Nail, head, hit.
4 August 2010
Many Gooners will be aware of Myles Palmer's site, Arsenal News Review. It generally tends to divide opinion but Myles is never one to shy away from issues surrounding our club and tells it like it is. A recent response to a reader's e-mail, for us, hits the nail on the head and says exactly the kind of things we're thinking...
I wish Danny Fiszman was big enough to forgive and bring Dein back.
Whatever Dein did, the future is more important.
Four more years of Wenger without Dein will be another four years of no trophies.
Arsenal lost its soul. Tried to leave its history behind. What a crass & colossal own-goal that was! The "bond" between supporters and club is based mainly on the loyalty and gullibility of the fanbase.
Since Chelski, Arsenal has not tried to compete. It built a new stadium instead. The stadium is a big, shiny, space-age cash machine which makes more money every season because they open more corporate restaurants every year. Arsenal is now a French club controlled by an American corporation and "Arsenalisation" and the laughable Fanshare are mere window-dressing. I like "Arsenalisation" but all that should have been done before the stadium opened.
Silent Stan Kroenke can turn it into Wal-mart if he wants. Glory does not come into it.
Last I heard, he was trying to buy the Rams in instalments..
For us, the Board relying on the loyalty and gullibility of the fanbase is a major, major gamble. Many supporters who failed to buy into the lies that we needed to move to compete, that moving would not affect the playing side whatsoever, well - they've already moved on. They refused to pay extortionate ticket prices and their concerns have been proved to be spot on.
The playing side has been affected massively and while we've been shopping in the bargain basement and trying furiously to tread water, we've been overtaken by Chelsea and it won't be long before Man City and even Spurs do the same. Arsene Wenger has proved miracle worker in keeping us in the top 4 - thereby ensuring the big bucks roll in and keeping the Board happy - but how much longer can we realistically keep the charade up? Others invest to compete and if we stay still, we'll be overtaken.
Yes City's obscene spending and Chelsea's obscene spending before that seems to have changed the football landscape in this country for the next few years at least, but are we right to just sit back and wait for them to implode? Because let's face it - that ain't gonna happen for some time. Man United have refused to cave in and are fighting tooth and nail to remain up there, and won the league back-to-back-to-back as a result after Chelsea's title wins in 2005 and 2006.
No matter what the Board tell the fans, it IS happy with us simply achieving Champions League qualification every year... forget winning trophies. Qualification means another guaranteed £20 million and that's another chunk paid off the loan. Get the loan paid, then when the club is debt-free its value is increased. The Board can then cash in and move off into the sunset dragging their huge wallets behind them.
But have they really looked at the bigger picture? It can be broken down like this...
Taking those factors into account, it's obvious that the Board members are walking a very fine line. Were they right to punish the playing side (after saying that wouldn't happen) to get the debt cleared quicker? Were they right to dabble in the property development market? Were they right in forcing out David Dein - the one man who had a bond with the players and cares what happens to the club?
As ever though, it's the day-to-day fan, the "general admission" supporter who ultimately ends up footing the bill. The Board has ridden roughshod over its hardcore support, courting the quick quid, and it could come back to bite them on the arse in spectacular fashion. It proably would have already if Wenger wasn't around.
What does it all boil down to, though? The bank balances of our Board would be our first guess. Sod the fans, even though without them there would be no Arsenal.
Many Gooners will be aware of Myles Palmer's site, Arsenal News Review. It generally tends to divide opinion but Myles is never one to shy away from issues surrounding our club and tells it like it is. A recent response to a reader's e-mail, for us, hits the nail on the head and says exactly the kind of things we're thinking...
I wish Danny Fiszman was big enough to forgive and bring Dein back.
Whatever Dein did, the future is more important.
Four more years of Wenger without Dein will be another four years of no trophies.
Arsenal lost its soul. Tried to leave its history behind. What a crass & colossal own-goal that was! The "bond" between supporters and club is based mainly on the loyalty and gullibility of the fanbase.
Since Chelski, Arsenal has not tried to compete. It built a new stadium instead. The stadium is a big, shiny, space-age cash machine which makes more money every season because they open more corporate restaurants every year. Arsenal is now a French club controlled by an American corporation and "Arsenalisation" and the laughable Fanshare are mere window-dressing. I like "Arsenalisation" but all that should have been done before the stadium opened.
Silent Stan Kroenke can turn it into Wal-mart if he wants. Glory does not come into it.
Last I heard, he was trying to buy the Rams in instalments..
For us, the Board relying on the loyalty and gullibility of the fanbase is a major, major gamble. Many supporters who failed to buy into the lies that we needed to move to compete, that moving would not affect the playing side whatsoever, well - they've already moved on. They refused to pay extortionate ticket prices and their concerns have been proved to be spot on.
The playing side has been affected massively and while we've been shopping in the bargain basement and trying furiously to tread water, we've been overtaken by Chelsea and it won't be long before Man City and even Spurs do the same. Arsene Wenger has proved miracle worker in keeping us in the top 4 - thereby ensuring the big bucks roll in and keeping the Board happy - but how much longer can we realistically keep the charade up? Others invest to compete and if we stay still, we'll be overtaken.
Yes City's obscene spending and Chelsea's obscene spending before that seems to have changed the football landscape in this country for the next few years at least, but are we right to just sit back and wait for them to implode? Because let's face it - that ain't gonna happen for some time. Man United have refused to cave in and are fighting tooth and nail to remain up there, and won the league back-to-back-to-back as a result after Chelsea's title wins in 2005 and 2006.
No matter what the Board tell the fans, it IS happy with us simply achieving Champions League qualification every year... forget winning trophies. Qualification means another guaranteed £20 million and that's another chunk paid off the loan. Get the loan paid, then when the club is debt-free its value is increased. The Board can then cash in and move off into the sunset dragging their huge wallets behind them.
But have they really looked at the bigger picture? It can be broken down like this...
- Our star players have been leaving and they're being replaced with promising kids. Sell high, buy low.
- Any remaining top quality players become disenchanted that the club refuses to invest properly in the team, and they end up carrying the kids, and eventually will demand a move away.
- With a weakened squad, we fail to challenge for major honours.
- Failing to challenge for major honours means it's harder to attract top quality to the club, because they feel the club lacks ambition... and that's even if we tried to sign top, established quality!
- Failing to win major honours and have a team with top quality players, the corporate support that's oh so craved by the Board, it'll drift away. Hence much lower matchday revenue.
- When sponsorships are due for renewal, the big corporations either aren't going to be that interested in sponsoring an also-ran or 'sleeping giant' or if they are, they are in a very strong bargaining position because there's a much smaller group of interested potential sponsors.
Taking those factors into account, it's obvious that the Board members are walking a very fine line. Were they right to punish the playing side (after saying that wouldn't happen) to get the debt cleared quicker? Were they right to dabble in the property development market? Were they right in forcing out David Dein - the one man who had a bond with the players and cares what happens to the club?
As ever though, it's the day-to-day fan, the "general admission" supporter who ultimately ends up footing the bill. The Board has ridden roughshod over its hardcore support, courting the quick quid, and it could come back to bite them on the arse in spectacular fashion. It proably would have already if Wenger wasn't around.
What does it all boil down to, though? The bank balances of our Board would be our first guess. Sod the fans, even though without them there would be no Arsenal.
