Even though all Gooners can probably still hear “HE CAME TO US WHEN HENRY LEFT….” Ringing around the very chambers of our hearts, the big sweaty Uzbeki may be about to darken our days once more.
Although he does not yet have the blocking stake we all assume he is aiming for, he is making the moves to ensure that come the end of the lockdown, he is in prime position to snaffle up the 4.9% he needs. Various news reports and bloggers have gone over the details of this already, but is there actually a consensus on whether his involvement is prima facie a Bad Thing?
Certainly he is of dubious moral standing (well it’s not dubious – he’s an odious stain on the earth), but could we not do with any financial support he would bring? We did get Arshavin, but maybe at the cost of winning 4 more points in January if we had stumped up cash earlier and had him eligible. Yes we saved money, but at what cost to our final league position come May? Would a bit of oil-stained Uzbeki money have come in handy – probably.
Also, as it becomes clear that Man Utd’s squad is just too strong in depth (and let’s not forget that they have spent at least £15m on every one of their first team squad, and are only now bringing through homegrown “talent” like Wellbeck and Gibson) it is likely that we are going to need to spend consistently, not excessively, to sustain a challenge. And no matter what PHW says, we don’t seem to be in a position to do that at the moment.
Now I do not want Arsenal to be taken over, and am proud of our current status as a self-supporting club. But the football world is changing, maybe for the worse maybe for the better, and there is a risk of being left behind as a relic of an older more decent age. Should we accept Uzmanov’s intentions, or woo Kroenke?
Something to mull over in the quiet before the weekend…
11 comments:
No i dont want our Arsenal to be taken over by some stupid russians or uzbeki guys !! So wat if the have more shares....we shouldnt let them to overtake us .
U never know wat they can do ?? What if they fire AW in the future just like other managers if we r not doing to well .
What if they make our club like Man City.....full of money , but still noone wants to play for them .
I like my arsenal as a self supporting club . I can bear the fact that arsenal can be in debt or whatever ...but i cant bear the fact that it gets taken over by some east european or a asian guy .
At what point would it become tolerable or even necessary though?
I totally agree, I do not want to see Arsenal run like Chelsea or City. But does Lerner not do a good job at Villa (they have spent shedloads, but sensibly, and have supported O'Neill), or the Glazers at Utd.
Yes there are ideological downsides, but the bar has been raised for what it costs to run a winning football club, and there is a risk we may be placing too high a price on the intangibles of what makes this club great. Really, what makes a club great is nice shiny trophies.
I think there has to be an element of big-c Conservativism with Uzmanov - do we only oppose change becuase we fear it?
Whilst I may not like some of the stuff I read in the papers about Uzmanov, what exactly do we have to fear from him that is not already present from David Dein, Stan Kroenke or Danny Fitzman.
Dein, in particular, is of extremely dubious morals - the stitch-up contract for Henry's last season, in which Dein negotiated for Arsenal and Dein's son negotiated for Henry, was a disgrace and everyone lined their own pockets.
Whilst I have nothing bad to say about Kroenke and Fitzman, I also am not entirely clear why they are perceived as the good guys in all this.
Surely if the lack of spending in recent years is a bad thing (and you all know I remain to be convinced on that) then it is entirely hypocritical for people to then rally around the current board and oppose someone else coming in who is clearly loaded with cash.
That's pretty much what I was getting at really.
We can't moan that we don't spend money, and then refuse to accept the money that is basically on offer.
I think if we want to challenge Utd again in the SHORT TERM (as who knows what will happen in anything more than 3 seasons) we will need to have regular investment.
Which will mean selling off those who don't make it, and spending £15-20m on players who will add to the squad.
We shouldn't go near him. He's an amoral scumbag who spends his life suing anyone who threatens to reveal his dodgy dealings.
I for one DO care where the money comes from. I'd rather not win anything than give my hard earned money to a bunch of criminals thanks.
I'm glad to hear it to be honest. The post was a bit of an attempt to see what I do actually want for the club.
Certainly trophies matter, and bragging rights are part of being a fan. But at the same time, I never want to behave like Chelsea fans have been for the last few years - booing their team, booing their manager, and not realsising for one second how lucky they are and how far they have come.
And this applies to us Gooners. In our first season in the Premiership we came 10th. We did win a cup double, but we were 10th and playing some terrible football. We now may finish 5th and although not great, in the context of the recent history we are lucy to have the team we have.
Money can buy you titles, but it cannot buy you the genuine love of your fans.
@ Obsinho
Very well said.....i totally agree with u .
and the best example is Man city...Huge money but average team , average fan following ...and finally no big player is willing to join them. Whats the use of money then ??
U have to have passion for your team , players , managers , grounds etc !!
{ I went to London as a kid...and i didnt knew what arsenal was...so never visited Highbury...but if i have the chance to visit London again...i wll make sure that i go to Emirates...and i m sure it wll be the most memorable days of my life :)Arsenal makes me so happy !! }
is it because he's fat?
would we feel better if he played tennis and exercised?
the important thing is that Arsenal does not need an angel investor. not to say it wouldn't be nice.
Arsenal is doing it the right way. I also think the Abramovich saga, and the fact that Man City stinks and that Liverpool can't pay bills is a nice warning to all the rich fat cats out there.
-rahul-
I agree Rahul - the warning signs are more numerous than the successes. But we are in an odd position, where so many fans are clammering for us to spend money but don't seem to want the sugar-daddy we'd need for that to happen.
But there are those who are crying for David Dein to come back with Usmanov and start a Harlem globe-trotters team at the EMirates.
It takes all sorts.
And it's not just cos he's fat. It's because he is so obese the fat on his forearms balloons over his wrists like a badly tailored shirt made of man fat. Never trust a man who hids his wrists under fat.
I think you should apologise for your racist stance against fat, sweaty Uzbecki men. Some are just fat. Others are just sweaty. A tiny number have vast wealth that they plundered from the post Yeltsin sell-off off the USSR's natural resources. I am also told that not all of their women are ugly and hairy.
Shame on you Obsinho. Shame.
I agree Rahul - the warning signs are more numerous than the successes. But we are in an odd position, where so many fans are clammering for us to spend money but don't seem to want the sugar-daddy we'd need for that to happen.
But there are those who are crying for David Dein to come back with Usmanov and start a Harlem globe-trotters team at the EMirates.
It takes all sorts.
And it's not just cos he's fat. It's because he is so obese the fat on his forearms balloons over his wrists like a badly tailored shirt made of man fat. Never trust a man who hids his wrists under fat.
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