So one minute everything is looking pretty stable on the ownership front, the next, we hear via Sky News reporter Mark Kleinman that Arsenal are in advanced talks with Stan Kroenke to takeover greatest footballing business model on the planet. Exciting times? You bet…
Our educated well-informed guess says that Danny’s health has sadly taken a turn for the worse and he’s moving fast to make sure everything is put in place for a clean handover to his favourite moustached American billionaire. At the same time, there have also been negotiations for the remaining shares of Lady Nina. Only a few weeks ago I was told she was holding out for £15k a share. Well, if rumour is to be believed, she’s more likely to have received £12-13k a share… not bad business for a Lady I’m fully comfortable admitting I find quite attractive.
Megan Fox watch out…
Check out @JWTelegraph twitter page for news on her statement about her shareholding.
There are many questions you’ll all be wanting a bit of clarity around. Well, I can’t give you exact answers, there are blocks of coal more transparent than Silent Stan. What I can do is give you a few hints and tips as to what people far more in the know have told me… Pam will be jealous, she hasn’t had a say in any of this!
So… first of all, the AST have informed me that anyone with a Fanshare will get a vote on whether or not to sell up to Mr Kroenke. That also goes for all the more traditional full shareholders like Geoff. Their recommendation is going to be that people should opt not to sell out to Stan.
The feeling is that he doesn’t want to take absolute control straight away. What he’ll likely be looking for is a majority control which is anything past 50%. At the moment, he’s confirmed by the BBC on 62%. That’ll make him the overlord when it comes to decisions and it’ll give him the chance to do many wonderful transparent things that’ll make us feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Bring the new blood through: People like Tom Fox and Dick Laws will probably be given the opportunity to join Gazidis on the board. That will give them more say on how the club is run and more of a free rein when it comes to making decisions. I’ve heard from countless people who work around the club that these guys are absolutely top-notch and when the time comes, they’ll show their true worth.
Promote Fanshare: There are many concerns in my mind about the American. His lack of transparency scares me. What his intentions are and how he’s funding this being the pertinent concerns. By not taking the club private, he has the opportunity to promote Fanshare and the involvement of key stakeholders who will represent the voice of the fans through the AST. By doing this, we should be able to grow our involvement in the club we all love. Gazidis has been a staunch supporter of this initiative as have the Government. Do you think Ivan would have supported such an initiative had the man who bagged him the Arsenal CEOship not backed it? I think not…
Invite Red & White to the board: Stan may also involve Usmanov and Moshiri to the board. Whatever you think of Usmanov and his alleged background, he’s still a major player in the world of business and he’d still add plenty of value to our club. What a lot of people seem to forget is that Moshiri actually owns 50% of Red & White. He’s the guy talking to Gazidis and he’s apparently very, very switched on. Bring him along to the party and see what he has to offer. At the end of the day, you might not like Usmanov, but a shady Eastern European past hasn’t stopped him becoming the 35th richest man in world. He and his team are visionary in what they do, if you want to read more, why not read what I wrote a year ago here.
All round good guy: The AST have already met with Stan and on face value, they believe he’s a very genuine guy. He’s owned sport franchises around America, he’s very shrewd with how he operates them, he’s not afraid to splash the cash and he’s never sold a club. He’s also made assurances he won’t partake in a leveraged buy-out. I remain sceptical about the last point… so we’ll see. The Swiss ramble have an interesting post on him here.
Chairman: Giving Peter Hill-Wood the red card and a lifetime ban from being the Chairman would be a great move. No more PR bombshells, no more elitist comments and no more doddery old farts sitting on the board dragging the club down.
If you read the News of the World this weekend, you’ll have noticed that the club sided with the AST over the PHW comments. That is very telling. I’ve mentioned before that the top brass have worked hard to keep the Old Etonian motor mouth under control over the last year and in the main, have done a good job. They know he’s a liability, the new guy is coming in will also know that and he’ll have previous with him, remember, ‘we don’t want his sort’?
Well, I’m just putting it out there, but Red & White were brought on board by David Dein, Kroenke was given a way in by the same man. If that Chairmanship comes up for grabs, wouldn’t the biggest PR Coup of the century be to bring David Dein back as the club chairman?
I’ve got goosebumps just thinking about it…
So, all in all, I feel like this is an exciting announcement. I’ve generally been more pro Red & White Holdings over the past 2 years due to their superior cash flow and my worry about the previous failures of American investors in Premiership football. However, it has to be said that Danny Fiszman is probably one of the most important figures in Arsenal’s recent history. Geoff was right when he said he should have his own statue. Therefore, if he thinks Stan is the man to take this club forward, I’m going to roll with that. He’ done pretty well up until now and the very least he deserves through these very sad times is the absolute support of the fans he’s worked to hard to leave a legacy to!
Good luck Danny, good luck Stan… let’s see where this takes us!
Yeeee haaaaa!
View from a shareholder… (Geoff)
So if as expected we get a shiny new American owner today what can we hope for? Well I’m not sure why Stan would want to own a business that judges success by winning nothing other than qualification to a competition and gives gainful employment to a large percentage of the worlds talented young footballers. Especially at his age.
Not sure why someone that doesn’t speak at the AGM’s would want to be involved with a big English football club, though I’m sure Arsene has approved the deal or it wouldn’t be happening.
However, I sure hope he remembers the other stupid comment made by embarrassment and Brideshead revisited look-a-like Peter Hill-Wood, when he said we didn’t need his sort at Arsenal. I guess by that he meant he’d prefer his investors to come in with inherited wealth like he did. I also really hope that Stan brings back David Dein and David Dein kicks Peter off the board.
Now that would indeed be sweet, sweet Karma wouldn’t it!
I still can’t work out why he would invest a large chunk of his money into an English football club that he can’t possibly have the same passion for that he does with his American business interests, unless there’s a bigger picture, I can’t see him shoving huge amounts of cash in either, he’s not that rich and certainly isn’t in Usmanov’s league, and on that note I also cannot understand why Usmanov has dithered for so long, Nina’s had her shares up for sale since what, 2008?
Who knows, this may get Usmanov to show his hand, either way I would love it if Dein was coming home and really love it if he slung that elitist muppet off the board and made him pay for his ticket, I somehow suspect we wouldn’t see him again though would we!
Just a word about yesterday and the return of Jens Lehmann, how nice to see a proper keeper between the sticks commanding his area, did you notice the defence looked more confident, although someone needs to explain to Koscielny you aren’t allowed to kick people over inside the box that has a big white line painted around it.
It was interesting to hear how Wenger never doubted Jens ability as he was a good keeper, true he is a good keeper, and far better than the clown that replaced him, so the question I have for you Arsene, if he’s good enough now, why wasn’t he good enough 3 years ago? Hmmm, still Wenger says Chezzer isn’t far away so stick with Lehmann until he is please.
Pedro is heading down to the AST AGM this evening, he’ll be back tomorrow with a full review of the goings on and maybe Lady Nina’s mobile phone number… who knows! Stay tuned to his twitter throughout the evening @LeGrove for all the goss and give @TimPayton a follow as he’ll be drip feeding news about the takeover as the day progresses.
Nah, forgive ME to be honest. We all knew what you meant. I just have grammar/spelling OCD
Keyser I gave you a perfectly good example though.
The pistons had 5 players as All-Stars on their team in little to no time.
You think the Owner didnt spend getting the likes of B.Wallace and T.Prince?
David – What and they went over the salary cap and the owner just spent shitloads of his own money, forget about the revenue of the team but paid for these players out of his own pocket ?!
We’ve talked about this, look at the Nets, or how much the Knicks had to give up for Carmelo, or how the Heat#s players had to take paycuts so they could form the threesome, Haslem must’ve missed out on what was it over 10 million dollars ?!
Not to talk about that trade with Grant Hill for Hamilton.
We can do swaps too you know. NOt necessarily the Cole for Gallas kinds but its possible to get by without breaking your neck.
A keeper or a CB on loan wouldve been nice.
Mr. Wenger.
albo,
all this nonsense could have been ended a few hours ago by the way of you responding:
‘there is none’
to my question about logical, non-emotional arguments behind your bollocks about you not understanding the ‘Usmanov love-in’ and we could just move on…
really?
do me a favour, love – while you still can
Rohan
Listen to this
http://www.talksport.co.uk/radio/kickoff/blog/2011-04-11/scott-i-fear-kroenke-may-use-arsenal-money-pay-his-shares
I am not the only one concerned.
I fail to see your point Keyser?
Are you feeling sorry for Haslem who easily makes about 8-9 million a year?
Or are you saying the Clubs dont have the money to spend because I guarantee you an owner like NJ nets owner has it to spend.
Stars take pay-cuts to be part of a championship winning team all the time.
Who the fuck were the maimi heat before Shaq/Lebron James went to them?
Keyser,
firstly, you say:
then there is a lot of funny stuff ending up with:
now, how is it any different?
erm,SUGA. Think you misunderstood Keyser. That’s exactly what did not happen.
Suga3 – The second quoted bit is a question.
Rohan,
er, no, I don’t think there is anything to be misunderstood there mate
Funnily enough.
Maimi spent more money on Shaq than the Lakers did in their quest to win a Championship.
Shaq made more money in Maimi than he did in LA.
5 year 100million or 25m a season.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2122716
The pistons are one example.
The maimi heat are another.
Keyser,
‘What and they went over the salary cap and the owner just spent shitloads of his own money’
looks like a statement of a past fact to me…
SUG – all this nonsense could have been ended a few hours ago by the way of you actually reading any of these posts:
1) albo says:
April 11, 2011 at 22:02
Dude, for the 500th millionth time, I don’t see Kroenke as a ‘superior’ option to Usmanov
2)albo says:
April 11, 2011 at 21:12
No offence SUGA, but did you read my post? When did I suggest that Kroenke > Usmanov.
3) albo says:
April 11, 2011 at 20:52
SUGA3 – firstly (and this is for David too), I’m not at all ‘pro-Kroenke’. None of my posts have been particularly pro-Kroenke and when I have actually laid out my feelings on the matter I have made it clear I’m not much impressed by either of them.
That’s not the point though, David.
If you were a billionaire, you still couldn’t buy a franchise and pump all your own money into it and become a superpower overnight like Chelsea and City did.
David – I’m saying the players have to work within the confines of the salary caps and the leagues rules.
If Torres wanted to switch teams from Liverpool to Chelsea, do you think he’d take a paycut ?!
The clubs may have money to spend, but it’s a lot more restricted than what teams in the Premiership have done.
Abramovich didn’t ask the players to pool together and sort out the wages between themselves he just went all out and said I’ll pay you more than what you’re getting elsewhere on top of that there’s endless funds for transfers.
When Lebron and Wade got together to discuss them coming together in Miami, they had to think how they’d fit in their wages and the needs to the team as a whole.
Riley’s got 3 of the best players in the league on one team, most teams have one superstar, the heat have three, the difference between the NBA and the Premiership is that the Heat don’t have as good a supporting cast because of that now.
Unlike the Premiership or European football.
The confines of the sport are different, we can only hope that the financial fair play rules actually do something for football, and then Kroenke’s experience would only be a pro rather than a con.
Well obviously you can Rohan
Because the Pistons won the Championship over night.
Owner splashed the cash on a new GM, New Coach, New Players and to quote Sabeel
“BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMM”
Keyser says:
April 11, 2011 at 23:10
If Torres wanted to switch teams from Liverpool to Chelsea, do you think he’d take a paycut!?
———————–
Did Arshavin take a pay-cut to join the Arsenal?
Suga3 – It’s got a question mark at the end of the sentance as a whole, my grammars far from what it should be especially on here but surely you realise I was asking David a question ?!
Do you have any idea who Wallace and Prince are ?!
Keyser
I doubt Wade and James are worried about taking a pay-cut with the type of money they make off Endorsements.
They just want to win.
Which Surprisingly brings more money in Endorsements.
Arshavin took a pay-cut(dunno if he did tbh)not because we were confined by the FA or FIFA but because of our pay structure.
albo,
we can be at it all night…
1, 2 & 3:
my point was that the only reason for you thinking that was emotional and emotions are usually pretty detrimental to achieving the goals, you know?
end justifies the means and all that…
answer me this: how do you feel about Britain selling the Poles out firstly to Hitler and then to Stalin after helping you out in BoB and pretty much everywhere else?
sure, I think the victors can’t be judged, but do you consider Winnie to be a hero or a cunt for doing that?
just asking, checking your moral compass and all
David – The difference is that to get Lebron Wade and Bosh together and to still have a team around them they HAD to because of the rules of the league.
If we wanted Arshavin that much and he said I want this much money, we could’ve given it to him instead of negotiating.
Arshavin took a paycut because just like Lebron James.
He wants to win.
Matt Scott, Guardian journo, AFC fan, worth a listen? http://www.talksport.co.uk/radio/kickoff/blog/2011-04-11/scott-i-fear-kroenke-may-use-arsenal-money-to-pay-his-shares
And what has happened to the Detroit Piston’s ever since?
C’mon you know that it’s completely different. Stan’s experience in that respect can’t be bad thing especially with the financial fair play rules looming in the horizon.
Well any type of talks with a player is called negotiating really.
We shouldve given him the money he wanted to be honest. Maybe hed have a better attitude on the pitch. Because in addition to not winning he’s getting shafted by EU laws on tax i believe? From what ive read.
Anyhoo.
Regardless of whether he wants to win, can’t you understand the crux of my statement is that it’s not about him having to take a pay-cut because of the rules of the league?
David – He was winning at Zenit, he took a paycut because he wanted to, not because he thought he had to.
Still don’t think it was that much of a difference, he was more worried about the tax situation.
The pistons sacked the coach that brought them a championship and thought they could be clever by hiring another coach since with the same players.
They were wrong.
It was a stupid decision, had they stayed with Larry Brown theyd be pissing all over the league.
If money were all that mattered, why aren’t the Blazers winning everything. They’re fucking shit.
1. Paul Allen, Blazers, $16b
2. Mickey Arison, Heat, $5b
3. Bill Davidson, Pistons, $4b
4. Rick DeVos, Magic, $3.5b
5. Mark Cuban, Mavericks, $2.3b
6. Charles Dolan, Knicks, $2.3b
7. Glen Taylor, TWolves, $2.3b
8. Stan Kroenke, Nuggets, $2.1b
9. Herb Simon, Pacers, $1.2b
10. Dan Gilbert, Cavs, $1.1b
11. Michael Heisley, Grizzlies, $1b
12. Robert Johnson, Bobcats, $1b
Well, not shit, but not all that either.
Jesus. Fucking. Christ.
now vote:
Usmanov buying for cash or Kroenke using the club’s money?
Zenit had just won the Super Cup no?
And Arshavin took a pay-cut to join the Arsenal.
Well ofcoarse he had to take a pay cut Keyser.
Because thats what he had to do if he was going to join the Arsenal.
I mean if a player says he was going to fund his own transfer fee that speaks a lot innit?
Rohan
Whats the difference between FIFA rules and pay structure if they achieve the same thing?
Because American sports are all about Mugging off the fans and milking them for as much money as possible.
Winning is a secondary affair.
Teams like the Lakers are the exact opposite.
Not everyone has the pay structure, David.
He could very well have gone to Chelsea if they had bid for him and he’d have gotten a much heftier pay packet.
SUG – I literally do not know what you are on about.
FIrstly, the quote you have included has very little to do with ’1, 2 & 3′, so I really don’t know what to say.
Bottom line is this: You have clearly labelled yourself, over the past months, and today and especially yesterday, as someone in favour of an Usmanov takeover.
I on the other hand and not in favour of either AU or SK taking over, so am under no obligation to say why I prefer one or the other…since I don’t prefer one or the other. I made this point over and over again, and yet over and over again you kept asking me why I preferred Kroenke. I answered it over and over again, and you replied as if I didn’t.
Now to deal with this new point, that you appear to think counters all that – emotion has nothing to do with my reaction to everybody suddenly becoming pro-Usmanov. I regard it as irrational and based mostly on a desperation to believe that anything different from what we’ve got will be better.
Not everyone has the pay structure?
Well thats our fucking fault now isnt it?
Oh, and re all that bullshit about WWII…I don’t give a fuck.
Usmanov buying for cash all the way given that he outlines his future intentions and ambitions.
I still want to know how Kroenke’s financing this. If it’s leveraged, then I’d be very skeptical.
He couldve gone to Liverpool too since Benitez made a last minute bid and made more money too.
But he wanted to come to Arsenal.
albo,
once again, stupid amount of text, sidestepping the issue and not answering the question…
typical…
haha ok, David. Yeah, we have the pay structure.
What on earth does that have to do with your argument?You tried to compare the Heat stars taking a pay-cut to Arshavin taking a pay-cut. I proved that this is clearly not true and an unfair comparison.
albo,
you see? I don’t give a fuck either, IMO, we should have been wiser than that and joined the Axis instead of falling for the pony alliance with you lot just to be sold down the river…
guaranteed, you would be speaking German or Polish right now
so, my friend, you have been exposed as a hypocrite getting on a high horse about AU being a ganster, but not giving a fuck about hundreds of thousands of people who died a horrible death in Gulag and all that…
do me a fucking favour!
Rohan – Do you remember we had this exact same conversation last time, and we realised we hadn’t even mentioned the draft system ?!
We’ll just have to wait and see how things go. The idea we should choose one over the other because of the reasons being given is just poor really.
Well Rohan
Since the Arsenal have a pay structure. Id say its a pretty fair comparison.
C’mon SUGA. Don’t act like a knob.
*gangster
OK, let’s nip this one in the bud before all the crazies melt down over any ‘facts’. Obviously guys like SUGA aren’t really interested in actually understanding complex matters, preferring to jump on the slightest rumour and deciding it is a fact.
We DON’T KNOW how Kroenke is funding the take-over. The only reason this guy Matt is worried about him using Arsenal money is that we DON’T KNOW whether he will take dividends out of the club (just as we don’t know whether Usmanov would).
Until we know, there is very little point going bonkers as if he is definitely going to…
oh my, David. Don’t really think I can explain it any better. Your turn, Keyser.
what the fuck do you mean a ‘knob’?
same question to you and everyone else getting all high and mighty!
and this time I am not going to apologise, as it’s not even patronising, it’s a statement of a fact – albo called me a hypocrite earlier, I told him he was as much of a hypocrite as I was, he said ‘whatever you say’, didn’t he?
QED
You cant even mention the draft system really because its a poor argument
In order for you to qaulify for the top picks youd have to be relegated.
Imagine Atheletico being relegated just to draft Fernando Torres. Only to sell him at 20m.
now, where did I say it was a fact?
missed the question mark there, Stevie?
If Arsenal had an owner who was loaded, we wouldn’t have pay structure, and Arshavin wouldn’t have had to take a pay cut.
If Arsenal were in the NBA for midgets, Arshavin would still have had to take a pay-cut because of the rules in the league.
Is that clear enough for you?
Rohan – Fuck that, I think I’m going on another media lockdown. we’ve got ages till Sunday.
When did albo say he doesn’t care about the people who died in WWII. Such an irrelevant argument.
Why’d you even bring up WWII in the first place? We were talking about something else entirely.
David – See you understand finally, there’s loads of differences between the American Sports kroenke has invested in and the Premiership, so saying ‘Ooh he wasn’t as successful there, so he might not be successful here’ is silly.
You’ve misunderstood me there. I care enormously about all sorts of things concerning the alleviation of human suffering and I have a degree in history so care passionately about history for history’s sake.
I just don’t give a fuck about discussing it in a half-arsed, simplistic way with someone whose intelligence I don’t particularly respect on a fucking football blog!
Stop being such a WUM. I’m bored with you. I’ve set out my position again and again on the entire subject, to the extent that literally nothing is not clear. Frankly I think you’re now just being purposefully dense to piss me off.
Naah, David. Can’t go anywhere with that because for one, it’s completely different with football. You can buy youngsters and you have academies to develop your own players. No draft picks from college or anything like that.
In other words, it’s a lot more of a level playing field in America and hence a lot more difficult to see an upturn in your fortunes overnight.
Rohan,
just wanted to check my friend albo’s ‘moral compass’ he was so keen to deny me having, you know?
and as I have expected, he has none, just like me
Evening ladies
who the fucks stevie ?
Is Stevie G on here?
albo,
look mate, you can question my intelligence all night long, do I care?
I know how it really is, so I don’t…
‘you have misunderstood me there’
you what?
‘Oh, and re all that bullshit about WWII…I don’t give a fuck.’
really mate, you think you are all that, but you are just a little pathetic naive twat…
evening sixxy, had any smush smush lately ?..
*No Homo.
to piss YOU off?
who the fuck do you think you are?
Rohan
Well the buck starts and stops right there doesnt it?
ALL AKB’s think we are skint.
The rest of us think we are loaded.
Okay even if we are skint. Wolves arent loaded are they dont have a pay structure?
Stupid argument that.
Further more our Net Worth is more than the Pistons owner at 3b.
Thats an old list anyways Bob Johnson doesnt own the box cats anymore.
fuck me, this has taken a turn for the ugly. Relax will you SUGA.
Stevie fucking Wonder!
Rohan,
dude, you may want to read the posts I am replying to before telling me to relax…
ffs hold ‘em back, someone hold ‘em back..
Keyser says:
April 11, 2011 at 23:48
David – See you understand finally, there’s loads of differences between the American Sports kroenke has invested in and the Premiership, so saying ‘Ooh he wasn’t as successful there, so he might not be successful here’ is silly
————————-
Success Breeds success Keyser.
People who are succesful find a way.
It just seems that your making excuses for this guy for some reason which is a mystery.
Not the excuses part obviously. Your always filled with excuses but the fact that your filled with excuses for this dude despite the fact that hes had little success and only been to 3 Arsenal games in his life with Images of PHW trying to explain simple things to him like the offside rule in football etc etc is really worrying.
Nah tough times Keyser. But I’m guessing that’s why you’ve been missing lately? As you said #No homo
Haha, you want to condense hundreds of pages of European history into 30 a 30 word paragraph on ‘Le Grove’…and I’M naive! Anyone would think you’re high or something…
You suddenly go off on a bizarre and irrelevant parallel conversation about the gulag whilst talking about a takeover of Arsenal FC and expect people to take you seriously?
Little wonder that the old gang has more or less disappeared..
I’m off. Keep it friendly.
spot on David…
David – Mate at some point you have to realise things happen for a reason, I’m not making excuses, it’s just fact for everyone to see.
You’re trying to make out there’s some sort of parallel between how he’s run his teams in America to how he could run us.
You were going on about Apples and Oranges earlier and now all of a sudden we’re all talking about fruit because you want to have a moan.
If I’m making excuses, you’re just moaning for the sake of it. Fact is we’re just guessing to how this could play out, why not just wait and see.
sixxpac – There’a couple of local Snooki’s around, I can’t be doing that though, I just feel dirty afterwards, that’s if I come out alive.
We’ve had two games in like a month, think I just needed a break from here, how’s life on your side of the world ?!
go back up and read that post, it was a simple question and I expected a simple answer…
there is no need for a question to exceed 30 words, is there?
mate, I know European history inside out, and it was a mere example asking you to condone or condemn…
all that was to test whether you are or are not in fact so morally pure as you like to make yourself look, chatting shit about some shady deals and the alleged rape…
you said you did not give a fuck, and I expected nothing less!
so yeah, we can talk football, but please, don’t act like you were the moral oracle, OK?
Couldn’t agree more. I don’t think we’ll know much about SK as owner for at least 6 months. And regarding dividends probably much longer…
and I did not really say that it was ‘parallel’ in any way, shape or form!
like I said, it was just a question about morals, but twist my words all you want, knock yourself out…
Im not moaning for the sake of it Keyser.
Clearly Usmanov is in a better financial position to invest in the Club.
I geniunely feel that is the best way for my club and fuck off for saying my feeling are having a moan you bastard
SUGA – really, let’s not be childish here. Do I give a fuck about all of the appalling things that happened throughout history? Of course I do, any human being should do if we want to understand our future at all.
Do I want to discuss the Polish Gulag at 10 past midnight on a footballing blog? No.
But if this satisfies your concern for my morals, would I want any of the parties responsible for the gulag to own Arsenal FC? Er…also no!
David – See, how the hell is he clearly in a better position ? People know a little about Kroenke because he has had sports teams in the past, again what do we know about Usmanov.
Neither speak much, both are rich, both have an interest in the club, we don’t really know either’s intentions, we’re just guessing.
albo,
look, no one is childish, I just don’t like the ‘holier than thou’ stance, as it is boring and counterproductive
I don’t know that it should be ‘boring and counterproductive’ SUG.
Do you really not care at all about that side of Arsenal FC? You know, the community surrounding the club. The life and the history behind it all? All the stuff aside from the football? Is it literally just about money and the trophies it can buy for you?
Keyser I hear ya.
Basically its the same for me. Over the past few months I’ve found myself agreeing with the likes of Gambon and I know that means something is messed up mentally. Took sometime off to try and clear my head. Guess what? Hasn’t worked. These days nothing pisses me off more than the words “Have Faith”.
Someone actually told me to fuck off and support united. Never thought that would happen to me. I actually get pissed with people being too positive without accepting anything bad happening at the club. I even stopped following this ladyarse gal on twitter. So make of that what u will
…in this particular situation…
like I said, I don’t care if AU rips the heads of adorable little bunnies for a laugh – all I care about is the success of our football club!
as for the using of the club’s money to buy the club, well, it’s not a fact, but if you consider how much SK is worth in total and how much the club is worth, it would not be that much of a shock…
and quite frankly, I don’t believe in the whole ‘custodianship’ nonsense, you know?
PHW sold his shares to Dein for peanuts and said Dein was an idiot – some fucking custodian he is, eh?
like I said albo, we are selling ourselves out one way or another – if one was to whore himself, one would rather have a thousand reasons to feel better about himself than a hundred, wouldn’t you agree?
Well, there we genuinely differ apparently. Fair enough!
RE SK, I will wait and see. But if he takes money out of the club, then I will become the biggest, loudest protester out there!
Keyser
Even in guessing theyres something called an Educated guess.
What we do know about Stan is that he’s not Rich enough, He knows fuck all about Football and that his dont win things, the last point is not so much the problem but the fact that his teams dont win things and he does fuck all about it.
albo,
sure, let’s wait amd see, you will not find me disagreeing with that
(that was to your first post btw. I try to avoid whoring myself at all…as far as possible
)
Damn,
Blog fatigue
albo,
obviously, so would I – but as a Polish proverb goes:
‘When you steal, steal a million, when you love, love a princess’
and as I said, I would prefer not to wake up to the situation where we lost our virginity and did not earn the bloody rouble
I cant imagine what nugget fans must be feeling like.
They need better players, prob a new GM, and what does the owner do?
Spend half his money on some foreign club in England.
David – I don’t want to go around in circles again, but if that’s educated, you’ve started in like Year 1 of school or something.
There’s just little point in getting too worried over something you can only wait with and see how it turns out.
That bollocks sound familiar, something a certain group of folk say at the beginning of every Arsenal Season.
Yeah, SUG, I do take your point. Right now, it does look like we have lost the pride of our ‘shared ownership’ and all its long history without even the upside of having hundred of millions to throw about!
sixxpac – Know what I was beginning to feel vexed because as a fan you have but little choice to accept what the team puts out and the frsutration builds in even the most positive of fans.
My little brother went to his first away game to Old Trafford we lost 2-0, the FA Cup game and I thought he’d have had a shit time, thing is he was disappointed and whatnot, but he still loved the experience with the away fans and everything and taking the trip up there with his mates. first thing he showed was a video from his phone.
Made me realise what it’s like to a be a kid and support a football team, I think it’s different for every fan, me I never supported Arsenal because of their history or their titles, I just loved playing football as a kid lived in football tops literally.
I liked the cannon on the shirt, my mate used to support them and he was a bit older than me and used to teach me skills and stuff, I heard the ‘Ian Wright, Wright, Wright’ chant and I just started supporting Arsenal.
Thats it really, even at my most disappointed there’s always something about the game I enjoy, it’s only when you really struggle to find anything that it hits you hard.
there you go…
and that was my point all along, you know?
‘guess there is some hope for you afterall
just kidding!
David – A bit like your Bendtner fascination eh.
You have to ask what is Wenger going to leave us with when he goes? Brand spanking new stadium yes but also a club stripped of it’s soul.
Ah
Im yet to be proved wrong on the Bendy front Keyser.
Cant really say the same for the AKB’s tho
Haha. Joppa, and how is that Wenger’s fault?! Oh yeah, he persuaded Dein to chase after sugar daddies, then gave Fizman cancer so he sold up…?
joppa,
all there is to be said is that I fell in love with Arsenal during the Graham era: we were not the most exciting (not that we are right now, mind you), but there was this John Bull spirit and Big Tone et al would leave an arm and a leg without being paid an arm and a leg…
now? spineless bunch of surrender monkeys, bar a few…
too much, too early, too easy!
If Almunia was really injured why was he on the bench?
beacuse he is a cunt!
alright lads, I am off, behave…
“But the fact that we haven’t had any silverware in a while is a disadvantage because, in America, there are so many other sports, there is just so much competition.”
-
Tom Fox
Almunia wasn’t on the bench David which is why RvP said/joked that he would have gone in goal had Jens been sent off.
Keyser I started supporting in 98 but only because of Bergkamp. Saw him in France 98 and fell madly inlove with the mans game. I guess the thing for me is that for the last 3 seasons I’ve been very disappointed with our season ending collapse. At the end of every season I basically say to myself that its time for Wenger to go because he was not willing to change anything. Then August comes back around and I’m hooked.
Last year after the Wigan game we lost 3-2 I said to myself, this is it. I’m not gonna believe anything Wenger says. Its basically the same feeling I have right now. But I’m sure that no matter where we finish this season, no matter how mad I am at Arsene Wenger, come August I’ll be clinging onto the mans words and defending him to no ends.
Its an addiction that I just can’t rid.
so we have £100m cash in the coffers. think its pretty much a fact now…
well done arsene, squirilling all that cash away for a rainy day & leaving it for a fatcat to pounce on.
professor of economics eat yer heart out.
hope rvp slapped diaby at half time.
who the fuck does diaby think he is squaring up to robin.
wheres that lunatic irishman
Haven’t seen Stu in a while Lurch.
ah the leftwing pussyholing ayrian hatting muscle crunching nut job!
nah the other irish kreep Tiarnan
Stu was here a couple of days back, but yes notably more absent during these ‘dark’ times.
Hah I’ve got nothing against my white brothers Lurch. Its the yellow folks I can’t stand
Tiarnan? Thought he was Welsh
haha always suffered for yellow feever sixx, that said sitting with a family over rooster claw with them spitting their bones all over the table is something else!
hes real IRA, northern republican – can’t you tell!?
just been reading pedro’s tweets – tomorrows post sounds like ‘we’ are going to be cuddling up to fatty.
Pedro’s really whoring himself about of Twatter isn’t he?
Lol.
Well maybe its the fact that the Irish elude me most times. Could also be that he thinks he’s funnier than he actually is, even though he does come up with some gems sometimes.
Or it could be that I just don’t get British humour lol.
I was thinking the same when I was reading Pedro’s tweets earlier. Very stark contrast between them and the post this morning.
im looking forward to reading some of the hard questions asked regarding Pat Rice…
on the fatty issue, i wouldnt be surprised if he only hung around long enough for us to clear our debt before demanding around £15k a share. I can’t see him wanting to be in Stan’s shadow longterm, not when he could go and just buy everton or newcastle without the hassle.
as for british humour, the secret is to assume everything’s a windup or self deprecating…
I’ll be pretty pissed if we don’t sign Jan Vertonghen in the summer. Barca want him. Pull your finger out Arsene!
You have British humour and then you have Tiarnan’s special brand of whatever it is he peddles.
And you were right, Lurch. Flying Lotus’ Essential Mix is a class act. Top notch.
£40m… now go spend it
By CHARLIE WYETT
Published: Today
Add a comment
STAN KROENKE hopes to complete his £500million takeover at Arsenal – and immediately urge Arsene Wenger to increase his transfer spending.
American Kroenke has increased his stake in the club to nearly 63 per cent after buying another £233.2million of shares.
Yet with Arsenal not winning a trophy since 2005, Kroenke hopes boss Wenger will use the £40m available for strengthening.
A full takeover bid was triggered, as SunSport revealed yesterday, after Kroenke acquired the stakes of Danny Fiszman (16.1 per cent) and Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith (15.9 per cent).
With Arsenal’s shares priced at £11,750 each, the club is valued at £731m.
Kroenke, 63, who boasts a large portfolio of American sports teams, said: “We are excited about the opportunity to increase our involvement with and commitment to Arsenal.
“Arsenal are a fantastic club with a special history and tradition and a wonderful manager in Arsene Wenger.
“We intend to take the club to new success. I am delighted Peter Hill-Wood has agreed to support us by continuing as chairman.”
Mega-rich Kroenke, on the board since 2008, is now hoping to buy the rest of the club’s shares although he will not sink any of his personal fortune into the club.Most of the remaining shares are held by billionaire Alisher Usmanov, who is ‘considering’ whether to sell his 27 per cent.
Boss Wenger said: “I have worked with Stan Kroenke over the past couple of years and I believe he has the best interests of Arsenal at heart.
“He understands the club’s heritage and traditions and our ambition to run the club in a way which protects our long-term future.”
Arsenal chairman Hill-Wood said: “The board of directors and I consider it a key responsibility to protect the spirit of the club.
“Mr Kroenke, although relatively new to Arsenal, has shown himself to be a man who values and respects the history and traditions of this very special club.
“We are confident that he will be a safe custodian of its future.”
Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis said: “Arsene’s under a long-term contract that runs until 2014.
im sure he’d admit its highly influenced by the likes of morecambe and wise, vick reeves & mortimer, the goodies and other of that sort Rohan…
absurdly self referential, a voice within a voice within a voice. funny stuff if its not a medical condition.
is vertonghen getable? another lefty?
rohan, glad to hear you liked it, its a regular goto when i’m on long road trips with sensational vista’s – very cinematic.
try and find kode9 and burials last show for mary-ann hobbs bbc radio1 show, I’m certain you’ll like that as well.
sixx I think i’ve read everything there is to read today regarding stan, but I’m still fence dwelling.
I can’t see the merrit in both arguments and nothing is swinging it right now. Of all the posters today I felt Pathe echo’d my sentiments the most.
ROBIN VAN PERSIE launched a blistering attack on teammate Abou Diaby at half-time against Blackpool on Sunday.
Robin Van Persie was furious Diaby had earned a needless caution for kicking the ball away in first-half stoppage time, after fouling Alex Baptiste.
Skipper Cesc Fabregas rollicked his fellow midfielder at the time, but that was nothing compared to the dressing-down Persie handed out.
Van Persie screamed at Diaby accusing him of putting in a situation where he could get sent off again, as he did at Newcastle in February.
At St James’s Park, Diaby was dismissed in the 50th minute for pushing Joey Barton and Kevin Nolan.
The Gunners were 4-0 up at the time, but against 10 men the home side fought back to draw 4-4.
It is understood Van Persie told his team-mate that Sunday’s pointless booking – at the time Arsenal were 2-0 up – could cost the title hopefuls points.
In the end Arsene Wenger’s men held out to win 3-1, with Van Persie scoring the third.
The flashpoint is likely to be viewed positively by Wenger as its shows the huge desire of Van Persie – who captains Arsenal when Fabregas is out – to win the title.
In seven seasons at the club, all Van Persie has to show for his efforts is a FA Cup winners’ medal from 2005.
He was just as pumped up after the match, claiming Arsenal have what it takes to win their last seven league games to pip Manchester United for the title.
And team-mate Jack Wilshere reckons United’s Champions League chase will break them and let Arsenal back into the title race.
The Gunners trail United by seven points, but have a game in hand and still have to face Sir Alex Ferguson’s men at the Emirates on May 1.
Wenger’s side are next in action against Liverpool on Sunday and by then United will have played Chelsea in the Champions League and Manchester City in the FA Cup.
Wilshere said: “If we win those games, we are within one point of them and we are confident they will drop points.
“We just have to keep battling and improvingand get the three points every week.
“There is a lot of pressure on us now in every game.
“United rotated their team against Fulham and did well, but I think eventually playing in Europe is going to catch up with them.”
» MORE ‘FOOTBALL’ HERE..
The Glazers has shown that with reputation, they could acquired assets and control a club without any paying anything. Corparate finance stuff. Stan does not have 700 million lying around. He has to borrow. How do you think he is going to fund this debt? Do anyone think he loves Arsenal so much that he is willing to fund the entire exercise through his own means?
We are getting into a dangerous and eventful next few years.
I hope Usmasanov does not sell his shares or keep just over 10%. In that way he will deny Stan absolute control. Meaning Stan will not be able to refinance his debts by using the club’s assets.
Absolute control ultimately leads to disaster.
its 4am ish. laters
* I can see the merit in both arguments… need sleep
I read on the Internets that José Mário dos Santos Félix Mourinho would be the shock replacement if Arsene doesn’t deliver the league…
so, we have considerable amount of money in the club’s vault then?
someone on here said it was being prepared for the takeover and I said it would make fuck all sense, now I may need to bow to that person’s superior intuition!
I mean, jeez, this is not going to sit well if it’s true, with Jabba being in position to buy the club with pocket money, eh?
and oh, I heard we had no money?
does any of the AKBs care to comment? thought not…
Morning all!
So, Usmanov made a last ditch attempt to buy Lady Nina’s shares once he heard about the big by Kroenke…it makes you wonder what these fucking people were waiting for in the first place.
It would be nice if this 100m slush fund is used for players, rather than as leverage for the purchase. If not, then I guess that’s another lesson Wenger will learn the hard way.
Don’t forget Kroenke’s wife is the WalMart heiress…he’s not short of cash. And Arsenal is a solid business model, albeit in a crazy industry. it sort of makes sense, especially as football will probably start to grow in popularity in China, US and India – it’s much better than these other ridiculous sports like hockey, basketball (netball), American football etc
frankly, given that AU would allow for that without batting an eyelid, Kroenke is in a spot of bother here…
It seems that Usmanov has been fought off.
Either he couldn’t secure the block shares he needed, or else he was just hanging around to make a tidy profit.
In my opinion, we don’t really need a huge cash injection to the club to buy players – as has been mentioned before ad nauseum, we most likely have the funds, we just choose not to spend it. If Kroenke’s presence puts pressure on Wenger to spend, then so much the better. And as an American, Kroenke will have a strong awareness of the Marketing potential of signing non-shit players with recognised names.
Also, the Emirates must make a fair amount of cash through holding exhibition events such as the Brazil games…
Apparently, there’s nothing in the share sales agreements to stop a leveraged buyout, however there seems to be some tacit acceptance that this won’t be done.
And what on earth happened with Man U’s debt? Did it just diappear, or is it still mounting?
Moray,
still mounting, but there is NO WAY for them to go under, too big a brand, almost an industry in it’s own right…
as for the money that we chose not to spend, puts all the self perpetuated drivel (mostly by Wenger himself and amplified by his zealots) about Wenger doin oh so great with the resources available into perspective, doesn’t it?
and when Fiszman once said the money was there, AKBs thought it would be clever to dismiss that – go figure!
*its
Now that we have Ron Burgundy in charge…what’s next?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQ7dUlRUJIM
right. Like eating potatoes for a year to save up for a car, only to find that someone has broken in to your house, stolen your money and plugged your wife for good measure.
Having said that, if Wenger owns Arsenal shares, then it was good business for him…
What is the new found evidence of the money you speak of Sug? Didn’t read far back in the comments. Shoot me. I am lazy.
Moray,
he said he didn’t, but then again, I don’t really see stuff he comes out with as credible, do you?
all this information is a VERY volatile mix, Kroenke will really need to spend to get into the fans’ good books, and no, our own £40M will just not do, the whole £100M would be more like it!
delivering Petey’s head on a plate with a mountain of gak next to it would not go amiss either
LAzer,
it’s in the Guardian article:
http://m.guardian.co.uk/ms/p/gnm/op/sruQMVBNK4pP5iLRAfqL-dQ/view.m?id=15&gid=football/2011/apr/11/stan-kroenke-arsenal-takeover&cat=sport
and there is this bit in the financial results:
http://www.arsenal.com/assets/_files/documents/sep_10/gun__1285660177_Arsenal_Holdings_plc_Annual_Re.pdf
makes sense, doesn’t it?
Agreed, SUGA3. I think Kroenke will see the need to appease the fans, and the good news is that he’s a sports fan, obviously, rather than a leprechaun (Man Utd) or Abbot & Costello (Liverpool).
He might also give our backroom team a kick up the arse: it seems like there has been a feeling of demotivation and malaise at the club for too long.
I think (leveraging aside) this purchase will turn out to be a good move for the club. I think Arsenal fans have a tendency to be too afraid of change…too traditional. Let’s update our attitudes and our sponsorship and marketing deals, while hopefully retaining the Invincibles spirit.
Moray,
I am not afraid of change, just saying that since we are set to sell our soul, we may as well sell it to the highest bidder
anyhoo, work beckons, laters…