Morning all.
Well I guess that should be the end of the Arsenal departures. For now anyway. Ivan Gazidis is off to Italy. He’ll officially leave the building on the 1st December and seeing as his job was so so big and important, two Arsenal employees have been appointed to take his place.
Yep, I was way off the mark yesterday when tipping Josh Kroenke for the job, darn it. Raul Sanllehi and Vinai Venkatesham will now be the guys responsible for making all the big decisions. Sanllehi has been promoted from Head of Football Relations to simply Head of Football. Meanwhile Venkatesham has become the new Managing Director after holding the Chief Commercial Officer role for four years.
Sanllehi is no great surprise, not after the job he did at Barcelona and if he can do something similar for us, it can only be positive. A man well respected in the game and someone who knows what he’s doing. A football man through and through. I bet he wouldn’t have offered that extra £1 for Suarez.
I knew nothing about Venkatesham until I read about him yesterday and even now I’m not entirely sure what he’s been doing for the last eight years. Originally he was appointed Head of Global Partnerships at the club but within four years, he was promoted to Chief Commercial Officer.
Outside of the club and for the last two years, he has acted as the Non Executive Director for both the British Olympic Association and 2017 IAAF World Championships & World ParaAthletics Championships – the latter of which he was also an Audit Committee Member. There’s more, he was also the Commercial Manager for London 2012 where he lead negotiations for various sponsorship, hospitality, merchandising and broadcast deals including Adidas, BT, Cadburys, Channel 4 and Thomas Cook. (Don’t tell Ozil about Thomas Cook)
So I guess his niche is money. Making it. And whilst he’s doing that, Sanllehi will be spending it. I doubt the Spaniard is a ditherer when it comes to getting transfer over the line and our own transfer signings made back in the summer would support that theory because not only did we make five additions to the squad, they were all done pretty early. I’m sure he’d have been part of the negotiating team by then, especially if the club already knew Gazidis was likely to leave.
‘For the last 10 years I have been privileged to dedicate myself to this great club. Arsenal is entering a new chapter and I have done everything I can to ensure that it is strongly placed to take on that challenge. This includes world-class facilities and outstanding leaders in every sector who carry the values of the club, including, of course, Unai Emery, Raul Sanllehi and Vinai Venkatesham in whom I have enormous faith.
‘We have rebuilt the off-field capability of the club, which is necessary for prolonged success in modern football, we have recently concluded new primary partnership deals that, together with the new league broadcast deals, secure our medium term financial future, we have updated our stadium and rebuilt our training facilities so that they are now world class and we have transitioned to a new football structure that is capable of taking the club confidently into the future. I am proud to say we have done this while building on the club’s progressive social values, leading the way on the women’s game as well as diversity and inclusion and establishing The Arsenal Foundation, which supports these values around the world in difficult places such as Iraq and Jordan and complements our extraordinary work in our local community. This will remain central to the club’s philosophy.
‘Given this platform, I know many will think this is a strange time to be leaving but I believe it is the right time for me and for the club. Change and succession is not only inevitable for a club like Arsenal, it is necessary if it is continually to keep moving forward. One of my primary responsibilities as chief executive has been to make sure that there is good succession planning in every position in the club, including my own.
‘Although it is very hard to do – the hardest decision of my life – I believe that, after 10 years, it is the right time for me to step aside to allow new leadership, energy and ideas to take the club forward into this exciting new era. I believe in the positive force of change, both for me and for the club. While this is the most difficult and challenging course for me, I am excited to see what the future holds for this great club.
‘After so many years at Major League Soccer and Arsenal, I am now looking forward to joining one of the world’s other great clubs, AC Milan, and working to restore it to its rightful place in football. Until then, I will continue to devote absolutely all my energy until my last day to ensure an orderly transition for the benefit of Arsenal.
‘My sincere thanks go to Stan and Josh Kroenke for their support and guidance on everything we have done. To Sir Chips Keswick, Lord Phil Harris, Ken Friar and my wonderful management team and staff, on and off the field, to Arsene Wenger, Unai Emery and to the fans of this giant and incredible club, thank you for your immense support and friendship over so many years and for the wonderful privilege of being part of the journey. We lived through many emotions together, the highs and the lows of football, and I am proud to be able to say that I gave this club and its fantastic people everything that I had in me. I am excited and energised for the future for myself and for Arsenal and I will always hold it in my heart.’
That was longwinded, nice though. I kind of admire him for being honest. Ten years is a long time to stay in any one job in football. He saw first hand how carrying on despite not improving anything failed for Arsene Wenger and the club. Overstaying caused Arsenal to regress as a football team under the Frenchman and clearly he doesn’t want to hinder the club’s chance of further success by overstaying his welcome. He’s done all he can he’s saying and now it’s someone else’s time to move us further forwards.
Change is good as with it brings new, different and often improved ideas and that’s something we need. Improvement on the way the players contracts are handled, kit deals and any other financial deals which other clubs are doing much better than us at. The more money the club makes and I don’t mean from the pockets of fans, the more likely it is the squad will benefit.
So thanks Ivan Gazidis and good luck in Italy.
I wonder if there’s any chance of him persuading his new club to sign a few of our players? We’ve a few who could do with a new challenge…..
Have a good Wednesday guys, Autumn has well and truly arrived here in the sticks…
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Good morning Rico as I said yesterday, losing Gazidis and his knowledge of global football is not ideal but it seems the club has been well prepared to handle the transition to a more modern set-up than was the case under Wenger. I wish Ivan good luck with his new job in the cess pit that is Italian football administration, he’ll need it.
The appointment of Vinai Venkatesham may prove to be quite a coup. Finding sponsorship in the over-subscribed football market can’t be easy, but his wide experience in other fields may enable him to exploit areas not previously tapped by football clubs. Just no tacky betting sites please.
A lovely autumn day here in delightful Norfolk, warm, sunny and windy but dry. definitely a day to get the washing out on the line.
Morning Cicero.
I’m not so sure re Gazidis. No doubt he’s done a lot of good things but off the pitch, I’m not convinced the club has really progressed. I think someone stronger has been needed for a while, someone with a more ruthless streak who can act quicker and be more decisive.
Two men who seem to know their stuff could improve us a lot.
I know Stewart Robson is a bit of a twit with an axe to grind, but I read a piece from him about Gazidis and he really slated him for the way he goes about his work..
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Rico, the one area Gazidis failed in was getting rid of Wenger. He should have done it three or four seasons ago, but perhaps the Kroenkes wouldn’t allow it, at least until they had their noses rubbed in the heap of s**t Wenger was creating.
That was a big failure though Cicero and did us a lot of harm. But yes, perhaps his hands were tided.
But as said, I admire him for knowing when it’s time to move on and let the club do the same.
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As a radio and TV pundit and reporter at Arsenal TV he may well have had access to some of the in-house dealings of Gazidis, but he certainly never made a conscious effort to expose any of his perceived failings. He “left” Arsenal TV in 2016, maybe he is airing a grievence.
Morning all.
As much as I’ve stated I didn’t think Gazidis has actually done that much for the club, the fact Robson is criticisihbhkm makes me suddenly like Ivan, because that other guy is pond scum.
I’ve told Sean to keep his eye out for a Blonde Adonis, which shouldn’t be hard to find in Holland hahahaha
He’s playing v PSV Eindhoven this arvo so let’s hope the Dutch club get sorted twice in 24 hours, but somehow, I doubt it lol
Anyway, I wish Ivan good luck as he’s been pretty respectful in leaving, and he will find things very different in Italy.
That jibberish should read “criticising”.
Mikel Arteta has said that he has no regrets about not getting the Arsenal job as he believes he’s at the best club in the world. With Guardiola suspended for tonight’s Champions League match, the little Spaniard will be in charge.
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I’ve changed from grey to green and gone into moderation, but the comment appeared anyway.
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..and back to grey.
Robson wasn’t being horrible though Scott, just saying that like Wenger, he’s not a good negotiator and because of that, other clubs love him. We often ask the question about how other clubs seem to get premium prices for their players yet we don’t. Well perhaps there’s the answer…
I saw it in there Cicero.. lol
Yeah that’s a fair call, Rico.
Well, it would be if someone else said it 🙂 🙂
I just can’t stand that man.
Cicero, at your age, distasteful tough it is, you should embrace ,grey, and flaunt it!! I mean, it’s not really even an avatar or emoji,
I bet beneath his bald pate, Gazidis is well grey!😊
As for his passing I’m not sure he dug up many trees in his ten year tenure. However, a better attuned CEO would have eased old Arsene out of the club years ago. So, our demise is all Ivan’s fault!
The new men? Well, we’ll see, but so far so good I think.
Morning all. Bright, windy and warm here, just now, gales to come it seems.
Morning Rico and all. I’m afraid that Stewart Robson is so psychologically against Arsenal for imagined reasons that nothing that comes out of his mouth could be called “informed”. He is also a deeply unpleasant man who simply cannot accept his irrelevance to the club. And getting the sack didn’t help of course.
All these blokes are committed Arsenal men with a lifelong love for the club until they catch the whiff of a few quid wafting through the ether. No doubt Ivan will be spouting about his deep lifelong admiration for wherever he is going very soon. Mind you, he did pull the plug on Wenger.
He’s definitely mr marmite Scott, a bit like Piers Morgan and Katie Hopkins.. lol
Apparently though, he’s a tactical genius… Probably why Wenger got rid of him.
Hi Wavy, I like that expression re the trees, nice way to describe Gazidis tenure at Arsenal.
Morning Adam. The best thing Ivan ever did. Better late than never I guess.
Rico. Agreed. I imagine we might be witnessing the changing of the guard at the club, especially where the money men are concerned.
Generally speaking it seems though the game itself is changing as the really big money takes over. Witness PSG last night. What a weird team with most of the players there for the financial rewards. Klopp’s teeth though, remain a thing of wonder.
Absolutely Adam. I guess the final part will be the ownership.
Should be stable then though and in a good place. As long as the money is made available to Emery, things could be on the rise at last.
I imagine that Putin might want to buy the club from the Kroenkes. After all he is one of the World’s richest men who earns about £70k a year.
Adam, I hear he sells newspapers on the side to supplement his income, though.
PSG have 11 superbly talented individuals on the pitch, and individually is how they play.
Hi Scott. Yes, Vlad’s been saving hard alright.
The current hype surrounding Liverpool is quite something in the UK. I haven’t seen a team ‘buy’ so many free kicks since Phil Thompson got the record for pass backs to the goalkeeper when it was legal to pick the ball up. Was it 173 times in one game? A glance through the online press today suggests that Ivan’s resignation has caused barely a raised eyebrow in the world of football. Apart, that is, from one excoriating piece by someone called Charles Watts. I think that’s his name but perhaps it is the nom de plume of Stewart Robson.
Got to do it first Cicero.
Lol Adam,
He never misses a chance, our Stewart!!
I don’t watch a hell of a lot of games, but I’ve alteady seen Salah flopping around the place!!
Was he like that last season, or is it a newly acquired skill?
Going grey Cicero ? You need to put colour catcher in that washing.
As for Robson he only spouted what was being said on the forums , I never heard him come up with anything original but then that’s why the anti Arsenal media love him and give him airtime.
Morning all and thank you Rico for a fine post that will divide opinion on whether Gazidi$ was admired or not.
I just wonder what position we would have been in if Dein had been CEO instead of Gazidi$ as I think Dein was probably the only person on the planet who could influence Wenger.
In other news it is claimed that Tony Blair is being considered as the Chairman of The Premier League !…………..London Colney will be invaded as he will have more chance of finding weapons of mass destruction at The Arsenal than in Iraq !………………..see what I did there !………………such satire is worthy of Mock the Week !
🙂
I’m hoping Liverpool crash big time Adam. Horrid lot.
As for Stewart Robson an anagram of his name is……………..Own Tosser Brat !
Thanks Lc, I’m with you on Dein. Wenger had so much respect for him. I’ll have to fish out my old magazines to see who the other applicant was, I’m sure he was a better option..
Me too Rico. Good team. Ghastly club. Bizarre dentistry.
I always read BBC news as first port of call on internet for obviously news, weather, sport, health etc`, but caught an article today on whether Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street are best friends or gay ?………………….they`re fcuking puppets !……………………sorry to disappoint you all ! 😆
Very environmental Bindipper FC is, Adam !…………………Klopp, Firmino and co get a feed in tarif for the solar power their teeth generate !……………………..aliens from Uranus look up at the night sky and excitably comment about the glow generated from Earthflings Klopp and co !
Had my flu jab today so may come over a little stranger than normal !
One man team though Adam, Salah.. 😉
Impossible Lc… lol
Talking of which !………….whilst commenting on here I have one eye on This Morning with Phil and Holly and there`s some geezder on there talking about finally having sex using his bionic penis !…………………….am I hallucinating or something ? 😯
What next ?………………………..Klopp appears from behind the sofa with his teeth generating the power for the mans bionic penis !…………………..I need to lay down !
Sleep well LC bahahahah
Rico. We should have bought VVD when he was at Celtic. I believe we spoke about it at the time.
We did Adam.
Morning all.
Just spoke to the lad.
They lost 1-0 to PSV’s academy side.
The coach who went over is Dutch and went through the Ajax academy.
He’s had a lot to do with the type of coaching/training being done at the School and was damn nervous about these games for fear of our lads being shown up badly, so I’d say he’d be quite chuffed at this result.
He hinted to me if we kept these sides to less than 5-6 goals, he’d count it as a decent result as though our kids all can play, they’re not necessarily the best kids around as the school isn’t selective, where obviously these clubs would have the pick of kids in their respective cities.
Seems Aussies can play a bit of football if coached the right way and I’ve said before that the coaching is what we’ve lacked-our players lack technique.
We’ve always produced world class athletes in all sports so there had to be a reason we weren’t getting success in the beautiful game.
I’m just sitting here smiling!!
City losing 2-0 at home. Against Lyon…
Not many though Scott. Lol
Nice one Scott .
Indeed, Rico, but I live in hope hahahaha
Thanks LC-little mate was rcoaching entry happy, and very tired but they’ve got a few days now until the next game so training sessions and site seeing is on the cards.
Off to work now-someone has to pay for his jet setting lifestyle 🙂
Everyone starts somewhere Scott.. lol
Yes, they do, Rico.
Even I can’t decipher what the first line of that comment I wrote should read lol
Bloody hell!!!!
Morning guys.
New post up now.