A Change Of Policy? And Time To Move On
Mar 1st, 2010 by 'holic
The events of the weekend continue to rumble on, and overshadow the announcement on Friday of some particularly impressive half-year financial results for Arsenal Holdings plc. Now, how many of you actually clicked on the relevant section to see the statement in full? Not too many, I’ll wager. “Is that important”, did I hear you ask? Well, I think it may be, and here is why.
‘The sale to Newlon is essentially at no gain or loss in profit terms, because we have previously adjusted the carrying value of the site to its estimated recoverable sale value, but it is significant because it puts our other property trading subsidiary, Ashburton Trading, into a position where it is free of bank debt. As such any future property sales activity will generate cash which will be available to use elsewhere in the Group. There are three property assets which we will now be looking to sell over the next two years – the market housing part of the Queensland Road development , the site on the corner of Hornsey Road, opposite the Armoury, which includes a pedestrian link through to Holloway Road tube station and a further site on Holloway Road.’
The first part refers to the sale of the affordable housing part of the Queensland Road development, which was recently announced as a partnership deal. Unless I am mistaken there has been no previous announcement of the sale of the remaining property assets. Was this part of the statement carefully and deliberately buried?
My understanding up until now was that the cash being accrued in the business was to enable the development of Queensland Road should we decide to ‘go it alone’. That actually made perfect sense although it was obviously a source of irritation to those who would like to have seen a greater spend on the playing squad.
A Partnership deal was obviously a possibility to spread any risk given the group’s first major construction project experience at Highbury Square. It would appear though that a decision has been made to extract the club from any future development other than the sports centre that featured large in the planning approval. Doubtless Arsenal will want to expand on this in the coming weeks.
If I am not mis-reading the signs we therefore reached the point, when that decision was taken, that the cash that had accrued in the business could be made available ‘elsewhere in the group’. This is tremendous news going forward. The remaining debt, almost entirely related to paying for the construction of the stadium, is already being serviced at rates comfortably within any reasonable forecast of matchday income going forward.
Therefore I have only one other question I would like to see addressed. When exactly was the decision taken to sell the remaining property assets? Given that we have just gone through a transfer window without spending any of that cash, can we infer that the decision was taken in February?
I think most supporters have understood, and supported (with varying degrees of fervour and enthusiasm) the frugality displayed over the last four years as we have coped with the complexities associated with the move. Most, I suspect, were digging in until the flowing riches that we hoped Queensland Road would provide were turned on. If we are withdrawing from the remaining development activity then the goalposts have moved.
Nobody wants the lot to be blown for the sake of it, but come the summer we are likely to be in need of a goalkeeper, a couple of central defenders, possibly another midfielder, and a healthy signing on fee for Marouane Chamakh. I suspect that the support that has been forthcoming, up to this important point, will be wavering if those minimum requirements are not met.
I’m still angry!
Last night I posted an update on my feelings in the drinks on my report from Stoke. For those who missed it I wrote,
It’s nearly twenty-four hours since I wrote that. I wondered long and hard about waiting until today, but decided I should get what I was feeling out there while it was burning me up.
Would I have written anything different today? Possibly. Particularly about the part that Glenn Whelan played. Particularly about the restraint shown by professionals who must have been close to losing it in the way you or I would have done in a pub match if a team mate had been maimed.
Do I regret a word of it? No, I don’t. Looking at Shawcross videos and reports of his previous it is clear that this was yet another ‘accident’ waiting to happen. I cannot believe that any pro would set out to break anothers bones, as he has done to Jeffers and now Ramsey, but he meant to get the man if the ball was gone and he achieved that aim.
It was unthinking, out of control, but that does not make it more forgivable. The selection of the thug by England just hours later (his suspension won’t count for an international friendly) says more about the way the FA approach things than anything else. Now he is in World Cup contention you can be sure he will not face further action.
So we will just carry on until the next time a talented player gets assaulted and nothing happens again. Am I sorry I wrote that? No. Am I sorry I have had to, yet again. You bet.
Another twenty-four hours have passed, and despite the best efforts of Sky and Talk Shite to reinvent the truth, I feel exactly the same. Opinions are entrenched and it is time to let it go and move on.
Before doing so I have to commend what I think is the finest football blog post I have ever seen to you. I expect most of you have already enjoyed it, but if not you simply must read today’s Arseblog.
Cheers ‘holics.
62 Responses to “A Change Of Policy? And Time To Move On”
Kir Royale please
It’s been here since yesterday, KT 😉
Couldn’t fight me way through the crowd then, ‘holic
You at Burnley?
Sadly not, KT. Had to do some careful renegotiation when I was caught out booking all of the remaining games 🙂
For now I am going to be doing Wolves, Man Citeh, and Fulham.
Cider please, guv.
Great stuff again ‘holic.
We’ll try to move on but it’s really hard. 2 days after, I still cannot breath freely, my stomach still full of anger and this is the 3rd time it happens. It’s hard…It’s hard
Blimey “holic, I reckon you are giving Arseblogger a run for his money there mate. That’s the two best blogs I have seen, and on the same day. Well done.
way way too soon to move on and sweep this under the carpet. what would our comrade Aaron think? wondering if he is ever going too fulfill his potential or for that matter play again and what are the rest of the arsenal squad thinking, am i going to be next?
we have too change the mindset of the great unwashed and demand protection for skillful players and its way too soon for closure
I hear you tom, but like I say, feelings are entrenched now. The myopic scum at Sky and Talk Shite are setting their own agenda and won’t change because it is bringing them viewers and listeners. Time to not tune in to the bastards. I’m not, and I know I’m not alone, by a long shot. The FA won’t do anything because the thug is now a World Cup prospect.
Evening ‘holic.
I read the Arseblog this morning (daily ritual) and must admit I also thought it was one of his best posts ever, he and your goodself are the best Arsenal bloggers on the web by a country mile, believe me, I’ve probably seen them all.
Still gutted for Aaron and once again wish him a speedy recovery, but as you say it’s time to move on. We must take solice in the crucial three points we earned against a team that we’ve had trouble against in the past, not only the victory was important, but the spirit that got us over the finish line when faced with adversity was truly awe inspiring and made me proud to be a gooner.
I’ll take a Cider please and raise a glass to you and Mr Blogs and thank you for your time and efforts in bringing us your great blogs. Long may it continue.
Cheers.
I am not so sure re the property development at Queensland Road
“with three ongoing development projects from which we will look to realise further cash surpluses over the next two years”
Whilst it would certainly appear that we are not going alone on any development programme any “sales” within the next 2 years could still leave us as a partner. In any event it is “look to realise” rather than actual agreed sales at this stage.
Ken
I love you, ‘holic, but the first part of the blog was far too technical for me today 😉
I’ll have a single malt of your choice tonight, patron.
Thanks.
Thanks Ken, I would like to think you are correct, but the only way they will realise cash in that timeframe is to act on…
“There are three property assets which we will now be looking to sell over the next two years”
They will not complete any significant building work, and subsequent sales, in that short a space.
I stand to be corrected, and hope they will explain it better over the coming weeks.
Apologies Ken, I missed the nuance in your last para.
Interesting. I’ll pay more attention next time.
Thanks again.
I can’t really work my way through all those figures ‘holic, but the reduction in debt has got to be good news.
What nelly said barman, ta.
I will have a pint of Guinness please, ‘holic.
Got some Arkells 2B tonight, if anyone is interested. God’s ale.
I’m more angry at the media reaction to all of the Shawcross lovers than the injury itself, but as you say time to move on.
The financial figures released did make interesting reading and I wondered at the time just how long these funds had actually been known about by Wenger.
The upcoming transfer window has the potential to be the most exciting for gunners for many a long year 🙂
I’ll have a pint of Zero Dr Pepper thanks
A bit sad that in the aftermath of what should have been a great weekend for Gooners, I’ve ended up avoiding much of the media and skimming through the rest as if we’d lost on Saturday. The above is, needless to say an honourable exception. To hell with them all, time for Gooners to get entrenched and get loudly behind the boys for the remainder of what could be an incredible season !
‘Holic
2B or not 2B, is that your question?
O.K go on then, you twisted my arm.
Yes, I too will have an Arkells chaser.
To be or not to be – that is the question:
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
And, by opposing, end them. To die, to sleep
No more – and by a sleep to say we end
The heartache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to – ‘tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep
To sleep, perchance to dream. Ay, there’s the rub,
So fuck Tony Pulis, and Ryan Shawcross,
Im off down the pub!
You’re bard!
You’re verse 😉
Just a quick note to all the anti-arsenal conspireist’s who think there’s an anti-arsenal agenda in the mainstream media – you should follow this link. Taken from skysports.com originally broadcast on skysports 1′ sunday supplement with a times, independant and sun journalist.
http://www.skysports.com/video/inline/0,26691,16429_5988776,00.html
Watch it sonnet jim!
Good stuff ‘holic and iSnail.
A fine double act you’ve got goind on there.
Speaking of doubles………………
Straight, no ice please.
Oh dear, I don’t think I can stanza any more.
Enough enemies to shake a spear at;
Good frend for Iesvs sake forbeare,
To digg the dvst encloased heare.
Blest be ye man yt spares thes stones,
And cvrst be he yt moves my bones.
In other words FUCK Smith, Taylor and Shawcross
The unholy trinity there H2H.
Good listening to the Sunday supplement, I cannot tell who is who but two of them are most definitely on Arsene’s and Arsenals side regarding unacceptable challenges and agreeing that Arsenal are roughed up by virtually every premier league team and it is the referees fault for allowing it.
Very pleased to see not all journos are complete prats
For once I disagree on multiple points with your post `Holic.
First on the financial part: Queensland Road is a mammoth project that goes well beyond the affordable housing part. If you remember well the club unveiled their plan a couple of years ago, see: http://www.arsenal.com/155/unhoused-import-pages/latest-stadium-news/arsenal-unveils-new-regeneration-plans-for-queensland-road
As you can see in that article, the joint project with Newlon is just a bit part of the masterplan to develop and profit on Queensland Road as there is much more to it (a commercial & leisure center, as many if not more residential units, office buildings etc).
The money we will make from the property sales (plus the remaining flats at Highbury square) will very likely be mostly invested in this Queensland Road superproject, which when completed will turn into a massive profit for the club. This is a bigger project than Highbury square and the final piece of the financial puzzle, the part that will not only erase the remaining debt but fill the coffers of the club for a long long time.
Just for that reason alone, all the money will not got in the team even it was underperforming.
But then it is not needed. We’re about to bag the title and we have the most golden generation of youths players a club has ever had that is about to mature.
Sorry `Holic but we will not buy 3-4 mature players this summer.
1) We’ve never done it under Wenger, flush or not
2) What the hell would we do with another midfielder? We already have way too many!
3) Same for strikers: with all our injuries we still haven’t seen much of Vela. Simpson is doing extremely well at QPR, are we going to sell him? And any mature striker better than what we have is out of our price range anyway.
Unless there are departures of senior players (Gallas? Arshavin?) and bargains to be made (Sorensen?), one mature player is the best we will get. And it won’t matter that much to anyone but the most hardcore of the buy-buy-buy fanatics because we will be the champions and we won’t fear anyone.
Oh dear God. NO!
Mary had a little lamb,
he walked into a pylon.
10,000 volts went up his arse,
and turned his wool to nylon……..
Never did like shakespeare.
I’ll have some of that Arkells please?
Part by part then Matt, and remember I accept I may be misinterpreting the report, but what was in black and white on the half-yearly report, ‘There are three property assets which we will now be looking to sell over the next two years’ supercedes the three year old link you refer to and my own piece on the development last October, http://goonerholic.com/?p=1879.
If I am wrong we will not have any significant sums to spend in the summer so the rest of it becomes irrelevant, but…
Do you really believe that we will go into the new season with just the current set of goalkeepers, all of whom have come up short this season?
We face the prospect of losing Gallas, Campbell, and Sylvestre who are all out of contract in the summer. We need to budget for at least two additions here.
If he has money do you not think that Wenger would sign another defensive midfielder, given our performances while Song was in Africa?
Same for strikers. The prospect of a five feet four centre-forward for half a season again is unthinkable. A quality player with Champions League experience is available on a free. He is likely to fit in with our style perfectly. I’m convinced it would be a major mistake not to sign him.
If money is not available then we face a difficult summer. That is why the board have to explain better what is going on or risk the reaction that people like you and I have argued against for four years.
I hope that explains my reasoning better.
I have always been a glass is half full merchant rather than the pessimist. I try to look for positives in every situation. As Churchill once said…….”a pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”
I am with Churchill on that one, and I don’t mean that annoying plastic dog on the adverts for car insurance. This is OUR opportunity.
So where are the positives in all of this? Well we have 10 games to go. All 10 are winnable. Very winnable, starting with Burnley. Both the Chavs and ManUre seem intent on dropping silly points. Both have to play each other and have a far trickier run in than us. If we can go to Stoke and win under those circumstances then we can go anywhere.
2 seasons ago at Birmingham, some young players crumbled under the pressure of seeing what had happened to Eduardo. Very understandable. On Saturday night I saw kids that had grown into men. They showed more balls than any Arsenal side that I have seen for some time. There seemed a sense of togetherness and spirit that I have not seen before. When the players came together at the end of the game it was then that I had it confirmed. The title is ours for the taking. I really believe that. Our next 5 games are against Burnley, Hull, West ham, Birmingham and Wolves. Can anyone think of a reason why we can’t get 15 points from those games? No, nor me.
So let’s do it. Quit talking about it. The time for talking is done. Let’s go on and win this thing. Then the party starts. And all those wankers at Talk Shite and their other friends in the media can then have both barrels. It is then that we ring and e mail Talk Shite and rub their grubby filthy little noses right in it. Fuck em. We are the Arsenal. And let’s not forget it.
Keep the faith.
Raises glass to Aaron. Cheers my old son.
So first a beer or 5, it looks like we have a lot to discuss 😉
The way I understand it, the report focuses on what the short-term plans are and does not hint that the remaining part of Queensland Road will be sold. As I see it, it says that the objective is to raise money in the next 2 years but it doesn’t explicitely mention what happens next. Until now the plan was to redevelop and flip the place and nothing I’ve read in the last results hints that it won’t happen. And if it happens it’s either on our own in which case we will need the money (and some, probably another loan) or with partners and then it depends. But since we partnered for one bit, the fat cats in charge could well decide to take more risks for more rewards. Wait and see…
GK: either way. Fabianski had one nightmare game, that’s not the end of his career. If we win the title Almunia may stay, otherwise not so sure.
DM: Eastmond. Denilson. The only way I see it happen was if Song was moved to CD. But then Arsene loves offensive midfielders…
Strikers: It depends how the season ends. If NB52 shows he can score and/or assist regularly I doubt we won’t buy anyone unless some leave (Arshavin? Eduardo?).
Defense: yes. But Silvestre will likely be replaced by a youth and Djourou will be back. One defender for sure.
We have some money but we won’t spend it on seasoned players. Because if we win the title and/or the CL we can say bye-bye to our current wage structure. 80K/week for Fabregas? He is faithful to the club but that does not mean he is stupid…
Heh, I’m not going to argue with you Matt. I hope your interpretation is right, and I hope I run into someone soon who will be able to clear it up for me. What remains open to conjecture is the development on the south side of Queensland Road. We shall see. I need zzz’s. Laters.
Holic,
I am real curious about the dramatic reduction in debt. Were you able to spot where that money came from?
You tempted me with summer signings, so I wanted to be the first to lean towards the conservative. I see three “signings” this summer: Gallas, Chamakh, and either a young defender or Campbell.
At midfield there is Song, Diaby, Cesc, Denilson, Rosicky, Nasri, and possibly Merida. Even assuming that Ramsey is out for the entire season, that’s seems like more than enough. Wenger trusts Song, Diaby and Denilson in the holding role, and I expect that to continue. Eboue can also serve as a second holding midfielder if Song and Diaby are hurt.
I really like the balance of the side now…even more so three days ago. Let’s hope the trophies come in!
Let’s move on, but not forget about Rambo in the months ahead.
Right on Steve T!
Here’s to bring you to a 3/4th full glass kind of person 😉
So I computed the points dropped by the champion and second in their last 10 games for the last 6 years:
2008/09
1 Utd 90pts: lost 8 points (2L 1 D)
2 Pool 86pts: lost 2 points (1D)
2007/08
1 Utd 87pts: lost 7 pts (1L 2D)
2 CSKA 85pts: lost 4 points (2D)
2006/07
1 Utd 89pts: lost 10pts (2L 2D)
2 CSKA 83 pts: lost 10pts (5D)
2005/06
1 CSKA 91pts: lost 11 pts (3L 1D)
2 Utd 83pts: lost 7 pts (1L 2D)
2004/05
1 CSKA 95pts: lost 6 pts (3D)
2 Arsenal 83pts: lost 7 pts (2D 1L)
2003/04
1 Arsenal 90pts: lost 10pts (5D) The Invincibles!!!
2 CSKA 79pts: lost 12pts (2L 3D)
We are 3 points from CSKA and 2 from Utd and they have to face each other which means we actually are either:
– 3pts behind CSKA, 1 ahead of Utd
– 1pt behind CSKA, level with Utd
– 2pts behind Utd and level with CSKA
Now factor in the oppositions left until May, we have the easiest run (Spuds away, Citeh home)
then it’s Utd (Pool home, Chelski home, City away, Spuds home)
then Chelski (Villa home, Utd away, Spuds away, Pool away)
We will bag it.
great work matt. really makes you wonder why these statistics haven’t been brought up before. The mancs will drop alot of points, especially if the ogre loses a little bit of his goal scoring form. a little off topic but Setanta America seems to have gone under and been replaced by another sky run channel fox soccer “plus”… god help us all having to listen to even more sky bolloxes during the matches.
The great thing about blogs is you can pick and choose the ones you want to read. The same can be said for traditional magazines and other media. But I can’t say why anybody would choose to listen to talk radio of the kind described here over the last two days. If people are uttering vile statements about Aaron Ramsey or anybody else that does not mean it is your duty to listen to them. Quite the opposite, I must say.
As on the topic of analysts I was very happy and surprised to hear Bobby McMahon of sky give a an almost perfect look on the tackle by Shawcross, and McMahon covered nearly every possible anlge of understanding for Shawcross such as the tears and he’s not that kind of player rubbish by giving points that we have all been saying the last couple days. He also labled the tackle an utter assault. Now I know it’s job to say the right things but it is refreshing to hear a reporter tell it like it is. Add him to the Very, very few genuine analysts out there.
Another video of Saint Shawcross maiming a player during his loan spell at Royal Antwerp (Belgium).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JImCLHKXTOs
Andy
I am real curious about the dramatic reduction in debt.
The club have been quite open about the fact, Andy, that since the last year end they have completed the sale of a large number (261) of the Highbury Square properties, plus they have realised a significant surplus in the ‘player trading’ account (Adebayor and Toure).
The renegotiated loan on Highbury Square has been reduced from £124m to £36m in round figures. It’s all in the full version of the report.
Holic,
Im not a financial whizz kid by any stretch of the imagination but is it only me that feels slightly worried that we may pay of this massive debt in record time only to be brought by silent stan on the never never and be plunged into a united scenario all the clubs hard work would be for nothing and wed be back to square one in fact worse than that as we would have no flats to sell? I could be totally wrong but i cannot see a way he would have the capital to purchase Arsenal without taking on massive debts
Deloitte just published the list of the 20 biggest-earning clubs last season (revenue 2008-2009). We are of course climbing the ladder as we just overtook Chelski.
1 (1) Real Madrid £341.9million
2 (3) Barcelona £311.7m
3 (2) Man Utd £278.5m
4 (4) Bayern Munich £246.6m
5 (6) Arsenal £224.0m
6 (5) Chelsea £206.4m
More here: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=749429&sec=england&cc=5901
It tells you a lot about the quality of the other leagues:
England: 7 clubs
Germany: 5 clubs
Italy: 4 clubs
Spain: 2 clubs
France: 2 clubs
La liga is not competitive as the 2 top clubs have negotiated separate TV rights which seems to be the main reason they earn more than anyone else in Europe and the other 18 clubs are minnows (including debt-loaded Valencia who are living on the rags of their former riches).
Quite right, a time to move on, a time to move on towards a trophy that will right many of wrongs, that will justify our great managers philosophy and ram many of the xenophobic claptrap spouted out about him and our club back down their throats.
WE SHALL OVERCOME!!!!!
He is that kind of player, Stoke is that kind of club and, unfortunately, England is that kind of place.
There are lots of opinions flying around, so let’s throw some statistics in the mix. A look at the Premier League’s disciplinary table shows that Ryan Shawcross is the 4th worst disciplined player in the Premier League this season, as measured by the number of times he has been cautioned. Read differently, by most of England, he is the 4th most committed player in the league. In his commitment, he has the support of a lot of friends and team mates. 5 Stoke players participate as the 15 worst disciplined players. There are a total of 27 players in this list, as many share joint 15th, which gives Stoke an almost 25% share of the honours. This is the highest participation rate by any team, with Sunderland sharing the glory.
If you look at the team table, Arsenal is the 2nd best disciplined team behind Fulham, while Stoke is 18th. Take a bow Mr. Pulis.
To all the English xenophobes ranting about the record of Arsene’s teams, I’ll bite. Bad news, however, folks. The League disciplinary table shows that Arsenal has shown steady improvement under Wenger. When he joined as manager in 1996, Arsenal were last in the league on the disciplinary table. They improved every year subsequent to that, and broke into the top half of the table for the 2000/2001 season, when they were ranked 4th. They have been in that half of the table ever since, with the exception of the 2001/2002 season (which, admittedly was a pretty big drop).
‘holic. I enjoy your column and, like you, enjoy arseblog. And very much enjoy Arsenal. Which is why, with due apologies, I have repeated these comments on arse’s blog as well.
No apologies necessary, ce. Thanks for some interesting stats.
CHIPPY
is it only me that feels slightly worried that we may pay of this massive debt in record time only to be brought by silent stan on the never never and be plunged into a united scenario
No, it isn’t. That may be unkind on Mr Kroenke, but the thought of either he or the odious oligarch getting overall control of a profitable Arsenal is a terrifying one.
Fantastic post, CE.
ChicagoGooner, I second your praise of Bobby McMahon. Fantastic pundit, far better than most of the idiot journos in England.
holic, loved reading your heartfelt words about this entire incident at Stoke. Agree entirely that we have to try to move on, but some of us need a little more time. I’m getting there.
As others have said, the other big story about the Stoke game was the mentality and attitude of the team — and the utterly amazing Cesc! It’s been extraordinary watching this kid grow up into a man. It is not only his football skill but his character and personality that is something to be admired throughout the football community. When you have pathetic wankers like Terry and Cashley grabbing the headlines for being such petty, small-minded men with no integrity or character whatsoever, we gooners can be very proud of this young man who Wenger discovered, groomed and mentored into a player and a man of such character and quality.
Moving on and showing maturity is exactly what we all should be doing and right now it looks like the Arsenal players are growing into great models for all of us. Cesc is in the midst of confirming that Arsene was absolutely right to appoint him captain at such a young age. Soon Evra and the others who said it was like men against boys will be nostalgic that it is that way no longer but instead old men against the Arsenal players in the prime of their lives, playing together as a cohesive unit.
Decent article from the Times’ Matt Dickinson, entitled “Arsene Wenger right to question physical culture of English football”:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/matt_dickinson/article7046045.ece
Thanks marcus, good article indeed.
Marcus, thanks for the link.
The article raises an interesting point for me, and I see this repeated in “balanced” articles from reputed journalists.
I do not know Matt Dickinson or his body of work, so, I’ll give him the benefit of doubt here. I wonder why many of these balanced articles on Aaron Ramsey’s injury, or the potential wider implications on it’s cause, start with a repudiation of Arsene Wenger, or have that as one of the core points of the article. It almost seems that to get a fair hearing, journalists feel they have to appeal to the reader’s anti-Wenger sentiment. There seems to be a fair amount of hatred for the man, at least in England.
With regard to fallout, the most I can realistically hope for is some additional protection by referees for Arsenal players in the short-term. Longer-term, I think Arsenal will have to rely on some collateral “commitment”. Not really the way I want to see them play, but it will be hard to fault.
Marcus, thanks for that link – it is pretty well on the money for me.
Pity about some of the ludicrous comments posted at the end of the article….
It is making me sick to my stomach some of the claptrap that we are hearing/reading about Shawcross and what a nice chap he is etc etc – for that reason I am finding it very hard to move on’ holic.
Coming down from Scotland again on Saturday to the Grove and I am hoping to be in a much better frame of mind on Saturday at 5pm compared with the black mood I have been in since the Stoke match.
PS – ‘holic, don’t claim to understand all the financials above – but as long as the board are not just out to line their own pockets and make our great club vulnerable to some foreign over-leveraged predator then I will take the results as being “good news”.
Want to know what Rednose thinks of the brutality in the game? Then read that article and seethe…
http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Sir-Alex-Ferguson-made-a-personal-call-of-support-to-stricken-Stoke-defender-Ryan-Shawcross-barely-hours-after-lifting-the-Carling-Cup-at-Wembley-article341227.html
Anyway the only positive bit.
Shawcross and Stoke have spoken to Ramsey, 19, over the last 48 hours to apologise after the incident and it is understood that the young Gunner accepted there was no malicious intent.
If you remember well, Taylor and Smith did not bother to contact their victims at any point. But then there was no oucry as the victims were not subjects of Her Majesty.
Captain Fab did a quick interview recently:
So there I was at Naomi Campbell’s Haiti fundraising fashion show earlier this month, preparing to prance down the catwalk with her, when I spied an equally nervous, inappropriate figure lurking backstage.
It was Cesc Fabregas, captain of my beloved Arsenal.
‘What are you doing here?’ I asked him. ‘No idea,’ he replied.
‘Looking forward to it?’
‘No!’ He was shaking like a leaf.
‘Please tell me you’re not leaving Arsenal?’
‘I’m not leaving Arsenal,’ he said.
‘The last captain to say that to me was Thierry Henry. He left a month later,’ I told him.
Fabregas burst out laughing.
‘It wasn’t funny, Cesc, it was like a family bereavement.’
He stopped laughing and apologised.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1254253/Piers-Morgan-John-Terry-nice-kids-say–Krays.html
Arsenal’s away wins this season at Fulham, Liverpool, and Stoke were all games we would have drawn or worse last season. It seems we have a little something extra going for us, but we’ve had very few if any easy wins since Van Persie was injured so it is essential we keep our focus and get good performances from everybody to keep it going against Burnley.
Hi Holic, large black coffee please my head is spinning.
Marcus great article. My faith in the media rose a fraction on reading it. Only a fraction thou.
I for one am delighted the debt has been so dramatically reduced. The constant reports of the demise of Portsmouth are chilling for a PL league team who won the FA cup not 2 seasons ago. NOT, that I am comparing my beloved Arsenal with this team its just look at ManU and Liverpool. 2 of the biggest teams in the world and in serious trouble. It scares me when we also have 2 vulture’s hovering over us and we have no idea of there intentions. Will one of them make a move then plunge us into huge debt to pay for their buy out as was done by the yanks at Manu and Liverpool. To clear this debt then see it go through the roof after a buy out, very worrying.
As for Wenger buying players, I have been very vocal maybe out of frustration sometimes when you think ( OMG a decent keeper would have saved that or someone taller than a ten year old would have got on the end of that ) But here we are 3rd and 3 points behind the leaders without having to face Manu, Chelski, Pool, or Aston Villa. Chelski are still everyone’s favorites to win ( The Bookies ect ) They are top and do have a 3 point lead, however I do believe this will be our season. So in Arsene we trust !
As ColleyCunt and his side kick LouArsehole ! YOU TWO ARE A WASTE OF GOOD AIR !!!!!!!!
The Shawcross band wagon rolls on and I hope Shawcross breaks Rooneys leg in training and see what happens then.
Arsenal 1971, at least the odds seem to suggest it will be someone on another team whose leg is broken next time. Do the bookmakers take bets on that sort of thing? Based on this debate and all the interest it has stirred up they might get some very profitable business out of it, not that I would be participating of course.