Arshavin fears EPL exodus if tax is not sorted soon.

by & filed under Uncategorized.

That did make me laugh, Arshavin fears that if the government doesn’t reduce taxes, people that earn £50k a week plus will leave as it’s not fair.

Andre, join the queue mate, how do you think people feel that only earn £100k a year feel? And anyway, how on earth do you think Gordon Brown can pay for all the people in this country on benefits if he doesn’t screw the rich?

And I don’t include all those poor sods that have lost their jobs and have mortgages in the above statement because those people will only be getting £60 a week jobseekers allowance.

It’s only the bums and people that have contributed jack shit to the economy that get decent money.

It did make me laugh though, if he thinks that any government will lower the taxes so we don’t upset Premiership footballers then his must live in a world where pigs fly, forget it Andre, it won’t happen.

I also read that Theo thinks we will win some silverware this coming season and that Robin thinks that Jack Wilshere’s talent is scary, I like the sound of both of those comments, what I don’t like though is the deafening silence coming from Arsenal as far as new signings are concerned, it’s only a week until pre season starts, come on Arsenal!

Interestingly the board think we don’t need Usmanov’s money as we are doing Ok financially and Wenger has a healthy transfer budget, great, so no more talk of we’re skint and we have no funds, get out there and buy someone then Arsene.

I think we can discount Melo, if they want Eboue and £15mil they must be kidding themselves, I would sooner we bought Matuidi or even Diarra, though Diarra will go missing around the ACN so perhaps that’s not too smart.

I said some months ago that we don’t necessarily need a defensive midfielder, just one that’s big enough and strong enough to win those midfield battles, there has to be a few out there like that, like an Edu or a Petit, or maybe even giving Vieira a two year contract to babysit Denilson and Diaby, or maybe Diaby will come back stronger and fitter and we can try him.

There are many combinations we could play, but if Wenger has stopped buying, I wish he’d tell us and stop torturing everyone.

Have a great Saturday Grovers, one week to go and the season begins in earnest!

611 Responses to “Arshavin fears EPL exodus if tax is not sorted soon.”

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  14. zorr0

    Proper music, but that is obviously just my opinion, a bit like me not being as downbeat as others on here about the future, immediate and short term, for The Arsenal!

  46. ManGoonian

    Gotta say this shit is a cool way to get to know me fellow Gooners…. Music is the key to life after all….

    Who wants some Shirley Bassey???

  68. zorr0

    Not ‘arf pop pickers!

    Some quality spins going on there. Reggie nice to see some old skool ska and skinhead moonstomp, reminds me of my tonic trousers tasseled brogues and ben sherman!

  72. zorr0

    lol Lou, Now are you talking about those of us enjoying a mini festival or those re hashing the same old arguments about AW, Denilson, the board, Song, Ade yadda yadda yadda.

  74. zorr0

    lol Reggie. I got chased around Hammersmith after seeing UB40 at the Palais in about 79, so I moved on to being a casual, Gold Diadora’s and Fila, Jeans with a slit up the outside so they would fall better on your trainers!

  77. zorr0

    I like the lad and one day he may be good enough, but he has been asked to do too much too soon. That said, he did well when Fab was out for the 3 months!

  78. Jimbo

    Have to say, I don’t like him at all.

    He plays football with absolutely no character, comes across as an arrogant prick in his interviews, and a couple of people who I know have met him and say he’s an absolute tool.

    That said, I think he’s a hopelessly mediocre footballer, so I’d sell him just for that.

  81. reggie57

    Believe it or not i feel sorry for the lad he should never have been put into that position, most games played last season only one person to blame for that!

  86. zorr0

    ManGoo? I knew he was trouble the minute I saw his record collection!

    Jimbo, I think at the moment we are in very deep shit, because neither of them want to go past 30%, so they might continue picking up some shares here and there until they get to 29.9. I would be surprised if either of them has the money to then go the whole hog and offer to buy all the other shares at the average/going rate, because we are then talking a whole lot of money!

  87. reggie57

    Thing is Jimbo it dont matter who takes over AW will still refuse to buy ready made expierenced players due to stunting the progress of his favoured few.

  88. zorr0

    Of course all the other main share holders are holding out for the best price if someone does buy, so that is prob why they are happy for AW to keep doing what he is doing, as they know they can keep him financially constrained and he won’t moan too much. I think his contract running down will be the next big thing and will show what he thinks about the situ.

  89. Jimbo

    zorr0,

    I disagree (who’d have thought?!?) – I think both want to go over 30%, Usmanov definitely, Kroenke probably.

    That’s the whole idea behind the rights issue – to take power out of the hands of the current shareholders.

  90. Jimbo

    And also, I think Usmanov is genuinely concerned that Arsene Wenger is going to actually destroy the value of his investment, as would happen after just one season out of the Champions League. One of the reasons I think he’s so keen to get cash into the club now.

  91. zorr0

    So at some point, be it now or in a few years, they will all sell and walk away with a huge profit on their initial investment and what is it costing at the moment? Fuck all, because they do not put any money in and yet we should be grateful they do not take a dividend!!! They are on the gravy train mate and it just keeps on rolling along and they know they may have to wait a while, but the cash is at the end of the line waiting!

  94. zorr0

    We will hjave to disagree!! The rights issue could very well have left everyone owning the same percentage of shares, but would have ploughed a load of disposable cash into the coffers to fund transfers or the debt! The question would have been if existing share holders did not buy their equivalent % of the new shares, they could be bought by one of the other shareholders before new buyers could get in. Now that might have taken someone over the 30%.

  95. Jimbo

    zorr0,

    Usmanov was offering to underwrite the share issue, meaning HE would have picked up all unwanted share rights.

    And when you’re talking about these guys putting in another 6-7k/share, people like Fiszman, Lady Nina, and even the smaller shareholders like the AST would have struggled to come up with that cash.

    it would inevitably have led to Usmanov getting quite a lot more of the club.

  96. zorr0

    Good point Reggie, she must be keeping a very keen eye on events. SHe does not really care about the club, just making the most profit on a certificate that cost her nothing to sit on! If she wanted to sell and either SK or Usmanov wanted to buy, it would happen, but not right now, because of the 30% rule.

    Interestingly, the longer it waits and the more we may recover financially from the recession, the higher the share price they will have to pay, so I think they are in a porper catch 22 situation!

  97. zorr0

    Jimbo, yes that is my understanding, so it is a little bit odd that he offered that, but then again I am not convinced that he offered it thinking that there was any chance the board would go ahead, so it may have been a calculated gamble in order to make the fans think he is the good guy in all this and wants to come to our rescue and give AW a massive warchest. I bet he is a decent Texas hold’em player!

  98. reggie57

    Do people realy believe all tham storys about Usmanov are true like being a killer,rapist,gangster,loan shark,and worst of all being a manu fan!

  99. Jimbo

    That’s a great point zorr0, however everything I think we see from Usmanov suggests that he really is keen on upping his stake.

    Time will tell, of course.

    That said, I don’t think Lady Nina is as keen to offload her shares as you all think. She is close friends with David Dein, and will be keen not to repeat his mistake of selling his shares and then falling out with the buyer, thus losing all influence in the matter. My guess is that lady Nina’s shares, if she holds onto them, are David Dein’s last chance of getting back into the club.

  100. Jimbo

    No, I don’t reggie.

    Most of them are published and supported by Arseblog, who have close links to the cuntbag Hill-Woods.

  101. Stu

    I dont want to get involved because i dont much on the subject but…i do believe that Usmanov is a bad person because i have heard nothing but negative things about him. I never heard that he was a killer tho.

    I also heard that he tried to buy into Man U but didn’t or couldn;t or something.

  102. zorr0

    Reggie, you do not become a millionaire businessman without doing some things that you might not like out in the general domain and in the breakup of the old Soviet Union and especially it’s business interests around the utilities there was some proper shady goings on, even old Forrest Gump over at chelsea is a proper dodgy geezer.

    I am sure there is alot of conspiracy theory goes on, but I think there is a lot he would not want us to know!

  103. reggie57

    But surely Jimbo if Lady Nina sells her shares to usmanov david dein will become chairman even its just a figuare head move by Usmanov to keep the fans sweet!!

  104. zorr0

    Reggie, Jimbo, Stu and anyone else, off to hit the ZZzzs. Have a good Sunday, back tomorrow night I think!

  108. Stu

    I saw on another blog that Shity has been linked with a ,move for our very own Alex Song. What do ye think. Personally im not really bothered what happens. He is good cover in defence or midfield but if he was to go he would get decent money and allow the likes of Ramsey to step up.

    What do ye think?

  109. Jimbo

    reggie – possible, but hardly guaranteed. I don’t know what their relationship is like now, now that they’ve broken businses ties (Dein is no longer part of R&W).

    This is admittedly speculation, based upon a few facts, but I think those shares will eventually see Dein and Bracewell Smith back in the boardroom, unless Kroenke can marginalise everyone else.

  110. Jimbo

    Who Reggie?

    A’s information on Usmanov is bad (he thought he owned Gazprom!), so I’m pretty skeptical about what he has to say.

  112. Jimbo

    Stu – Shity can fuck right off, as far as I’m concerned.

    I don’t think Song is brilliant, but he’s a shoo-in for the first team next season, as things stand.

  113. Stu

    Yeah, i like the idea of Song. Tall, versatile, young, good leap, fairly built….but its his lack of concentration and his uncanny ability to just switch off. And he does often give theimpression that he is stoned half the time.

    But as things stand he is actually the only DM in the whole squad so i’d say keep him….and he does have a lot of promise.

  114. reggie57

    Yeah i know that dd and usmanov have broken their partnership i only thought that they done that so usmanov could get his feet under the table, as soon as he gains control dd will be installed as chairman mark my words!

  117. A

    City to song talk is ridiculous, wenger wouldn’t let song go just as he’s starting to show some talent after he’s persisted in him for so long.

    Jimbo you’re just desperate to refute anything negative about usmanov because you believe success can only come through spending money and usmanov is a way for that to happen! It isn’t MY information, I was relaying information from various sites, and I didn’t mean that he actually owns gazprom, he runs and created the gazprom investment holdings part, which does all the dodgy/corrupt dealing for gazprom. I’ve given you various links to read up on Usmanov, but you’d rather stay ignorant and dismiss it as “rumours”, because it suits your beliefs!

  118. Jimbo

    Blimey A, I was just about to go to bed, and now this!

    Your information on Usmanov is way off. It was wrong when you said that he owned it, it was wrong when you said that it controlled it, and I’ve no idea what you’re talking about with Gazprominvest, because they’re a pretty run-of-the-mill metals company.

    You’ve given me no links, apart from to Craig Murray’s website, a man who openly begs for information that might substantiate what is effectively slander!

    You’ll have to do better than that, A, because it looks to me like you’re just making it up as you go along.

  119. A

    Stu re usmanov being a killer, he’s never actually been accused of murder, but he was charged with rape, and all the witnesses, along with some eye witnesses, and the victim he was accused of raping, all mysteriously vanished.

    He also took over the independant newspaper company to turn it into a propaganda arm for his chums in power, and some chief editor or someone like that high up in the company before he took over, who was opposing or criticising him, mysteriously threw himself to his death out of a window in the building.

    He’s never personally been accused of murder, but there are links between him and various deaths, whether they were by his hand or order.

  120. Jimbo

    For anyone who thinks A is remotely capable of providing useful information about Usmanov, please see the below:

    http://le-grove.co.uk/2009/07/09/sack-the-board-take-the-100mill-all-hail-usmanov/

    A’s comment @ 19:14:

    “but in his business dealings the company that he owns, Gazprom is basically like a big evil corporation (think Dr Evil’s company in Austin Powers!)”

    But apparently you didn’t mean that he owns Gazprom. I don’t know A, but that’s not what you said before.

    Also A, Usmanov was NEVER charged with rape. He WAS charged with bribery and extortion, for which he went to prison in 1980. The ‘rape’ story is something that Craig Murray effectively accuses him of, then admits he knows nothing about – it’s on the same level as the ‘Arsene’s a Paedo’ rumours, and basically, a crock of shite.

  121. Stu

    Well A, you usually know your stuff so i’ll trust you on this one.

    And i do remember an article you linked to a few months back about Usmanov being evil and such.

  122. A

    Jimbo I’ve not made a single thing up, I’m repeating things that are easily accessible on the internet as accusations against Usmanov

    Gazprom investment’s own stated purpose is to “manage Gazprom’s most difficult and sensitive financial transactions.” He’s been accused of bribery, intimidation and such like in that role time and time again, even if he’s never been prosecuted, but how could he when he’s chums with everyone in power?! In my eyes there’s no smoke without fire, and Craig Murray didn’t just make the accusations for no reason.

    Craig Murray had absolutely nothing to do with Usmanov, went to Uzbekistan as the British Ambassador, and was disgusted by the things he did, and what he got away with, why on earth would he make it all up?!

    I should be spending next week or the week after with craig murray, so I can give you the low down from someone who knows MUCH better than both of us.

    Neither of us really know anything about it, I’ve read reports that have convinced me about certain things, I see absolutely no reason that they would be made up, because there are no obvious ulterior motives. You havn’t read contradictory reports, but choose not to believe the reports I’ve read.

    What noone can dispute though is that Usmanov was a twat when he first became linked with Arsenal, in that he was getting blogs shut down left right and centre for what were deemed to be “libellous comments” by other people who read similar reports to me and commented on them.

  125. A

    Jimbo Usmanov was CHARGED with rape, but never convicted, because the witnesses and victim dissapeared. He was CONVICTED of bribery and extortion.

    Ok well Jimbo, if you choose to try and make out that the mistake in my wording, with his being President of the Gazprominvestmentholdings rather than Gazprom itself, to mean that every other thing I link to, and all the rational debate is simply untrue, then it undermines your ability for rational debate in my eyes!

  126. goonermichael

    Jimbo
    When he first got near Arsenal he was having Arsenal blogs closed down. He’s a cunt, You just don’t want him to be.

  127. A

    I take it back, Usmanov was never charged with rape, the people who made the accusations had to pay him compensation for the wrongful claims, I was wrong there. He was just accused of rape, but never charged.

  130. Jimbo

    Then, A, you probably ought to be a little more discerning about what you’re reading on the internet, because obviously what you’re repeating here is somewhat spurious.

    As for Craig Murray – making up accusations ‘for no reason’? Are you kidding me? I’m well aware of Craig Murray’s story, but also aware of his current interests in tarring ANYONE from Uzbeki business & politics with the same brush, PARTICULARLY someone like Usmanov, who has risen to prominence over in the UK due to his takeover of Arsenal. Indeed, the shady dealings that Murray keeps talking about Usmanov being involved with happened over 20 (!!!) years before Murray even went to Uzbekistan – his writing has nothing to do with crimes he saw Usmanov commit, it’s to do with raising his own profile, and championing his own cause.

    Murray has his motivations for writing, which I’m sure are deep down honest, but it’s clear even from his own articles that the guy doesn’t have the full story. Are you honestly going to take his rape accusations seriously, when in one of his own articles he begs for his readers to send him information? I don’t think Usmanov is a twat for shutting down blogs for printing that he was a rapist. The Arsenal blogs, frankly, had it coming.

  131. ethangunner

    ManGoonian Says:
    July 11, 2009 at 18:37

    ethan;

    I bet you a 10000 Dong (or whatever you use for cash) that Eduardo can play upfront, either on his own in a 4-2-3-1 or as the main man in a 4-4-2… the fella is quality
    ——————————————-
    YOUR ON !

  132. ethangunner

    ive got only 1 dong mate ..
    but im sure with a name like man-goonian you have a cupboard full of rubber ones :)

    and dont knock my country if you havent been there , it sure as hell beats shuffling down sackville terrace on a Saturday night getting beaten up by queers !

  133. Jimbo

    A – no the ‘rape’, this is from Murray’s own website:

    “Usmanov is also dogged by the widespread belief in Uzbekistan that he was guilty of a particularly atrocious rape, which was covered up and the victim and others in the know disappeared. [...] If anyone has more detail on the specific case involving Usmanov please add a comment.”

    I find this pathetic, to be honest – it’s a serious accusation, and Murray pretty happy to headline on the basis of it.

    As for this:

    “President of the Gazprominvestmentholdings rather than Gazprom itself, to mean that every other thing I link to, and all the rational debate is simply untrue, then it undermines your ability for rational debate in my eyes!”

    It proves to me that you haven’t been particularly discerning, and when dealing with a somewhat obscure history, of a somewhat obscure individual, that pretty much tells me that your ‘facts’ can’t be taken seriously.

    As I said before, Murray went to Uzbekistan in 2002, decades after the majority of Usmanov’s alleged crimes took place. It’s worth remembering that, before we take his word as gospel on anything.

  134. A

    With regards to the rape allegations it’s because lots of Russian newspapers ran the story about it, and subsequently it’s just widely believed in Russia/Uzbek that he did it, and he’s got that image in those countries. Obviously Craig Murray is just reporting what he hears.

    Craig Murray wrote most of the reports on Usmanov well before there were even any links between him and Arsenal, so I wouldn’t say that there could be any motives with regards to his coming high profile etc.

    Craig Murray basically went to Uzbekistan as the British ambassador, saw loads of bad stuff going on, so quit in protest at the British Government turning a blind eye, and decided to write a book about it, and the history of it and the perpetrators of what he saw as very wrong, and Usmanov features heavily in his book.

    Uzbekistan currently has nothing to do with his current career ambitions and such like, he’s running in the Norwich North by-election, I’m pretty sure the Norfolk folk are incredibly disinterested in the Uzbeki politics!

    He didn’t just close down websites that said he was a rapist, he closed down any sights that had links to the Murray sight that said he was a rapist, the fact even Boris’ site got closed down was excessive, freedom of speech and all that, though obviously stating things as fact when they weren’t was wrong, but stating that it’s widely believed that he was guilty of rape in eastern europe, but all the witnesses and victim disappeared without his being charged isn’t wrong imo, because that’s the truth

  135. ethangunner

    i don’t give a shit about what our board do in there spare time , they are more disrespectful of our club than the Russian has been , at least he has invested more into the club than any other long term board member .. he and krankie are the 2 who have there livelihoods invested in the clubs , so give them some respect , you dont need to spend sunday lunch with them .. so you never have to risk wearing concrete shoes on the bottom of the ocean ..

    but what the board have done is nothing short of ruin arsenals top flight status …

    at least someone has enough business sense to try and inject 100 mil of much needed player transfers to get this club up and running again ,

    and those stupid control freak ,fairy ,powder puff girls on the board deny it …

    thats progress deny that …

    but im sure half of you really love struggling
    and calling others doom mongers , it lifts you .

    i for one want to prove my theory correct and let wenger spend 100 mil …

    then we might have something to cheer about ..
    anyhow wenger wouldnt need 100 mil anyhow ..

    sell 4 or 5 of the dead wood and 50 mil from the russian …
    he would have close too 100 mil anyway …

  136. A

    Yeah I know Jimbo – I’ve read that part about his wanting more specific details. What he’s written about the rape though is something widely believed in Uzbek and Russia, just from Russian newspaper reports. The Guardian article talks about his being accused in lots of Russian articles, as do alot of other sights if you google it, Murray didn’t make it up, but he repeated general belief, derived from newspaper reports, as fact.

    I’m not presenting any facts, the long and the short of it are that Usmanov was the President of the arm of Gazprom created just to deal with sensitive issues, and those sensitive issues have resulted in a fair few accusations of bribery and intimidation against him. Whether he was the owner, or the president, or whatever it doesn’t make much difference, those are just semantics. What’s important is that he had alot of power, in a company that attracted many accusations and criticism, for a variety of reasons.

    It isn’t just Murray who’s accused him of stuff, like the accusation about the journalist being thrown out of the window, but it’s just that Murray has put all of the accusations against Usmanov together in a book, therefore it seems like everything is just coming from Murray, when most of it is just his repeating accusations from elsewhere.

  137. A

    Anyways, I don’t wanna talk about Usmanov anymore, they just all drag on and on, because none of us really know! I’m really looking forward though to speaking personally with Craig Murray about him, maybe I’ll try and get something on paper if he’s got time, do an actual interview about him

  138. Jimbo

    I’m aware of Craig Murray’s story, A, and I have a certain amount of sympathy for him, though indeed, what happened in his own case is also somewhat unclear, especially as we only have his side of the story.

    Usmanov DID indeed feature in Murray’s writings BEFORE he joined Arsenal, but somewhat sparsely, and primarily as a figure involved in business dealings, and for his relationship with Islom Karimov. However, after he became involved in Arsenal, Usmanov became the key figure in all of Murray’s publications for over a year. You can hardly blame him for that, because to be honest, most people in this country couldn’t have given two shits about Uzbek politics up until that point anyway, so focussing on a man they knew would certainly be logical.

    However, most of the charges with which Usmanov is now criticised, particularly on this site, did not appear until AFTER Usmanov was involved with Arsenal, but occurred BEFORE Murray was ever in the same country as him.

    You’re right, Uzbekistan has nothing to do with what Craig Murray’s doing in his political life right now, though he hardly has too much to say about Usmanov these days either.

    And personally, I still don’t see what’s wrong with chasing down people who will make these accusations about you, especially if they have as little grounds as Murray did for making them. I don’t see the justification in printing that stuff, nor do I see the justification in promoting it. I also don’t know anything about any ‘witnesses’ disappearing in this case, and, it seems, nor does Murray. I don’t really care what ‘widespread’ belief there might be in Eastern Europe, to be honest, that’s not justification enough for labelling someone a rapist.

    You should note though, Boris Johnson’s site wasn’t directly shut down by Alisher Usmanov – Usmanov’s lawyers asked for a particular server, which was hosting Murray’s article, to be temporarily shut down, but the server also happened to host Boris Johnson’s site. There was no direct link between the two events, and BJ’s site was closed down inadveratantly.

    It may interest you to know, however, that in an ideal world, I wouldn’t particularly want Usmanov associated with our club, primarily because of his political connections (which I don’t want brought into football), and also because Kroenke seems like a far better investor. However, so much of the stuff written about him is such a crock of shite, that I feel almost a little sorry for him.

  139. ethangunner

    jimbo

    if you respect nothing else about him at all , at least admire he has the courage to want Arsenal to succeed !

    i used to think that about half the fans on this blog .. but now i think they would rather be content with what they have …
    than be successful …

    no passion, and no drive , yet someone like to spend all day talking about it ..

    at least the Russian is prepared to solve problems ! and for that i admire him …

    also name one successful business man who didnt have to betray – cheat- lie to get to where he is today …

  140. Jimbo

    Usmanov’s an investor, Ethan, and a man who wants to see his money grow.

    His money will grow if Arsenal grow, and as such our interests as fans and his as a potential owner are aligned.

    But I also want the best people to be in charge of the club to make it grow, and for me that’s people like Kroenke, Dein and Gazidis, not chumps like Hill-Wood, or indeed necessarily Alisher Usmanov.

  141. A

    But that’s the point Jimbo – we’ve got no idea how much if any of the stuff written is a crock of shite, or 100% true.

    Murray has written loads of articles about Usmanov, much more than before for a number of reasons, not just to gain publicity. All of the accusations levelled at Usmanov by Murray can be found in his book, but he was just as you say a bit-part player in the Uzbeki world he felt the need to publicise. However since his arrivals in England and subsequent attempt to silence Murray his deeds are in greater need to be publicised. He didn’t want someone he considered to be such a nasty man playing a prominent role in anything in England, so felt it necessary to write articles explaining his views on Usmanov.

    Just as if Usmanov had never had anything to do with our club, I would still have thought negatively about him having read the reports about him, but wouldn’t have felt it necessary to publicise them on forums like this.

    Murray is the same, his opinions on Usmanov havn’t changed, but it’s more important in his eyes to publicise them in the UK, because it’s relevant now, as well as the fact much more people will listen! (you’ve said most of that already but I was just bumbling on)

    I agree about Murray labelling him a rapist, but Usmanov is already thought of and labelled as a rapist in Eastern Europe, and I don’t see a problem with British people being informed of that fact, rather than being informed that he raped someone, which obviously was never proved.

    I know re BJ, but it’s still funny that his lawyers were so insistent that his sight indirectly got shut down. He and his lawyers went massively over the top with the shutting down of websites, which is why he received so much widespread criticism. Granted shutting down a sight that accuses you of rape when it was never proven is fair enough, but trying to close down anyone who insinuates anything to do with it is massively excessive, and would never work. I guess it could be understandable to an extent though in terms of his motives, he’s already thought of as a rapist in his homeland, and Eastern Europe, and it must be pretty difficult, so he wanted to try and stop the word spreading here, whether true or otherwise.

  142. A

    I dunno whether it’s as simple as that re investment in the club Jimbo – it’s a difficult one. Hill-wood and the current board’s interests are currently aligned just as any investor’s would be, yet they don’t spend money. The only way that a club could spend £100 mil, as Usmanov supposedly proposes, is if the investor is a football fan who’s treating the club as a play thing, like the UAE consortium with City, or indeed Abramovich. You won’t get a £100 mil return if you own a football club, so it’s a bit worrying in my eyes in purely football terms anyone proclaiming to be willing to spend that sort of amount of their own money.

  143. PDT

    Kroenke has not put any of his personal money into buying the Arsenal shares. The shares are held by Stan’s sports investment company, whose name I have forgotten.

    I doubt if any of our board or major shareholders have any of their own money invested. With the exception of PHW, the Lady Nina and, in the past, Dein.

    PHW and Nina inherited the shares, Dein bought them. Guess who I think our white knight is?

  144. PDT

    Dein thought Kroenke was a good chap. The board thought otherwise and fired him. Guess who the board is cosying up to now?

    Dein thought Usmanov was a good chap (not goodfella). I am happy to take Dein’s word for it.

  145. A

    For me that’s (regardless of other issues to do with him) a massive problem with Usmanov, his motives. He says he’ll throw in £100 mil of his own money, but can’t realistically expect to even get that money back for a long long time. He wasn’t a fan, wasn’t previously interested in football, what are his actual motives??

    Possibly just to create a new persona for himself, reinvent his image in the western world?! I really don’t get it, it doesn’t make sense for me at all

  146. PDT

    How many of our EPL footballers have been accused of rape and battery etc. and we still hear children chanting their names?

    Not proven, you say? And Usmanov should be judged by a different standard, why?

  147. A

    PDT it wasn’t that the board didn’t think Kroenke was a good chap, it was Dein going behind the board’s back that made them decide the situation was untenable, rather than Kroenke. I thought Dein was a legend when he was at the club, and was very upset to see him go, but he only had himself to blame and was very misguided in the decisions he made that lead to his departure.

    I’d still like to see him return and think he still will eventually, when Kroenke takes over, which is ultimately the plan, but with PHW still involved their working relationship is unworkable so it won’t happen until Kroenke takes full control, which could well be next summer if not sooner.

  148. PDT

    The Board did not agree to the rights issue simply because they would have to shell out their hard earned to ensure that shar holding percentages remained the same. Usmanov was willing to pay, PHW and Fiszman were not. Kroenke, I suspect, was willing to pay but went along with Dannyboy.

  149. PDT

    A, not sure if I agree with your first para, but completely agree with the second. I think Dein can contribute immensely to the club, especially in harness with Gazidis and Kroenke.

  150. A

    Because footballers are accused of rape often by attention seeking or money grabbing slappers who want their face on the front page or think they can get an out of court settlement, by making a completely untrue accusation. It’s different when it’s to do with the celebrity culture, than when it’s just a normal person.

    When people are found to have been convicted of anything bad most fans don’t forgive them – Collymore never had the full support of fans and got abuse from his own fans wherever he went after the Ulrika beating. Likewise Lee Hughes gets abuse from his own fans and everyone else as well the entire time now!

    Also, an employee of the club is different to the owner and main man at the top of the club hierarchy.

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