This Time Next Year, Rodney
Feb 19th, 2018 by 'holic
The announcement today of an extension to the ‘partnership’ between Emirates and The Arsenal is a welcome one. Reportedly worth £200 million that is a genuine increase in our commercial activities which needed to grow to allow our burgeoning wage bill.
Reportedly we have also been able to negotiate the deal in such a way that we are able to accept the logo of a second ‘partner’ on the sleeve of the new kits. That in itself could generate an additional £10 million per season.
It has long been the case that our commercial activities were falling short of what a club of our size and history should be able to achieve, but it looks as though this is an area that has been looked at in this season of change. Ivan Gazidis has the structure in place to prepare for a new manager, whenever that may be, and now appears to have a team working on providing the funds for further acquisitions.
The problem with work of this nature is that the results will not be seen this season and social media works on an “I want it now” basis. A win against the odds on Sunday will help, but of course a League Cup would not satisfy everyone.
Not for the first time we need to have a big summer not only addressing the gaps in the squad but making further quality signings to deliver a better challenge for the title. That will mean more pressure on the commercial department but the signs are that they are now starting to deliver.
It’s a sign of the times that there is such a focus on off the pitch activities when really all we want is to see a successful Arsenal playing consistently. The two things go hand in hand, however. We are not owned by a benefactor who will fund the playing side of the business so it is down to those in Highbury House and the manager of the club to deliver it.
In recent years we have been left to feel next year will be the one, and each year we fall short of the vision we were sold when we moved stadium. The ‘catalyst for change’ has delivered hope again for next season. Let it not be in vain once more, please.
53 Responses to “This Time Next Year, Rodney”
Big summer ahead, when we must sign a few bulls in a china shop types who have nothing in mind but preventing the other guys from putting the little ball in our net.
Nice one H.
Evening H
Hopefully this will be a much needed boost to the transfer coffers in the future given as you say,that unlike some,we have to generate our own revenue.
Here’s one I’m not sure the Monks can solve,
Wigan have had only 18% possession in the first half of their cup tie against City tonight.
Not sure i have ever seen a stat that low before.
Somehow it is still 0 – 0 and City are down to 10 men after Delph got a straight red just before half time.
Mind you they could probably beat Wigan with 9 men,they have been that dominant,and De Bruyne is lurking on the bench just in case.
TTG from previous drinks,
Re Joe Baker,
Were you there the day Joe knocked out Ron Yeats right in front of the dugout after a particularly nasty tackle in a 3rd round cup tie. ??
Joe didn’t even wait for the Ref to pull out a red card,he just walked off straight down the tunnel.
When Yeats came to,thinking he had got away with one,the ref gave him a red card as well.!!
Unfortunately Pool nicked a 1 nil win,so i suppose they thought the end justified the means.
Being pedantic I don’t hink they had red cards in those days, the refs just pointed and off they went, like naughty schoolboys being sent to the headmaster. 😉
Speaking of red cards, I can’t believe anyone can defend Delph’s challenge in the City game tonight. Shin high, off the ground. Any type of connection on the Wigan lad and it’s a broken leg
Clive
I was there but at the time the result took away the pride in Joe decking Shankly’s ‘ Colossus’ ! I supported Arsenal for 13 years until we got past the fifth round and twice we lost at home to the Bin- Dippers.
Re Holic’s article it is a big deal but the longer the deal the risk is you lose out on massive inflation that seems to follow Football around . My sense is Football is settling into a more ‘ normal ‘ economic pattern and longer deals bring stability. The new TV deal suggests that even the EPL may have peaked in its capacity to negotiate deals that defy gravity . If so now may be the time to maximise revenue. But to put it into perspective Wenger wasted a season’s worth of that revenue with his decision to retain Sanchez until January
Thank you Wigan, quadruple my ass
I recall reading endlessly in the later stages of Tony Blair’s term as Prime Minister that he and Gordon Brown were barely on speaking terms. I don’t remember ever reading any evidence to support this. I was invited to believe it simply because of constant repetition by political journalists, whose impartiality I had no reason to trust.
Much the same now seems to be happening at Arsenal. Every hopeful sign is reported as being due to the efforts of Gazidis, Mislintat or Sanhelli or whoever. Responsibility for every setback is lain at Wenger’s door.
I have no problem with the idea that Wenger should be held accountable for everything that goes on at the club. I do, however, believe that he should also be credited when things go right.
It may well be that there is a power struggle going on within the club between “the forces of Reaction”, i.e. Arsène Wenger, and “the forces of Progress”, i.e. Gazidis, Mislintat or Sanhelli or whoever, but it strikes me as at least possible that it was put to Wenger that he needed some help with off-the-field activities and that Wenger agreed. It’s even possible that the idea come from him in the first place.
I’d really like if if those who believe in the life-and-death struggle would provide some analysis to back this interpretation that is a little more rigorous than “It stands to reason” or “It’s what I said last month/week/yesterday”.
Yes, it would be nice if the deal was worth more. Yes, things would be different if Kroenke was willing to throw cash around like confetti. Yes, with the benefit of hindsight it would be better if we’d sold Sànchez to &Cent;itti in the summer and ridden out the criticism for failing to acquire a replacement. It isn’t, he isn’t we didn’t. Re-stating these things doesn’t add to the debate.
/rant over
It could be a deflating week for Citeh, going down from four competitions to two in a matter of days.
On the other hand …
Cheers Holic.
The commercial team are given salaries far higher than equivalent roles in similar revenue earning businesses and should be expected to deliver.
Just as on the football side, they should be shown the door if the don’t succeed. It’s then down to the football management to ensure the money is spent well.
Clive & TTG. I was there that fateful afternoon when little Joe Baker laid out “Big” Ron Yeats with one punch. It’s much revered in Arsenal folklore. Sadly we lost the match 1-0 to a disputed goal. The bin dippers had a flying winger ( Peter Thompson or Steve Heighway ? ) who took a ball along the touch line ( it was marginally out ) and crossed into the box for the scousers to score – where was VAR when you needed it ?
Steve Heighway was not such a bad footballer, now that you mention him, Uply, even if he was a bindipper.
Solid Gunner from previous…
Butland Tarkowski and ANY half decent defensive midfielder would be decent business for quality players in areas we desperately need to strengthen.
Pangloss
Great rant!
Clive@3. Celtic had 16% possession against Barcelona in a 2012 CL game — and won.
Pangloss
With the greatest respect I accept that your position is a conservative one. Your loyalty is admirable and not a quality that is found in Football very much but using your political analogy I spoke to several senior politicians personally and political journalists over dinner , over several years in meetings and drinks and several confirmed that the relationship between Blair and Brown was poisonous and unworkable , not just because of the breaking of the Granita pact( a pact that was publicised for a very good reason by the party who stood to benefit from it ultimately) . It wasn’t a fiction devised by manipulative journalists or political commentators.
Similarly I have spoken to two extremely well- connected people at Arsenal, one an ex- player who sees Arsene virtually on a weekly basis and one member of the exec team at a high level ( he is a good friend of the man I sat next to last season at matches) .
While there is no declared public position you do need to read the runes and understand the way modern football clubs work. There was strong opposition to Wenger continuing but he outflanked that by agreeing a deal directly with Kroenke immediately after the Cup Final .
Gazidis made his catalyst for change speech and what has followed has contradicted everything Wenger has stood for since he ran the club. To suggest that the change is a fiction concocted by fanciful journalists is a little naive. There is civil war at Arsenal. It’s being conducted politely but it is pretty serious.
As a supporter of the club I do feel able to make the point that rejoicing over a new financial deal needs to be viewed in the context of the dithering last summer which has cost us dear this season . We may be where we are but while we continue to accept that we slip further away from where we could be.
My view,which has developed gradually is that we need to make fundamental changes in the way the club is run to compete at the level we did for so long and that without them we will fall way behind the pacemakers in English and European football. I have found the Europa League Thursdays very depressing and a metaphor for our decline .
My comments don’t add to the debate if it’s closed. But it isn’t and it shouldn’t be. We need to continue the debate until we can get the club back to where it was. If we don’t I will still support the club I love, I would do this if we were in the Vanarama but I reserve the right to observe, comment and criticise if it’s constructive. Hopefully it is but this bar will be a good judge.
Clive, Wigan win with 17% possession. Greedy.
Ned, as the monks appear to be on a sabbatical, it was Peter Thompson who was the bin dippers flying winger in 1964. It’s most generous of you to give the hard working monks some time off but I would suggest double flagellation when they return – don’t want them getting above their station ?
TTG
We can console ourselves with our poor record against Pool back in those days,with the winning of the 2 biggest against them.
The Cup/Double sealer triumph of 71,and the winning of the league in the last game of a truly traumatic season at fortress Anfield in 89.
Uply,
It wasn’t Heighway,it was too early for him.
But i am sure Ned can confirm who it was.
Fabulous win by Wigan tonight,restores my faith in football.
@16
I’d probably be late for my own Funeral.
Ned,
Wigan greedy indeed,
Who do they think they are,their squad that cost a hefty 3 shillings and sixpence,doing more with their exceedingly excessive 17% possession, than 800 million quid spending City with 83%.
I have spoken to two extremely well- connected people at Arsenal, one an ex- player who sees Arsene virtually on a weekly basis
How is Steve Bould these days? 🙂
TTG, thank you.
Equally, I accept and respect your position. I have spoken to neither political journalists nor Arsenal FC insiders. I can only observe the runes and attempt to draw appropriate conclusions.
To my mind the runes aren’t sufficiently clear to permit conclusions to be drawn. I keep looking out for additional information but all I can see is a repetition of the same opinions.
I’m bored with being a voice crying in the wilderness which is why I don’t repeat my well-known opinions all that often. From time to time, however, I lose patience and am unable to resist the temptation to point out the lack of objective evidence and the regular restatement of conclusions based, essentially, on the assumption that those conclusions are correct.
I’ll try harder for another few months.
COYG
£200m should buy us a decent player, and the £10m will pay most of his salary. Top negotiations both!
Or am I being cynical?
Pangloss
My final observation is that what is actually happening will only become apparent after the event. I am often told that a frog can be placed in water which is heated and adjusts to the temperature until it is boiled to death. Nobody does anything except read the runes but believe me some people are reading the runes very differently. As with everything time will tell
Morning Chris,
If anything a touch naive in
thinking 10m will pay most
of the salary – probably not
even half the way things are
going 🙂
Uplympian@16: The monks do like the odd treat.
TTG@14. Excellent post. I must say that as far as what happens behind the scene, the club has been a shambles for several seasons.
The new emirates deal is good business but realistically all it does is add a zero to transfer fees and to players wages. It will all be enhanced by multi billion tv deal. Whilst it’s all good for the club I’m far from convinced that as fans that we will get to see the benefits of either.
Clive@18: Exactly. But flash the cash and you get results. That £1.3 million spent buying Will Grigg doesn’t look so expensive now…
Uli Hoeness in 2013 whilst the president of Bayern Munich, talking about fans and season ticket prices. This was Just before they went on to win the Champions League Final.
“We could charge more than £104. Let’s say we charged £300. We’d get £2m more in income but what’s £2m to us?
‘In a transfer discussion you argue about that sum for five minutes. But the difference between £104 and £300 is huge for the fan.
‘We do not think the fans are like cows, who you milk. Football has got to be for everybody.”
Wouldn’t it be refreshing if those responsible for the new deals and for driving forward the ‘catalyst for change’ philosophy thought the same way?
Oh well.
The Joe Baker-Ron Yates game was a 5th round FA Cup tie in February 1964. Ian St John scored the only goal in the 15th minute. The twin sendings off came at the 38th minute. Jim Furnell saved a penalty from Roger Hunt at the death. Hunt never took another penalty for Liverpool again.
Our team that day: Jim Furnell, Jimmy Magill, Billy McCulloch, Vic Groves, Ian Ure, John Snedden, John McLeod, Geoff Strong, Joe Baker, George Eastham and George Armstrong.
The bin-dippers’: Tommy Lawrence, Gerry Byrne, Ronnie Moran, Gordon Milne, Ron Yeats, Wille Stevenson, Ian Callaghan, Roger Hunt, Ian St John, Alf Arrowsmith and Peter Thompson.
This is a match report from a Liverpool site: http://www.lfchistory.net/Articles/Article/3631
Twenty [Liverpool] fans missed their coach and had to come home courtesy of British Rail, who agreed to let them travel without tickets providing they promised to pay when sent a bill.
Different times.
Thnks Ned
Excellent precis of the game.
Looking at our defensive line up,it’s no wonder we were shipping 80 odd goals a season. !!
Steve @27.
That’s a different world in every sense.
‘In a transfer discussion you argue about that sum for five minutes’.
Unless you are Arsenal. In which case you argue about it for as long as possible until the selling club gets so pissed off that they walk away from negotiations and you don’t get the player. You just keep hold of that precious, precious £2m.
Great stuff Ned
Look at the difference in quality between our attack and our defence. Then look at our goal average that season.
Thank goodness we’ve never gone down the same path again , putting all the emphasis on attack ….er what’s that? ?
The big negative about Citeh losing to Wigan is that spuds will fancy themselves to beat Chelsea / Man United, the two big teams left and win the cup.
It’s a very valid point GSD. I did actually think about deleting that bit. Hardly the Arsenal way.
TTG@31: Tsk! Tsk!
Clive@29: Some of the youngsters today who complain about our defending have no idea what it is like to have a really bad defence.
This could have been a Ramblers game. Just the 10 reds and eight yellows:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/43107860
Ned
I hope you are not suggesting the Ramblers were a dirty side. ??
Perish the thought.
TTG
Not a good few days for our Young ones.
Under 18’s got beat 4 – 1 by our neighbors in the Cup semi final,and the under 23’s lost a top of the table clash at Leicester 3 – 1,although that result is tempered by the fact that our best players from that team were absent due to their anticipated appearance in the Europa league game on Thursday night.
More than my life’s worth, Clive. 😉
Talking of youngsters, the CIES Football Observatory has been taking a look at the best young talent across the big five European leagues.
http://www.football-observatory.com/IMG/sites/b5wp/2017/215/en/
A notable dearth of British talent coming through, despite the much vaunted Academy system.
Tom Davies of Everton is the English standout in the list of the 50 most promising young players.
Clive
We’ve played weakened teams but hopefully a numbe4 of lads get some exposure on Thursday and even Sunday!
Evening all. Busy days. Did some stuff for Layth at the Islington Gazette tonight. Tomorrow a preview of Thursday, but really we’re in Carabao Cup mode already aren’t we? I hope the team aren’t.
The Carabao Cup sounds like the soft centre that gets eaten first. Unlike marzipan, which is always last out of the box in this house.
Increase the quality of your marzipan then, Cynic. Simple solution. 😉
Looking at the Europy fixtures list, there are a lot of “1L” and “2L” matches listed.
I hope we have two legs to stand on.
Thanks Ned for the link.
It seems that these are the players holding
down a place fairly regularly despite their
tender years. Of course it doesn’t mean they’ll
necessarily develop further but it’s certainly
a positive sign.
Looking at the Top 5 leagues, there are
10 in Germany, 8 in France, 5 each in
Italy/Spain and 4 in England.
Only Hakimi and Alexander-Arnold from the
10 richest clubs and neither are really
“regulars” as such.
A few thoughts occured
– It’s easy to understand our younger players
choosing to head out at 18. Germany or France
offer the most opportunity
– Sessegnon is the only one from the class
of 2000, mostly kids from 98. Should we risk
paying heavily before he’s even played a PL game?
– I didn’t know Leeds had a player called
Ronaldo Vieira
OM@44: Ronaldo Vieira has a twin brother called Romario, also a central midfielder and also at Leeds.
Ned,
So he does!
I must admit I googled that just in
case you were pulling my leg 🙂
Anybody seen this clip of Dele Ali’s brother?
https://www.facebook.com/SarcasticGooner/videos/2070622676508394/
Afternoon all,
at last, again. This work business does really take over a lot of the time.
A very good set of drinks from everyone above. All good points well made – agree or disagree.
Personally, I’m going to agree most with TTG @14 because it sounds honest, genuine, unexaggerated and, most importantly, offers the best long term hope for the future. The “civil war at Arsenal” bit is unfortunate but – look away, Pangloss – there does seem to be too much change smoke, for there to be nothing happening at all.
What I have been hearing suggests huge change is coming in the summer but, like everyone, I’ll have to wait and see.
What I do find confusing is how Gazidis and the new recruits are surviving, if the owner is dealing directly with Arsene Wenger against Gazidis’ wishes – and actions.
Huge change is needed though, regardless of which personalties are involved. Before Kroenke, Arsenal and Arsene Wenger was a club that had the ambition, courage and determination to move from Highbury to a new stadium, in order to be able to compete in the future.
Since Kroenke, we have growm massively in financial terms but slowly stagnated and now begun to sink slowly into mediocrity on the pitch.
I hate what the current amount of money has done to the game but I really wish the club would be honest with the supporters.
The “force for change” in the club either has to persuade the current owner to enable the club to be truly competitive at the top level, or make way for someone who will.
Alternatively, accept that change is not going to happen and supporters need to accept that in turn and accordingly manage their expectations downwards.
With reference to Steve T’s point, they should not keep charging the supporters top, top prices for a non-existant dream of supremacy.
Doeset Mick @47 – ??
Imagine being called Ronaldo and Romario and ending up at Dirty Leeds 😀
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Holic, thanks so much for the post.Really thank you! Keep writing.
“GEICO ads sometimes flop, but when they hit the mark they are the funniest commercials on television. Your wrote “funniest when you must have meant “most awful things ever created. You should fix that. No. The only good GEICO commercial is NO GEICO commercial. Again, THE WORST THINGS ON TELEVISION, EVER MAYBE.they almost make me loath that the TV was even invented, the make me hope for a giant comet. That bad and that stupid. YES. The only way to possibly enjoy a GEICO commercial is if you have an IQ of 3 or less.