So the pre-cursor to the Arsenal AGM was interesting, nothing earth shattering, but some good details regardless.
We had a special guest appearance from @Andersred who is the United equivalent of the Swiss Ramble. He came armed with a Powerpoint Presentation and a wealth of interesting graphs, facts and figures. Below is a mix of what he said and what the AST crowd said.
Please digest responsibly…
Facts and Figures
- Our profit is solely derived from player sales and property… Gulp
- Queensland will net us £25mill… The last of the property.
- Our revenue is £225mill, United’s is £300mill… we’re doing great on that front.
- Historic commercial deals are hampering us…
- We blew £3mill on Slaughter &May un-tendered for ratifying the Kroenke deal.
- Stan’s last game was Liverpool vs Arsenal in April.
- If we miss out on Europe entirely, a fire sale of players Leeds-esque is not an option.
- Our wages are £125mill… We should finish 4th if wages are an indicator of final league standing.
- If we don’t finish 4th, that transfer surplus will bridge the finance gap for a year. Bugger…
- United take all the profit on for kit sales as their shop is owned by Nike. No stock or risk is owned by them.
- We can’t do a DHL deal, rumour has it that it was an anomaly in the contract that allowed a training kit sponsor deal to happen.
- Gazidis earned a 60% of salary bonus last year, in line with United’s David Gil. How was he bonused? What was the criteria?
- Wenger took nigh on £7mill. Again, just to reiterate, no bonus, pure cash. Why would a manager risk salary when he can get it all? The manager doesn’t like paying out the big dollar, but he likes earning it.
- When you take out bonuses and the cost of MUTV, the wage bills between the two clubs are £9mill apart. United are 2 £100k a week players away from us in cost.
- Our biggest problem is wage inefficiency. When we were dominating, we were further away from United in wage spend than we are now.
- According to Red&White… Stan borrowed every penny to takeover Arsenal. He could put it on the club anytime he fancied.
- United have 21 commercial deals, ten of them with foreign comms companies. If we could be successful on the pitch, we could match that.
- We only made £2mill on the Asian tour, that could be worth £20mill in 3 years.
- Stan would make £80mill clear profit of he sold to Usmanov for £14k a share
- Arsenal marketing department and the medical crew will do a Q&A for AST Members. Tom Fox… we’re gunning for you and that comment you made about season tickets being too cheap. United don’t give their supporter groups access to anyone or any info.
Man City Challenges…
- They have to lower amortisation.
- Bring in real comm deals. The Abu Dhabi sweet shop sponsoring their coach wing mirrors for £40million a year won’t be able to sustain that type of continued investment. You’d have to hope the FFP will clamp down on that type of activity as well.
- Bring through youth. They’ve got a multi-million pound training resort going in, but they’ll need to actually bring through some young talent to offset their massive investment in players.
- Win on the pitch. Sounds simple, but the best way to improve revenues is to win. Success on the pitch breeds commercial success everywhere else.
- Increase their match day income (£23mill). Being in the North West where there are so many fun things to do for corporates and fans alike hampers match day revenues and leads to shortfalls in ticket sales. Their match day revenues are embarrassingly low, these need to improve.
What Arsenal do to return as a powerhouse?
- Become an elite mega brand. Liverpool and United are arguably the only two of those we have currently. We need to speculate to accumulate here if we want that type of status. Madrid did, not they’re on top commercial wise.
- Can we perform? Again, no one wants to be your friend if you’re not winning. No one will buy your flags, cups and seat plaques if there are no trophies.
- Can we sort wages? We need to get back to a meritocracy. If Diaby gets jealous and thinks he can earn more elsewhere, let him go. Bring back some pride and the concept of earning a contract.
- There is a top 6 competing for 4 places. That can’t be sustained. Someone is going to have to wind their salaries in and let the new top 4 settle into life. If we drop out of Europe, that could be us if we don’t watch it. We need to be in that elite to survive at the top.
- Hope FFP is enforced.
So there are the details, I’ll leave you to pick through them and decide which ones you believe to be important.
For me the highlights are that United’s wage bill is only two top quality signings away from us. That tells me two things, 1) The Stadium absolutely allows us to compete on salaries now, how badly we distribute it compared to the NW club is down to the manager 2) We’ll never be a City like powerhouse (unless Usmanov muscles in), but once the proper commercials roll in, we’ll be able to offer elite salaries and we’ll be able to use surplus cash to buy players.
Our biggest most important fight is about staying in the Champions League. Once that goes it’s a massive uphill battle to get back in. The longer we’re out, the harder it’ll be to fund the massive salaries you need to get there. All our future success off the pitch is about our current success on the pitch.
Whatever way you look at it, complacency has us where we are now. The assumption of the manager he could continue to compete without spending has finally caught up with him. We’ll see how that pans out over the year…
We had a good laugh in the bar after, I met up with people from all over blog world, the away hardcore, the BSM and some of the AST finance chaps. It’s always good to put face to avatars, people might have different points of view, but when you’re face to face and you see the passion people have for the club, you kind of hope Ivan Gazidis and co know how lucky they are to have us… regardless of how much we can be a pain in the ass.
If you want to join the Arsenal Supporters Trust, go to their new website and sign up, your two pound a month gets you far more value than Oxfam.
So… what do you think? Thoughts on a post card…
P.S. I saw the West Ham deal for the Olympic Stadium collapsed, the Government now want to rent it out instead of handing it over to a club. £2million rent a year! Jeez… we take more revenue per game!
Evening Gooners
go to adthenet.tv and watch Paraguay-Uruguay
Uruguay is everything you want in a team
Funny how it was the biggest deal in the world when Henry handled the ball but when Cox handled it then 1 second later turned to the ref to get Armenia’s keeper sent off for handball that never was it’s suddenly ok to cheat. Where are the outcrys for fair play and bans and replays now for unsporting behaviour ??
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2048005/Alisher-Usmanov-prompt-boardroom-battle-attempting-increase-Arsenal-share.html
This is gonna be interesting if it happens
*gets popcorn*
A quick thought that occurred to me earlier whilst I was in pedant mode, but too busy to post at the time.
“- If we don’t finish 4th, that transfer surplus will bridge the finance gap for a year.”
what about 2 years? or three? after all logically and statistically (given a long enough timescale) if the new world order of EPL is ‘top 3′ followed by 3 into 1 for the magical 4th spot, then AFC will miss out on average 2/3rds of the time.
Are the club silent on missing out for more than one year?
Something for the AGM perhaps?
After all it is not inconceivable at this time.
the lama farmer from Palma felt calmer at the Dalai lama’s explanation of Karma….
Usmanov is supposed to be approaching the smaller shareholders with 14500$ per share to increase his stake to 30% (reported in dailymail). Some of the shareholders within or outside AST could sell their shares to ensure he achieves the same. We could then have Usmanov on the board of directors, even at the cost of a fractured board, it could be a good thing to have someone who is not pro Kroenke, Hill Wood combined. This is a suggestion
could someone within or outside AST help Usmanov achieve 30% to get on the Board of Directors? Need some counter against Kroenke, Hill Wood crap.
The Arsenal Board & Manager have done a fantastic job building the new stadium and keeping the team competitive over the past decade.
It’s a shame that some of the so called “supporters” are thick as pig ship and can’t see the wood for the trees.
The fact we run on a budget and other clubs don’t seems to escape alot of you. Using the same logic as these fans, I don’t understand why you clowns don’t all drive Ferrari’s? Isn’t your dole money, or your 21,000 a year not enough to cover it…? What do you mean it would put you in debt…? you would go into liquidation….?
City have bought 5 of our first team (45%) in the past 3 – 4 years. Because they can, because they have unlimited funds. This is not that difficult to understand.
Mata would have signed but Chelsea (also have bottomless pockets) offered over double the wages. If people can’t understand these basic economic issues, your problem is not with Wenger or the Board, it’s with the mid wife that dropped you as a child or the surgeon that performed your labotomy.
Running a sports team where there is a salary cap and draft is fundamentally different to the open slather of english and Euro football, as Keyser points out.
One system is about ensuring rotation of champions between all clubs over time, the other is about building dynasties.
The only way to build success with the Cap and draft is by spending on football dept. Specialist coaching, sports science, recruitment strategies etc. You would have thought some of those approaches would have filtered through to Wenger, but apparently there is no need for specialitst coaches, and what has happened to our recruitment network?
Level 2 quality,and an inability to close a deal when it should be closed has left us with this squad
No fool like an old fool.
How’s life treating you there in North Korea then Clown Shoes? I hope someday someone smuggles you in a western book there chum and you get to read the facts!
Did you miss the 160m in the bank. That’s not North Korean Won. It’s real money.. you know, kinda like the bartering system you use.. only instead of being able to buy a sheep we could buy the farm, or even the whole commune, come to think of it the province!
Keep swallowing the propaganda there mug and go back to shagging your Oxen.
Clown talk to me about trophies
Keyser/clown shoes/whatever your name is Billy.
What you do is called trolling.
Now go suck wenger and the board and don’t come back.
Clown, go suck Wenger’s cock. He’s on an annual 7M but he needs your attention.
@IvoryGoonz,
same thought.
Phil: you’re funny but I actually pointed out to Keyser he should not compare the two, he’s got no clue about MLS whatsoever.
Keyser: when you will actually start answering the questions, maybe I will be interested communicating with you… Til then, Go F* Yourself!
Dear AKB’s,
Arsenal are 2 points above relegation. Is that good, great or a worry?
Ivory, screw you mofo, get Pedro to do an ip check then weep into your eggy bread. Please I implore you get him to check. OMG there are others in the world in support of wenger, shock , horror,
I’ll tell you how bad Arsenal are going. You now have spuds coming on here regularly telling Arsenal people how it is.
Whos this cunt clown shoes?
Another mentally ill wenger lover. Probably Abou Diaby actually.
Stupid cunt.
Goon; an ip check on what? My Sky router?
You know what?
I’d definitely clean up some morons like you from le Grove if I had the choice.
At war, there’s only 2 sides. Either you’re with the pigs, or you’re with the revolution. And all I can see is that you are not one of us.
NEW POST!
@Gnarley,
hahahaha,
we’re 2 points from relagtion because according to 60sec
suddenly “a new dawn had entered our club”.
And there’s only one person to get us out. aah fuck, I rest my case, it’s beyond stupidity.,
Hey Clown shoes,
All clubs run on a budget, despite your comment.
It’s just that their budget is bigger, and they don’t give a toss if they balance or not.
And whilst the team is competitive( with wigan), we are not as competitive as we were 1,2,3 years ago.
Yes,
You are right, a brilliant job.
Whats up with the protests lined up to shoo off Wenger? Why are we getting de-focussed? Lets get a manager and a new training + medical team by Nov-mid.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGnt-BTpkaA
Iniesta goal a bit special?
what the fuck has the company finances to do with us. It’s none of our business
Fuck the AST
quote
According to Red&White… Stan borrowed every penny to takeover Arsenal. He could put it on the club anytime he fancied ”
Red & White is the Uzbeki. He would say that though