For the pedantic out there, of course I know that Alisher Usmanov is in fact from Uzbek, but these days he is referred to as being a Russian businessman, so for me, he’s Russian…. 😉
The other Russian is our own Andrey Arshavin, he too made the news yesterday….
First up though and possibly the most important, in fact in my own opinion, the best news, relates to an article in The Daily Mail.
Their reporter, Samir Mokel, wrote an article about Usmanov and about how he could instigate a boardroom battle as he wants to increase his shares in OUR club.
We all know he is the second largest shareholder and his stake currently stands at just over 29%. Speculation is that he wants to increase this to 30% and will try and do so by buying from OUR clubs ‘smaller’ shareholders in the next few days and make an offer of £14,500 per share.
Should he be successful, he will be eligible for the Premier League’s owners and directors test.
Should he pass, which no doubt he would, he could go on to secure a seat on the board at OUR club.
The question is of course, would this current mixed bunch of old fogies and tight arses offer him such a seat?
He’s the 35th richest man in the world guys, let’s hope all goes well and the shareholders sell to him, then let him start knocking on the door, loudly!
I’m sure I’m right in saying that should the big fella get his 30% shares, he gets to look at the books and he can see exactly what has been going on and exactly where OUR club stand financially.…
Now that is surely worth him getting what he wants alone isn’t it?
Our major shareholder is expected in town later this month for OUR clubs AGM, wonder how many times now he’s been in London?
Not many I am sure, the last time he watched OUR team play and that is reported to have been back in April….
Compare that to the Big Russian…..
That takes me nicely onto our little Russian, he’s been talking to OUR clubs website:
‘They should expect more from me, of course. They should expect some more tricks, goals and unbelievable passes.
‘To be honest, I am still expecting more from me as well.’
‘But, believe me; I do everything I can do. I just must give everything I can at the moment.’
We don’t want the tricks and flicks do we but we could sure do with a few more goals and yes, to be honest, Arshavin should be doing a lot more, he’s one of most experienced players and should be showing the younger ones the way.
Good to hear him speak honestly though, especially if he’s given himself a hoof up the jacksie…..
Despite him thinking he hasn’t been at his best, does he really deserve the headline that The Sun has given him??
I don’t think so either, no-one really stands out this season for OUR team so far do they?
Let’s hope that Sunday see’s that start to change eh…..
Paul Merson – Sky Sports pundit and former Arsenal star – has narrowly escaped death after a high-speed car crash on the M40 near Warwick which saw him get arrested on suspicion of drink-driving.
The former England football star reportedly said he fell asleep at the wheel before crashing into a lorry and the central reservation just after 3am yesterday.
Merson, 43, was given a breath test after writing off his £40,000 Mercedes in the 70mph collision.
The father-of-five escaped with a cut above his left eye and bloodstains on his white shirt before being taken to hospital, where blood samples were taken.
Merson, formerly of Arsenal, Middlesbrough, Aston Villa and Portsmouth, told the Daily Mirror: ‘I fell asleep and just hit the central reservation.
‘I banged my head on the windscreen and the car is a write-off. I’m very lucky to have survived.
‘I managed to get out by myself and the emergency services were brilliant. Now I just want to go home and have a rest.’
A source told the Daily Mirror: ‘He had not been wearing a seatbelt and the car spun round at least once before it ploughed into the central reservation.
‘He was very fortunate to get out alive.’
He had been driving home in his Mercedes ML350 to Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, after a Children in Need event in Battersea, South London.
A police spokeswoman said yesterday: ‘Following a roadside breath test, the 43-year-old make driver of the Mercedes was arrested on suspicion of driving with excess alcohol.’
The lorry driver, who is in his 50s, suffered whiplash injuries and was recovering at home last night after hospital treatment
Morning Rico. Good post and good comparison. At least the little one realises that he can do more. Unlike some of the money grabbers who left us for the Sheik’s loose change.
Is it number one for me again today???
Morning devilgunner, you are indeed, i don’t coun’t 😉
An on form AA is a wonderful player to watch isn’t he, hopefully not only him has had a look in the mirror…..
Did you see Fabianski is considering a move out in january….
Morning Rico, I’m not sure about the other matches but Kroenke was at the Arsenal v Liverpool match as I shook his hand……if only I knew then what I know now…..
Oui I did. And I do think he is a bit unfortunate. He lost it when he was becoming steady. But that’s life. I became sick three days ago when I started enjoying working and that’s a pity. Now I know that when I go back I will have lost that appetite.
Onto football matters, cos if I mention work again I will suddenly have a heavier bout of sickness and that’s unacceptable, I am as mistified as every one else why the present situation has been allowed to occur. I mean, every living person wants to say that he is the top. So why do the board and manager aim for fourth??
I always strive to aim to be the top in my aims. It buggers beyond belief that someone aims for fourth. Bein fourth means that you are the 3rd looser.
Being FIRST is not everything. Its the ONLY THING.
Morning Sam, was that the fixture in April or the one this season?
Sad though as that should have been something to remember rather than regret 😉
The Big Russian goes to most games i read, at it shows he’s cares a bit more….
What would you have done GS. Shaken his hand with the right and the rest of his body and somewhere else with the left???
The one in April when Eboue the clown gave away a penalty in the diying seconds. I just really hope that some of these mall share holders realise that we need to get Usmanov properly in the mix ASAP
Hope you are feeling better now devil….
The aim has to be top and nothing else in sport but, after that it is to be gracious if we end up second…..
Aiming for 4th, that’s just totally wrong and it’s no wonder win don’t win….
Devil…..maybe…..or maybe just squeezed his hand a little harder 😉
Eactly Sam, and he hasn’t been since from what i have read, hardly the right thing to do as our majority shareholder….
I read somwere that Kronke can not load the club with his dept unless he owns more than 75 % of the shares. Can anyone comfirm this?
If what TT says is true than its better if AU gets over the 30% threshold. We need him to represent the supporters who want the club’s best interest at heart.
My personal opinion is that AFC should be like Barcelona is regarding the Directors where they get elected every few years. That makes every one accountable. And it does help the club be on a more safe footing.
Its like the emperor giving Rome back to the people to end the corruption crippling it.
Hi TT – I’m not sure on the rules re shareholders, Wath is the one to answer that I think….
Hopefully it’s true as with AU having so many shares, Stan won’t ever make that amount…
Have a look at this Rico.
http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/85840,sport,football,alisher-usmanov-may-target-families-of-dead-arsenal-shareholders-to-get-access-to-club-accounts
Rumour has it that he needs 400 shares and that their are 200 tied up in probate as the holders have unfortunately died. If he can get these from the estates he could be within a shout of getting them.
All figures approximate.
Thanks devil,
the article doesn’t really tell us what we don’t know though, saying that, i didn’t realise how the shareholders AU is planning to write to came to inherit their shares… tricky one….
Wonder how much of this true…
‘Although Usmanov has not been given access to the club’s finances The Daily Telegraph has seen the figures. It reports that the Gunners have £160.2m in the bank, but only £50m of that is available for Arsene Wenger to spend on players and salaries.’
What is happening with the other £110million?
Hi potter – i hope he get’s them too, could be the shake up OUR club needs right now….
Off to get the woofa walked, back in a bit…..
I’m not blamimg you for discussing this but what is new in the Usmanov story. He’s been hoovering up small shareholdings for years. I haven’t read the Telegraph article, but I suspect there is a lot of very old archive material there.
Sounds more like someone looking for internet hits and Arsenal in turmoil is always a good link.
Perhaps the price of beans in Guatemala may have been more appropriate !
Rico, the current board seem quite content to get rich of the back of the club and are not interested in entertaining Usmanov, if he could get these shares he’s looking for then they would have no option but to give him a seat on the board, I’d love to be a fly on the wall the day that happens.
They do not have to give him a seat on the board but they must open the books to him.
I must admit I can’t be giong with all this we need an enormously rich owner whatever his past or background.
I appreciate the realities of trying to win trophies (and i do think the team hasn’t played well in the Prem for ages and that this is going to be a long, possibly disastrous season)
AND I fully appreciate I can’t do anything about it anyway
but I absolutely hate the idea of Usmanov.
Boo – i’m having computer problems guys… hopefully will be sorted in a while, it’s at the menders….
Why Chris? Is he much worse than some of the other owners? What about Abramovich and the oil shaiks. Is their past that clean if we look into it? And as for colorful and dodgy owners we are hardly without “checkered past” If memory serfs me right Henry Norris was hardly a beacon of honesty was he? I know rape allegations have been leveled at Usmanov but was that ever proven?
good morning
See you later
TT, not everyone wants a sugar daddy as an owner, our board liked to be known as custodians at one time, PHW a couple of years back said something like he didn’t want the likes of kroenke and usmanov anywhere near the club and then realised he could make a massive profit selling off some of his shares to the american.
I’m all for usmanov, he’s been saying all the right things this summer,
he’s worth about 12 billion and wants to plough some of that into arsenal which is fine by me.
I’ve stolen a laptop 😉
Countme in for the Big Russian too, he has to be better than SS…..
Boo!! rico, people go to prison for much less. 😀
What does it have to take for Stan to invest in quality signings? Relegation? 😉
As for AA, he knows what magic he’s capable of, we know what magic he’s capable of… Now to the matter of showing it. COme on AA, step up!
Boo to you agag, that’s where i got it from 😉
Is that a new shopping mall, “Prison”? 😀 How are you? Can’t wait for Saturday.
Fed up with my laptop but otherwise good thanks agag, how’s you?
Aren’t we playing Sunday? 😉
Guess i need to update the sidebar, but i can’t get behind the scenes on this laptop – ko is 1.30 on sunday agag
I’m okay. Busy-ish. 😉 I was relying on that sidebar, you know. 😀
I take full responsibility agag 😉
fairweather supporters eh, every club has them !
Micko, you lost me there?
Take no notice rico, just pulling your leg re kick off times.
I did wonder if that’s what it was 😉
A least they are on TV this weekend, better make sure they win too….
Time to turn our season around
I’ll be at the game sunday, I think depending on which end of the ground you enter you will or you won’t even know there’s a protest going on.
I would be amazed if someone managed to smuggle a banner into the stadium.
Would like to see rvp and park up front, really go at them.
I think the stewards will expect it Micko, they’ll have their jobs cut out – i read that the protest plans were put on hold though… I hope it doesn’t go into the ground, our lot need all the support they can get…
got to pop off again, back shortly
Afternoon Gooners
Afternoon Rico. Good post, suprised that it hasn’t sparked more comment..!
I’m not we’ll ever again see the Arshavin we saw in those few months following his signing and 4 goals at Anfield.
I wonder if he really has the self-motivation needed to propel him to those earlier efforts.
I suspect he’s just taking it easy and pocketing his cool £90k. He seems to put more effort into his dopey tweets or whatever he does on his time off.
As for Ursmanov, i’d rather have an owner who turns up to games rather than some silent cowboy who thinks its bright to say bugger all while the shit hits the fan…
http://www.blog.woolwicharsenal.co.uk/2011/10/13/found-the-first-ever-historic-review-of-arsenals-foundations/
Something for the club historians out there.
Hoorah, I have my laptop back 🙂
Afternoon AK, i was a tad surprised too but i guess everyone is busy….
‘As for Ursmanov, i’d rather have an owner who turns up to games rather than some silent cowboy who thinks its bright to say bugger all while the shit hits the fan’…
Spot on AK, spot on and re AA, I’m not sure we’ll see that player again either, i’d have thought we would have done by now…
what position did he play when he first joined us and more so, in the Dipper game?
http://www.arsenal.com/home
Words from the Great Leader…. 😉
Can’t say i can remember Rico…
Was Bobby Pires a ball-winner?
But he didn’t disappear like our meerkat.
He was one match when he robbed Paddy in midfield, Milan wasn’t it 😉
Bobby was just awesome,pure class, i miss his duck feet racing down the left….. 🙁
He really struggled in his first season, the neville sisters tried to kick him out the game but turned out our little frenchman was made of sterner stuff eh….
Kev, that’s cleared that one up then, just remind me, who did he say was playing right back.
George Male.
Rico, i will understand how & why Wenger allowed Edu, Gilberto and especially Bobby Pires to walk away.
And then give two years to that pile of shit Silvestre and latterly Squillaci….
never understand…..
So, when are you leaving, to fly over Mick?
Saturday, thats why I was giving rico a little dig in the ribs earlier, back tuesday, you feeling confident ?
You and me both AK, especially Bobby – Edu to be fair went on to suffer dreadful injuries but he was such a class player, again a player who was never played enough…
Gilberto, well – bizzare how he went when still playing and captain of Brazil….
Micko, where you flying from? I assumed, obviously very wrongly that you were in London…
My ribs still hurt too 😉
And i knew we were playing sunday – where’s that agag to back me up…. 😉
Emerald Isles for the last few years, its only an hour in the air, works really well for me, only do about 10-15 games a season now.
You guys seen this article?
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,,11669_7239133,00.html
I thought it was ESP who lived in the land of the ‘black stuff’ – you put fans like me to shame Micko,
I moan as it takes me 3-4 hours to get there, and the same if not more to get home… 🙁
Yes Mick, i’m fairly confident.
Especially as Wenger will have a lot of his injured players back.
Sunderland are in a worst state than us, so we should be looking for a good win.
So, who is our right back for next match? Jenkinson? Kos? Djourou ?
Hi JM – we will know at 1.30 uk time on sunday i guess….
Off for dinner, back in a bit….
Rico, we all do our bit for the cause.
ESP is the real deal, i’m a plastic.
Kev, we dropped a few points playing them last season so we’re due a good win, would be great to see TV5 back in the fray.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/892254-arsenal-opinion-why-the-rise-of-frimpong-and-coquelin-is-a-huge-positive
JM, your guess is as good as mine, santos has also been mentioned.
I like jenks but i think wenger will go for more experience on sunday, his time will come.
JM, it’s gotta be Jenkinson for me.
Mick, Verm back would give Wenger the option of Koscielny at right-back vs Marseilles.
Good evening everyone!
I for one welcome our new Uzbek overlord! And may his reign of terror be long lasting!
I really hope the 35th richest man on the planet gets onto the board, and drags a certain Mr. Dein with him!
Are these protests at Wenger still going ahead? Completely directed at the wrong entity.
I can see that kev, and TV5 coming back in would be a massive boost to the defence, wouldn’t it be great to have a mean back four once again, I don’t think that’s too much to ask for.
Catch you tomorrow.
Here’s one for Oliver, wherever he is…..
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/arsenal/8823275/Arsenal-manager-Arsene-Wenger-is-an-idol-of-mine-says-revered-baseball-coach-Billy-Beane.html
See ya Mick.
Hello Paul.
Yeah, a mean defence, now that would be novel, i’d kinda forgotten what one of those was like….
Paul, i think the anti-Wenger demo is on hold.
Maybe the organisers have had a moment of reflection?
Or maybe the fact that they’d be in the minority has taken the shine off of their ‘event’..?
Here’s one for RizLee… 😉
We try Micko, nighty to you…
Evening ESP – Amen to that comment….
Evening Rico. How’s your Mum’s Broadband?
Evening AK, finally it’s sorted out thanks, yesterday she drove for the first time, i felt like a driving instructor sat alongside her… 😉
Hey, that’s great.
Now you can put your feet up… 🙂
Well and truly AK 🙂
Me, feet up, nah, not me 😉
Have a look at the transfer fees:
http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/arsenal-fc/transfers/verein_11.html
Wonder if the fees for our loanees are what AFC get for a seasons loan?
money things AK, now you know i don’t understand all that kind of stuff 🙁
I’m checking out the house for the day – catch you all tomorrow….
Nighty night and rest well….
Good night Rico. see ya in awhile…..
Sunday, normally is not a very wellcome day for Arsenal
It’s not a good day normally JM, especially the 4pm ko’s…
morning….
New One up…
why do I get the horrible feeling Usmanov is dud?