Usmanov Debate: Should Red & White holdings be invited onto the Arsenal board? By SC
Arsenal FC is a unique football club. It always has been. All of us want to see our club prosper and remain within the elite rankings of the sport; however, we do to an extent, share different beliefs about the approach the club should take in order to achieve this. There has been huge debate recently about the current management style of the board of directors, and of course, one Alisher Usmanov – the man who thinks he is the answer to all our prayers. Now, before making a decision about what we, the fans, actually want to happen, it is important to look at both sides of the argument.
We are all proud of the consistent performance of the club which has been fuelled by relatively little spending. 15 consecutive years in the Champions League is an achievement in itself and should not be taken for granted. But is this enough for a prestigious club who managed to win the title unbeaten in 38 EPL games? It was that heroic team which won ‘best team’ in BBC’s Premier League: 20 season’s awards. After that, I think we were all hoping that we would go on to our era of domination in the EPL and Europe, but sadly, it was not to be. We moved from Highbury to the Emirates Stadium, which we are still paying for, yet this should not be an excuse for our failure to win a trophy since 2005.
All great teams have great stadiums with a great history, and as of yet, the Emirates has not a single trophy to its name. This has to be put down to our self-sustaining financial model, which has hindered the clubs ability to compete in the transfer market, let alone contract negotiations, the model for which is corrupt to say the least. And who makes these decisions? The board! So I think I am safe to say that change is definitely necessary if we want to see Arsenal bringing home the trophies that we have long been waiting for. The board can protest that they are ambitious, but Peter Hill-Wood summed up the extent of that ambition when he said to the Guardian “it’s not as if we have been relegated.” No shit, Peter!
I hate Man City and Chelsea just as much as any of you, for the way they completely changed the face of British football and turned the game into the “survival of the richest” rather than the natural survival of the fittest. We are fit enough to win the league, without a doubt, but we do not have the financial muscle required.
Alisher Usmanov’s dark history has recently been revealed, and I have my doubts about him regardless of his history. First of all, he admitted he has only been an Arsenal fan for 7 years! Round of applause? I think not. Not only that, but were he to join the board, we would undoubtedly see our “ethical approach” to football deplete. There is no question that he would spend, on players, on wages, and on sponsorships – areas which we criticise other clubs for spending too heavily on. None of us want to see Arsenal buy the title, it is not our way, we want to earn it and deserve it.
However, we can wish and want all we like, but the facts remain. Football is changing, success is becoming dependant on investment – like it or not. If we do not adapt to change, we will begin to decline. The reality is that we do not have the strength and depth in the squad to see out a whole season, we do not have quality cover for injured players, and we do not have the option of rotation to maintain fitness of our key players. That being said – we are not far off. We managed third this season and showed serious signs of the spirit that our invincible team possessed. There is no question that Wenger has a way of inspiring the young players, and his position in my eyes is set in stone until he decides otherwise. Usmanov clearly stated in his letter to the board that he supports the manager:
As a consequence of this policy, which is dressed up as prudent financial planning, it is down to our manager, and not the shareholders, to have to deal with the Club’s tight finances, carry the burden of repaying the stadium debt by selling his best players and having to continue to find cheaper replacements. All of that, naturally, comes at the expense of performance on the pitch.
I believe that the current board’s reluctance to invest is costing Wenger his chance to become the greatest manager of all time. To be considered the best he knows he must win the Champions League and right now we are a long way from that, especially if we lose RVP. There are no signs coming from the club that an equivalent replacement will be purchased should RVP leave -just as there were not equivalent replacements for Fabregas and Nasri last season. Usmanov would not allow this. “We want the absolute best for the Club and will do what is necessary to ensure the success of the Club that we all love.” Whether you believe his statement or not, he would not have publically released the letter if he were not willing to follow up on his intentions should he get the opportunity to do so. The results of the AST survey show that 82% are in favour Red & White Holdings to be invited onto the board, compared to 70% in 2011. If you would like to read the AST 2012 Survey results then visit this link (http://arsenaltrust.org/resources/documents/1341846103ast-questionaire-2012-results-v5.pdf)
As fans we are all entitled to our own opinion. However, in summary I will say this. The current board are extremely disrespectful to Usmanov, not only are they refusing him a seat on the board of the club which he owns almost 30% of (Usmanov has a seat on Dynamo Moscow board but does not own any shares) but they do not even have the decent business etiquette to approach him regarding a sponsorship deal with MegaFon –a company which he owns 50% of. We can argue that he only sees Arsenal as a great business opportunity for himself, but I believe that is all the current board see in Arsenal – an opportunity to line their own pockets – and they do not bring us fans any success in doing so, which I think is the key difference between Kroenke and Usmanov – the desire to bring success to the club.
I leave you with this quote from Usmanov: “You can try and put a good face on a bad game for as long as you want, pontificating about the merits of this model, but it will not hide the obvious fact that it just does not allow our great manager to fully realise his managerial talent and deliver success for the fans who are paying the highest prices in the land.”
If you would like to have your say on this situation, I invite you to vote on my webpage:
www.fan-shout.com
Take it easy gooners.
SC
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