No one player/person is bigger than the club……

Morning Gooners,

I want to talk about some of the things I have read in Houser’s comments, well one in particular.

‘ No one player/person is bigger than the club’

I have used this expression before myself and  but I’m starting to think about its merits.  

Many times I have read that statement and many times I have just accepted it, but why is the Club so special that somebody has to suffer through no fault of their own?

What makes the Arsenal so big and powerful as is it in the years it has been going which is it now 126.

Is it the amount of money the club is worth as the last time I checked we were registered as the 5th richest club in the world.

Is it the history behind the club and all the tradition that makes it so special?

Personally I don’t know what the reasons are but people are important and whether you believe the club is more important than people is your own opinion, but at the end of the day Arsenal football Club was founded by people, run by people and has been kept alive by people.

So, everything that Arsenal Football Club stands for right now was put in place by people and has remained only because them and the finances they have put into the club over the years.

So the next time you read that statement, no matter what has happened over time, without people, we wouldn’t have the club we support.

Fabrice Muamba almost died during a football match after collapsing and actually being declared ‘dead’ for a period of time, but  for the right help he received at the time, he would have no doubt not be here today to tell the story. So again, people, trained in first aid saved his life.

Football Club buildings, stadium and training facilities are just there for our benefit, they are just bricks and mortar, material things but all built by…. yes, people!

In the case of Arsenal FC you have to look at the supporters, people who have paid year after year for their season tickets, a seat with their number on it and they are the ones who have help pay over time for what we all see today. In fact they are what Arsenal Football Club is about.

It may go on for another 126 years but it will need supporters to keep it going and they are just people like you and me, we are Arsenal FC.

While I am on the subject you know that American guy Stan Kroenke, the guy most supporters hate  and the one they like to call names. The guy who owns 60% percent of the shares, yes that’s him!

If he was to suddenly lose interest in Arsenal FC and wanted to pack up and walk away, he could in theory collapse the club. It wouldn’t be easy but just one person could do that if he so wanted, so maybe one person is can be bigger than AFC.

People will be here forever, remember that when you next abuse somebody, everybody deserves to have their views heard, even me, so take it easy with your comments. 😉

Have a lovely day all.

COYG’s

Written by Steve Palmer

0 thoughts on “No one player/person is bigger than the club……

  1. rico says:

    Morning all…

    Interesting post there Steve, but for once, I disagree..

    If SK decides to call it a day, in will come AU

    If players leave, others will want to join.

    If one fan gives up his ST, another will soon take it.

    If the manager walks away, there will be plenty in the queue wanting to take his job….

    People come and go in all walks of life and each one plays his/her own important part but we are all dispensable and life goes on, just as Arsenal FC will, regardless of who comes and goes….

  2. Will says:

    For me, the statement is for those players who think that without them the club would go under and try to hold the club for ransom while demanding Man City level wages.

    But on the flip side and going back a couple of entries when people were slating Hill-Wood. Arsenal is Hill-Wood and that family defines The Arsenal and without them we would be the tower without the Ravens.

    Now, let’s get this next international games over and get back to what really matters supporting the greatest football team the world has ever seen.

  3. rico says:

    I think it deeper that that Will, into the staff and all involved with the club, but that’s just my own view.

    On and off for a couple of hours so catch up in a bit…

  4. Scott from Oz says:

    Im having a little each way.
    I believe that there is no person bigger than the club,but Arsenal FC wouldn’t exist without a hell of a lot of people.
    Even the guys/girls cleaning the stadium are a necessity.
    Nobody is irreplacable,but nobody should ever,ever be taken for granted.

  5. TT says:

    None is bigger than the club in my opinion steve. SK could walk away but that alone would not collapse the club because as far as I know he can not asset strip the club or load it with dept with out changing the club constitution or laws. And for that I am pretty sure you need 75 % of the shears.

    Chelsky or Shitty are in far more danger from one man than we will ever be because they are owned in totality by one entity.

    As for players or managers they come and go, so do the fans but the club is eternal.

  6. allezkev says:

    Morning Gooners.
    Morning Rico.
    Food for thought Steve.
    Funny, but they only seem to make ‘that’ statement when discussing sporting institutions and in particular football clubs.
    You never hear someone say that Tesco’s or Marks & Spencer is bigger than any one of it’s employee’s.

  7. Adam says:

    Morning Rico and all. One thing is certain. There would be no Arsenal without the fans. Hill-Wood means nothing to Arsenal but his father did. This Hill-Wood is an embarrassment to the club and is the front man for certain Russian businessmen. I imagine Kroenke keeps him there as a totemic link to the past.
    I agree with Rico that if Kroenke sells up, as he surely will, then AU will come in. The most important person at the club at the moment is Arsene Wenger.

  8. TT says:

    I’d say he is everything BUT a front man for a certain Russian Businessmen, in fact I think he has made it abundantly clear that he holds AU in contempt.

  9. Goonerboy says:

    The way the club is run and supported now, there is one person who has by some, been elevated to be bigger than the club, and that is Arsene Wenger. I do not agree with it, but there are some doomsayers, who think without Arsene, the club will die.

    The Club is bigger than the supporters also – its just a question of how many!!!

  10. Lee says:

    Morning all…
    Hill-Wood in stinging attack on US tycoon Kroenke

    Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood has launched an amazing attack on US billionaire Stan Kroenke saying he knows “sweet FA about our football” and insisting “we don’t want his sort” at the club.
    The bitter fallout from the departure of vice-chairman David Dein – who was ousted after ‘plotting’ with Kroenke for a possible takeover – intensified today as the 71-year-old chairman insisted they will resist any hostile American takeover “with all their might”.

    While the fans’ concern is over the long-term future of manager Arsene Wenger – who had a crisis meeting with Hill-Wood yesterday where he expressed his huge disappointment over Dein’s departure – the board are moving to head off threats of a takeover from Kroenke, who owns 11 per cent of the club.
    Dein, who Hill-Wood claims is “in league” with Kroenke, is thought to be considering a joint takeover bid with the American, but Hill-Wood is determined to block it and “keep Arsenal English”.
    Old Etonian Hill-Wood today made his criticisms of the American personal by saying: “Americans are buying up chunks of Premiership clubs to make money. They know absolutely sweet FA about our football.
    “Call me old fashioned, but we don’t need his money and we don’t want his sort. To sell for someone to use Arsenal as a lucrative toy to make money is completely unthinkable. I don’t know for certain if Kroenke will mount a hostile takeover, but we shall resist it with all our might. I am not complacent at all.”
    Hill-Wood insists any takeover would not make a significant difference to the amount of money Wenger would have to spend.
    He added: “We are all being seduced that the Americans will ride into town with pots of cash for new players. It simply isn’t the case.
    “He would have to spend a fortune to buy the club, he has already spent millions acquiring shares, so who thinks he is then going to spend fortunes on players? Take it from me, he won’t be doing that.”

  11. Lee says:

    Arsenal’s chairman, Peter Hill-Wood has gone on to hit back at Alisher Usmanov, following the majority share holder criticizing the club and its operations in recent years.

    Following Van Persie releasing a statement, which revealed that he wouldn’t be extending his stay with the club, Usmanov went on to release a statement of his own.

    The share holder went on to hit out at the club and its business model in an open letter.

    However, Hill-Wood had gone on to lash out at Usmanov’s claims and stated that he is only looking to seize the opportunity and destabilize the club, in order to become the primary major share holder at the club.

    Hill-Wood is quoted to have said: “It was nice to make that money, but I was never involved in Arsenal for that reason.”

    “I was involved because I have been brought up to love Arsenal and that is my only concern.”

    “I do not know what he [Usmanov] is trying to do really, I don’t think he is right.”Hill-Wood also stressed that Arsenal cannot go head-to-head financially with the likes of Manchester City and that is why the club must take care of its money.”

    He continued: “We don’t have the same oil wealth that [City’s owner] Sheikh Mansour has. He is prepared to pay astronomical figures for players; we cannot pay that sort of money, and we can’t compete.”

    So far, Arsenal remain to be one of the few teams that aren’t suffering from any debt related problems. However, with the team moving to the Emirates, they have been forced to let go of their top players time and time again.

    The team has also failed to win a trophy in the last seven years, which can prove to be a major problem for the team.

    Not only is this going to fail to convince the top players to join the team, but it is going to constantly leave room for some of the current squad members to leave, in order to win trophies.

    Something at the club needs to be changed, in order to help them win big again, but for the time being it is quite unclear what the source of all the problems is.

  12. Adam says:

    Lee. It’s surprising how a few quid changes people’s minds isn’t it?
    When I see yet another rant by serial moron Ian Wright about the stinginess of the board and the lack of funds, etc.etc. I always remember who Wrighty sold his shares to.

  13. Scott from Oz says:

    Fair call Adam,but Gooners dont want Usmanov in for his love of the club…..i guarantee plenty here know more about the joint than he does.
    Money changes everything.

  14. Scott from Oz says:

    It sucks.
    I honestly wish i could work my 45-50 hours a week,have my bills paid,get a car upgrade every few years and be handed some play money each week!
    Aaaahhhhh,for the simple life.

  15. Scott from Oz says:

    Thanks mate.
    I just found a South African Gooner and her hubby are coming over for a visit in 6 weeks…….she will be here for the “we hate Van Utd” game,and the Melbourne Cup.
    Its an open house here for Gooners!!

  16. SD London says:

    Hi Steve,
    I disagree as well , what the statement :No one player/person is bigger than the club……
    Meant was that Arsenal FC is a club but has become an institution of the years and true as a result of what people has done for the club but that doesn’t make them bigger than the club.

    Out goes the old in comes the new is the cycle.

    RVP thinks he can do better than playing for us and Podolski and Giroud thinks they have a wonderful opportunity.

    Please as per RVP case , his plan back fired because he thought his web statement was what prompted the club to buy Zarzola and Giroud because rumour had it that he was telling team mates that he might stay at

    Arsenal but Wenger already made up his mind because RVP crossed the line by going public about what he thinks about transfer policy.

    Wenger had to show him who was the boss, ARSENAL FC comes first.

  17. rico says:

    Afternoon everyone…

    Kip, don’t come on here with that kind of comment, we don’t do that here, either go back to where you normally blog or agrre to abide by the HH rules, simples!

  18. SD London says:

    Where is everybody ?

    Oh Dear dear !

    Damn International week , everybody has lost their voice.

    Fergie is dreaming of getting Ronaldo back at any cost (even though he has a 120Mil Euro buy out caluse on him)

    Fergie must really not know the value of the £ or Euro.

    any normal company would have sacked him by now with the way he spends. But then football clubs are not normal companies.

  19. rico says:

    She’ll love it Lee, Dave and the children = a perfect Saturday afternoon for her….

    Giroud to get off the mark on Saturday I think….

  20. Will says:

    Adam says:
    September 10, 2012 at 9:45 am
    Morning Rico and all. One thing is certain. There would be no Arsenal without the fans. Hill-Wood means nothing to Arsenal but his father did. This Hill-Wood is an embarrassment to the club and is the front man for certain Russian businessmen. I imagine Kroenke keeps him there as a totemic link to the past.

    This sounds very school boy.

  21. Micko says:

    Afternoon all,
    I wonder if Adam is old enough to remember when beer was three pence a loaf.
    This break is worse than pre-season, will it ever end !

  22. rico says:

    I don’t think so Will, one persons view and that is Adams, can’t see why you would think that sounds ‘school boy’.

    Or would it be because it’s not your own view?

  23. rico says:

    You know that suggestion is crazy Will, I say nothing different this season as I did last…

    I happen to think PHW is a twurp these days, we all know we can’t comepete with the sugar daddies, but we also all know that he didn’t want SK anywhere near the club too…

    He speaks in riddles imho….

  24. Will says:

    It sounds name calling without substance. So anyone care to post up his last comments about not being able to compete and we can debate them?

  25. Adam says:

    Micko. I can remember when you could take a family of 4 to the cinema, feed them bread and dripping and still have change out of a farthing.

  26. rico says:

    I’m not dissecting any comments, the rules here are simple, no ‘c’ word and don’t insult other bloggers, i am entitled to my opinion, just as you and everyone is and do. Only difference is, most don’t have to resort to being sarcastic….

    This is just what you did a year ago Will, I am sure you do it for a response….

  27. rico says:

    But we all know we can’t compete with the suga daddies, we don’t have to be rocket scientists to know that, and most here don’t want us to or expect us too. Be nice though if once a year we actually spent our budget!!

  28. Will says:

    Rico,, you plainly don’t like me, you have made that seriously obvious. If all you want are yes men here ,tell me and I will never return. I am not being sarcastic at all but as a die in the wool Gooner from the early 70’s, I take offence at someone slagging the man at the head of the family that has done more for this damn football club that all the fucking family members of anyone who reads this blog. What did Hell-Wood say that deserved the slagging he got on here and the insults that you don’t like being used on here to readers of this blog?

    He said we can’t compete financially and we can’y spend £50M on a single player. We shock fucking horror, let’s put the poor old bastard in a home right now he has plainly gone senile. But wait, who said this:

    “We live within our resources, when we make money that is because we have worked well and made good decisions.
    “It is a bit difficult to live in that environment. It’s not because you cannot be successful. I believe that you can be successful despite the fact that some teams have more money.
    “But what it does is put a lot of pressure on the wages of the players in the other clubs.”

    Is that any different to saying we can’t spend £50M on a player or is it that Hill-Wood is an easy target? We can insult a man who has dedicated his life to running the club the right way but woe betide any who dare question a faceless being on the internet who believes he can insult a public figure.

    Your hypocrisy is open for all to see.

  29. rico says:

    Will, that is absolute poppycock about me not liking you, i don’t even know you!

    You have made that assumption.

    As for HH, it will live on no doubt regardless of who chooses to post on here and it’s up to you where you go but here you have to understand that just because you don’t like critical things being said about PHW, Wenger or anyone else at the club, it doesn’t mean others have to think the same…..

    Yes, the man has said things that are truthful and as I said, we all know what they are but then again, he says a lot of things which are simply silly…

    Hyprocrisy, I’ll think about that….

  30. Will says:

    So let me get this right Rico, it is ok for the likes of Adam to insult Hill-Wood but not ok for me to insult Adam?

    It is no the fact that people disagree with Hill-Wood but the insulting things said about him are disgusting. It is cowardly to insult the man where he is not going to see it and i am still waiting to see the evidence that Hill-Wood is a front man for a Russian.

  31. rico says:

    Shall we draw a line under this here and now, we don’t want a free for all…

    Will, if you have a problem with me, then please email me and I’ll answer you..

  32. rico says:

    Will.

    ‘So let me get this right Rico, it is ok for the likes of Adam to insult Hill-Wood but not ok for me to insult Adam’?

    Yes, as long as he doesn’t call him a ‘c’ word. The rules are not to insult eachother.

    If PHW comes on here, then that answer would change to ‘no’….

  33. Will says:

    Adam says:
    September 10, 2012 at 3:57 pm
    You couldn’t insult me if you tried Will. You are way, way too stupid

    Ha ha ha ha and it only took you 20 minutes to research that one. Good for you.

  34. Adam says:

    That’s right Will. I was just getting over the feelings of Coulrophobia that you excite on this blog.
    You may look that word up on your computer,
    But keep digging Will. You are going exactly the same way as the other Will. He vowed never to come back either.

  35. Will says:

    Oohhhhh big words, OK masser you win, just don’t whip me masser.

    You retard, you insult men on a blog that don’t even read the blog and you accuse without substance.

    I quote “This Hill-Wood is an embarrassment to the club and is the front man for certain Russian businessmen.” Proof please or just admit that you are a cretinous buffoon and we can all enjoy afternoon tea.

  36. allezkev says:

    Reasons to be cheerful/cheerfull.
    My curry this Thursday…
    Pity your not over Mick.
    We’ll have to try and rope you in next time.

  37. allezkev says:

    I would like to put on record, how sorry I am for being the instigator of all the discord that has occured on here today.
    I wish to apologise to the Norwegians.
    I also wish to apologise to Micko.

    I blame Stan… 😀

  38. goonster says:

    i blame W.A.TH……morning HH, gosh you lot just know how to bicker(spelling) adam you wuss stop picking on poor old will. pick on someone your size.like me. AK, how’s swindlings? lee, i miss ya fella. rico, stop being a boss lady and let will insult adam. he’s a plonker.

  39. goonster says:

    hahahahahaah lee, no nailing for me buddy………am taking a break from all things skirts. i ve got bigger problems on my hands.

  40. goonster says:

    am on sabbatical AK, my last “sexacapade” didnt go quite well. broke me waist. so how are ya big fella? stuck on london bridge again are ya?

  41. goonster says:

    nah adam you re puppy doll incapable of anything evil……its all W.A.T.H’s fault. that guy just irks me……grrrrrrrrrr.

  42. rico says:

    Hello again….

    emma, i hope that Diaby out is AW stepping in and not allowing him two games – we need him for us before France…

  43. goonster says:

    i see devil finally crept out his hell hole……good we missed him. hey mama bear, i think its just a precautionary measure. he ll be alright…and since when did you start giving a hoot about abou? thought you said he’s shit?

  44. rico says:

    I was always calm Adam, just sometimes I struggle to understand the human race….

    Jeez goonster, he’s an Arsenal player, of course I want him to be fit, we need all we can fit – and I never said he was s**t, just I don’t rate him and would have sold him by now.

  45. goonster says:

    hahahahaha am so gonna enjoy unsettling you maam….cant wait till he fulfills his potential then i shove some huge chunks of humble pie down your throat! hahahaha, wait for it.

  46. goonster says:

    shut up micko……i stood up for him all the while you mugs were ripping into him. i deserve my day in the sun. so let me bask in it.

  47. goonster says:

    how are you by the way micko? how’s ireland? i would really like to visit you and have me a pint of the best stout ever. i hear its guiness?

  48. rico says:

    I just say how I feel Adam, just like we all do…. And yes, I strongly suspect that sounds very negative sometimes….

  49. rico says:

    goonster – and should that day come around, I’ll be pleased, i’m not afraid to be proved wrong, in fact the opposite if it means a player turns out to be a hit….

    But to date, he’s just been a sick bed filler, nothing more, nothing less imho….

  50. Micko says:

    Yeah, Guinness it is Stan, we drink it out of wellies over here, you’d love it ! Strictly no Martini’s allowed.
    Any luck with the driving licence.
    Broken waist you say, she must have been a big girl, did she burn her arse on the light bulb.

  51. goonster says:

    good to hear maam……anyway i hear lecoq has caught the “meribentley” bug? if he wants out i dont think we should keep him. why do young players think they know it all? why dont they learn from their predesessors? where is flamster, hleb, diarra, merida and bentley now? God give me strength. i really rate lecoq but if he wants out then flog him says i.

  52. goonster says:

    micko i got my licence all right but almost got rammed over by a thick set hairy son of a bitch with a texan accent….i ll bet its cowboy gunner cause he kept yelling” git outta the road you frigging foreingner”……

  53. goonster says:

    hahahhaa micko no she wasnt a “big girl” on the contrary. she’s a tiny slip of a woman but man she’s a hell ball. woooooooohooooooooooo.

  54. Micko says:

    Adam, not sure what that is, will ask the missus and get back to you !
    Sounds like something that might drive rico’s tractor though, I’ll see if I can get a bottle in for ya.

  55. stevepalmer1 says:

    Evening all,
    just reading the comments and noticed that Will has been the brunt of all your jokes, I like to think that your jesting as Will has been a Houser for quite some time, What is it with all this name calling personally i can insult with the best of them but often i look back and think that perhaps i went a bit to far and regret what i said but i am just a moron where you lot are suposed to be adults, Your all at fault including Will, if you want to throw insults throw them at that mob down the swamp not at one another. after all we may win something this year and everybody will be insulting us 🙂

  56. stevepalmer1 says:

    Hi Rico, sorry to leave it all up to you was on the site at half seven this morning and never left till half six and didn’t know you were going to post, but thank you anyway.

  57. Micko says:

    Smudge, your not wrong, there’s a hole in the market for a good Errol Brown tribute act, hope he doesn’t live to regret it.

  58. smudge says:

    Feeling tops rico….thanks for caring 😉
    Can’t wait for this boring international period to cease and bring on the lads again. Hope Abou is only a precautionary withdrawal and we see him on Saturday..

  59. rico says:

    🙂 Micko, it started with……..

    Good to hear smudge and couldn’t agree more about the break, its so so boring….

  60. smudge says:

    Micko I would pay good money to see Abou on stage covering Errol Brown. But he would probably fall off the stage and do his groin. 🙂

  61. Scott from Oz says:

    Thats another all in i’ve missed.
    It was dead on here last night,so off to bed i Go,and its a free for all ten minutes later.
    You guys are no fun 🙂
    Morning all.

  62. W.A.T.H says:

    Can tell it’s international break it’s all dead on here………. I’m gone for a bit and Adam picks on people… Then AK blames Stan who is no doubt is the root of all evil… Rico blames Diaby and Lee just has a puff…! Oh well shit happens and Hill-wood is still a compete tosser what ever way you look at it except for the blinkered.

  63. goonster says:

    hey guys….there’s been a shooting in my neighborhood again. that’s the 3rd shooting this month. christ help me. its as if W.A.T.H’s karma is after me.

  64. W.A.T.H says:

    I wasn’t sure Adam although there was definite nose picking going on AND you picked on dear old PHW…! You bully you… !! Never mind am sure he really didn’t give a shit smoking his cuban downing a bottle of Louis XIV on the back of selling his shares….!

  65. Adam says:

    Wath. Well Hill Wood does make himself an easy target. Why he doesn’t keep his gob shut or send good messages to the fans rather than criticising them, I don’t know.

  66. W.A.T.H says:

    It’s cos he’s a geriatric piss head Adam…! We’ve paid for his position at the club and he takes liberties by criticizing the very people that put money into the club week in week out…!

  67. goonster says:

    Thanks adam….last time it was a husband blowing his wife’s brain out, God knows what it is now? americans are crazy! W.A.T.H you can never get me even if am in your range. you re too skittish!

  68. Adam says:

    Wath. Be careful. This is how it all started earlier. 🙂 But I do agree that he doesn’t really help himself with his superior attitudes and proclamations. It just leaves a bad taste really.

  69. goonster says:

    and hey as soon as i moved in the neighborhood got more colorful. those mugs should be grateful not blow each other’s head off. christ i hope they dont come for me next!

  70. goonster says:

    nah i like me some trouble. its been a long time i shot at anything moving. i reckon its a few black kids down the road. i saw them across me lawn last week at about 2am. let them come wath. i ll be ready for them.

  71. W.A.T.H says:

    You don’t need to be brave to get shot at Stan anyone with a shooter can grow a pair and if they off their nut they’ll do anything as well..! It’s called be sensible ya big bafoon…! Listen to Uncle Wath or I’ll come kick ya arse meself…!

  72. goonster says:

    hahahahahaha W.A.T.H leave me be……i wanna shot at something moving. why dont you just mind your own bizwax you wuss. where’s kev when you need him?

  73. goonster says:

    besides those bastards had it coming. am done cowering anytime i hear a gun shot. am taking it to them. me and a few guys here have had enough.

  74. goonster says:

    nah i ll be charged if i shoot at any critter but heck i ll shoot one just to get rico all riled up…..maybe i ll shoot a day old chick. they re helpless and needy. hmmmmm am really loving it.

  75. goonster says:

    that ll be a pretty sight W.A.T.H…..i wait for the backlash. i just need to see a chick walk by….mmm maybe a duckling. i saw a few cute ones waddle by a couple of hours ago. here i go W.A.T.H, wish we well buddy. if the government gets me, my ass is cooked!

  76. rico says:

    A definate easy target wherever he is at the moment…

    Missed a great tennis match last night, couldn’t keep my eyes open to watch it….

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