce the rules, even with the big clubs. platini has made this his political baby, partly in order to win over the eastern european votes. with him rumoured to be eyeing the fifa presidency i believe he will want ffp to be mostly successful…especially in a one country one vote election, where he will be able to point out that he is looking out for the little guy and willing to take on the powers at large.

    having said that…the phrase ‘hope springs eternal’ has never applied more aptly than to a football fan.

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