Morning all.
The AGM takes place at Arsenal today which means the big boss is in town. How exciting, except it’s not, not really. Nothing new will be said I suspect, the same old defensive of Arsene Wenger and how the club are making the right progress and heading in the right way whilst sticking to their ‘model.’
The silent one has already spoken to the media, mainly about Arsene Wenger as far as I can tell. He said sacking Arsene Wenger would have been the easy option, standing by him for another two years was the more difficult decision. Actually, being pedantic, he didn’t have to sack him back in the summer as he was out of contract.
Regardless, he’s wrong imo. Sticking with Wenger was the easy option, the more difficult would be to find his replacement. Not because Wenger is hard to replace but trying to choose who our next manager would mean his lazy board members, well, most of them, would have to earn a living. Perhaps that’s why the AST are urging changes on the board.
As said, it’ll just be more of the same today, of that we can be quietly confident.
However, there is some good news doing the rounds, big news too and that’s Arsenal are reported to have agreed a deal for Barcelona’s main man. Raul Sanllehi is his name and he’s going to work closely with Ivan Gazidis once he joins at the end of the year after his contract with the Catalan club comes to an end. But before we get too excited, Man City are alleged to be interested in snapping him up too and with the Pep connection and the vast amounts of money available, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see him end up there. Time will tell but it’d be some catch if Sanllehi comes to north London. Ivan’s wanted a DoF and it looks like he’s trying hard to get one.
It’s all change at the top again for Arsenal women. Pedro Losa has left after three years in the job and legend Kelly Smith is tipped to takeover. Smart move I’d have thought, she loves the club, had an extremely successful career with it and what better than to see an Arsenal person in charge of an Arsenal team
I’d personally love to see the same with the men’s team but other than Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry who are learning life management elsewhere, whines there to takeover from Wenger one day? Bould? Mertesacker after managing the Academy? Or is their someone I’ve missed?
Who is there to follow in the Barcelona footsteps which Pep Guardiola took after he played for the Catalan club before eventually managing them through some really exciting and successful times?
That’s where you guys come in, over to you….
Managers come and go at 99% of clubs.
It would not be easy to replace Arsene.
Who’s got the bollocks to sack him at
The Arsenal?
That contract of two years left on the table
by the board,was ignored by Arsene right
till the end.
Bit like a mousetrap.
I would have thought Gazza wanted him gone.
The more I hear.
Gazidis and Chips I thought Fred.
Morning all.
AGM. Another new statement of intent from the strong, stable and syrupied one!
There will be no changes at Arsenal for the foreseeable future, so far as I can see. Kroneke’s commitment to his son’s succession is laudable, as any father would like to think he’ll be carrying on Stanley’s hard and dedicated worship of all things Arsenal!
The one hope we may have are the inheritance laws of the good ol’ UK. Vis. You just can’t give stuff away upon death. 40% duty has to Be paid. I’m not sure what the value of the club is, at present but it’ll be a powerful sum of money. Straight into the governments coffers. Probably enough to pay off our balance of payments debt!! Will young Josh have enough English pounds to throw away at a failing EPL football club. We can only dream!
Mind you I have very little knowledge of company law or even the intricacies of inheritance tax!
The new DoF would seem to be a bit of a compromise Overmars, an ex player under Wenger has been dismissed as a non starter. Wenger just will not have any ex employee telling him what to do, will he. Sanhelli (sp) is the anointed one, or so it would seem. A small wager, I suggest he will never arrive, not during Wenger’s tenure! Mark my words?
Cool and overcast here. Not a nice day
Get Merson in,an ex player that the knew the importance of a Tuesday afternoon. Let him and Nial Quinn run the place . That should give us something to shout about.
Wavy, I’ve since read that the rumours about us getting the man from Barca is a lot of hot air…
Potter, this place and the entire Arsenal blog-sphere would erupt I’m sure…
Surely even the dead-wood, once it was ill-wood, on the so called board at AFC must be begging Syrupy Stan to find a successor to the arrogant deluded ageing out dated Wenger who has taken the club backwards over the past decade. Not that they are likely to say so of course with another PR job attempt more likely publicly to try and claim that Wenger is actually doing well. What is going on behind the scenes may well be very different to the public show of confidence in Wenger that is put on but that only only fools the gullible. Sir Chips storming out of the stadium during the shambolic and highly embarrassing defeat to Fat Sam’s Palace away showed that all was not well with Wenger .It looks though as if Wenger gazumped Sir Chips and co by going over their heads to get Syrupy to sanction a new contract based on the rather optimistic view that Wenger could turn things around by reinventing himself. Wenger is an imitator not an innovator he has never thought up an original idea in his life. Some of the things that he claimed the credit for that he introduced into English football were already being employed abroad so he was just a copy cat he has fallen way off the pace though since that initial input of new ideas into the game and really needs to be put out of his obvious stressed out misery . For many this can’t come quick enough.
Morning all.
Reading Stans comments leads me to believe we could well have Arsene for years to come, as the level of expectation from the man who counts is very, very low.
Arsene stays as long as Arsene wants to.
Morning Rico
Who is this Barcelona man…..what are his speciality…..thanks
But he still bought it to the PL Jeff so credit where it’s deserved I guess but his main problem is that he never moved on or up from there. He’s stood still whilst other managers have kept fresh with better ideas. That and coupled with the fact that he went away from signing the kind of players who brought him success to signing small and flaky players who he can control easier.. Imo of course..
Morning Alex. I believe he’s the man who gets signings done at Barca..
Thanks Rico
But those caliber will be par with the likes of Mancity Chelsea spending …me think..
Or, in Neymar’s case loses them!
If he’s not for us Rico, I stand by what I said earlier re Overmars. He will not be on the books whilst Wenger draws breath at the Emirates!
However, Vieira back as manager is just possible so long as Wenger has absolutely NO input. But as Scott said that possibly not be in any og our life times. Will Wenger retire when he reaches 100 or will he just be carried out of his office on a stretcher?
His reign just seems to go on and on and on and on!
Time to quit Arsene. Time to quit!
I was going to say a like for like replacement for Law, but replaced this gent actually gets signings done.
Rico. So the Barcelona bloke isn’t coming.
Morning all. Your headline post certainly grabbed my attention rico!
I read his spiel the same as you did Scott. He has no intention of making any changes at all. Continuity of mediocrity suits him just fine.
Depressing isn’t it? He knows that he would never get anyone else prepared to devote their life to the club, doing everything that Stan himself doesn’t want to be arsed with, and what the board aren’t capable of.
He doesn’t give a stuff about Arsenal fans, just wants someone to keep everything ticking over. Arsene.
I do think Arsene still believe he’s the right man for the job.
I don’t buy into this idea he’s making easy money because (a) he has plenty and (b) there’s not much easy about his gig.
Equally damaging is the facts Stan too thinks he’s the right man.
It’s an incredible situation.
How the hell can an owner say he wants the club to win everything, yet not make any changes?
He does not demand success on the pitch.
He endorses a manager who’s proven he can’t cut it with the young generation of managers any more!
He’s also stated in the past he doesn’t buy clubs to win trophies???????
My criticism and frustration will remain directed at mainly at Stan.
Meerkat, the guy is simply full of shit.
Most knew it, but I reckon this interview is so full of blatant contradictions, everyone will now accepts it as fact.
Arsene must make the call as it’s obvious Stan won’t.
Still banging the Kroenke to blame drum then….. Zzzzzzzz
Afternoon guys..
Afternoon Rico. By all accounts the AGM was a bit of a sham. Again. Lots of bad feeling from minor shareholders and a distinct them-and-us attitude from the powers that be. Kroenke did his talking to the fans through his newspaper interview.
It’s as you were then with nothing interesting to report except a lot of hot air and self-congratulation.
Thought the article was pre-emptive they don’t want to address the fans fears in public or behind-the-scenes either.
Potter I agree. They don’t even want to address shareholder’s questions in public. It’s a coup really.
Calls of resign as the meeting was called to an early end.
Inspector Clueless still here???
Afternoon Adam, sorry, HH dropped out on me for a while.
Any good links to the AGM?
Rico, the Mirror and Standard have some coverage.
Thanks Kev.
It was just a stage-managed exercise Rico. No doubt they all had a good lunch afterwards and slapped themselves on the back for showing the customers who is boss.
I expected nothing less Adam..
Ivan the liar really hit a new low even for him with his ludicrous claims at the AGM. He seemed oblivious to the fact that his claims regarding the Sanchez saga were contradictory The fact that Sanchez is still at AFC is due to the mismanagement by himself and Wenger of the sale of the glum faced Chilean to City .A deal was agreed to sell Sanchez to the Manc Poundland club so how the heck can Gazdis claim that a new approach on keeping players was taken after the RVP sale to United cased such an uproar ?Sanchez is with us on sufferance because of the prevarication that was involved in signing a replacement that failed on the last day of the transfer window. Talk of taking a tough new stance is just more spin from the master of it.
I’m surprised they even brought up the Alexis subject after the last day of the transfer window….
Alex you sound just like mates..Bang on.
What a load of codswollop from this
bunch of shitsters.
Evening all and thanks Rico.
I like Jeffs last comment…………does Gazidis think we have no memory of what happened on Transfer Deadline Day ?
After the warm glow of the Spuds losing last night I wake up to the news that Kroenke is never going to sell !………………………..what a dampener for the rest of my Arsenal supporting life !
Two out of three at the top of our club are complete pricks and the third is becoming one !……………………………………Kroenke for just being alive, but not forgetting he has never or will he ever put a penny into a club that needs to speculate to accumalate to keep in touch with the Big 3……………and others following !…………………………………….Gazidis because he is just a arrogant prick……………………………….and Wenger because after all the great early work is becoming one because of his egotistical narcissism !
Rico, yes I blame Stan, but not totally, as I’ve clearly stated on numerous occasions I also blame Arsene, but our owner has made it clear he’s more than happy with the way things are rolling along, and obviously has no plan to replace Wenger.
I’m pretty surprised people aren’t more outraged by Stans comments, to be honest but as you say, everyone has a mind of their own!!
Your zzzzzzzzz is quite fitting, as fans have definitely fallen asleep at the wheel by letting Stan off so lightly, IMO.
Rinse and repeat-we’d better get used to it as it’s here to stay, well and truly.
My zzzzzzzz is about totally blaming Kroenke when it’s Wenger cocking things up on the pitch, with the players, the contracts, the tactics, the everything….
Kroenke might not be the best, the board are toothless too but remove Wenger and remove the negativity…
Well I don’t know about you lot, but I was thoroughly impressed with Stan and Josh’s enthusiasm, knowledge and determination to make Arsenal the No.1 soccerball team in the English Super Bowl Conference.
I reckon Michael Jordan could well be our next manager.
With that in mind, night all…
Btw, interesting to see that Usmanov voted in favour of Keswick and Josh staying on the Board.
Usmanov vote was odd Kev…
I’m off too, night all..
Rico, but I’ve never blamed Stan and Stan alone.
It’s a vicious circle we find ourselves in.
Stan stays, Arsenes job is safe.
Arsene seem to want to carry on as long as he can, so there’s no end in sight.
If, and we know it’s long odds, Stan leaves, then Arsene surely won’t be far behind, because a new owner will almost certainly demand results.
Maybe the reverse applies as well-if Qtsene leaves, maybe Stan won’t be far behind.
As I said, it’s a vicious circle.
Do we even have a board 🙂
Qtsene is the new Arsene, apparently lol
Scott, I think my comment expresses exactly how I feel about Kroenke and have for years !……………………….I could have used words other than outraged, but I literally feel sick to my stomach that he will be here for as long as he is alive !………………….I know Rico doesn`t like anyone to comment about what they would like to happen to him so I wont, but I know you can guess what I want to happen for him !
🙂
I also think that there are others like us who have Kroenke as number one evil judging by comments in past and they can correct me if I`m wrong, but I`d say they were……………Herb, M`kat and Kev…………………..they also know Arsene is past it !.
Night all………….blow me, we have a Saturday game for once !
PS……………..Come out to play Herbie ! 🙂
LC,
Whats frustrating is that criticising Stan is deemed to be defending Arsene.
On what planet that logic applies is beyond me.
If it helps lads I’m sure you can can get some self doubt classes on line, it’s nothing to be ashamed of lol.
Wegner has to be up there with Sepp Blatter, clinging onto power when it’s blindingly obvious he’s lost all his supporters, only a few hard-wired klingon’s left defending him now, unable to make his mark on the game anymore he’s become a yesterday man.
Micko, yet the two people who can change things don’t agree, and Arsene is one of them!
Yeah, he is well past his sell by date and any other owner would have changed managers by now. The fact that it is Kroenke speaks for itself. He, in my book is the root of all evil and Wenger is just a puppet playing to Stans tune.
It may be boring to bang the Kronke drum, but so is blaming Wenger for everything in every single post.
There is no-one on the board worth a light, Kroenke will never change, Wenger is over the hill.
Business as usual then. Same ol’ same ol’.
I can’t see how any young manager worth their salt would want to work under wiggy’s regime. Could anyone seriously say the likes of Pep or Napoleon wouldn’t walk out within a year?
I’m sick to my stomach that he has vowed to never sell the club. Why us?
Well said, Meerkat.
Summed up the situation perfectly, as sad as it is.
Meerkat, Wenger gets blamed for everything he deserves to get blamed for because he’s mucking so much up as far as the football goes, signings go, tactics, our approach to the game, keeping and rewarding average players etc etc, the list is long.
Above Wenger is a bunch of toothless tigers who seem to unable of organising a piss up in a brewery. Together, Wenger, the owner, the board are all responsible for the way the club is drifting further away from what it once was.
Remove the owner and board and we might get a much more ambitious owner like City and Chelsea have but then again, we might get someone much worse like nearly every other club in the PL have. In any case, Kroenke says he’s not going to sell although I’d imagine that might change if enough pressure is put on him.
Apart from what was nothing short of an embarrassing AGM, I don’t know enough about what goes on behind the scenes and no doubt yesterday was just a.case of the hierarchy going through the motions because the need to.
My focus because of that is on what we all watch on match day and most of the time, that’s bloody awful. None of the board or the owner are responsible for that. No doubt you’ll suggest that if Wenger was given more money he’d be able to sign better players and we’d be much better on match days we’ll if so, I’d disagree because for too long now he’s proved he’s not capable of matching the younger and more smart managers.
We can moan about Kroenke and his lack of ambition but where is Wenger’s? Why isn’t he demanding more the board and owner if he really wants to win the league? Why is he so against a DoF coming in to help him?
Wenger was finished as a manager before Kroenke joined the club and by the looks of it from where I’m sitting, the American fell into Wengers frugal ways rather than the other way round.
After all, wasn’t he the one who said that if he was given £100m for a transfer window he’d give it back?
Don’t though for one minute think I believe Kroenke is the perfect major shareholder because I don’t but the main reason for that is because he won’t part ways with Wenger. Not yet anyway…
Morning Rico,
Meerkat is as critical of Wenger as anyone, but, like one or two of us, blames Stan a little more.
As I said yesterday; we all blame both parties, but where the arguments start is when we disagree on who’s to blame more.
We are all splitting hairs, to a certain extent.
Morning Scott.
I guess it depends on what our priorities are. Mine is the football and how Wenger can’t sort his squad out, or why he can’t build a competitive team able to challenge others, a team which would encourage the better players to stay and not to want to leave and play for a more switched on coach…
Good post Rico… the day to day running and on field performances are solely on Wenger, no one else! How anyone can state “facts” that other managers given all that Wenger has at his disposal would fail is beyond me.
So what would our priorities be then?
Something different?
No, we all want to see the club doing better on the pitch.
I will always believe the clubs culture comes from the very top.
If the top man doesnt demand success, we won’t have it.
We’ve said this 1000 times before so no point going over old ground.
Maybe once a week we need a Stan and Arsene free day lol
Thanks Lee. That’s my view too. Wenger has hardly been denied money has he but still he leaves the squad short year after year. Then look at the wages he shells out on certain players, ridiculous really.
From what I heard from someone who was present at the AGM, the big losers were Keswick, who adopted a superior and supercilious attitude and Ivan, who mugged himself off big-time. I imagine that is precisely the sort of thing that earned him his bonus.
All in all it was just for show and getting worked up about it is rather silly.
What did you expect Stan to say? He gave the newspaper interview because he didn’t fancy putting himself in a position where shareholders could ask him questions. He’s a businessman.
Do you really believe Kroenke doesn’t want the club he has so many shares in, not to be a success?
I don’t, not for one minute..
Oops sorry. Morning Rico.
Lee, why don’t you tell us all exactly what Arsene has at his disposal.
Not guesses, actual facts will do.
You can’t, because no matter what you and others like to tell us, none of us actually know for sure and that causes plenty of disagreements.
I would have asked why are Spurs doing so much better than us on far, far less income and with a much smaller wage bill?
It’s a fair question surely.
Morning Adam, you’d think they’d all know better by now. Imo, all days like yesterday donis bounce the blame around from one to another while Wenger gets away with things…
Thats a very good question Adam, Wenger should have to answer that one…
Scott, can’t you see that for yourself? I can and I don’t need the tea lady to tell me…
Rico,
There is one single person who never holds Arsene responsible for mediocrity, and he’s the man you are tired of me discussing.
Wenger gets away with nothing, and is held accountable for everything.
So what is it, Rico?
How much exactly can Arsene spend each season, because for every rumour we have saying it’s 200 million, there’s another saying it’s 100, and another saying it’s much less.
Swiss Ramble was quite clear that we don’t have anywhere near as much to spend as most think each season and I dare say he’d be a hell of a lot better informed than most.
I don’t know the truth and don’t pretend to, yet others make sweeping comments with no basis, and won’t even attempt to defend or justify them.
Probably because in the main, Wenger is responsible for where we are on the pitch… He chooses who he signs and keeps, or sells or refuses to sign… No one else..
Scott, im not talking about money, im talking about our squad and what Wenger does with it. Not everything comes down to money, it’s about what you do within your budget. You know, like Leicester did and Poch is doing at Spurs.
Rico. Wenger gets what Wenger wants. Stan trusts him it seems and the wage bill is very high. Add to this the list of players he ‘could’ have bought, but didn’t and his truly bizarre comments about Theo yesterday and a picture begins to emerge. No dominant CB for a decade, no commanding World-class CM since when? The Ozil and Sanchez contract situation that I see Stan is trying spin into a positive by the club. But worse of all, a rather spineless character running through the team and very, very few top performances. When they step on the pitch, you never know what to expect these days so add consistency to the list.
But there are no guarantees when appointing a new manager either. I might not agree with it, but I can see why Kroenke offered Wenger a new contract.
Rico, every other club Stan owns is mediocre, so I’m not sure he wants Arsenal to be successful on the pitch as much as off it.
If he does, why is Arsene still in charge?
Meerkat, LC and myself are as critical as anyone is Wenger.
Why is it people on here talk to us as if we think the sun shines out of his arse?
The suggestion that sweeping statements without substance are made on here is harsh Scott..As I’ve just suggested, not everything written refers to money..
Adam, totally agree but I still can’t see why Stan gave Wenger another contract. Well, not entirely..
Rico, If I was blaming Wenger for everything, I could say anything about him I liked.
Fact.
Others do it daily.
That’s a question only Stan can answer Scott.
As for your 9.20, I think as far as you go, it’s not what you say as you are free to have an opinion as we all do in life, but it’s how you put your opinion across. Often hostile, challenging and I can’t speak for anyone else but I don’t always find it very pleasant…
That’s the reason you often end up in moderation overnight…
And you’ve just proved my point…..
Anyway, I have stuff to do this morning so have fun.
I know what you mean Rico but that’s because we are supporters perhaps. The risk might be that a new manager would make big changes to the playing staff that could cost hundreds of millions with the obvious lack of guarantee of success. I suppose Kroenke has to weigh that risk against another few years of Wenger. It’s a judgement call that none of us will ever have to make so we can be rather cavalier with our opinions.
Rico, you take it that way because you disagree with me.
Others are every bit as hostile to me on occasions.
Yeah Brudder a new manager would want a total change of back room staff, the current lot aren’t exactly ripping up trees are they?
Bit like Le Deluded one…
Lee. He very likely would want a new staff or, at least a new assistant etc. But, a look through our squad and the positions that are creaking a bit could well mandate a large outlay. Then again, who really knows whether players like Hector, Iwobi and Ramsey, to name but 3, might respond to new ideas and formations. Giving them in-game responsibilities and instilling more tactical awareness could be interesting. We only know them as Wenger’s players so far. The next manager, whenever that might happen, is going to have to be very, very good.
You mean be managed Brudder?
A novel concept do you think it will catch on?
What if this new manager does tactics too….?
Then we’ll be in uncharted territory. 🙂
Scary times Brudder…
Wenger was at it again playing the history of the club and how he loves it card. Obviously when he met Perez secretly twice in Paris to discuss what he had to offer him at Real Madrid and when he prevaricated ,not for the first time either, on signing a new contract love of AFC was not the issue but others factors such as money and his personal power at AFC were the real more more pressing issues. Wenger is a known control freak and having the power that he possesses at AFC is without doubt the main reason, along with the clubs lower ambitions against those of other big clubs such as Real Madrid ,that has kept him with us for donkeys years yawn … . All of this crap about history and doing things the right way is just more smoke and mirrors from the master of illusion. It’s amazing how quickly he can make a title challenge vanish though.Just like that !
FarcicaI imo, Probably the most contentious AGM yet, how a public company doesn’t allow shareholders a voice is astounding, such a level of arrogance from certain board members that we havn,t seen in football all that often.
Refusing to answer relevant questions in such a disdainful manner, telling one to ‘write in if you have a problem. A certain woman turned down £60k for her 4 shares that have been in her family for 60 years cos she is actually a real fan. Deserved far more respect than the downright refusal to answer her question for the sixth year in a row, on whether the recomposition of the board will be considered.
Keswick was asked if ‘Stan Kroenke can address his fellow shareholders, His reply was ‘read the Daily Telegraph.’ WHAT AN ARROGANT PRICK.
. If it was in any doubt before yesterday, what the club really think about us fans, well now we know, it seems as if they are just not prepared to listen to the average fan. With a board as patronising, out of touch and an embarrassment to this great football club, no wonder apathy is rampant.
You can keep your board and manager, because I despise them all, and all they stand for.
With a swish of Wenger’s cloak and a puff of smoke the title challenge disappeared!!
Only for the last 14 years that is….
When the badge changed for copyright reasons we lost the AFC tag and became Arsenal the business. Since Dein went football interest left the boardroom and fiscal security took over. We can argue round and around the subject all day every day but the truth is that providing we meet the financial demands of the board we have achieved their ambitions.
The club has moved on and yet the supporters in this country especially and a few others that identify with the football side have not..There is no-one with any influence on the board pushing for on the pitch success. The F.A Cup wins are waved as a sop to keep the masses happy and laughably the big pre season friendly is added in too.
Television rights for broadcast all over the world are much more important than the 40 odd thousand lost souls that turn up regularly with a few away supporters and the tourists that spend the cash in the club shops. They ( the rights )are worth well over 100 million per annum to each club plus the extras for the number of times that each club is televised in the premier and a further 30 million from European matches , then there is the value of sponsorships
We are tolerated but not really coveted and our demands are treated with total distain.
I am curious as to why Usmanov voted for the status quo , he is already persona non gratis , so why did he not stand up for the fans and side with their case ? perhaps he saw the removal of Chips as the final straw and feared that Josh would get appointed in his place, we can only surmise.
I am not sure that there is anything that we can do to alter the situation , withdrawing money is the tip of the iceberg , if they don’t fill out 60000 every match and lose say 5000 a match it would only cost them 5 million a season and the chances are they would fill those on pre match sales.
The Kroenkes are here for the long term , they will stay until football crashes and burns and when the golden goose stops laying they will leave . Who knows what will be left when they go but I doubt there will be too many of the Old skool supporters remaining .
Afternoon Rico and All.
Is it not fair to say us gooners,who
have to put up with Arsene on a daily bases,
listening to the pony he comes out with,
day in day out, when its clear to almost all now,
the old boy hasn’t a scooby do with what’s going on.
Blame him. Of coarse..We do
But we all know deep down,
The Syrup(Stan) and Fig(Josh) are using our club
for the prestige.
To them we are Little England our history
and money is what a lot of the big players want.
The list of big boys lining up to buy our club,
seems to be growing every day.
All taking in billions.
Seems the old school tie only guarantees arrogance and not a gentleman these days. But, if the ST holders decided en-masse that they were going to bring matters to a head, they could.
The AGM was the perfect opportunity to meet the fan’s concerns head-on and be totally honest. For some peculiar reason though, they decided to treat their customers as fools and deal with them with disdain and that was a very bad move as far as I am concerned.
Spot on Potter. Spot on.
It’s all about the money and always was for Kroenke. He said so at the outset. He foresaw the TVs deals and was prepared to pay for the right to make hige money without ever having to break sweat. And he has! However, you will not see his sort hang around when the sh1t hits the fan! He’ll be off or rather son Josh, who will be in charge by that stage, will high tail it back to one of his inherited ranches that cover half of Texas.
The Board couldn’t give a flying fcku about the fans, except when they moan and are given oxygen by the media. Not all news is good news for the Kroenkes. But it will still make no difference. If the club were relegated and the brand ceased to make real dollars they may consider pulling out, but I wouldn’t bet on it. Think of the value of the real estate etc!
Sadly I think we fans are the busted flush and we can do nothing about it. Nothing at all!
How bad is that?
In contrast it’s bright blue skies, warmish and windless. Marvellous.
Morning Rico, morning everyone.
Wow, how out of touch are our upper-class hierarchy!!!
I read an interesting stat this morning about Wenger’s first 10 years v his second 10 years, and his record is remarkably similar. His win percentage is right up there, the key difference being the raised level of competition.
Whilst the comparison is a huge positive and a nod to our divisive custodian, the article didn’t further mention the big season-defining games.
In his first 10 years,he had characters who thrived and took the big games by the scruff of the neck and got the job done. Away at Liverpool or Tottenham, no sweat, three points! Even Fergie’s best struggled against us when we were at it.
Some will look at the cold stats and laud Wenger’s consistency, but as always the devil is in the detail.
In his second 10 years, he and his team have more often than not lacked the big game mentality, and are very Jeckyll and Hyde. Sure he’s won three FA Cups recently, but despite its great historical traditions and being the worlds oldest trophy, it now ranks alongside the League Cup. As well as being completely de-valued by the Champions League, nowadays when Arsenal win the FA Cup it comes across very much like a vanity project.
Lee Dixon nailed it for me.
He said he loved playing for Wenger, but would hate to play under him as an 18 year-old because he doesn’t coach. It was Tony Adams who taught Ashley Cole how to defend, which explains why Wenger nearly sold Cashley to Palace for £200k.
Perhaps the most damning indictment for the club and us supporters is that we don’t have a great manager because he doesn’t need to be. He is without doubt one of the luckiest men in football, amassing a personal fortune without ever having to reach the top of his profession. I can’t think of any other manager whose team gets routinely thrashed who is told they’re doing a fantastic job. He is the Derren Brown of football, Kroenke is his pathetic gushing assistant while Basis looks the other way and makes the tea.
I said a while ago that if there aren’t major restructural changes, including the football philosophy, Arsenal will cease to be a competitive force. Only the fans can save the club now, they have to mobilise and let Kroenke know exactly what we think of him. The pressure needs to be ramped up so his ownership becomes toxic. Whether the fans have the appetite and collective energy for such a fight remains to be seen – we have some very high-profile fans working in the media with a global reach – but it is a battle that could define the club’s long-term future as well as it’s global identity.
Kroenke, Wenger and Gasifier all need dispatching. As for the BoD, has any other club in world football got an older, more f*cked-up, snobbish Board of Directors than Arsenal???
When you’re one of the richest football clubs on the planet but season after season make ridiculous excuses for not being anywhere near competing for the big two prizes, it makes no sense to continue supporting that project.
The club and it’s supporters are being held to ransom by a manager too terrified to retire because he has no life away from football, and an owner terrified of change. Two old men who flatly refused to acknowledge and address the gravity of our circumstances because of their own personal vanity.
How much change do the fans want, and how far are they prepared to go to initiate the level of change required?
*Basis = Gazidis. Bleeding auto-correct!!!
Potter, so very well put but makes such sad reading…
Afternoon Fred, Herb and all…
Herb, as much as Kroenke and the board really cheese me off, even more so after yesterday, I remain of the opinion that until Wenger departs and a more demanding manager, who knows what football in 2018 will be about, we don’t know what Kroenke is really about. How can he allow Wenger to spend the amount he did on Ozil and Lacazette but then be deemed unambitious…
Herb , they don’t recognise the the ” gravity of our circumstances ” because it’s not in their interests to do so.
The Kroenkes will look at the financial rewards for winning the major competitions , weigh up what it would cost to get 3 more £ 50 million players , wages etc just to go into the hat and compete against their already lucrative income and conclude that it’s not financially viable , The rest of the board are just nodding dogs only there to do Stan’s bidding, and Wenger is just plainly deluded believing that he can refind the mojo he lost all those years ago.
Hi Rico, there are two different dynamics here. I agree that Wenger has been given more than enough money to win both the Premier and Champions League(s), but there is still the self-financing issue.
We all pretty much agree that Wenger is a washed-up egotistical megalomaniac, but Kroenke must shoulder the responsibility too.
As Cornwall keeps religiously pointing out, Kroenke could make us competitive at the top end, but simply refuses.
(Hi Cornwall, hope you’re good).
Would Kroenke even know who Pep, Pochettino or Ancelotti are if he were introduced to them? Would he know, or more pertinently, would he be impressed or interested in their work and what they’ve achieved?
Kroenke’s wealth dwarfs that of Roman’s over at Chelsea, but Roman wants Chelsea to be the best and has heavily invested his own resources to make it happen. Arsenal obsess with balancing the books, while other more ambitious pro-active clubs recognise the importance of success on the park.
Wenger is annoyingly and arrogantly frugal, but only because there is no-one above him pushing him to do better.
What amazes me is that so many Arsenal fans were hoodwinked by both Kroenke and Wenger.
Hi Potter, now is the time for fans to stand up and be counted. We have some powerful people in positions of real influence, time for them to put up or shut up. Let’s see how deep their passion is for our once great club.
My guess on why Usmanov voted for Josh and the pompous twit and brainless Lord Chips to remain in their posts is that he thinks that their incompetence will bring the Kroenke regime down quicker ! It’s like the allies not assassinating Hitler during the war because someone taking over with more idea of what they were doing would have made it harder for the allies to win the war. Things could start to go wrong for the Stan biz plan however if the decline at AFC continues . Sponsors expect Champions League football and title challenges to be on the menu for the TV show advertising malarkey that they pay for. Uzmanov is probably biding his time waiting for an opportune moment to make his play or he is just a complete idiot with more money than sense who likes to be humiliated by not having a seat on the AFC mock board despite being a major shareholder.
Evening all.
Agree there Adam, we may not like it but you/we can understand Kroenke extending Wenger`s contract…………………they are a match made in their own heaven !
🙂
Hope you dont mind Rico, here`s some Arseblog stuff on our arrogant board !…..
https://arseblog.com/2017/10/arseblog-keswick-kroenke-fail-hide-contempt/
And……………….
http://news.arseblog.com/2017/10/arsenal-2017-agm-the-chips-are-down/
Did you get my calling Herb ?
🙂
Hi Herb. Didn’t Pep want Arsenal ahead of City? But Wenger, being Wenger, didn’t realise is time was up…
Good question Jeff, but if Usmanov really wanted Arsenal, surely with his money, he could get it…
At the end of the day Kroenke owns 67% of ……………….(I`d like to say our club, but I dont have or own a single share and have only invested my entire life of loving The Arsena)l………………………….Arsenal Football Club and his total investment of his own money into the club is 0%…………………………………………..each and everyone of us who hasn`t any shares owns 0% of Arsenal Football Club , but have put more money into the club than Kroenke has ever !
I still find it unbelievable that arrogant twerps like Chips are given seats on the board and Usmanov with over 30% of shares is declined a seat !……………………….no wonder we are stagnant and decaying whilst others push on !
As a complete opposite to our stagnation and decay off the pitch………………..I predict a record EPL win tomorrow as long as our Holy Trinity are on the pitch at the same time !……………infact I expect record wins in every game they play untill January………….we know what could be coming in January dont we !………………one or two of The Holy Trinity could be gone ! hahaha
Did you know an anagram of Alisher Usmanov is ……………A Manholes Virus !……………………………shame Kroenke couldn`t catch it !
Morning all.
Such a bright future we seem to have.
Does the Yank give a shit what he’s doing to the club and it’s fans?
Does Arsene?
Does Arsene really still believe he’s the right man for the job?
Stan obviously does.
We are fukked, to be honest.
At least more and more are starting to now point the finger directly at Stan.
Arsene is merely his puppet, yet doesn’t realise it, but Stan is the cancer at the club and most now realise it.
I’ve said it before-part of the reason Stan keeps Wenger is because the manager cops and readily accepts so much flak which diverts attention from the real problem.
Most men would walk away and spill the truth but for some reason, Arsene toils on.
Yep, fukked is the right word for it!!!!!
“Arsene is merely his puppet, yet doesn’t realise it”………surely that makes Arsene a muppet !
I take it everyone is happy with our home draw against West Ham in the league cup, it’s gotta be worth a mention lol.
Bird eating fish on Blue Planet II….
Who would have believed it..?
Nighty night…
Kev they’ll be fans blaming Stan for Wenger’s pathetic CL and PL performances over the last 14 years……wonders will never cease!!
Never fear Lee, Wenger says he’s hungrier than ever so either he’s been starving himself in order to stay trim, or he’s going all out to win the League Cup…. At least there’s no chance of him cocking up our CL journey this season…
Morning all..
Morning Rico. I imagine Arsene feels as if he has unfinished business at the club. 🙂
Just been reading about the Catalan situation and wonder how it might impact Barcelona FC.
Morning Adam, hasn’t he been saying that for years? ?
The stuff in Spain is awful.. Shouldn’t affect the football though should it?
See you on the new post, it’s just gone up..