Well good morning one and all.
It seems the CEO role at Arsenal is hotting up with The Evening Standard linking us with Josh K taking over the role.
I mean, I’m really struggling to see that as a viable option if I’m honest. I understand the basic premise of nepotism, but at core, Stan is still a businessman. I’m not sure stints at under-performing NHL/NBA franchises quite prepare you for the serious business of managing an entity as huge as Arsenal. The link looks thin as well… a ‘well, duh’ kind of equation to fill copy space.
American sport is a different beast geared around fairness and everyone stumbling on a winning formula at some point. They evenly distribute money, they have a draft, there are wage caps and there’s generally very little competition state by state for eyes and dollars.
Stan has witnessed first hand what happens when you take your eye off the steering wheel in the Premier League. He absolutely loved Wenger for scraping into the Champions League every year but didn’t pay attention to the marginal losses that were occurring each season. He underinvested, he ignored what was going on around his manager, and he let the club rot from the inside.
Two years after the happening and we’re £200m+ worth of investment from being able to compete at the highest level. That’s the issue with the Premier League, it takes a ruthless capitalist approach to competition. Not only do you have the big boys plunging money into staying on top, you also have team like West Ham, Fulham and Everton capable of blowing £100m. Every team in the Premier League has 2-3 decent players, they all share the same technology, and all teams boast nearly the same fitness. It’s dog eat dog throughout the league, everyone is there to compete if they can… so much so, they’ll happily bankrupt themselves in the process if that’s what it takes.
Arsenal are in a precarious position in the world of football. Like it or loath it, we gambled a lot on Emery this season. If he doesn’t return us to top 4, we’re going to be even more unappealing than we were under Wenger, because we’ll be associated with the also-rans. That’ll make bringing us back to the top even harder/more expensive for the next person in charge.
I’d much prefer a scenario where a 38-year-old is given an active role in the club where he shadows a CEO who has been tried and tested in the game. If we’re serious about taking the club to the top, we need to have someone capable of building out a long-term vision on and off the pitch. We need to drastically improve our commercials, we need to fire up our squad and start adding better parts, and we need to make an aggressive play at the Champions League.
Ivan modernised Arsenal over the last 10 years, he put in place a strong infrastructure, he took the brand global… but you’d be hard pressed to say we’ve done anything that looked like a risk outside moving stadium which was on the cards before he arrived.
Everything Ivan has done since he’s been given the keys to the club has been solid, but very, very safe.
Arsenal won’t move to the next level with safe.
Look no further than the LA Rams for a club going balls out to make a super bowl final. Big contracts, big moves, young trailblazing coaching hires… everything about what they’re doing is about the statement of intent.
Will it pay off? Who knows… a lot in LA think it already has, but at least they’re going hard for their goals.
Could Josh K be that man for us? Maybe. I mean, there’s no better person to have the ear of an absent dad than his progeny. But are we being too simplistic here? Assuming that dad gives up the habit of a lifetime and busts out the Grizmann coloured chequebook because Junior throws his toys out the pram at the Walmart Thanksgiving dinner?
I’d love to will myself into thinking that the Kroenke family are keen to dominate the NFL and European football because that’s what you should want to do when you’re a billionaire. Be the fucking best with each of the sports entities you own. You should want to build a revenue machine both sides of the pond. I mean, I can’t believe there hasn’t been talk about taking the LA Rams to London to play at The Emirates yet. Nothing shuts London down quite like the NFL crowd heading to Wembley. Imagine Arsenal being the go-to club in LA?
I WOULD GO, ONE TICKET, SOLD.
Those sorts of dreams only count if you have a product LA gives a fuck about. That was literally one of the thoughts Kroenke mused on when he moved the team, I can’t find the quote, but it was something to the effect of… ‘people from LA aren’t going to care if this team isn’t great.’
London is obviously a touch different, people would care about Arsenal if we dropped two divisions. However, the huge missed opportunity is to become the club of London. To charge exorbitant ticket prices to Asia and America. To realise the additional capacity in a stadium that generates the second most revenue in the land. To make your players and team an actual tourist hotspot.
Arsenal needs to find that ambition again. Our fans need something to believe in that’s exciting, much like the City project. Stan needs to show the same belief in our club as he does in LA.
My gut says you need to hire in know-how from a club like Juventus or Barcelona, but look, if the yin is nepotistic youth and the yang is a dad who’ll do anything to please junior, bring it on.
Nothing ever goes wrong when the kids of rich parents get the chance to show what they’re made of, right?
Jack Wilshere is out for six weeks after (yet another) surgery on his ankle. Tell us again, Un Nai / Don, about how Wilshere isn’t crocked. Tell us about how he is the most talented CM in the PL. What a joke. West Ham were better this weekend without him.
We average about 53% possession this season had about 30% against Chelsea and City. Not much of a possession side more a mix bag really
I see PSG bringing the Dippers back down to earth tomorrow, Neymar is due a big performance as he hasn’t got kicking off yet and M’Bappe is in scary good form.
Lot of good matches to look forward to, Inter-Spuds should be another good one.
In retrospect, signing Aubameyang may not look like the wisest move, but they clearly made this move because Lacazette looked a bust at that point. Lacazette has looked a much better player since returning from his surgery; at the start of last season, he looked a poor signing. This is why they signed Auba.
Aubamayang played left wing at Dortmund when they had Lewandoski and he did a good job. This notion that he can’t play in that position is a bit myopic. He hasn’t played well even when Laca was sitting out for him this season.
Anyone else very happy to see Alexis stinking up the gaf so badly at OT?
He’s been nothing short of abysmal and I’m pretty sure he’s their no.1 earner. 3 goals in 22 apps and his general play has been very poor as it was at times for us.
WengerEagle,
“Neymar is due a big performance as he hasn’t got kicking off yet”
___
He has scored 4 goals in 4 league games so far this season.
I hope you’re kidding. Iwobi offers zero aside from work-rate. Little to no dribbling, terrible technique, terrible shooting.
LOL one thing Iwobi is very good at is dribbling, please go and watch tapes. His shot is awful, his decision making in the box is not good enough, but dribbling and creating from outside the box is fantastic. Go and watch tapes please.
steve
French League and all that, I’m talking about by Neymar’s own standards which is up there with only Messi.
He averaged a 9/10 on Whoscored for the entirety of last season, by far the highest of any player.
We average about 53% possession this season had about 30% against Chelsea and City.”
Far better sides,with better players,
Why not throw in also our possession stats against westham, cardiff,newcastle 60-65% i think.and that exactly is our standard,I mean its expected of us to impose our playing style against teams outside the big 6
WE…yup! Sanchez was a big fish with us, because we let him, he looks shit at Man Utd….same as he was becoming before Barca shipped him off to us.
Champagne
“the usually vocal lot who kiss Kroenke arse”
No one here has ever said a single positive thing about Stan Kroenke much less “kissed his arse”.
The best that has ever been said about him is that he isn’t the principal problem, or that he doesn’t limit what the manager can spend, or that he is not in the way of our progressing as a self-sustaining club.
The above is just more of Charlie making shit up, distorting other people’s views so as to make them easier to dismiss, etc.
Aubamayang played left wing at Dortmund when they had Lewandoski and he did a good job. This notion that he can’t play in that position is a bit myopic. He hasn’t played well even when Laca was sitting out for him this season Again everyone in the attack this season has been poor. His performances second half of last season were better than Lacazette’s though. And you’re right first season at Dortmund he did play on the wing to accommodate the better player in Lewandowski and only scored 16 goals and what happened when Lewandowski left and he played CF?… Read more »
Dale
I don’t need to watch tapes, mate, because I watch every match. Iwobi’s dribbling might be better than his passing or his shooting, but that’s not saying much, and that certainly doesn’t make him a good dribbler. He’s just not a very good footballer. Only thing he really brings is work-rate.
Vic our average is 53% it takes into account our superior possession against shit teams as well as our inferior possession against better teams
Dale
I love it. Watch Tapes.
You must be in my age bracket. I remember tapes- Cassettes, VHS tapes
Records
8 tracks when I was really young
To be fair to Sanchez he’s not the only 29 year old who’s been stinking up the place for the last year or two. We’ve very much got one of them in Ozil
“Anyone else very happy to see Alexis stinking up the gaf so badly at OT?”
Finding it very amusing. He’s turned out exactly like I thought he would.
All the flaws he always had being exposed more than ever. No off the ball movement, no left foot, no ability to run the outside channel, so all he is left with is the cut inside routine. Handcuffed by his own limitations.
Sanchez goals are about 4M GBP for Manure
He does not last more than this season. China is his next stop
Paulinho pretty spot on with your analysis of Sanchez as well as Xhaka and Özil it must be said. Can’t for the life of me understand how you get Ramsey so wrong though
Danny S “Instead [Gazidis] just milked the cow and rode the gravy train …” Listen, Gazidis is simply a businessman and ultimately something of a mercenary, but he is also the reason that we now have a modern structure, a DoF and a new head scout. He is also the person who publicly undermined Wenger’s position and power by saying that “the manager ultimately had to answer to the fans” and that “the manager would need to be a catalyst for change”. People scoffed at these things, but Gazidis was clearly undermining Wenger with these public remarks. Further, while I… Read more »
Don’t know if it’s been discussed but Wilshire is out for 6 weeks after surgery. I liked Jack but thank god he’s someone else’s issue now.
I hate Ivan G
HE is a dirty fast talking rat
Anyhow good riddance. I wonder if he will ever leak out what really went on behind the scenes for the last few years. Would love to hear the dirt. Was the money always there? Who stopped who from spending? Yea- his memoirs- Id only really read the juicy snippets otherwise yawn
N5
I mentioned that just above. I too liked Jack back in the day, but he has been crocked for a long time now.
B10, sorry I should have noticed it. Great minds and all that then 😀
“Lacazette has looked a much better player since returning from his surgery; at the start of last season, he looked a poor signing. This is why they signed Auba.“
Someone’s on the transfer committee apparently…
Oh and you’ve run interference for Kroenke at almost every opportunity, little wonder you’re so silent on mooted talks of Josh replacing Ivan.
You don’t need your views distorted btw, you do a fine job of that yourself with your continued foot in mouth style.
Pedro I was just rereading the article. He (Stan)..’didn’t pay attention to the marginal losses that were occurring each season. He underinvested, he ignored what was going on around his manager, and he let the club rot from the inside.’ Very well said apart from the underinvestment bit. The reality is that Kroenke has invested nothing at all in Arsenal. He’s merely acquired the club complete with stadium debt and has sat back and watched the fans pay it off for him. Smart cookie. You seem to be anti kroenke this week which is encouraging but I do question your… Read more »
Charlie One, in the eight matches prior to the January window in which we signed Aubameyang, Lacazette scored zero goals and managed only seven shots. This drought of his was much-talked about and much-written about. Are you seriously disputing the claim that it was on account of doubts about Lacazette that they decided to go out and spend £60m on Aubameyang? If they weren’t having doubts about Lacazette, can you please tell us why they spent so much money on a second center forward? I would love to know this, because frankly, if they didn’t have any doubts about Lacazette,… Read more »
Banford
You realise you’re telling me to stop making things up (nothing I’ve said isn’t true) despite today alone claiming with absolute conviction the reason why we bought Auba, and also “guaranteeing” something Gazidis said to Josh Kroenke and stating what effect it had.
Now I harbour strong anti-American prejudices… LOL because of the term yank cunt?
But so we’re clear, i’m the one making shit up? 🙂
Charlie
You never answered the question: if they weren’t having doubts about Lacazette — after his eight game drought — why did they go out and spend £60m on another center forward?
Banford No, I’m fact you failed to comment on Stan and Josh in your little tirade so let’s not pretend for a second I’m going to indulge your big boy aspirations with the usual line of questioning you like to take. Im sure it’s duly noted by anyone browsing that you’re awfully worked up at the mere idea of me misrepresenting you (which I didn’t whatsoever) – you’ve always stated that Kroenkes “only mistake” was renewing Wengers contract hence the arse kissing quip. Interestingly however you’re quite comfortable to slander me a racist in an attempt to discredit what I… Read more »
Ah a xenophobe rather than a racist. Much better, eh
Guns of SF no way is Ivan leaking
We all know the embarrassing truth that he was kneecapped by his subordinate for the best part of a decade and allowed Arsène to run the club instead for him outside of a few sponsorship negotiations
He comes out of his time at arsenal having done about 18 months worth of work in around a decade. If I were him I would not be revealing a thing about that to the world!
Listened to the pod, few comments etc The transfer window, i feel a bit odd because no one seems to have picked up on what i see which is of the five (am i forgetting someone?) two are for the future, and the other three are for dressing room/club culture. Lichsteiner takes no shit. Papa seems tough as nails regardless of quality and torreira showed his bulldog qualities at the WC. As for IG, is he not escaping from the kroenkes? I think if he wants to put his stamp on the club, or have control or whatever… he knows… Read more »
of course we are a global brand. Back in school, the majority were arsenal fans, then utd. After 2004/05 a few chelsea fans emerged. When I was graduating school, a few of the juniors were city fans, along with Arsenal.
On the streets I see more arsenal shirts than any other club (this isn’t particularly trendy with the younger generation but middle aged men with Arsenal shirt do wall about ).
I used to buy my gf arsenal shirts, made in China of course 😉
I don’t think Ivan had a huge hand in ‘taking us global’ The PL has become more global, and teams which used to be much smaller than us and barely followed outside of England have now become major magnets for foreign fans – more so than arsenal over the same time period 14 years ago the Chinese couldn’t watch every PL game they want. Most of the World didn’t have relentless access to the PL so of course the value and brand of the club has grown now that that has changed But the reality is that Ivan has done… Read more »
With wenger out and Gazidis our, Kroenke would be the only hyper cunt left inside the club
Unfortunately Stan isn’t likely going anywhere for a very long time so all we can do is hope his son or whoever the next CEO is is ambitious
N5
Footballing Boyce – very funny
DM reported this today:
‘It is 99.9 per cent certain Ivan will leave,’ said an informed club source on Monday night. ‘It looks like a done deal and it appears the club are preparing a statement.’
Good riddance and let’s hope he takes Ramsey, Mustafi & Bellerin with him.
I wouldn’t be unhappy if he took Ozil as well to lessen the wage bill and get a decent winger.
Arsenal became truly global on May 26th, 1989.
A fucking men.
Problem is Micheal. Victorious has no idea what happened that day. He didn’t even know Arsenal exsisted until 2015.
Let’s not forget GGs one loss season. A much greater achievement than the invincibles.
Wenger had nothing to do with making us global. Just happened he became manager as the PL started to blow up around the world. With it being broadcast all over the globe.
If Josh takes the CEO position, we’ll really get to see if the Kroenkes want success or just profit from our club.
Hoping for the former but………..
The January window will be illuminating
Who cares if Gazidis fucks off? What has he done in the last 10 years for anyone to make a fuss? Our commercial deals are a joke. Left wenger in a job a dozen years too long which killed our marketing as any ceo would have realized. Success on the pitch = success in commercial revenue Name one other CEO from another club other than Woodward. Gazidis is getting way too much spotlight for what he is. We aren’t a business. We are a football club. Fuck the CEO. Keep quiet and behind the scenes and make the club money.… Read more »
Joe
For me GG was always the better and more successful manager.
Invincibles or European trophy?
European trophy wins every time, which Wenger never won.
Would love emery to win the Europa this season, especially is we beat Chelsea to win it.
if*
Well said Joe.A good CEO keeps a low profile and gets on with the job as you just pointed out.Ivan Gazidis is as transparent as they come.Gazidis looks after gazidis first.He is all about self-preservation.How Arsenal fans got duped by this snake oil salesmen is beyond me.Ivan wants to be a mover and shaker first and foremost.Is there no football governing body that this rat isn’t involved with.Took him 10 years to get rid of Wenger when basically the game was up for him.A coward of a CEO who should be in politics as he talks a good game but… Read more »
Sekard
And so say all of us.
A gutless snake, who sat there and milked the system.
Joe
Although it pains me to say it, Wenger did play a major part in expanding our global image.
However, as already highlighted, he was the main reason for our negative image in recent years.
Ivan Gazidas thinks he’s someone because he deposed Wenger. However, what about the 8.5 years when he sat on his hands and kept quiet? Arsenal FC is better without him. As I said before thank goodness Ivan didn’t get his way and we were plumped with Arteta, that would have been a disaster. I’m ambivalent about Josh Kronke. It’s clear that he has his father’s confidence because he was able to change his dad’s mind about Wenger. This is not a mean feat considering how much the older Kronke was an AKB… and it didn’t take him 8.5 years to… Read more »
“Even if you try to discuss what Emery did wrong in the last game, you are still an AKB who doesn’t want to give the new manager a chance because of your love for Wenger.” Vic I like to know where and when you even criticise wenger for wrong tactics or even bad substitutions? you see, they call you and your out because, during wenger reign you never question him or say a word cause he knows best. now that you noticed some of the things emery doing are similar to wenger’s , you are shouting at the top of… Read more »
Michael24 “However, as already highlighted, he was the main reason for our negative image in recent years.” bit off the mark there graham. Though wenger is not totally blameless ,the main reason for Arsenal’s so called negative image was due to the antics of the obsessives. A couple of bad defeats in the champions league against Europe’s finest is not enough to promote a negative image when you take into account the many victories and The quality of Arsenal’s football over the years. Arsenal have been winning trophies in recent years ,not the 2 major trophies but trophies nonetheless….in fact… Read more »
Pierre
” couple of bad defeats in the champions league against Europe’s finest.”
This is a joke right?
Biggest defeats in Arsenal’s history, 2nd worst CL defeat, premier league defeats of 8-2, 6-0, 6-1, 5-1, 4-0, 4-0 Southampton, 3-0 Palace.
A couple of bad defeats was it?
There’s only one fucking embarrassment here buddy..
Steiner
Stupid argument
Do you not think that United suffered heavy defeats to teams under Alex Ferguson
6-3 Southampton
5-0 Newcastle
6-1 man city.
5-0 chelsea
To name a few..
Arsenal have rebuilt their “football” management in last nine months. It is now hopefully fit for purpose following appointments of Sanhelli, Mislintat and Emery. The Academy programme has also seen major changes with new appointments. Gazidis has worked at the club nine years and it took him eight years to make material changes to football structure. As others have suggested in the past Arsenal have also underperformed in commercial sponsorship and that should have been CEO’s responsibility. The fact that it has taken Gazidis so long to react to what has been the club’s deficiencies does not reflect well on… Read more »
Kristoman “Even if you try to discuss what Emery did wrong in the last game, you are still an AKB who doesn’t want to give the new manager a chance because of your love for Wenger.” Vic I like to know where and when you even criticise wenger for wrong tactics or even bad substitutions? you see, they call you and your out because, during wenger reign you never question him or say a word cause he knows best. now that you noticed some of the things emery doing are similar to wenger’s , you are shouting at the top… Read more »
Wait for it ….can’t be long now until Joe is on here spouting his usual anti wenger rhetoric whilst engaging in an Emery lovefest even though the same mistakes are being made.(that’s me criticising wenger),the results are basically the same and the football is not quite so good.
I dread to think what Joe will be like it we do actually show some improvement on the field.