Communication Let Me Down
Sep 18th, 2011 by 'holic
The day after. I have a little problem.
I am supposed to be supposed to be staunchly, even blindly, behind club and manager, or I am supposed to be hurling rabid unreasoned abuse at all and sundry at the Grove.
Now here is my problem. I’m neither of those things.
I’ve been watching the club since Stan Kroenke was a teenager. I’ve seen good and bad, and appreciate that football, as with economics, goes in cycles. Some looking in from outside might suggest, with some justification, that we have enjoyed more than our fair share of success in the last thirteen years, and now we are on the bust that naturally follows the boom.
Here is the issue I have with that. We moved from our spiritual home to the imposing new stadium to compete at the highest levels of the game. It is to the enormous credit of those running the club in mid-decade that such a huge move was accomplished at very reasonable rates before the economic situation around the world slumped. Our neighbours up the road have discovered how such a development is unthinkable today unless significant public funding can be thrown into the mix.
We came close to catching a cold with the property developments associated with that move, and again it is to the credit of the board that we eventually posted some profit from those dealings. However the success of the relocation has not been replicated on the pitch, and there is the heart of the issue that a number of people now have with Arsenal. At the end of the day we are a football club. It is results on the pitch, not on the balance sheet, that get passionate people excited or agitated.
I am trying frantically to avoid the polar opposites of the arguments that rage about how much is wrong with the club, and who is to blame for perceived failings. It is not easy perching on a flimsy fence when you are a seventeen stone lump. Crucially as well, I simply don’t have enough information on which to base my opinion because Arsenal Football Club has become a communications nightmare.
There are those who believe they know what is going on because they hear the soundbites fed by people at Highbury House to those in their ‘social media’ network. They don’t question the snippets that come out into the public domain via the back door. Opinion becomes fact, and battle lines are drawn as the blame is laid at the door of the manager one week, the chairman the next, and the owner thereafter.
The lack of positive communication from the club starts with the owner. Mr Kroenke was the right man to take the club forward as far as Danny Fiszman was concerned, and that earns him a little slack in my book, but a fanbase in various states of confusion and disappointment needs assurances about the future of the club from a man seen more as an ‘investor’ than a passionate owner. Mr Kroenke owns the shares, but the Arsenal belongs to the masses who follow it worldwide, and our temporary custodian needs to make his vision clear and assuage the fears of those who follow a club that is also a hugely profitable asset, potentially.
His visible face is Ivan Gazidis, a smooth operator in meetings with supporters and shareholders. An easy target for old school supporters who wonder why we have not been able to extricate ourselves from sponsorship deals that may have enabled the move to go ahead, but now appear to be preventing us from maximising our revenue. Ivan, it is said, has been a driving force behind the Arsenalisation of the Grove. There is no doubt something was needed, but millions have been poured into murals and bunting when coppers appear to have been saved on actually strengthening the team that generates the support.
Around Ivan an expensive pool of talent has been assembled. It will be interesting to read the views of smarter financial brains than I when the results are published shortly. Again they are an easy target, and the value they deliver to the business is possibly misunderstood. It is not the best bit of PR however to have your principal ‘facilitator‘ spending weeks in South America attempting, then failing, then succeeding in finally recruiting a twenty year old striker for whom we cannot get a work permit. Particularly when the first team squad had glaring deficiencies that needed addressing.
Now just think a second about what I have just written. So much of it is negative, even hostile in tone. Stan/Ivan, that is what happens when your communications let you down. Whispers in corridors have become gospel, passed on by the ‘bible’ that is Twitter and reproduced by blogs (yes, such as this one!). In the absence of assurances and explanations about what is being done to correct some fairly obvious shortcomings the worst is assumed. Bile and misinformation multiplies and festers.
Something clearly isn’t right, and it may not be just an issue of communication, but that is the starting point for repairing relationships that are being broken between club and support, and in some instances between club and employees. At the end of the day, regardless of how we currently view the club from our polarised camps, we all want desperately to be cheering a successful team on the pitch. We don’t want to be watching the humiliations at clubs with far lesser resources than us. I suspect even the terminally miserable are tired of spouting the same old negativity day in and day out.
It’s good to talk, Arsenal. That starts with Stan, and his team. It’s essential right now to embrace the support and share what you are going to be doing with us. You’ll find we can be a force for good and positive when we feel part of our club.
Up the Arsenal!
178 Responses to “Communication Let Me Down”
first?
Yay!
Very constrained Holic 😀
Shouting “What the Fuck is going on” from the rooftops not yet your style eh mate 😉
Come to think of it, you just hit the nail on the head Mark 😉
“It is not easy perching on a flimsy fence when you are a seventeen stone lump. Crucially as well, I simply don’t have enough information on which to base my opinion because Arsenal Football Club has become a communications nightmare.”
This really sums up my thinking about the club. For the first a a statement that reflects the reality of our club: ‘Communication Let Me Down’.
The club, board, owners and the manager, need to sit down and sort out this communication problem.
Morning Holic,morning Holics.
Un-charateristically hung like a race horse this morning. Sorry still 6am out here on the left coast. I don’t think there are too many gooners that did not drown there sorrows in the flowing bowl.
I gotta a quart of Jack Daniels, a couple of my dis-spirited mates and..spirited.
Today there is the Devil to pay. He can sod off and wait his turn after the light bill and cable.
No answers from me. I’m going to have a 6am hair-of-the-dog beer and sulk. I didn’t start sulking ’till fulltime and I won’t be sulking when the whistle blows for the Shropshire Slashers but right now I’m down.
Where in good God’s name are we going?
Great piece, holic.
Communication is basic stuff though, and it worries me that a club with the resources of ours can’t get it right.
An old boss of mine had many mantra’s one of the most oft repeated was “unclear is unfair”. You are spot on ‘holic. Through the lack of communication at worst and (possibly deliberatley) leaked titbits at best, things are massively unfair on the fans. They know we won’t walk away, although some may temporarily turn their backs – not in the poxy contrived Poznan way either – so what incentive do they (the powers that be) have to change? None whatsoever. It is also hugely unfair on the man who has made the Club what it should be today and was ‘yesterday’ – for years the board claimed Arsene had money to spend. That now appears patently untrue (lack of clarity again) yet he never once wavered. Nobody involved with Arsenal wants something like they have up the road – a droopy faced hangdog who gets his pleasure barking out of car windows at every opportunity, but maybe sometimes Arsene needs to say a little more and maybe publicly challenge the board. It may turn out to be a “shit or bust” policy on his behalf but it may just flush them out and force them to speak – either to agree or deny what is said by the manager.
To Cut a Long Story Short, it’s True – we need a Lifleline to help stop the fans being so Highly Strung. I’m not sure How Many Lies will be told before we break Through the Barricades and stop going Round and Round and I’m sure some will only get some Pleasure and will tell Wenger they will get it “Only When You Leave”. Communication has let us down but we must Fight for Ourselves and get back on our Journeys To Glory.
Right, I’m off for a lay down…….
Fortunately I could not see the game yesterday, and have avoided the replays of the match. Like you I am an old timer and find what is happening beyond comprehension.
I actually wrote to Kroenke last month and gave him my two-pennyworth and suggested that even several top quality signings would not stop the general malaise. He needs to have a close look at how the club is run. I think Gazidis, as you say, is a smooth operator and totally ineffectual as a Chief Executive of an English Football Club. And here, I think, is the nub of it.
We have a lot of well qualified people involved at Arsenal, but how many of them are football people? Not many.
Surprisingly I am still quite calm and collected, but come the beginning of October and a match against the shite, there had better be some organisation and communication on the pitch or else I may join the throng wanting heads to roll.
Another typically considered and balanced reply which helps rather than hinders constructive debate. I diverge from you in relation to Kroenke . I believe he was embraced by the Board because he was not Usmanov rather than because he is the ideal owner for the club.actually Usmanov would very possibly have entered the pissing contest with Sheik Mansour and Abramovich that would have temporarily have delighted the fans but left us vulnerable if FFP ever does get implemented .
Many fans,including me believe the late transfer splurge was instigated by Silent Stan because it is so not Wenger’s style.If that is true were these the players Wenger really wanted and was he really prepared to go through a season with the squad that we had up to the Man U game? If so and notwithstanding his other deficiencies like tactics and organisation,can someone so out of touch click back into gear just because he now has a few experienced heads? What does matter is that the crowd don’t get on Mertesacker’s back too early and accommodate the fact that Arteta isn’t Fabregas. This club may be heading for hell in a handbasket (well we may miss out on the Champions League next season) but we do need to rediscover what supporting a club is really about.
If there was more communication regarding defensive oranisation over recent we’d be strong on the pitch as well. At spurs away last season and at home we dropped points when we were offensively light years ahead of them. yesterday actually gave me hope that we are still pretty good offensively, if we could sort out our defending we’d be a shoe in for the top four. but how long has that been said
Another great piece today holic . Communication works both ways and I wonder do the board get this from the AST meetings, empty seats and sporadic booing all of which they probably see as an attack on them personally. Since Stan will not open up dialogue with supporters groups and Ivan continues to wax lyrical about the current impasse I’m afraid your arse better get used to that fence and make room for me too..
Now of to the pub, fuck the chavs and indebted there’s an All Ireland to get pissed to..
I`m afraid the mere thought of that game against the shite fills me with gloom. Our sheer ineptitude, combined with the fact that the new signings may not quite appreciate the importance of, or be up for the game, could spell our downfall. We have been used to saying, maybe a little pompously in the past, that this came means only another 3 points to us, but it is a little different now.
OPINIONS
This excellent blog would be all the poorer if there was not an opportunity for people to post their thoughts for all to digest and discuss.
It’s a forum gentlemen, please consider not everyone will share the same views as you or be as articulate and measured in expressing them.
What we all share however is a deep, passionate love of Arsenal, that’s why we’re here in the first place.
I’m quite sure nobody wants to see us lose to be proved right but losing in the manner we did yesterday has become predictable and that gives fans the chance to say ‘I told you so’.
And until something changes these mistakes will continue.
It’s simply frustration because we’ve got to the stage that the same weaknesses that have been clear for all to see over the last 3 years have not been addressed.
I love Arsenal and I love Arsene.
At various times I loved Bertie Mee, Terry Neil and George Graham but it didn’t stop me questioning them at some stage.
But it’s not funny;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqbU1-jH_Wo
Blogging with the hand-brake off ‘holic – credit to you Guv’nor – appreciate that’s not always as straightforward as it might seem – and spot on too.
The club needs to speak to us re what’s going on financially down there – short, medium and long-term. We have new owners – does that mean new ideas, or not? Tell us…
How much do we really have to spend?What is our transfer policy/wage structure?And are all the key figures at the club pulling in the same direction (OK i don’t expect a straight answer on that one), but there are no good reasons i can think of as to why the club can’t answer those earlier questions – then from there every thing becomes much clearer to us all; the damaging rumours can stop and we can ALL begin to have an informed, intelligent debate re the true nature and future of Arsenal Football Club.
Oh, and hiding behind weak excuses like – candidly answering questions re our finances will give an advantage to our nearest rivals – is bullshit. Our rivals already know they can pick off our best talent at the moment with offers we can’t match.
The time has arrived when the club have to come clean with us – its support. It makes sense from a PR and a business perspective – i can’t see what’s stopping them any longer.
You’re right holic the talking starts with Stan and his team, and if they begin the process then p’raps Le Boss’ll feel like he can take his hand-brake off as well, and start talking straight to us again too.
(Open) Up The Arse!
An excellent post Holic.
I saw a great comment from someone on another blog that said :
“Rather than the fans lower their expectations, it is the Board that need to lower theirs, if they think that they can continue to charge caviar prices and serve up crabsticks”.
By the same token though – Arsene Wenger doesn’t get a free pass from me on this one. The board are not responsible for players lacking concentration and it is a major indictment of the guys who work with them all week that our players cannot show the requisite amount of consistency over the course of 90 minutes, never mind over the course of a week’s worth of fixtures.
There is not a lot of evidence of Wenger changing which is what many of us wanted, rather than a change of manager. He cannot continue to give us soundbites about terrible defending and do nothing about it. It is clear to a blind man that they do not know how to defend as a unit, and that is something that needs to be addressed by Arsene, one way or another.
@Whistler from previous drinks.
Your are correct about two things, (1) B’burn did have a few players who made decent performances and (2) I couldn’t give a shit about them.
But what I was trying to say, in my non sober state this morning, is that we were not beaten by a better team. Our failings were all of our own making and we gifted them the three points.
Holic, great post as usual.
Thinking about what you have said & going back over the years, i’d have to say that I don’t see an awful lot of difference in the mind-set with this management team & the last.
Both had/have a highhandedness about them where we the Fans opinion don’t came in to play that much? Dean being the exception!!!
The difference as I see it is the near total media block on what the players have to say, however this could be explained in the non-Arsenal type players that have been brought-in in the last few years. All seemingly happy to take without question the tactics passed on to them…..
Good post, ‘holic.
And … I’ve been watching the club since Stan Kroenke was a teenager.
*resists making joke* 😉
Hey zico. I didn’t perhaps explain myself so well. I personally don’t blame anybody particularly. That’s because I really and honestly don’t know who is responsible for a situation where I’m not sure if our malaise begins and ends with the playing and coaching staff, or if the problems include complications with relations further up the food chain.
Like a lot of bloggers I hear different insiders take on things, but they are opinions, not fact. Some of us sometimes forget that important distinction when taking on board what we read, or are told.
The deathly silence from ‘upstairs’ is a hindrance to getting us out of this hole. Of that I am confident.
Thanks Blogs, also.
I know that joke is coming from somewhere Ollie 😉
Applause for Mr Friend. That was pure “Gold” 😀
Holic,
You made yourself perfectly clear, and I agree totally with you – our communication stinks and is a common complaint in the drinks on here. My personal opinion is that Gazidis is out of his depth.
I’m still venting on yesterday though, because like I said in the previous round of drinks, what has actually changed since the debacle at Newcastle? We have different personnel yet we have the same “lack of focus”. That cannot be the fault of the Board when we pay our Manager/Coach a substantial wedge, surely?
Epic post ‘holic.
It’s hit the nail pretty squarely on the head.
Football is a business, but it’s not a normal business. After decades of supporting the Arsenal, we don’t just suddenly decide we’ll switch sides (well some might, but you know what I mean). We just don’t make the same economic choices about football as we do in other areas of our lives.
The club is not a property development company. It’s not a clothing manufacturer. Nor is it a publisher of webcontent, a broadcaster, a catering company, a credit card company, a conference venue, an advertising hoarding or anything else (although it may ALSO do some or all of those things).
It is a fucking football club. Our football club.
And the club is nothing without a fanbase of people like us. Indeed, the fanbase is pretty much the only reason this or any other club exists. And this club is as disconnected from that fanbase as I think I’ve ever seen.
That is not down to results (there have been worse runs). It is not down to Arsene Wenger (we have had less successful managers). It is down to something being critically wrong with the way the management of this footballing business connects with it ‘customers’ – i.e. us lot.
Yesterday, seeing the many empty seats in the chicken factory, we took some pleasure (particularly when the home fans started leaving) in singing “Your stadium’s too big for you, Your stadium’s too big for you…”
If things go on as they are, away fans may well be singing the same to us when they visit.
Now I’m not as bothered as some that the people in charge of the commercial side of things are not ‘football’ people – I care only that they do a brilliant job for the club.
And the comms from this club without a doubt needs as massive a shake up as our defensive training. I can only assume the powers that be don’t realise that the absence of comment merely encourages speculation, with all the attendant problems that brings in an era of near instant digital communication.
Whoever is in charge of managing the club’s reputation needs to be doing a much better job.
Now I would offer them my professional services, but I’m not sure they could cope with all the crap jokes…(sorry for that last night folks…I blame the large quantities of alcohol I consumed for that).
😆
Hard to argue with that zico, assuming the staff he has to work with are those the manager wanted.
On a different topic altogether gotta love the people talking about Samba’s contribution yesterday. Did they not see the ease with which we scored our three goals. A bullet dodged, for certain, fucking useless lump.
Spot on as usual, Holic.
Mr ‘holic – surely your best post yet – absolutely excellent stuff.
Have to say that whilst I agree with Blogs that a big club with the resources available to it that Arsenal has should be able to communicate better, I think it may be that a bunker mentality has built up at board / management level. As such, maybe they are unaware of fan feeling or are trying to ignore it.
Such a mentality would be ok if replicated on the pitch with a “none shall pass” attitude in games. Unfortunately the players seem only too willing to please, look at the kind gesture yesterday to Steve Kean…
Not sure improved communications from the board is going to make a big difference on the pitch. After all united don’t seem to have any problems performing despite years of discord. The real issue is communication on the pitch and that stems from lack of communication in the dressing room/training ground. To me Wenger no longer appears to have the passion for the job and if that’s installing itself in the players then that is a serious issue….
And equally spot on by snowy@25.
Indeed ‘holic. Samba, one of B’burns better players yesterday was not that great.
How bad were we?
I’m sorry, it’s just frustration is ruling today.
How can the same XI (min Sagna who should never have came out for the 2nd half) that dominated the early procceedings and made Samba look like a “lump” capulate in such a titanic fashion?
I can except being beaten by better teams and I also realise that we have no divine right to beat the so called lesser teams, but yesterday was just ridiculous.
I thought we brought in some leaders? If so, where were they? Certainly not on the pitch. Comunication from the board level is virtualy non exsistant and on yesterdays evidence, the same could be said about the players on the pitch.
Come on Arsenal, you need to start talking, on all levels.
@ Goonerholic
What sort of communication are you looking for from the board? Can you give examples?
@ 29 BW
I agree with the first part of your comment – communication on the pitch is what is important.
Afternoon Holic and Holic`s
As per ussual I am playing catch up over the weeks missed, sorry for being off subject but I just wanted to say my piece.
Summer signings
Ze German ? To early to really say as so far looked out of his depth, however 70 odd caps for Germany normally means your a bloody good player. Time will tell weather or not he can adapt. Foot note I always thought Cahill would be a far better option but once again AW little black book of player prices didnt.
Gervinho : looks like he has all that we look for in a Arsenal player, pace,skill and loves to take on a player. I love that ! In time will form good understanding with his team mates, like when to pass.
Arteta : Always liked him a honest hard working player with vision and a decent set piece taker. Sadly no replacement for Cesc but then again who playing in a team outside Barca could replace him ?
Benayoun : Very Very hard working but no Nasri. Good squad player.
Ox Cham : 12m why ? Do we need another 12m gamble when experiance is needed. Dont get this one at all. I really hope he rams them words down my throat and I will gladly eat as much humble pie as the holic`s can provide.
Park : No nothing havent seen anything so no judgement to be made.
Once again a profit made out of players sold which can only strengthen AW position with the board even thou prices pushed up as covered by Mr Holic recently.
Another foot note bar RVP and Wilshere I think AW will struggle to make another profit in the next few years which could show the real investment or transfer fund available, so random statements in the media saying we 50m to spend before we sold anyone may be interesting going forward.
Performance`s so far can only be summed up in one word AWLFUL ! The team is in transition and new players need to bed in and the Verminator and Jack being out has shone through. Sad that missing a CB and Mid can hurt the club so badly. None of the PL top 4 clubs would suffer this badly missing two great players and that is were the problem lies. Vidic/Fletcher Lescott/Barry.
If you take are last 20 games a manager of any club in any of are leagues would have lost his job its relegation form in any league you care to mention. I am not calling for AW head I am calling change and soon as how can this be classed as working ?
AW its over to you and your coaches. With the players in and the players out to be fair I didnt see us as a PL contender and would be delighted with CL. This however is starting to look very unlikley as it is very hard to pull a team out of such a slump very quickly and by the time we have got out of it as I know we can we could be 15-20 points off 4th
Sorry off subject Holic and Holic`s
Large brandy`s all round barman as we all need one.
Just watching, (while working….) the game up north.
Well, at least we weren’t 3 – 0 down at half time……
(look I’m going to grab any small crumb I can at the moment!)
Missed one
Santos : Strong,fast, powerfull, but a winger first and foremost again time will tell.
By the way, has anybody checked to see if there has been a run of broken mirrors, people walking under ladders, not letting black cats across in front around the Emirate or Colney lately? Hopefully we’re getting all our bad luck out of the way early!
Maybe November will be a good month this year…
Drinks? something calming, certainly none of that Red Bull stuff…..
Gooner ref;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pu9AyX963E8
I tell you, it’s so difficult typing with fingers crossed, holding my lucky rabbits foot and keeping the horseshoe the right way up!
I’m glad it’s not the 13th…..
An excellent, well considered piece, ‘Holic. I seem to recall a dissertation with Guiness accompaniment on the last occasion we had the pleasure at the Tolly.
Arsenal appears to me to be the most blogged club on the planet. Consequently there is a huge network out there that could be exploited beneficially to convey messages that might not be too well received via the club’s official organ.
Mind you, I’d want to be VERY careful about which bloggers were tapped to manage this. I don’t share your confidence that “even the terminally miserable are tired of spouting the same old negativity day in and day out” – and frankly, that’s one of the clubs/fan base’s biggest issues.
Misery truely loves misery, and currently we’re in a self-sustaining downward spiral of woe which is doing nothing to build the single most important ingredient or success – player confidence. I think we’ll feel the negativity in the ground next Saturday. I hope I’m wrong.
There are some excellent contributions above on the reality of football being “not really a business” – well done to these contributors. Implicitly, in business, competitors compete on a business driven by profit or fail. They tend to compete on every dimension of performance, including communications. I wonder which of our competitors is the model competitor? I don’t find the time to read any but I’m not aware of mater-classes taking place elsewhere?
I do hope that the club’s Comms team takes time to read and ponder your comments. I suspect they have a “blog monitoring individual” to reap the free market research. I suspect too they’re thinking:
– We have a website, updated daily, available in six languages
– We issue weekly management newsletters
– Our manager is available to the press weekly
– Our manager responds post every match win or draw
– We host a fans forum weekly
– We address our business performance and plan annually
= We’ve even had BtM on Arsenal 360!
What more do you want?
I’m retiring next year. “Gi’s a job, Arsenal” – I’ll do it for free tickets to every home game – club class, of-course.
@ Bergkamp’s the Man
I’m with you. This is why I wanted to know what areas Goonerholic was talking about. I don’t think the issue is communication from the club, I suspect the problem is more that a lot of people a) have an instinctive distrust of any information coming out of the club b) pay no attention to any such information c) would prefer to sustain the narrative of negativity.
The answers demanded by a lot of people are freely available in the public domain, or in website content, sometimes with a bit of research. Some other answers shouldn’t be divulged by the club anyway. We the fans are the soul or heart of the club, but we don’t actually run the sporting enterprise which is AFC.
More than the lack of communication it is the lack of consistent communication that pisses me off. During every AST meeting Ivan speaks what we as fans want to hear. About how they have recognized what needs to change – but they never follow it up with actions.
Right now there’s not enough accountability at the club and for me that’s very frustrating.
Does Kroenke really care about where we finish as logn as we are economically self sustainable?
In short, dont talk more.. Just walk your fucking talk.
My last take on this;
I do realise that a summer of procrastination filled with will he or won’t he’s, departures and late arrivals with nothing but silence eminating from the halls of power have taken their toll, however as far as I remember yesterday Ivan Gadizus did not put the ball into his own net, PHW did not fail to spring the offside trap and Silent Stan wasn’t called upon to replace Sagna just after half time.
If the players and manager can take the plaudits when things go well then they should stand up and be counted when things like yesterday happen.
Or even “which of our competitors is the model communicator?”
Fun, I think there are “the facts” (the stuff I mentioned above) and then there is “the skinny” (Behind the scenes insights that add texture and can be used to soften and bring better understanding of the necessity of the course being pursued). I think the latter is the essence of Holic’s piece as an important contribution to better PR and an improved commitment to the well-being of the club we love so dearly.
Footnote: I’m in one of the most beautiful parts of the planet with my lovely wife. I woke up on Saturday to find we’d been beaten at BBurn. For no good reason, it impacted my whole day (even more than Her Nellieness beating me AGAIN on the links). So, the power of influence that Arsenal ha on my emotions is powerful.
But then I remembered. Jack (the Cesc replacement – mindtrip back to Barcelona away) and the Verminator were missing. Things immediately turned for the better. The sun WILL shine tomorrow on these Gunners.
Arsenal, Bloody Arsenal.
FunGunner: yes, a lot is available at arsenal.com, but there is a reason we call it Pravda.com. Everything (almost, anyway) is presented within a rose-tinted frame – and did you hear Ian Stone on the latest Arsecast (or was it the Tuesday Club?) tell the story of how he was instructed not to mention the ManU game too much in his column? That is just preposterous, you hire a fan (becuase that is what he is) to write about the club then tell him he can’t write about what he feels as a fan???
Also, to bridge the gap why not let sites like this one or Arseblog or other large or small sites do their own exclusive interviews with their choice of Arsene Wenger, Gazidis, any player or even Peter Hill-Wood once or twice a year? Gazidis did an interview with Arseblog once but that’s about it. I know from working for Arsenal Sweden that it is damn near impossible to get an interview with a player outside of the “media day” that is held in August every year and don’t even think about asking for an interview with Arsene or Gazidis! And this is not the players’ fault by the way, we have done several interviews with players in connection to internationals and they have almost always been very happy to do them. But try to go through the club… no. Forget it. You have one day all year when a Supporters Club can do interviews with the blessing of the club. ONE DAY! With all the players we have in the squad, you could easily do one day every two months and no player would have to do it more than once every season.
H2H: better communication is, of course, in no way the one thing that will solve everything. But it would, I believe, improve relations between club and supporters (and thus create a more stable environment within which to work) because there seems to be an increasing sense of distance. The ticket price hike is one example of a decision that to all of us seems desperately out of touch with reality – on the other hand, offering to pay for one away game for the fans who were at Old Trafford was definitely a good move.
@Bergkamp’s The Man
Bergy, you had damn well better be right. This thing is taking on water faster than HMS Hood. Admiral Arsene speaks about the players behavior and confidence as if he has nothing to do with it.
I’m NEVER to jump ship but to stand on the foc’sal with wet shoes and hear your C/O tell you there’s something amiss with the CREW is bulls**t.
A nice read and very insightful, but I’m not sure I fully agree.
In comparison to for example the fine bit of prestidigitation pulled off the the management at ‘castle with the Andy Carroll loot after ‘promising to shell out’. You can’t say in terms of the current situation that the AFC management have been shy in terms of listening to the mood of the fans and shelling out for some new talent to shake things up.
Sure we all have an opinion that some of those signings could have been better and perhaps we might have wanted the purse strings to be little looser, but still some money was spent and in more or less the right areas.
Yet here we sit again come Sunday night shell shocked and disheartened after another performance by the players, not the executives, that can only be described as sloppy and unprofessional.
The last time I watched the Arsenal I love was at home to Barca last year, when we harassed and closed down the best team in the world and beat them at their own game and we believed that everything was possible.
What happened after that is a tired story by now, but the thing that struck me the most watching things fall apart last season and start this year on the same note is that AW himself seems to have lost faith. Even when the team look good you can see the anxiety and doubt playing across his face and on those sadly rare moments when we do produce some magic these days how often have you seen the camera pan to the bench and seen him barely able to produce a cheer.
In my mind successful leaders in any arena require two key ingredients. Passion and inspiration. I can’t help wondering if after so much media second guessing, the bitterness of supporters crying for silverware and the 2 year running battle to hold on the Fab if AW has lost one, if not both of those key ingredients.
I don’t want to simply cry down with AW, get us a new manager – I know it’s not that simple.
But teams don’t drag themselves down like this without some slow poison seeping into the proverbial water hole from somewhere.
BTM @ 39 – the messages that come out of the club – from various sources – are at best mixed. Sometimes they’re confused and at others downright contradictory.
You can update websites with ‘information’ no-one’s really interested in; turn up to meetings with fans and spout trite management speak that hedges around the difficult underlying issues really bothering supporters and even give press-conferences that focus on ‘mental strength’ etc, etc. and evade the really important questions.
But when your core support senses that you, and/or the institution you represent is behaving evasively on a number of fundamentally important issues – and no longer fully trusts what you are putting out into the public domain – that has to addressed by the institution entirely honestly and swiftly, or said institution will begin to damage itself. And the very real danger of a serious split between the club and a sizable section of its potentially disillusioned support begins to loom.
I don’t want that to happen obviously – i just want to know what money is available to the club?, where’s it come from? and how they intend to spend it? Once that’s cleared up – i think – the whole messy picture at AFC would become a lot clearer and we can start to genuinely understand what’s going on at the club we all love.
Personally, i think the club owes it to itself – in the person of AW mostly – and the supporters to now come clean on the fundamental questions i’ve gone on about above
Failing that the team could go the rest of the season unbeaten and win the lot, and none of us would give a sp@rs left-wingers
UReds!
I love the smell of a pub on s Sunday evening. Reasons to be cheerful the rest are not that good looking at today games and its still early
Some of the defending against Blackburn was not good enough.
I could write a book on what is wrong with the comms at the club, but that would be making one of the fundamental errors the club us currently making 😉
It’s not about more communication (there is way too much already) it’s about better communication.
The club is clearly trying to play the news aggregators with a statement every other bloody minute during the working day, with the result that the meeja and the blogosphere and uncle Tom Cobley and all, are awash with lots of silly little stories, none of which is really doing any great deal to change external sentiment about the club. There’s so much of it it’s like a wall of white noise.
And the fact that as Lars points out above, we refer to the club’s website as Pravda tells me all I need to know about how one group of supporters view the authenticity of the outpourings of the club.
Yes I’m glad that so and so is happy they joined the club. They should say that once, when they join. New signings shouldn’t have their utterings chopped up into little bite-sized chunks and repackaged and regurgitated on the website every other bloody day. Because it’s not actually news.
And I don’t mind all little “My favourite socks” and “The tea shop that had the most influence on me in my career”-type videos on the site. It’s nice if that’s your kind of thing. But having endless pronouncements from the players and the boss of the “yeah we’re disappointed but we’re committed to making it better” type just tells us nothing that we don’t probably know or hope for already. I bloody well hope you do want to make it better, you fuckers, pull your bloody fingers out and get a fucking move on then. Enough of the talking, more of the doing please.
Supporters want to know some important things about the ‘big picture’ at the club – many of us have major concerns about the direction the club is going. The fact that all we’re left with is our own speculation, is it any wonder the digital world is awash with differing (and often harmful) stories about ‘the truth’.
Unless a company, organisation or individual actually takes charge of their own communication output, makes it meaningful and compelling, and takes responsibility for not being misunderstood, you just end up with junk of the type we get served up every day that tells us lots of irrelevant facts about the stuff we don’t care about or really need to know. And worse, it’s changing sentiment about the club itself in a very negative way.
At the moment I genuinely believe it is undermining the club.
Thanks for the responses. My response is to say that first of all, to whom are we comparing the club? Are ManU and chelsea and Man City better than we are in this respect?
Secondly, I’d say they are right to control information and right to try to get people to focus on the positive. Control the message. Regarding what BTM calls “the skinny”, is that the sort of information that we should be broadcasting to the world?
@ snowy and Lars
I don’t call it Pravda.com
There is more content on the website than just “my favourite socks” type stuff – Gazidis’ Q&As for example.
The big picture as far as I am aware is that we are going to continue as a self-sustaining club, continue developing talent to go with bought talent and try to exploit our commercial revenue more to cement our status as a top club.
If the question is whether SK is planning to sell to Usmanov, for example, he’s not going to tell anyone that, is he?
As to the broader vision for the club – the values of the club are encapsulated in the word pride – in our style of football, in our commitment to the community and in our independence. We are a highly ambitious club with deep roots and traditional values with a reputation for innovation. I may have missed out a couple of things, but that message has been conveyed by the clips posted on the website and interviews.
If you start going into detail about finances or tactics in press conferences and what you did wrong or right, you give your rivals information. I would imagine that is why AW nearly always speaks in vague terms. OK, people can work out some of the stuff for themselves, but why make it easy and why give them confirmation? There is plenty that we are naturally curious about, but winning football matches and keeping our business advantages comes first.
Nothing’s perfect, but I don’t think they’re doing too much wrong. I still think the communciation issue is a red herring. People want success and that is what is at the root of the discontent. Although the negativity out there – in the media – has separate causes .
Snowy,
Good comments.
The word you are looking for is PR. In the summer, there was the debacle of Wenger’s press conference on the day that Nasri and Cesc were emptying their lockers. The world’s press showed up to hear some expected announcements, which were not forthcoming. Cue fury on the blogs and Twitter. The PR machine should have prevented that press conference, or made sure that the focus was on the impending game.
You can’t gag the press, and you certainly can’t fool the supporters. But you can at least set some realistic expectations. The club has done itself no favours in the last 6 years, by claiming that we are competitive, and that we will eventually dominate.
Chelsea and Manchester City have moved the goalposts even further since the stadium move, and the club have only just admitted that it’s impossible to compete.
There are a lot of fans out there who are forever sticking the knife in, because the press coming out of the club is one of conflicting statements about sustainable expenditure, but still being able to
compete. The two things are not compatible.
Frankly, we are being done by the big spenders and it’s time the PR was setting our sights a lot lower.
And one more thing – the arsenalisation project did cost money, but the question is, was it worth doing? I think it was.
Fungunner,
I don’t think the communication issue is a red herring. I tell you why I disagree. I have been harping on about this for years. The expectation levels are too high. A lot of the reason for that is that people have taken assurances from the club. The biggest assurance was that the stadium move would make us competitive. That was the reason for making the move. Reasonable fans are asking the question, if the stadium move was supposed to make us competitive, then why are we not winning trophies ? Of course, there is a difference between an absolute trophy guarantee and being competitive. I totally accept that we have been competitive for the last 6 years. We nearly won the league I believe, twice in this and period. We were in the final of the CL, final of the Carling Cup twice. I have been arguing that we have been competitive on ACLF and now Twitter for years. But on this one argument, one cannot defend the club forever. The punters were expecting more things from this stadium move, and the reality is that, for some of them, it is not good enough. Wenger himself has come out and said that we would compete on every front, in nearly every season during this period. I don’t think he was deluded. We had a damn good squad, particularly from 2006-2009, with Hleb, Eduardo, Cesc and Flamini. But the problem now is that every failure is grist to the mill of the argument that we haven’t got it right for a long time.
I say, that if the PR had been putting our lower expectations, a lot of these arguments would have been avoided.
@ Muppet/Muppetto
OK, that I do understand. But what sort of message would it be to say, we’re not even going to try to compete? I can’t see that really making fans any happier, and prospective players won’t be impressed, either.
I think you answer your own point when you say “Of course, there is a difference between an absolute trophy guarantee and being competitive. I totally accept that we have been competitive for the last 6 years.”
That is it – competing does not mean the same thing as winning.
Our problem is that the advent of the mega-rich sugar daddies was not foreseen (no blame to the old board), but equally, we have not been left behind – not yet, anyway – and we have a chance to make up enough of the ground to make a difference. If the day does come when half a dozen clubs in the PL are owned by the mega-rich and they have the league sewn up like in La Liga, then maybe we can adjust our expectations. But I am a firm believer that you cannot stand still – you don’t try to go forwards, you go backwards.
Anyway, that’s me for the night. Thanks again, people – always enjoy this blog.
‘Holic.
Once again you’ve surpassed expectations (speaking of them…)
Might well be your best post ever. You have really found a working perspective from which it is possible to have a reasonable yet very important discussion about what is happening at the moment. By looking at the situation like this, we, as fans, can actually contribute. How the defensive coaching works, or who controls the clubs money, we don’t know. But we do know that we DON’T know, and that somebody better start telling us, if just a little bit. This, I feel, is what we can ask of the club. And what we really should ask of the Arsenal.
Evening All
‘Holic – two really measured and sensible posts that resonated with me perfectly. I think this is why we call you The Maestro. My hope is that more than a junior in Ivan’s marcoms team reads your words and that they get passed upwards and not sideways. There’s possibly a moral in there somewhere 😉
Notable support and contributions from BtM, Mr. John Friend, Lars, Dr.z, Snowy, H2H, Trev, etc. For me, you (our supporters and regulars) are equally the reason why I keep coming back here. Cheers fellas, you do our club proud even when, at times, it may not really deserve it.
One the one hand, I want to think that we may all be over-reacting, we’re only 5 games in, and that a string of 2 or 3 back-to-back wins and we’ll all be beying for LWC/Manc/Liverpudlian/Chelski blood again and checking the table regularly for where we might climb to if we win the next game.
On the other hand, as many here have pointed out, our form since ‘that’ cup final has been pretty much the stuff of…shhh…. you know what. Not since the early/mid 70s, admittedly as an impressionable young boy, have I been so concerned about that terrible ‘R’ word! *shudders*
Right now, if someone guaranteed me a 4th place finish in the EPL and St.Tott’s day in April I would pull their bloody arm off.
Let’s hope we can all look back on this post in a couple of months time and laugh about my limited horizons.
Whatever happens, I’ll continue to shout myself hoarse at every game that I go to this year. What else can a supporter do…?
UTA!
FunGunner – I wasn’t especially comparing the Arsenal to other clubs here, but since you ask what I do think is that the City, Chelsea, ManU and even Sp*rs websites are simpler and in many ways better for one key thing – if you click on their version of ‘News’ it really is more like what I believe to be ‘news’ – managers’ thoughts on the last game. Nuff said. On Arsenal we have 4 different stories on the Blackburn game, a match report, plus 4 different videos on Arsenal player. Why? How many different messages in all of that lot?
Most Gooners know and really respect the values of the club, but right now there is a huge lack of trust about them which is leading to a lot of unhelpful cynicism. Self-sustaining = cheapskate & ripping off fans in a recession. Developing talent = selling club etc etc. Now I’m not saying at all that I believe that negativity, but what started off as the view of a few fringe naysayers is now becoming very widespread.
And as for not giving away commercial secrets – that is a red herring. All commercial organisations have secrets. That doesn’t mean they have to operate without transparency. A lack of transparency breeds mistrust, and in that situation expectations are ambiguous at best, all based on conjecture not fact. And ambiguous expectations can never be met. That is an epic reputational fail in the making.
And yes I can read the dull financial stuff about KSE on the website. But what exactly does that tell me about Stan’s thoughts on the club he owns so much of? Does he share the vision or not? Is it changing? He seems to give interviews to US publications, why not UK ones? What is he hiding? (Probably nothing of course, but that’s how it will play out).
I don’t mind if the club has downgraded its ambitions. I will eventually come to terms with that. What I mind about is the thought that they may have downgraded them and are not telling us, dressing up harsh realities with rose-tinted spin. And when we eventually find out we will be more negative than if our expectations had be managed properly in the first place.
Right now I don’t know what expectations I may be having to manage because they are not clear. I love Arsene Wenger to bits most of the time, but he can be frustrating beyond belief in how he manages an external message. Conversely if you listen to Old twitchy or Ian Holloway they come off as speaking openly and honestly.
I’d rather feel openness and honesty from my club, rather than feeling I have to second guess things. Which is why I read LJW’s tweets! He’s doing a good job. And I trust what he says.
FunGunner – are you Ivan Gazidis? 😉
Anyway, TS is here at last – our very own voice of reason. And a very good evening to you sir.
I too hope we can look back on this in a few months and laugh. Until then there’s always crap jokes.
😆
@ FunGunner
I disagree with you that the era of the sugar daddy was not forseen. Certainly the arrival of the Abu-Dhabi Royal family to Citeh was a tad of a surprise but both themselves and the Dubai Royal family had been sniffing around Liverpool when they had their Yanks in charge.
Our board were warned that without adequate financial backing for the manager we may fall behind. We have. Whether we like it or not our squad is no where near as strong as those around us. To be fair to the manager whilst e has done a fantastic job keeping us there-and-abouts during our transition the past two seasons transfer activity have been nothing short of a disaster. Yes we made signings on the last day of the transfer window but these and so many other signings over the [ast few seasons should have been undertaken during the summer when we ha the opportunity to bed players in, and during January when our title/cup challenges could have done with reinforcements.
As for getting anymore communication from the board – what the fuck for?? So that they can feed us with more of the bullshit that IG has clearly been scripted to give us?
At the risk of getting shot down I don’t remember the Glazers coming out with statements of their intentions of the club. Nor do I remember them having photo’s of themselves in the Strettford End in 1977 to prove that to own a club you need to be a fan ( a point i’ll get back to later). They give the manager funds, he wins them shit and the disgruntled yellow and green scarves are put in the airing cupboard.
It was the manager that declared in late June that he would make the signings we need when he felt we needed them. Then only made them once we shipped 8 goals in at Old Toilet. The Cesc & Na$ri situations were handled appallingly by the club & manager and left AW with a fair amount of egg on his face and sound-bites (…no longer a big club etc etc) for the press to beat him with.
The funny thing is that so many on here who rightfully claim not to know fuck-all about what is going on at the club have soooo much opinion on our other ‘investor’ Usmanov.
Of course we can all do a Google search and probably add words like ‘unscrupulous’ ‘jaba’ and come up with loads of internet trash but lets have it right – the one thing the man has said to date of any note is not something i’ve got a problem with and by the sounds of it neither do the majority of those that right into this blog. As a reminder:
“If the role of a board member is to oversee a trophyless period, while making significant personal profits and asking fans to pay inflation-busting ticket price increases then, no, I would not want to be on the board,” he told News of the World.
“If instead it is to try to deliver sustained success, to increase your personal investment in the club, to help develop the commercial position and to ensure the fans have a say in the running of the club then, yes, I think I certainly have something to contribute.
“In terms of doing things differently, let me give you a very clear example. Arsenal has all of its major commercial contracts coming up for renewal in the next couple of years.
“It’s no secret that to maximise the value of those you want to have success on the field and be winning trophies. To do that you need to invest now in building a winning team.
“This is simple commercial logic. Whether it comes to pass, we shall see.”
Where’s the problem there?
Oh yes, it Usmanov. Of course. Well anyway he goes on to say:
“There is a widely-held view among most commentators – and one that I agree with – that the club needs to stiffen the defensive spine of the team, with a dominant keeper, strong centre-halves and a powerful defensive midfielder in the mould of Claude Makelele,” he added.
“The Premier League is one of the most competitive in the world and whilst we have consistently challenged for honours, the club needs to develop talent and buy top-class players to win the trophies we all crave. This requires greater investment which, I believe, has been lacking thus far.
“What however is not clear is whether the board shares this view. For too long they have seemed happy to sanction second, third and fourth as being acceptable, whilst at the same time they are planning to sell their shares.”
All those asking for Stan to stop being silent, yet at the same time being so adamant that the Uzbek is the anti-christ (yes ‘holic, takeabowson, Lars etc I am looking at you) might just need to revise that thought.
Yes he’s not a Arsenal fan, yes he’s ugly, but please tell me what he says above that you disagree with.
More to the point what does he say that makes him a worse option than The Moustached One?
And please remember that to become a billionaire there is a fair chance that some cuntery is required – just ask Mark Zuckerberg!
….and before people respond “we don’t want his type anywhere near our club”, please explain what is his “type”? only reasoned arguments please…
And what are your qualifications that enable you to decide why a successful businessman who probably has a better idea how to run and finance a successful company is not good enough for you or this club??
Great contributions from everyone tonight, well done Holics and Holic!
Silent Stan let’s face is silent I have never seen an interview with him about his plans for the club or anything along those lines. Ivan in fact has been telling us that Arsene has always had the money to spend including the Board. They are behind Arsene 100% and nothing will change that, but they forget to mention that there is a wage structure and they wont pay over heads on a particular player because our sustainable model will no longer be sustainable.
Recent comments during the summer from Arsene himself and when we signed on the dead line from PHW weren’t exactly what you wanted to hear from our manager and one of the longest Board member.
Arsene: “you cannot be considered a big club if you sell your best players”
PHW: “We have brought some new players in and although I don’t know that much about many of them I think, generally speaking, they are going to improve the squad,”
I know I’m trying to catch on Arsene’s words here but to me that is a big statement, and as someone has mentioned this above that Arsene is not the happy man he use to be may be correct also I’m wondering if he still has enough charisma to inject positivity into already low down squad. Arsene knew we were going to loose Cesc why not admit the damn and say that yes we will miss him but we are in the market to replace him and then actually go and do something about it.
As for PHW well it does look like this man always speaks out when he shouldn’t, from his words I gather he hasn’t got a lot of interest who plays for the team, who we buy and what qualities potentially they could bring into our team. I’m sorry but if this was me I would be the first to at least watch few videos about these players before I open my mouth in front of the media.
We signed four players on the last day of the transfer window, which by all means is great however we’ve been told that we were going to get those is early that didn’t happen. I wonder what the outcome would be if we got these players in before pre-season and give them time to adapt a little and not after thumping we got at Old Shitford. I’m hoping these were NOT haste buys just because of that result.
I know it’s way to early to start calling for heads, it’s also true that players play and management manage and players let Arsene and Arsenal down badly yesterday. Some of them need to pull their finger out of their easy money making arses and show they are truly worth to wear THE ARSENAL shirt because frankly some of them think it’s not a big deal.
I hope these can be sorted out quickly however I do feel that every game this season will be like a cup game, nail biting thriller like the one we witnessed yesterday. Hope I’m wrong on some of those things I have mentioned above and we will swiftly return to winning ways.
Come on Arsenal!
North Bank 1,
Not qualified personally to back up any comments.
But the arguments against Usmanov are clear.
We are a club who are trying to punch above our weight by developing young players and turning them into stars. We also spot previously unheralded players in the market. The manager decides upon the strategy and picks the players.
Usmanov wants to increase our financial power. That is all well and good but the fear is it that it would be in conflict with a lot of the development work that is going on, and he would interfere with the selection of players and interfere in transfer decisions. And before you become cynical about the development of our players, there is little doubt that the development and then sale of the likes of Cesc, Nasri, and before that, Anelka, Toure, has helped the financial well being of the club.
There is scant evidence that spending per se, brings trophies.
Usually it is spending inconjunction with strong management, or a longer term strategy. The galacticos policy of RM has been a clear failure. City have spent at least £900 million in the last 6 years – for what – 1 miserable FA Cup.
I had to come back just to see.
@ Toby
“How the defensive coaching works, or who controls the clubs money, we don’t know. ”
Sorry, I know you weren’t talking to me, but this illustrates a couple of my points.
Exactly how the defensive coaching works is sensitive information, but we do know that Pat Rice does it and that they do practise set piece defending. I know that from the Asia blogs and from player interviews.
Who controls the club’s money – Arsene does, if you mean for the football business. That is from the website as well. I also know from some interview or transcript that the board and AW don’t have a budget as such, they decide on on a case by case basis whether a player is good value.
@ snowy
ha ha – no, I’m not Gazidis, I just remember what I’ve seen/read.
And the bit about comparisons was directed really at Goonerholic. The bit addressed to you came afterwards.
Regarding the news sections, why is it a problem that the manager, and a couple of the players have different views on the game? That’s not part of any PR message, it’s just people saying what they think. That’s good, isn’t it?
Chelsea are investigating a Torres interview in which it is claimed he said his teammates are too old and slow. What do you make of that?
Knowing exactly what wages we pay to whom is sensitive information, for example – that’s not a red herring.
I accept that you are sincere about not minding if the club downgraded its ambitions but I doubt whether if it actually happened, many others would be so sanguine. Fans set a great deal of store by being part of a big club. And as I said before, could we attract the better players? I think you have to accept that the Board and AW are also sincere – they may not be doing everything right, but I think they sincerely intend to compete at the top and believe it is possible. It’s like when people say they would accept functional football for ever in exchange for trophies – from the complaints when we don’t dazzle, you just know they wouldn’t. They are accustomed to both and they want both.
***
@ North Bank
I don’t know why you addressed that comment to me.
I’m just hoping that old GG is dusting off the tracksuit and heading down to colney in the morning for a spot of volunteer work!
Muppet,
I agree that an unsustainable model of purchasing your way to trophies is not a viable business model. However, whatever our suspicions may be the fact he highlights “….the club needs to develop talent and buy top-class players to win the trophies we all crave.” does nothing to suggest he intends to only buy top class players and develop no young blood.
When we were winning trophies I always got the impression Le Boss was quite unwilling to gamble with youth always citing the teams need to win as a hindrance to the development of the younger players. Of course his hand was forced with Sylvihno dodgy passport and Ca$hley and Cesc was a no brainer. But lods of talent was let go because AW ‘invested’ in proven winners (Wiltord, Gilberto, Reyes to name a few).
There is nothing I or anyone else has heard from Stan that makes me think he is interested in anything other than balancing the books. Whilst this is commendable and not to be sniffed at it does not lend itself necessarily to translating to success on the pitch. Surely a mix of the two is what is required, and unless I’m confused this is what Usmanov is suggesting.
Look, I’m not saying this guy is our knight in shining amour but neither is he suggesting something we all don’t want. Success on the pitch and balanced books. Oh and a little bit of meaningful communication.
@ FunGunner
read your post @ 56 “…Our problem is that the advent of the mega-rich sugar daddies was not foreseen”
@ Northbank
I’m afraid I’m none the wiser! I don’t think the board did foresee the Man City situation. As for being warned that the manager needed adequate financial backing, the plan was to increase the financial backing for the manager.
@FunGunner,
Remember Roman and The Glazer turned up before the Citeh mob. Add to that Gillet and Hicks and the beginning of the mega rich owner had already begun by the time Citeh got their cash injection.
The warning was by D.Dein in the wake of Roman’s arrival…
@ FunGunner
So the need for the club to invest money to keep pace was a warning issued by a member of the board not long after Roman turned up. A warning that wasn’t heeded.
North Bank 1,
I only polarised the arguments to put what I thought would be the common arguments against Usmanov.
Of course, as a billionaire businessman, he is probably nobody’s fool, and would of course, realise that investment would have to be correctly channelled.
But my feeling is that Usmanov is not the antithesis of Stan. They are maybe not mutually exclusive. We have money. It is a known complaint that we have £50 million in the bank.
We were after at least marquee players in the summer – Goetze, M’villa, Mata and Hazard. Bids of at least €25 million were tabled. You have to step back and think, surely this is unprecedented. You could argue that a sugar daddy would have cemented those deals. On the other hand, we know that a lot of the reason why they didn’t come off was because of the refusal of either the coach or player to make the deal happen.
Of course, the sort of sums that Usmanov would be talking about, would bring mafia persuasion – “I’ll make them an offer that they can’t refuse”. But still, I think there has been a shift in our transfer policy. We will most certainly be going into the market again in the January window again. The names Cahill, Hazard, Gourcuff have all been mooted.
It all comes down to whether you believe that having increased financial muscle would bring greater dividends on top of our existing strategy. In the case of Chelsea, it has been successful when aligned with very good management. I don’t disagree that it wouldn’t help us, but I’m not sure if it’s necessary. We can increase our commercial activities and do it in a sustainable way, which is more risk averse.
@ snowy
Another couple of examples of sensitive info – exactly why a transfer fell through. Broadcasting that to the world wouldn’t be good.
Ditto saying exactly what is wrong with a player who is ill or injured – medical details are confidential.
Is showing a certain amount of discretion not another way of showing our class? I wonder if the proliferation and popularity of reality shows, confessional tv, blogs and tweeting etc has not unrealistically raised people’s expectations as to how much information they can expect to get? Just a couple of thoughts, anyway.
@ North Bank 1
I’ll leave you in the capable hands of Muppet tonight, if you don’t mind. And I’ve pointed out that the aim with the stadium *was* to increase funds available to strengthen the team.
Muppet,
Some good points but alas I’ve gotta be up at 5 but will come back in the morning. Glad to have a reasoned discussion mind.
So then, FunGunner who is not Gazidis… 😉
Just wanted to answer a couple of interesting points you raised:
Regarding the news sections – no of course, it’s lovely to hear other opinions, one of the reasons I love this blog.
But right now I think there’s just too much froth, and not enough sincerity. Less is more. I wouldn’t presume to know the ins and outs and nor do I wish do know that level of detail. What I want to hear, sincerely and simply, is something like the club is in a period of rebuilding. The road is long and difficult. Supporters’ patience is much appreciated. Sincere and simple beats lots of messages hands down. The club at the moment is what old newspaper men used to call ‘burying the lead’.
Similarly of course I don’t want the club to divulge sensitive commercial or medical details. My issue is one about not knowing the direction of travel. And I don’t believe it’s just me that would be sanguine about a downgrading of expectations. It’s the job of communicators to deliver bad news sometimes, not to ignore it or bury it among lots of lovely things. This is how organisations build trust, by demonstrating openness and integrity most especially in the difficult times. Were not stupid. We can all understand difficult decisions if the logic behind them is valid.
Well it is good to see a lively and yet respectful debate has ensued. That was the intention.
FG, so much of the communication that I complain about is included or hinted at in many posts above. Broadly speaking, from the top down, I have concerns that I see little evidence of Stan giving us his strategic vision for the club going forward. That sweeping generalisation hides a multitude of questions about funding, dividend payments, fanshare etc. too broad to go into here, but well recognised by many.
Below him there are genuine concerns that the message coming out from senior employees is different in various fora to the stuff that is allegedly being shared ‘off the record’ with selected individuals. (This is an issue for some within the club as well as just this humble blogger).
I see stuff on club publications that clearly causes concern to many who I admit may be seeking to be offended, but clarification on important issues is not forthcoming.
Taking it down to the level at which it impacts the performance of the team I see issues related to the playing side which would not be such be such thorny topics with supporters if more info was shared about training, injuries, formations etc.
I accept that all of these are genralisations. If I got into the specifics it would take a whole chapter in book terms, and I don’t have that space here.
I also accept that my concerns may well be down to purely perception, and not based on fact. That is actually the heart of the issue. Peoples perceptions of what is going on at the Arsenal at the moment are not being informed by intelligent dissemination of information from club sources, but by hearsay and a considerable degree of invention by people who claim to know more than they do.
It’s frustrating because the vast majority of us don’t have any power of veto about how the club is run. Don’t tell me I can stop coming. I cannot. The Arsenal is my club, and always will be. And that is another issue. They know I’ll be there next week, next month, next year. So why bother about fixing a little bit of negative PR?
NB, obviously I don’t always see eye to eye with you, but I love the way you articulate without patronising or offending.
With regard to Usmanov you are not alone in believing he may be the answer in the longer term. He was on record as pushing for a rights issue, which seems to have been his major contribution to the funding debate thus far.
I am far from being alone in believing that his motivation was to secure a majority shareholding via the back door had he been allowed to underwrite that rights issue (which was a condition of his proposal).
Oh, and by the way, I think it is perfectly valid to argue against his desirability as an individual, although I will grant you anyone should be careful about expanding on why we should not be associated with ‘his sort’.
TS, I’m honoured to be mentioned in the same breath as the others you commend and the feeling is mutual.
Gentleman above, a tip of the hat, in the athermath of this weekends fiasco, it does you all a great service that you can come here and discuss differing opinions without the use of bile or going into doom mode.
Our host certainly has got himself an intellegent, respectful, well rounded comunity, no less then this great site deserves, but in todays world of poisened views and toerag keyboard wariors spewing insults from the safety of their mummy’s attic something that should be admired and treasured.
I’m proud to call myself a ‘holic.
Now, time for a vodka shot to wash down, well, all the vodka that I’ve just drunk, you are all more then welcome to join me.
I must say that like many I guess I am still stunned by recent events. In my opinion the club right now is a shambles. A total shambles. We are in a mess and seem totally rudderless from boardroom to pitch.
The communication from the club is embarrassing at times, even when we are silent. Others have already eluded to the transfer fiasco re Cesc and Nasri. The “I expect both to stay” stance was just laughable when anyone who was anyone had already bet their house on the fact that both would be sold. I have no problem with either going, what I have a problem with is the way it was all handled. We were bullied and made to look a laughing stock. I have often wondered if the poor communication is down to those at the helm just having a total lack of knowledge. We are not the North London 49ers. We are The Arsenal, best the likes of Stan and Ivan wake up to that.
But our problems come from a lot more than communication, and I mean both on and off the pitch. I think we all know that we had to move to a bigger ground. So the Grove was duly built and we moved in. I think many of us expected a few years of prudence when it came to spending. But as the post says, the idea of moving was to be able to compete in the markets.
The last 3 seasons for me have been very poor. I have a motto in life that I recite to my kids everyday. You don’t have to be the best in the world, just be the best that you can be. Now gents, ask yourself this. Are Arsenal Football Club as a whole being the best that they can be considering what is at their disposal? Sadly it is a big fat No for me. I am not really interested with what other clubs pay for players. That is their business. Clubs like Citeh grossly inflate the market but that does not mean that any decent player is out of our reach. But we continue to seem to look for bargain basement players. As someone quoted above, you can’t charge caviar prices and serve up crab sticks.
Our policy has been to develop young talent. I love the idea of that but this all has to be within reason. I really do not see the point in chasing half way around the world trying to sign a player who does not even get a work permit for two years in the hope that he may turn into the next Carlos Vella. Why? We sign 16 year olds and by the time they are 22 they are on big contracts, and what have they done? Why could we not sell the likes of Bendtner, Almunia and Diaby for instance and use the money generated to sign a Benzema for example? There are the obvious notable exceptions to the youth rule but far too many young superstars just tail off and never make it, having earned vast sums of cash in the process.
As I said above, I feel these problems started years back. As each year has gone by we have slowly chipped away at it until we find ourselves in the situation we do now. Loads of last minute buys. Deals that should have been done months ago. Why weren’t they? Lack of communication means we are never likely to know. Why, with such obvious deficiencies have we still got a £35 million pound transfer kitty and a £16 million profit from deals? I guess again we will never know. But these are all questions fans are more than entitled to ask and more than entitled to an answer.
I am not a businessman in any shape or form. Never have been, never will. But from the little I do know I can say that a business is only as good as it’s assets. Our assets are on the field of play. Or shouldn’t they be? Speculate to accumulate. By that I am not advocating an irrational spending spree. Just as I said above, be the best we can be. If at the end of the season us being the best we can be is not good enough to win anything then I can live with that. But for me we are so far short of getting anywhere near that level.
What really frustrates me is that none of this is rocket science. We can all see it. What also worries me greatly is where this will lead to. I said at the start of the season that if someone offered me 4th I would welcome it with open arms. A few slated me for that. The same way that I said in March last season that if I was offered 3rd I would take it.
The way we are going leads me to genuine fears for the future. If we do not get into the top 4 and do end up playing in the Europa League how many will bother to turn up? How does that assist us in the pursuit of top signings to boost the squad. Perhaps more importantly, what will the likes of Robin Van Persie be thinking with one year left on his contract?
At the moment the whole club is in a downward spiral that needs to be reversed immediately. We need leadership and direction. A positive statement from Stan and the board would go someway to redress the balance. But we have let this virus fester for far too long. What started off as a common cold has seriously got out of hand and is heading towards full blown pneumonia. It needs to be stopped, and it needs to be stopped now.
Once all of these problem are addressed we can then discuss the issue of personnel.
A large chaser with a decent ale for anyone that cares to join me.
Sorry holic, great thought provoking post.
Blimey! The longest 77 Drinks in history.
Some really excellent work from practically everybody, which I am going to have to read properly again tomorrow.
Really appreciate everyone’s efforts up there – very informative stuff.
To be honest, I am exhausted by our team this weekend – posting on previous blogs and thinking about our club/team, literally, constantly.
Drinks for anyone still here – bed for me though.
Lars’ tab, by the way. Naturally 😉
Ok, make that 60 Drinks.
Good to see you back TS, and thanks 😉 (email first thing, only just found it)
Shit 60 = 80
Great post Steve T I would agree on most things you have mentioned there.
Time for bed early start today …. have a good one Holics!
Great debate but the main lack of communication right now is with the manager and the players. For some reason, he cannot get through to this group or any of the groups he’s had for the last 6 seasons. Perhaps it’s too early to judge with the new additions, I admit. The Prof is well-intentioned but for some reason his message is not getting through….and perhaps it’s the wrong message/coaching/tactics. While we would all like to hear a little from Kroenke, we wouldn’t give a rats a++ if the team was doing well on the pitch.
Re: tactics, I’m no expert by any means, by no means, but it seems the 4-3-3 is just not working for us and we continually get punished in that formation….not every game but enough to know we can’t win consistently with it. It’s no different from when Cesc was here….we couldn’t hold leads vs. Newcastle, Spurs, Wigan, Liverpool, etc. etc. Yes, the back four have had a major hand in this but the DM cover just doesn’t seem like it’s been there, I mean for F-sakes, Blackburn hitting us on the counter-attack?
I realize that the Prof has done a great job managing the squad through the transition to the new stadium but that is done and dusted….it’s time to start producing/coaching.
Off my chest now, I’m loyal to a fault and will be watching the next time the Arsenal takes the pitch.
Steve,
I love your passion but I can’t get close to your position. I’m hoping for (at least) a beer at the Olympiac/kos game and looking forward to meeting the young T’s. Meantime:
“Total shambles” is just too strong for me. Glasgow Rangers on the verge of bankruptcy (What! The Gers? It’ll never happen in my lifetime) and out of the CL courtesy of Malmo at the first hurdle is a shambles. Arsenal is a beacon of fortitude, an example in excellence, in comparison.
Arsene “they’ll both stay” commentary – Maybe, just maybe, that was aimed at getting the best possible prices for two players who didn’t want to stay? Words are cheap – 60 Mill keeps the ship afloat and buys talent. Sometimes you just have to play the game, even if you’re Arsene Wenger.
The last three seasons have been very poor. By what standard? Deeply Indebted, Chelski, Barca, Real Madrid, AC Milan? Or Liverpool, Blackburn, Raith Rovers? If the former, we’re in an elite group. I know it’s not the latter.
Developing talent. YES! We do it really well. Wilshere, Frimpong, Afobe, Gibbs, Cole, and co are the envy of many. IF (and Arsene has admitted it is a gamble – Joel Campbell turns out to be a star at 1Mill – any mount of time/travel will have been worthwhile). If identifying young stars was easy, no one would be paying 35Mill for the likes of Andy Cap Carroll. Maybe RM didn’t want to sell Benzema for 30Mill?
In a perfect world, the last minute buys would have arrived earlier. I’m just happy they arrived. Wilshere and Ramsey are the present and future of the club’s MF. Arteta and Benny have been brought in to bolster and nurture their development. The other six recruits look like good buys to me. I’m very happy. I do expect to see more arrivals at Christmas. Shit, I could be a Liverpool fan, 100 Mill right down the gurgler courtesy of King Kenute while Hee Haw Hansen and Lawro leer on.
You may not be interested in what other clubs pay, but the reality is they have financial resources not available to Arsenal and so, inevitably have first pick. This driven by 1) fee and 2) salary. Clubs that can afford to buy and then retain the best talent should, on balance, always win in the long term. Shitty have done fairly poorly in this regard.
Arsenal has been a remarkable outlier, an example to the world of how to perform AND pay your own way. I’m very proud of that. Not for me the Sheik Mansour or Abramovic route. Neither for me Spain’s two horse race based on crooked TV financing. Nor Berlusconi’s whore-mongering and book fiddling at AC Milan.
I’m ALL for bargain basement prices. Viera for 4M, Van Persie for 4M, Cesc for 150k, Toure for 125k, Sagna for 6M, Anelka for 2M, Ade (my boy) for 4M, Park for 2.5M and even Thierry at the BEST possible price of 10M. I’ll take that every time ahead of Berbatoss for 32M, Carroll for 35M and 50M for the mis-firing misfit, El Nino Torres.
I think we’ll make the top four this season. Actually finishing 4th rather than 3rd turned out to be no bad thing last season, (although there is NO question that we should have on the league and the CC). Two great warm up games and good wins v Udinese gave some players a fine taste of what to expect in the “real thing” and paved the way for the draw against the German Champions away from home – no mean feat. Plus, of-course the extra gate money for the coffers always helps.
The whole club is in a downward spiral? Really? I don’t see it from my seat in the finest stadium I’ve visted on the planet. Sure – we’ve lost a couple of games we shouldn’t have and collectively, we fans are bent out of shape, but a few wins will put a different complexion on that and suddenly, we’ll be spiralling upwards. It’s really all a matter of perception and perspective and your view on the glass being half full or otherwise.
On a lighter note. I have your contact details. Thanks ‘Holic. Expect a note and may I please extend the offer of a full glass of your choice for you and the kids Wednesday week.
Keep that passion bubbling Steve. I have a strong feeling your kids’ futures are in very good hands.
Nice piece mate. Times are hard, no doubt about that (in more ways than one). Spending the weekend generally in company of LWC family members, brought that home with a vengance.
So fucking what? Water off a duck’s back to me, as I kept telling them. Up the Arse!
FunGunner:
I think that you got me wrong a tad there, perhaps due to me not articulating what I meant well enough (was a bit tired yesterday, well, still am).
First of all, I think it is important to include my line “somebody better start telling us, if just a little bit” if quoting what I said. Of course I don’t want to club to publicly announce any real secrets and of course I can see the need for some spin now and then from the club. And if you say “Well, a little bit they actually already DO tell us”, like the things you’ve said is off the website, well, then I have to agree and disagree at the same time.
Of course they tell us things. Of course some of the things they tell us are important and interesting. But most of the time we get to know the first girl a player kissed, or who plays the music in the dressing room, or if Arshavin is the best or the worst dressed player in the team having studied fashion.
Now, don’t think I’m going a lll gung-ho here. Listen. Thing is, I’ve always trusted the club with matters such as this. Perhaps I should now as well. I’ve watched the West Wing, I’ve heard the quotes about that there are two things people don’t want to see made, laws and sausages. I understand that can be applied to a FC as well. I respect how we don’t reveal details of transfers or talk about or targets publicly and too soon. I understand that people sometimes find it easier to get things done if they know that the things they do won’t come out (just ask John Terry).
But, and here is the big but. When the club over a period has shown that the sounds coming out of it doesn’t correlate with reality then we get friction. And when that happens we have to change one of two things:
The message or reality.
Now, if we can’t change reality that is fine with me. It really is. If we really don’t HAVE the money, the players, the expertise, fair enough. If we’ve made a mistake in buying half our players, or if our new owner is shit, or Wenger has secretly lost it (Which I doubt, but a tad less by the day, even if I love the bloke) then fair enough.
But then we have to change the message. The club has to try something new PR-wise. They need to try to talk to us in a new way reflecting the situation the club is in.
And first and foremost what I want is a discussion about this. How we can help the club see that we need a bit MORE from them in times of struggle, so we can give them more as well.
Communication is always extra important during bad times. If we lie to each other, the club and the fans, and if we don’t talk enough, we won’t be able to focus our efforts to get better together. It is exactly as in any relationship in crisis. The day you stop being honest and talk about the things that are bothering you, is the day you lose the last thing you’ve got together.
So to get back to the examples I perhaps foolishly used. I don’t want another copy/paste-job on http://www.arsenal.com. I want a bit more nuanced information to help me understand the motivation of the club so that I can get behind it, even if I don’t appreciate it to a 100%.
It is not about the details. This information we might get in biographies in ten years (or two, the world is moving fast nowadays). It is about the general outlines.
And this far knowing that we are a self supporting, quite well run club, with a great deal of charity going on and a wish to play beautiful football has been enough for me. It is not enough for me anymore. And with that I don’t mean that I want to change anything in that description. Or that I demand wins or titles.
But I demand a little bit more information on who we actually are, what our identity is, and how we work. I need to get a better handle on what Arsenal actually is today.
BTM. As learned and articulate as ever. Sadly works prevents a full reply just now but one will follow in due course.
Wednesday week is a definite. I very much look forward to it. You will also get to meet my 7 year old lad who will be with me.
If I may ask, if the result went our way which it very well could have and holic I’m sorry but 1) Santos was not the only one playing yakubu on for his first… 2) yes his second was struck from an offside position… The referee was 2 yards out of position to call it. And furthermore we put in 2 for the home side. Dumb luck. back to the question, would we be writing these comments or blog posts? No, probably not. We wanted (someone) to make the decision to buy at the now infamous TDD and we did and we bought class in Arteta, mertesacker, santos and benayoun. Kos is not the problem, sack is not the problem, Benny isn’t the problem, Arteta is not the problem but, they did go out and buy and we can’t be so down on the manager or the boys as much as most of us have. And to the point there are still 99 points to play for in the league and only 3 points off of 6th in the table I believe, come boxing day we may have a reasonable gripe but until then may we all stand behind our club PROUDLY and hold any calls for heads until that point.
Morning All
I’m with Trev, that’s the biggest collection of long and articulate posts that I can remember. Big thanks from me to the contributors.
Cheers to H2H, Trev and Snowy for your previous comments.
“….keyboard wariors spewing insults from the safety of their mummy’s attic…”
Big heh! Brightened up my Monday morning.
A round for all please Mr.Barman and one for yourself as usual.
Nice piece Hollic. Just a thought and maybe the regulars can answer this one, it has been pointed out that the club have soured the relationship with the fanbase and as much of our revenue is generated through ticket sales, I wondered looking at the tickets available when was the last time 3 matches on the trot were on general sale and is this the first sign of that strained relationship?
snowy: “The club at the moment is what old newspaper men used to call ‘burying the lead’.”
Exactly. The Arsenal.com editors should think for a bit about the expression “perfection is not when you can no longer add anything – it is when you can no longer remove anything”. Information Overload is a very, very real concept.
North Bank: as far as Usmanov goes, I just don’t trust him. Do some research on how these oligarchs made their fortunes and I think you may start to have your doubts as well.
SteveT: “I must say that like many I guess I am still stunned by recent events. In my opinion the club right now is a shambles. A total shambles. We are in a mess and seem totally rudderless from boardroom to pitch.”
I hate to say it, but this summer has made me feel increasingly like that as well – and here we also come back to the communications issue: how exactly is the club run? Is Arsene alone in charge of buying and selling? Does he have a proper budget? Who decides on the wage structure? Are we trying to pay off the stadium debt earlier than originally planned and thereby taking a calculated short-term risk in order to put us in a better position in two or three years? What is the financial situation really like? Does the club consider itself to be in a rebuilding phase? And so on and so forth.
BUT: I also have to say that BtM says a lot of very wise words. Don’t get me wrong, we are heading in the wrong direction at the moment but we can also make it worse by over-reacting. We DO have a magnificent stadium, we DO have some really good players and we are not that far off being really great again.
you don’t want to be here: “there are still 99 points to play for”
I’m think that is a very dangerous argument to make. One more game on and there is 96. Then 93, 90, 87 and 84. And before you know it there are not enough points left to be won for you to get where you want to. We need to win points NOW, that is all that matters.
Anyway, cheers all for a balanced and constructive debate. Pints all round on my tab as usual!
Still haven’t time to read all the above, just to say that the exchange between Steve T and BtM above is absolutely brilliant and what the best Arsenal blog around is all about.
Superb stuff fellas, looking forward to a full read tonight, 😉
In between flights and time zones so will post a bit later but I have to join in and compliment you Holic for bringing up this important issue in such a well mannered and well written way.
Great to see all the posts from the regulars and semi regulars. Will add my penny’s worth when on the ground for more than a couple of hours 🙂
Lars
Great post mate. Hopefully, we’ll have some better things to discuss pre/post The Munsters.
I’m with you on Usmanov. Rightly or wrongly, he’s firmly filed in my list of ‘be careful what you wish fors’.
The only thing that is really clear to me right now regarding Arsenal is that we need to start winning in the EPL regularly and pronto. Bloody obvious to all, I know, and it’s probably a while before we do get back to our winning ways.
Cheers and have another drink on my tab for a change 😉
Interesting that B.Dortmund are also enduring an inconsistent start to the season and I think we would all agree that they are (also) packed with talented players.
I’ll take a risk and post a link back to Paravda.com:
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/euro-watch-olympiacos-grab-late-victory
*runs for cover just in case*
The March of the Marshman, I managed to kick my season off with a trip to the lane and I bought an AndybayORRR shirt for my son. Then managed to watch him. I’m sorry Berbtov pails into insignificance compared to this player. Strong Fast and Skillful, but his football intelligence makes Defoe look like an infant.
So why did you let him go, actually why let Kolo go, the list of good players that have deserted your club, all claiming that you would never win trophies. Is endless
I think Holic old mate that your problems are not in the board room it’s more to do with training ground and Wenger. His time has passed.
Looking forward to our next encounter, first time in ages you loge will be the underdogs. TAT TA!! My bowl is full of champagne
Thanks all.
I’ve just had a little troll around Newsnow and all I can say is, “Let’s be careful out there!”
Some seriously good stuff in all the usual places though.
Didn’t have you as the ‘trolling’ sort, ‘holic 😉
Good players wanting to leave our club – that’s Modric coming from u, u slum dweller.
Up The Arse
Cousin Op
You’ve picked, quite deliberately I’m sure, a bad time to show up and gloat. Come back (if you must) when our season get’s back on track and we’re looking at an early St.Totts day. Well done for beating 9 men 4-0. Enjoy Ade’s early season performances and goals (as predicted). Let’s cross notes and swords again at Xmas.
In the meantime, perhaps you’d care to contemplate the reasons for you own club’s failure to win the championship for the past 50 plus years.
Toodle pip, must dash.
FOYS! FIOS!
Whoops, Ollie of the grammar police is back in the bar. Greetings Ollie and of course ‘get’s’ should have been gets in my previous post 😉
Keep your powder dry chums.
Got a LWC here this morning, can’t stop going on about what they are going to do to us. I just practiced what I will do to him in a couple of weeks. Grin, chuckle, say not a word.
Winds ’em up something chronic, poor loves.
I have sore throat, a runny nose, it’s monday, weekend has been football hell.
This week can only get better.
PS for Cousin Op
What’s in your bowl might look like champagne but just wait for that after-taste to kick in. ‘Might take you a (wee) while….
It can get worse, mind, seeing I’m on call, and Arsenal play twice.
Oh well…
Hellollie,
Choice restricted here now by the gateway filter. Nokia not the most user friendly websurfer.
Never mind, apparently there is a brand new iPhone I can buy in October. Get in there 😉
Very interesting debate above folks, well done to all.
Still doesn’t answer the $64K question though – “how can we teach the team to defend properly?”
Or is it
“Why do we keep losing our mental focus?”
Blogs makes a case for Steve Bould today.
I’d settle for Steve Austin. Something, anything.
Oh and where the hell is Wolfie – he has been silent since Saturday night? Not self harming, I hope! 😉
Excellent ‘Holic at #104. Very wise.
*Returns powder to keg and puts it in the dessicator*
Afternoon zico @ #109
….even Steve McClaren??? 😉
Now you’re getting silly TS.
Have a pint on our tab (mines and Lars) 😀
Holic have shown considerable restraint. But the fact is your club is finally broken at the player level. Mrs Cusop did not attend the game and she actually watched the game with her Gooner season ticket holder friend. Yes the stories abound of how disruptive your former forward can be. I think he may be worth the patience based on his performance. I am feeling that a flutter for the Cusop pound, St Totts will not happens this season lads your party is finally over. The offer of a consoling beer is still out there.
Your sitting just above the drop zone and you lost to Blackburn
In match five cus, old son.
I know who I trust to take more of the 99 pts that remain out of the pair of us, and so deep down do you 😉
‘Our club is finally broken at player level’
The Cusop management is a Gooner?
‘St Tits day will not happen this year’
‘Our party is finally over’
‘The offer of a consoling beer is still out there’ …from an LWC
‘We’re sitting just above the drop zone’
In the words of ‘Holic:
Grin, chuckle, “—–“
Holic,
A truly wonderful piece.
Didn’t expect such a piece in light of the weekends result given the general negativity awash on all the media – but it was just the tonic some needed. This blog is just an oasis of sanity. Thanks ever so much Holic..!
Arsenal is a club that radiates a light in a sea awash with corruption, greed and perverse media reporting. And the man at the helm is Arsene Wenger. Thats not to say we don’t have problems – we most certainly do. And some of those problems have been continuing for far too long. But they are being addressed. New players have arrived and its obviously going to take a little time for them to settle. Despite the frustration, lets try to be patient and have some faith. There’s no point in joining the circus of negativity – it does no good.
BtM,
Your piece at 86 should be inducted into the Holic “Hall of Fame”.
Or more precisely Holic, don’t argue with a fool cos people at a distance can’t tell who’s the fool!
Grin, chuckle, ssssh
I have to say the response to this post has been excellent, I’ve enjoyed reading true Arsenal supporters.
Cusop: Why must you lot always set yourselves up for a fall? Pfff
Or better still NB, never pick a fight with an idiot because he will drag you down to his level and then beat you with experience 😉
Heh @ #117 & #118. Good stuff 😛
er… meant #119 not #118 (with apologies to Geoff)
Quick visit chaps.
I was told never to bother to go into a battle of wits against an unarmed man.
But, a tiny tot daring to come here telling us how great Adebabyore is………
Per-lease….
Do you still sing THAT song about him at Shite Fart Lane?
Nice one H2H, another smile inducing post from you.
Are you on the BMs yet? Feel free to put one on my tab if so.
I haven’t had a chance to read all of the drinks fully yet. I have had a scan and seen things being discussed, such as Marquee signings, Usmonov, ticket prices and Mummy’s attics (:lol:)
I won’t try to intervene in any disagreements. But it sounds like the usual mixture of post-loss states of mind, mixed in with the usual Arsenalage banter (the diversity makes us unique)!
I gave a summary view yesterday and I’ll try to pick up where I left off if people are okay with it!
Firstly, I reckon that this team is going to need time to gel. Just like with most of the previous seasons, there has not been enough stability amongst the squads for more than a season or two, with departures and so on. I think it has then become a little difficult for our teams to gel, Man Utd & Chlesea-esque!
I think Real Madrid and Man City both with their re-building won little more than nothing within the first year of their latest high end spending sprees! But what most squads mentioned above have managed to retain is their heartbeats, their Terry’s, Vidic’s and Barry’s etc!
We’ve just had our heart and our back-up heart ripped out and taken away, and our spare heat beat is unavailable through what we are being told is only going to be a couple of months!
So my first point is that, as we rebuild our current team, there are going to be glitches along the way. So with the squad that is not my main issue at the moment.
My second point is about the ‘same ol Arsenal behaviour’, which gets a lot of peoples backs up on an on going basis.
I think that behaviour is mainly covered by:
1) Defensive Frailty
2) Lack of focus
3) Lack of confidence
I think we should try not to over-react to what have been our poorest results in history, following on from one of our most frustrating seasons. The reason why I say this is because, we only have to look at where we were only six months ago to restore at least a little calm and faith.
On the subject of last season, this is a squad who up until March (that fateful time each year for our most recent squads), played with a defence of Djourou, Squillaci & Koshielny most of the season, but yet were competing on four fronts comfortably, had just beaten the best team in the world and were in a cup final.
I reckon that after March last season, our failings were not with our defence, but it was because of our sheer lack of confidence stemming from disappointment of not winning the beer cup, leading to lack of focus resulting to defensive frailty (barring previous results, ie: Newcastle)!
(Sorry I was just called to a meeting so am going to try to regain my train of thought)
Yeah, so, um, yeah so as I was saying, there appears to be a confidence issue around the players! I think it’s the pressure of not winning anything for 6-7 years and I think that when the team gets close to closing a game, winning, building a run etc, anxiety kicks in. At this level it shouldn’t be the case but unfortunately it is. But I reckon that once this team gets back on a winning run they will go from strength to strength, barring the unique games where things go wrong (:grin: sorry just trying to add some humour to the situation), because we have managed to retain and to some lengths improve the spine of the team, barring our current injuries!
It’s also interesting to see how certain players have reacted in our time of adversity, most notably Chamakh-attack getting back on the scoresheet! (Remember him?)
I think this team will improve once they regain their confidence!
And fourthly, as for the board, transfer etc…my opinion has always been that:
1) The property crash slowed our progression
2) The board may in the process of putting alot of pressure on AW, whether he invited it or not, to produce on a shoe string budget and ‘raise the academy’ which could have compromised the teams performance and progression, with AW copping most of the blame. Could this have been intentional to deflect away from the issue that the board are actually finding it difficult to run costs? Or was it merely a conscious effort by the board to do the right thing, only to have become priced-out by the sugar daddies?
I guess my second opinion was two-fold, and the board have definitely been criticised for not reacting quick enough in the transfer market in terms of replacements for out-going players in terms of players we could afford, but have also been priced out of a high spending market. Could their reason for doing so be that AW may have given them the reassurances that he has things ‘covered’ when in fact his gamble has backfired on occasion? Afterall, who wouldn’t trust AW when he tells you in 2005 that he can achieve the unachievable?
Who knows what happens in those board rooms? I just feel the board have been slightly shaded out by Arsene’s popularity, intentionally or not, for such a long time and as a result, his popularity has become affected
Fifth point is about Usmonov. He coming into the frame would be a good thing in terms of competing with the other big spenders, but if you ask most fans they would rather get success through our current principals and it would also be one of the most significant turning points in football history. However the question still remains after 6 years which is, can it be achieved? (see: Barca post 2005. There is a hint that it is possible to build success internally with a sprinkle of wise additions, however even Barca have had to recently compete with spending ridiculous amounts on certain players)
Is it time for Arsenal to try something new on the financial front? Or is it too late, now Silent Stan is in control?
Sixth point is about the return for the rise in ticket prices. Yes some may argue that they have not been justified on the pitch, which although most often we get it back through eye-catching displays of football, it could be argued that this has not been reciprocated in the trophy cabinet. But then some could argue that we’ve been sitting in a lovely stadium for the last 6 years and it’s time to cover our overheads, which would then leave some to argue that with that being the case, the timing of the rises (ie; economical climate and results on the pitch), has not been good, which would leave our executives giving us a list of overheads which need to be covered, seeing as we’re going with the current boards ‘pay from within’ approach.
My overall conclusion on this matter for me can be left like this:
1) Results should ideally be produced on the pitch first and foremost
2) Our failings on the pitch need to be addressed acutely
3) If those failings on the pitch are as stated above, confidence, concentration etc, then the players are going to have to work harder to prove they are the real deal, as we know they are and get a winning run going, as we know they can
4) Once that winning run does return as we know it will we then need to start climbing the table and capitalise our counterpart’s failings as we do, however far and few between
5) On our return to the top four, we should then, hopefully, start telling ourselves we are as good or better than the teams above us, because as I was telling my cousin the other day, barring Citeh, there are no other squads in the prem that I look at and think, wow, that is a shit hot squad. I won’t start mentioning names now, but those other teams who are driven off confidence and adrenaline mixed in with a bit of good football right now, know who they are. So if we can start getting that belief and confidence going again I reckon we can start focusing on competing again!
…and get this, just something to throw into the mix here while I’m on the subject, maybe we have actually lowered our expectations too much by saying Blackburn away and Swansea at home are not givens! Maybe we are trying to start too far down at the bottom in terms of our expectations and if we do actually start saying, ‘actually these games are givens’ and then actually reflect that desire on the pitch, we may find it more of a ‘must’ to press teams and literally knock players off the park to defend a lead and be more ruthless when it comes to finishing them off! Afterall, we are the Arsenal!
Thus, maybe we shouldn’t look back in anger, but more focus ahead in confidence! (Pardon the pun)
That’s just my opinion! I’m open to fair and civil criticism or differences of opinion on anything I’ve said because, as I’m not perfect and have probably come out with a lot of invalid points in other peoples views.
There’s a drink in it for you if you’re interested! 😉
Hello
Some long and really insightful posts
I have nothing else to say
Although, I’m with BTM when he says we will be in the top four at the end of this season
Right, HT needs to be revved back up again 🙂
Trev,the driver – Where are you?
If it is a question of the team needing more time to gel – maybe they should get to the ground a bit earlier, then ask Chamakh attack if they can have some of his – cos that boy looks like he uses enough for a whole squad and some…
I’ll get my comb
UReds!
Ahh Cheers TS.
BM, the breakfast of champions.
I’m off out for a while, laterzzz.
LOL!!
Back to your eulogizing about the board. I will not take the bait !! See you next week. Hopefully we will be on 9 points and you will crying for Harry to come and save you
Shhhhhhh
Cusop, if we left it to Harry we’ll be playing in the Europa League (or whatever it’s called these dayz) 😉
Up the Arsenal!
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/sport/sport-headlines/ridiculing-arsenal-to-become-a-hate-crime-201109194319/
TEE HEE
I will get me coat and take my bowl
Afternoon All ,
Wow – a couple of great posts in one day ‘Holic , top, top stuff .
Unfortunately , yesterday , whilst the fingers were willing , the brain wasn’t and it was simply easier to take a seat in the corner and admire the debate from all sides . Some truly excellent posts up there and it is truly heartening to see so much thought and wisdom within the fan-base from all points of view , and that Holic’s heartfelt and tempered piece received the intelligent response it deserved .
It seems unfair to pick one contributor out , given the wealth of good stuff above , but a quick tip of the hat to Snowy for his consistently excellent analysis of the art of good communication .
Certainly a large part of my profession is managing client’s expectations . Exactly the same end result will be met with wildly differing client reaction if expectations are not managed on a thorough and regular basis .
To this end , and in that regard it is my view that Arsenal have been enormously negligent since the move to the Ems . That , of course , cannot simply be laid at the door of Stan . When we moved all we heard was that the budget for players would not be affected , and that , summer after summer , there was a “substantial” war chest , should AW choose to spend . As the years have gone by , it has become apparent that that simply was not the case .
The late Danny Fitzmann’s death should have been an opportunity for the new Board to restate the vision and direction of Arsenal . Instead , apart from management-speak from IG , the silence has been deafening .
Given that results , at least in the short-term , have taken a turn for the worse , from an existing level that already a significant part of the fan-base were finding difficult to swallow , the cumulative effect of those six years , in which the Board were less than honest , has crystallised into a situation whereby a hugely talented manager and team is subject to intensive criticism from within our own fan-base , ultimately leading to the perception that we are in a club in irreversible decline .
I do not think that is the case , but understand why some have taken a differing view .
The failure of the Board to communicate does not of course excuse the defending we saw on saturday and the deja vu emotions that it provoked , and which lead me to post about the ” basic , horrific and f*cking predictable ” collapse .
But I do not think the two are completely unlinked . It is perceived that we cant defend , it is expected that we can’t defend , and suddenly it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy . Players are viewed , not as the best available in the current circumstances , but as bargain-basement stop-gaps . Is it any wonder the players might begin to see themselves in the same way ? Is it any wonder that a manager , no matter how intelligent or self aware he is, begins to see himself , not as someone doing a fine job on limited resources , but as someone who is failing on a consistent basis ?
As AW has said , confidence is hard won and easily lost , and I think this might apply to himself at the moment , just as readily as to the team . For too long , he has been left pretty much on his own to battle the negativity that surrounds his team , and I can’t believe that this hasn’t taken a toll .
That is not to excuse the predictable lack of organisation and lack of ” mental strength ” which saw us blow up on Saturday for the umpteenth time , and for which AW and the training ground management together with the players must take responsibility but merely to say that the lack of leadership from the Board percolates down such that it all has an effect , from a clearly suffering manager to a fragile and brittle side .
I realise that the above is one of my less than rational posts and I think demonstrates the difficulties I have in articulating what I think presently or what indeed are the reasons for our present predicament .
North Bank 1 – Thank you for your rational posts above . You will not be surprised to hear that there were parts that I disagreed with , but nevertheless your points were well made and represented , in my view , a very rational stance .
You asked me , amongst others , what are my qualifications to say I don’t want Usmanov’s “type” ? . The answer is none whatsoever . It is my opinion , nothing more , nothing less .
I agree that the super-rich rarely get to where they are without a degree of “cuntery” , but I think there is a world of difference between the smug self-satisfaction which often has me sneering at lets say the panel of Dragons Den , and the qualities required to make a fortune in the aftermath of The Soviet Union .
I am no expert on the politics or the finances of that region , but I think it is self evident that it became little more than a gangster-state , in which a few wealthy oligarchs profited from previously state-owned resources . In the circumstances , I’m not sure that the type of character who clearly prospers in those circumstances should be one we welcome to the club .
I do think that there is much information on Usmanov out there , which is way above the level of “internet trash” , both in terms of how he came by his fortune and his criminal convictions , written not by Arsenal fans with a particular axe to grind , but by respected commentators of the finances and politics of that area .
In regard to his comments earlier in the year , there is little I disagree with , and that conversely , was what wound me up about them . It was as if his advisors had done a tour of Arsenal opinion , neatly packaged all current misgivings , and presented them in a fan-friendly way . Blogs , I remember , did an excellent piece at the time .
I fully agree with Holic as to Usmanov’s real reasons for the Rights issue which he proposed .
It is ultimately just an opinion , but Arsenal have a real heritage , a way of doing things . There is of course a lot that they get wrong , but I think that in a wider sense there is an awful lot to be applauded – I fear that much of that would not survive Usmanov or someone of his “ilk “.
Drinks for all .
Cheers mr.tabs, good to have you back in the bar. Great post as usual.
Lager please as I need something light and fizzy to help me refresh the pet’s bowl. Excuse its slight pong but it’s getting all prematurely excited at the thought of a second win on the bounce. Ahhh, bless.
Great post, tabs.
Some good news from Jack Wilshere on Twitter:
“Good day at football today! In the gym again! Ankle feeling a lot better hope to be back playing soon!”
Tabs@132 – Quality!
I totally agree with you Tabs!
cheers!
HT @ 124 – I’m intereted. Quality squared!
GT not HT. iPhone thumbs.
Gt,
Yes, that was a cracking post too. I don’t agree with all of it but you’ve put forward a very decent argument nonetheless. A well-earned drink for you…
Sorry BTM –
I’m usually typing from work under pressure, so it’s sometimes a mess! You can imagine what my work looks like!
Tell me about the I-phone? I usually try to use my index finger, but it’s sometimes unsuccessful! 😉
My 😀 and 😆 didn’t work earlier, for me. Must have been the pressure! 😉
Guys
I can’t even begin to get through all of the above drinks, but from what I have read, from all differing points of view, they have been of the highest quality, and with reasoned restraint in these trying times.
Congratulations to you all, and to Holic for creating this masterpiece of a blog.
A drink for you all.
Cusop, lap up your bowl. 😉
Thanks TS!
I don’t expect everyone to agree as we all have diffrent views! 😉
Heh Dr.C, we all know it now likes the taste 😛
@ 132 – thank god, I thought you’d been abducted by aliens.
Had visions of having to start at The Tollie on me own 😉
As for the LWC, come back when you can count to 50 on your three fingered fist, you soppy cunt.
We had at least 30M to spend on Players at the start of the summer + 7M / Clichy, 35M / Cesc, 25M / Nasri, 5M Eboue & JET…just over 100M to spend, we COULD have sent out a message.
What do we do? A bit like hunting around for a Xmas present on Xmas Eve. What are you going to get? Whatever you can find.
“Arsene knows” is no longer the mantra of the Emirates crowd as belief in AW is the lowest it has been in his glorious 15 years in charge at the club. This is his make or break season.
All the signs were there the last few years that pursuing a strategy of under investment would lead to a gradual weakening of the squad which would eventually blow the group apart and push the best Players out the door. Seriously, this is what West Ham used to do. It was well known that board members would be willing to sell any Player at any given time, Arsenal are doing exactly the same!!
Since 2004, AW has made a profit of approx 35-40M on transfer fee’s and won 1 FA Cup. Between 1996-2004, Wenger managed a brilliant Football team on the pitch, from 05-11 Wenger has Managed a Football Club.
In the last 5 years Man Utd have won 7 trophies. We’ve won nothing.
The shit has finally hit the fan. We don’t have any world class players except RVP, so who the fuck is going to buy overpriced club merchandise and watch the team with the most expensive ticket prices in Europe. The stadium is getting empty.
Not flashing the cash in the transfer market, and relying on homegrown youngsters, Wenger has clearly made a hash of things. Football is not a sport for teenagers, the average age of World Cup winning teams is invariably around 29 years.
Was there any interest in Ashley Young before his move to Utd? I don’t think so, we’ve got his brother Kyle on our books at the moment. Much expected of him.
This current season is Djourou’s 7th at Arsenal, Diaby’s 7th, Almunia’s 8th. To think there are only 2 years left before Almunia gets a testimonial at the club. Fucking disgraceful. Denilson can’t get a game now at San Paulo.
By the looks of the squad, Arsenal are 1 injury away from fighting for relegation. I expect that injury to happen during the next international break in October, any guess who that might be?
Last week after the Dortmund game I was so happy to see SZCZ shaping up to be the best Goalkeeper in the Prem, a man that could keep us in games and win them. At Blackburn, we played our 2 defensive signings who would help us overcome our defensive frailtie’s, I guess not. Imagine if we didn’t have SZCZ right now.
This weekend we face Bolton in a 6 pointer, we’re 17th & they’re 19th. What’s our wage bill?
Last month, the Sunday Times Rich List claimed Usmanov is now Britain’s richest man. When are we going to stop ignoring this man and invite him on the board?
The club is in nosedive and AW remains answerable to nobody. The Board are the real fucking shambles as they are the ones that can do something about this mess.
A year that marks Arsenal’s 125th year anniversary, it’s a shameful way to celebrate this great club’s fantastic history.
Also, answer me this…who most recently won a trophy, Spurs or Arsenal?
off topic but still riling me, from F365.:
United boss Sir Alex Ferguson claimed Cole should have been sent off but, under FIFA rules, Cole cannot be punished retrospectively because the officials took action to deal with the incident at the time.
Stop this fucking nonsense, it has nothing to do with FIFA rules, in France he would get a ban, and as far as I know France has not been banned from FIFA (which would no doubt happen if they overruled….FIFA rules).
@ Ollie – what I couldnt understand was why it wasnt a penalty (other than the obvious Fatty Dowd has his own personal definition of penalty as witnessed at Newcastle last year)?
Speaking of the Tollie, are we aiming for an 11 o’clock start on Saturday?
Lars – at least one of us is:-D
Roll call so far is, you, me, tabs, Holic, BtM and hopefully Trev. Plan is for me and Wolfie to be there knocking the door down (aliens permitting).
Sounds like a serious session coming up on Saturday morning! Wish I was there to join you. 🙁
Hello Dr Z – yep , eleven sharpish for me . As mentioned before , there’s a lot to get through 🙂
Cheers GT and Lars , and well done on your own “epic” efforts . Great stuff .
BtM – Thank you , and as others have already said , the exchange between yourself and Steve T encapsulated all that is good on this blog . It was a mark of the quality of both posts that both had me at varying points nodding in agreement , notwithstanding the difference of position .
TS – here’s your lager mate . Sorry for the delay . Now get to work on Mr Cusop’s bowl 😉
Cheers tabs
*Quaffs lager, releases the old chap, fills the pet’s bowl, sprinkles champagne extract on the fresh contents, moves on*
zico, from what I heard it’s ‘because the ball was out of play’ (although I’ve heard it wasn’t in fact), and that’s the only possible explanation.
Ollie… which of course brings us back to the assault on Flipper at Newcastle, whilst the ball was in play.
But, not wanting to distract from a very good, and very necessary discussion of WTF is going on at our club…
Well done TS . 🙂 The pet has been a bit noisy today .
Unwisely so tabs, unwisely so…. 😉
zico and tabs, brilliant – I’ll be there!
How do we find each other, by the way? Pre-determined corner of the pub? Secret code word? We all wear orange speed… uuh, sorry, strike that one!
In the abscence of an appointed vet for the HT (ahem), I have been concerned about the behaviour of our pet.
A quick search of the internet shows that we have been right to “water” him regularly. But perhaps we should puree some pumpkins too??
http://www.k911.biz/Petsafety/DogWontPoo.htm
Ollie @ #154, Dr.z
That’s what Lee Dixon said on MOTD 2 on Sunday. He also said it was a grey area. It was a really nasty tackle, reckless at best. Deserved a straight red IMO.
Thank you Dr C @ #160. Far too humane IMO 😉
BTW, distractions more than welcome. I think we’re approaching the point of ‘analysis paralysis’.
I’d like to move on and focus on a B team thrashing of Shrewsbury. Young Ryo should be good to watch. The Ox too.
Lars , the back garden on the right hand side of the pub . Pretty sure I’ll recognise you from the photos you posted a while back , but if somehow I don’t , listen out for a conversation above the normal Arsenal chatter , which includes a detailed analysis of Linda Lusardi’s bits , Clive’s butlering requirements , and whether we should source our drugs from Harsha .
If you’re still none the wiser , I’m the one under an Arsenal parasol 😉
Lars, if the Barman or maybe TS, can pass me on your e-mail address, all will be revealed (well actually not all, but you will be enlightened such that it will be hard not to find each other – Wolfie may even have on his psychedelic lederhosen).
Indeed DR C at 155.
Gutted I’m going to miss that ‘holicgathering on saturday.
tabs, surely you can recognise Lars by the size of his wallet? 😉
Some epic drinks above. Have a round on me, after which you can return to Lars’s tab.
I’m not sure quite what’s wrong with the club at the moment. It’s rather puzzling.
In all appearance it looks like we should have no trouble competing (unless Man City feels like paying 10 times the going rate). Money comes in through ticket sales, players leaving, property management, etc. Why isn’t it enough? Is there something else going on behind the scenes?
This is where the failures of communication lie. Things don’t make sense so we take whatever we can get and extrapolate. No matter how the club denies those rumors, the only way to dispel them is to give a true account of what’s going on.
Even still, we did manage to bring in some decent reinforcements this summer. Why wasn’t that done in previous summers?
On the pitch, we can do it all.
We can defend. We held brilliantly against Swansea and Dortmond. The players are solid. Sanga is consistent as ever. Kos has had masterclass performances against Barca and Dortmond. Mertesacker and Santos are experienced internationals.
We can attack. All three goals over the weekend were typical Arsenal attacks (made easy by a poor Blackburn defense I know, but still). We create the chances. On another day, we’d be celebrating a 5-4 win.
We can combine both of them. Udinese in the CL, we held firm in the back and struck effectively up front. We even did it for a full game.
But why can’t we do it all the time? Why can we show up for one half, but not the other? Same players. Same game. Different performances.
What to do going forward? I don’t really know what’s happening (that communication problem again) so it’s tough to say what to do.
Keep supporting the team. They don’t have the belief right now. Maybe we can give it to them.
Add some additional coaching staff. I still believe Wenger is the right man, but he seems stuck at the moment. When you’re stuck, it helps to have someone bring in a different perspective.
Improve communication. I’d love to see the board be completely straight and honest. Tell us what’s happening. Admit shortcomings. Let us know where we are financially (not the numbers, but what the numbers mean). Show us they love the club as much as we do.
Pray for better fortune with injuries. Would the defensive struggles of late have happened with TV on the pitch?Somehow I doubt it. (That’s not to make any excuses. The other players should still step up.)
And special thanks to Cusop for reminding us that as bad as things are at the moment, they could always be worse.
@ takeabowson,
Always glad to read your comments and views and really enjoy the debates.
I understand your points and fully respect your stance. As a club we certainly do things a certain way. At times though this way has made us appear aloof and dare I say it snobbish.
As the Samurai found out turning up for battle with a sword when everyone else has guns means your gonna get murdered. For too long we’ve been 10 paces at dawn whilst those around us have sniper rifles with infra red scopes. The modern club, like the modern business, is a healthy mix of debt and equity.
The Glazers have demonstrated that a club can be run like a modern business with that mix (albeit slightly more debt than equity) and Manure have enjoyed their most successful period in their history with this model.
But don’t misunderstand me, I don’t want someone to come in and do a Citeh or Madrid. What we’ve all wanted for the past 3-4 seasons is the 2 world class players that I genuinely believe would have us winning at least 1 champion league and at least 2 p’ships. It annoys me that someone standing on the sideline with the financial power to make that happen has been shunned because his face doesn’t fit.
We are at the beginning of a new dawn and the silver spooners (yes PHW I’m talking to you) are no longer the only kids on the block with money in their pockets.
A modern business should and would find a way to incorporate a major shareholder onto the board. The face don’t fit argument is outdated and dare I say it, aloof and snobbish and should have no place at a modern Arsenal. If they don’t want his ‘ilk’ at the table then perhaps they shouldn’t have shares available that people are free to buy.
The funny thing is those we revere as preserving the Arsenal way are selling the club (through lack of serious ambition) and more importantly the fans (through lack of communication and ticket prices), down the river. Strong words maybe but the Billiards club hasn’t been cutting it for a while now and I think as fans we should remain open minded.
Now, where’s that bottle of Louis XIII old chap???
I still think there’s a big big mental problem at the club (on the pitch), and I don’t know what we need to solve it.
Looks to me like Arsène keeps being disappointed by his players but doesn’t have the energy for a bit of the hairdryer anymore, which is where we’re missing someone in the dressing room maybe?
I’m convinced the quality is there, there’s just a mental block. Is it possible to brainwash the players now?
J@166 and NB@167 – ta – some more independent-minded food for thought. As has been more-or-less said already – that’s what makes this blog worth reading/contributing to…UReds!
Dr Z – and the psychodelic lederhosen was going to be a surprise 😉
Joshua – another excellent post to add to the collection .
North Bank 1 – Thanks for the kind words and another very considered response . I agree that there comes a point when you have to recognise that you are fighting machine guns with Samurai swords .
I agree that the most frustrating part is that we have been pretty close and that it wouldn’t have taken a huge loosening of the purse strings to have possibly tipped the balance in our favour . I have been critical of our lack of spend since the summer of 2010 . That said , I think the resistance to Usmanov is based on far more than that his face doesn’t fit with an old school tie snobbery .
My post @132 above was not in any way meant as a defence of Stan .
Where we diverge is that I don’t think Usmanov is the answer , but then , you knew that already 😉
I’ll join you in a glass if I may .
Ollie ,
Good point re Lars wallet . Presumably the only man in the pub with a suitcase ? 🙂
Come to think of it , why the bloody hell doesn’t Lars buy the club ?
Ticks all the boxes . Committed supporter , likes the manager , and richer than Croesus . 🙂
And knows swedish blondes 😀
That goes without saying Dr Z 🙂
Chaps, I could buy the club but then I couldn’t afford to pay for your drinks. It’s up to you – do you want free drinks or trophies? 🙂
Lars , mate , I’d happily put my hand in my pocket for the occasional round , if it meant you taking charge at the helm 🙂
Lars, you have mail.
>>>>>>>>> Shrews preview up.
Cheers, tabs and AL. Have a drink on me.