On Arsenal’s Future
I just read a couple of articles on a site which left me so angry that I’ve actually forgotten the name. The first article must have been written by a Sp*rs fan. He claims that Ashley Cole is definitely moving to Chelsea in the summer, and Wayne Bridge will move in the opposite direction to ’soften the blow’. He called it doing a Sol Campbell, and went further to gleefully suggest that Ash would be ‘moving on to bigger and better things’.
The second article, by a different author, seems to praise Wenger, then goes on to snidely suggest that Arsenal could share the same fate as Leeds United and go bust in a few years in spite of the new stadium or, perhaps, because of it.
Both articles left me feeling like a peptic ulcer patient who just swallowed a Thermos of hot black coffee.
Now, for the first article, there is no way in hell Arsene Wenger would sell Ashley Cole to Chelsea. In fact, Arsene has never said he wants to sell Cole, and Cole hasn’t said he wants to leave. So where this idiot got the notion that a deal was all done and dusted, beats the hell outta me. If it was ever decided that Cole was to leave, his most likely destination would be overseas. He would never be sold to another English club, no matter how much money was offered for him. Case in point, Roman Abramovich offered Arsenal 60 million pounds for Thierry Henry. He was politely told to shove his roubles somewhere the sun doesn’t shine. Had an overseas club offered that kind of money, the board would have considered it. Seriously. Even though they might not ulitmately have agreed to sell. But Roman was dismissed out of hand.
Also, Wayne Bridge hasn’t set Stamford Bridge alight since his move there. Unlike Ashley Cole, he isn’t a fixture in the Chelsea team. So why on earth would Wenger agree to take a fringe player to replace an established one? Does it make any sense to you? It sure doesn’t to me.
Sol Campbell was out of contract at Sp*rs. He wanted more money and they refused. So he cooled his jets until the right offer came along. Barcenola and other massive clubs came looking for his signature. In my mind, there was no chance Arsenal would land him. That Sol could sign for Arsenal was just a fantasy. We didn’t have the money or the pull. I failed to add Arsene Wenger to that equation. When I saw Sol on the news proudly holding an Arsenal jersey, with Wenger beside him, I almost went nuts. I knew we’d landed perhaps the best central defender in England. Wenger had waited, then pounced on Sol with an offer he couldn’t refuse. Two Premiership and two FA Cup medals later, Sol sure as hell aint complaining. But the key here is: Sol Campbell was out of contract. Ashley Cole on the other hand is contracted to Arsenal for another 18 months. Tottenham Let Sol go without a fight. Arsene is notorious for fighting to keep his players.
As for ‘bigger and better things’, the only bigger thing at Chelsea is Roman’s pocketbook. Should he get a new toy, Chelsea will be well and truly up that famous creek, without a paddle. Arsenal on the other hand have enjoyed sustained growth over the years without the benefit of unlimited finances. So, Abramovich aside, Arsenal are giants compared to Chelsea. And we are still growing. And this brings me to the second article.
Comparing Leeds United and Arsenal is like comparing quinine to honey. It is a tale of two Peters. Peter Ridsdale and Peter Hill-Wood.
When Leeds made it to the Champions League, and got as far as the semis, it was believed the club could only get better. And it would have if someone with brains was in charge. When the cash came flowing in at Leeds, the board under Peter Ridsdale didn’t invest in the club’s future. Instead, they went on a binge. Expensive rented cars, expensive hotel suites, and all this for the board. In no time at all, they’d squandered not only the CL cash, but they’d dug the club a really deep hole. They reaped a real whirlwind. The club went bankrupt, the chairman resigned, top players were sold for ridiculous prices, the club slid into the lower leagues, the training ground is sold, as well as the stadium. It is a dizzying fall from Olympian heights.
Contrast Peter Hill-Wood. As Arsenal emerged as a force to reckon with in England under Arsene Wenger, Peter Hill-Wood and his board didn’t yell, “Yee-Haw!!!” and declare happy hour on the Club’s finances, as was done at Leeds. Instead, Peter Hill-Wood looked to the futute and formulated a plan. He said to his troops, “Tighten your belts lads. We are in for a rough ride. But it will be worth it in the end.” Arsenal began talking of a new stadium, thought to cost in the region of 400 million pounds. Some people said we were out of our minds. Yet, as the various financial agreements needed to actualise our ‘pipe-dream’ were put in place, the disdain turned to respect and awe. Hill-Wood put the future of Arsenal before anything else. No matter how pleasant. It is a testament to his abilities that while Granada was busy pulling out of its deals with other clubs, they always paid what they owed to Arsenal. Hill-Wood has also made sure the new stadium pays for itself. The poaching of Emirates from Chelsea was another masterstroke. And the Emirates spokesman said they wanted a club with global appeal. Hear that you Spud sucking idiot? Arsenal have global appeal. Like Tottenham will never have.
And our chairman is a tough old bastard. When Vieira wanted way more money than the club could afford to give him, Hill-Wood stared him down. In the end, Vieira accepted what Arsenal could afford to pay him and stayed. And when Real Madrid came knocking last season, Paddy looked at what he had at Arsenal and decided to stay. And he’s given his word that if there are any transfer speculations about players leaving Highbury this season, his name wont be mentioned. Well, we’ll all be waiting on that.
It is this Chairman’s strenght that has seen us sprint towards our new home. It is his will-power that makes the new stadium look different every week. He is responsible for the giddy experience it has been at Arsenal over the last few years. He has solidly backed Arsene Wenger all the way in anything Le Boss has decided to do on the pitch, and allowed David Dein to be the public face of the club. But he’s behind it all, co-ordinating the show. And I feel we Arsenal fans should give the man a big hand.
That is the crucial difference between Arsenal FC and Leeds United FC. We have a responsible chairman in charge at our club, and our moving to our new stadium is going to be like ditching a steam engine for a warp core.
The future is exceedingly bright, my fellow Gooners.
Stand back you doubters, and watch us hit Warp 10!!
15 Responses to “On Arsenal’s Future”
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April 25th, 2005 at 8:18 am
Quite, quite an excellent article. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
The only thing I can think to add right now is a point regarding Abramovich. As we all know, Russia is not exactly a shining beacon of freedom, democracy, and egalitarianism. Simply put, Abramovich is another one of the new class of hyper-rich oligarchs formed after the fall of the USSR. And though their own business acumen certainly helped these new elites garner their vast wealth, one simply cannot overlook their links to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The power concentrated in Putin’s office is unbelievable. Putin is able to strike out and arrest any one of his cronies who displease him. Abramovich is one of them. All Abramovich has to do is catch Putin on a bad day and you can bet he’ll be on his private jet flying back to the Kremlin to explain himself. A poor explanation may mean the seizure of all his assets. Then where’s Chelsea? Owned by the Russian government. And I don’t think they’ll be keen on running an English football club. You can bet that Chelsea’s assets (players, equipment, training grounds, etc) will then be on the chopping block. This doomsday scenario is far more likely than even Abramovich simply losing interest and naffing off, because part of his plan is to have Chelsea be able to operate successfully without his chequebook. But there’s no planning for having the Russian government seize (legally, no less) the whole lot, butcher it, and then sell it off.
Chelsea fans are certainly right to lap up their victories now, because they might find themselves going completely bust in the not-too-distant future. Chelsea FC? How about AFC Chelsea? It worked for Wimbledon.
April 25th, 2005 at 8:48 am
Clarkey,
I have been thinking the same thing since Roman took over.
Poutine did arrest Roman’s former boss and partner : Berozoski or something I can’t remember his name.
Poutine or another russian president can seize all Roman’s money including Chelsea of course, because it’s obvious he did not work honestly to get it.
People in Rusia are anger and want Poutine to get some part their money back.
This means anytime Poutine needs people’s vote, or is under pressure, there’s a danger for people like Abrahamovitch.
April 25th, 2005 at 9:23 am
Tight post, loko. Rarely do we mention “the suits” upstairs when we talk about our success. I also think its rather timely to express a few things about the stadium. Often, its factoring into the mechinations of our club straight on down is also left unsaid.
As an American Gooner, Emirates stadium means growth for our club to compete in the transfer market. As I make it to Highbury once a year if I’m lucky, and am willing to sell sentimental goods to get there, it doesn’t quite ring as anything deeper. I mean, does Emirates Stadium mean more local Gooners will be able to see their club? Let’s hope so.
But I think Gooners want to see AFC do well and see the squad healthy and strong, and outside of that maybe that makes a stadium no more than a pile of concrete and prawn sandwiches. Curious to hear what Gooners like DannyT and miranda, whom I believe are close to the grounds, fell about it in this regard.
But it is a milestone to be moving, and the dream was built with a legacy of astute management ? on the pitch and off of it. Guess that’s why conversations about the Champions elect this season more or less end quickly. Last season we could point to Wenger’s tenure of successive signings and silverware, and then George Graham before him with his putting our club on the map among the giants. This season ? and I say this trying to give credit where its due to the players ? the title kind of “jumped the shark”. For those who don’t know the term, it refers to those things in entertainment of great import that have run out their value and display it with a some ill-advised versions of the old magic. Not exactly appropos, but I think you get me here.
I think Ashley will stay, and I think it will benefit AFC to keep him. Its a battle that we won against Roman, and we need to start notching them. As it is, Chlesea announced that they’ll be shooting a few more horses from this season, and we’ll be seeing their expenditures “paring down” . Well, duh. But if we can keep showing that a great player will leave behind the money in favor of a great club with a great history, that may help us find those few players we need to strengthen our existing squad.
I agree, the future looks very bright. When one considers what we’ve done over time and how its been done and to what ends and by what means, how can you feel anything but proud?
April 25th, 2005 at 9:30 am
This is all speculation. Whilst nobody becomes a billionaire in Russia without indescretion, there is no evidence to believe the Russian government are anti-Abramovich. A few big donations from a man with his wealth would be enough to placate any government.
Nobody knows whether Abramovic will stay, leave or get shot. He could be there for another 20 years. Therefore, his situation is no different to any other chairman - even if his background is.
The fact is, that however much money Abramovic has, you can only put 11 players on a football pitch, and if you want a reserve squad full of world class players, it won’t be long before they get fed up and cause trouble. People are people at the end of the day, if they don’t like something they will rock the boat, and the media will do the rest.
Arsenal are lagging behind Chelsea now, but the team is definitely good enough to compete again domestically next season with 3 or 4 additions, not kids.
Europe we can forget about, you need better tactics in Europe and Wenger is incapable, we will have to wait for the next manager to see if he can sustain our success and make winning the Champions League achievable.
April 25th, 2005 at 10:42 am
That’s just the thing, Danny - Putin isn’t anti-Abramovich… yet. The chances of Chelsea’s wealth disappearing overnight are alot greater now than when Ken Bates ruled the roost. And Paul made a great point, I think, when he said that Abramovich need not even get on Putin’s bad side to be arrested; Putin may do it just to garner votes. Remember Russian oil workers make very, very little, and the rest of the Russian workforce isn’t much better. The Abramovich situation is very different from the majority of other chairmen in the Premier League.
But you’re right about your other point, that Chelsea’s superstar squad of, what is, going on 84 players or so now? will eventually get fed up. A safe bet to make would be a fiver on Scott Parker departing in the summer.
April 25th, 2005 at 11:32 am
The main difference between the old chelsea, and the new Cheslki is the strong and unstable polical connection with a dangerous regim.
Of course any talk about Cheslki or Roman’s future are speculations.
On the other side I agree with Danny on the hassle of keeping everybody happy in a superstar club.
STARS KILLS STARS.
Just look at Inter Milan.
523 millions Euros in 118 players in 10 years for a UEFA cup, and an increasingly unhappy fan base.
We should focuse on ourselves and use our strength to compete with them.
It won’t be easy, but our best allies are stability and reputation.
Money can’t get every player.
GREAT PLAYERS don’t generally go just for money as they can get enough in many clubs.
Abramovitch will be ready to give Ronaldinho, Henry or Zidane (for fun) more than 10 times their current wage, as he did with Mourihno’s wage, or Keyon (”transfert fee”).
Lampard’s is on 120.000 per week, almost the double of Henry’s wage, but Tierry looks very very happy with his wage, and with Arsenal.
Great players are more obsessed by history than money, because the money’s problem is definitly out of their mind.
They know they’re not the richest men but they’re just happy of being a living legend.
They need their club at the top as much as their clubs need them at the their top.
It looks to me that we are well prepared to face Cheslki in the future because we’ve got an excellent reputation as a stable football club.
April 25th, 2005 at 11:55 am
I feel it will be Arsenal/Chelsea instead of Arsenal/Man Utd from now on.
Even with what I consider to be a pretty poor Arsenal season, which can still be made respectable through an FA Cup victory, Man Utd seem to be in trouble.
Their youth team is drivel, and their reserve players are distinctly average. Their best players are still Keane, Scholes, Giggs and Van Nistelrooy (who is just a glorified goal hanger, and practically useless without the service). But age and form deterioates their game every season, and Utd have a PLC behind them that forbids them spending silly money every year. Arsenal won’t have that problem in 2-3 years.
Ferguson no longer seems able to motivate his players by turning red and throwing heavy objects at them. I think they are losing respect for the silly old fart, and the media are circling like vultures waiting to tearing to pieces the minute it all goes wrong. I might be speaking to soon, but I hope not.
April 25th, 2005 at 12:32 pm
You might be right on Man U. They will need to play their best football to stay on the top three.
Liverpool under Benitez could compete with the top three if they can get the right players.
April 25th, 2005 at 12:57 pm
Up, Up, Up The Arsenal!
To the tune of 2-nil. Goals by Gilberto and Vieira.
Despite our differences lately, let’s show them some love from near and afar. This game is HUGE for us, as we need to keep the pressure on United to continue outsucking the competition except for the badly wounded NUFC against whom the luckiest strike of the season (considering current form) is now being hailed as the greatest goal of the season. Hate to namecheck the guy at the moment, but at least Edman’s was from 40 out and had some intentional bend. Eh…let ‘em both rot.
So come on, ArseAmers! Positive!
April 25th, 2005 at 1:15 pm
Rick I?m not happy. How come there is no post about the North London Derby - The game of the season. I taught Ken always do that job.
Spot on Danny T with your points.
This is another fantasy post. I don?t care about Chelsea why ? Cuz I?m a gunner period, and with about 2 hours to go before my game of the season. I said is another fantasy post because no one knows when the Russian is leaving and who cares especially if your post refers to what a Spurz wrote on another site. Some of your facts are wrong.
Abramovich now have most of his assets and funds outside Russia. His company is not a government owned firm so whatever happens in Russia will make no difference at Chelsea till the guy leaves. The rest is speculation.
Emirate did not said they wanted a club with global appeal just that Chelsea were not happy with the pervious deal sign by Ken Bates. Read the FT for more information about the real facts and I know they were also looking to sign a better deal with T-mobile, Sony or Samsung.
Lastly ON ? digital which was a sh?t channel was part of Granada. They only paid money to the lower division clubs after a failed channel and Arsenal only had money from Granada cuz of our deal with ITV London, which is also part of Granada.
Anyway off to heaven to watch the boys beat the sh?t out of the bastards Spurz.
April 25th, 2005 at 1:29 pm
And tonight it has been confirmed that Chelsea have signed a ?50m shirt sponsorship deal with Samsung.
Is it likely that a massive company such as Samsung would spend ?50m if there was a risk of all Chelsea’s assets being frozen and the club going down the pan within the next fey years? I doubt it.
April 25th, 2005 at 1:41 pm
It isn’t a “likely” scenario, just one that is plausible based on the facts. But anyhoo…
I wonder how long it will be before Chelsea is invited to join the G-14.
April 25th, 2005 at 11:01 pm
Well put & quite true.
Steady, planned growth like Arsenal’s will work just like it does in the financial world. One reason the stadium isn’t finished right now is that Arsenal & Hill-Wood delayed the start of construction until the financial backing of the construction costs were in place.
In the financial world, fast, reckless spending eventually means fast fall. Can anyone say “US 90s Tech Stock Bubble?”
Same applies with Abramovitch. B/c also, when the money starts to lose on the field he’ll be forced to spend more & more to “fix” it.
April 25th, 2005 at 11:12 pm
It also wasn’t a likely scenario when Enron, a company worth billions, went belly up b/c of boardroom chicanery & defrauding investors.
It also wasn’t a likely scenario in 1924, 1925, 1926 or even 1927 when the US stock market crash of 1929 happened.
The only point he was trying to make about Roman’s assets is that they are more volatile since Russia’s economy is not very stable to begin with & that most of Abramovitch’s money was made b/c of his connections with Putin meaning easy come possibly easy go. Will it happen? Maybe not. Maybe so. But what the hell is wrong with poking a little fun at the other team? Lighten up, Danny. You & a few others on this site take every post too seriously.
April 26th, 2005 at 1:28 am
I guess they will have a sit at the UN soon.