Like most others on this site, I have been frustrated by the frugality of our favorite club and manager. Once when my frustration reached a boil, I posted an article here suggesting that the present board members were cheap and wanted to keep as much money in their pockets as possible so, by contrast, to the other big English teams, Arsenal never bought established and expensive stars.
Now, with the transfer window about to open and with news that Flamini has left Arsenal for Milan for what appears to be purely financial reasons as well as rumors that Hleb would be leaving for Inter for similar reasons (not to mention the club’s stringent 1-year policy with respect to players older than 30), I felt my ire growing again. And this only grew with talk pervading this site as well as others that Gilberto might be kept for another season simply to assist in the transition from Flamini to another “youngster.”
If last summer’s transfers are any guide, we cannot expect any real big name purchases by Arsenal this upcoming transfer window. By contrast, I look at the team likely to win the Premiership and perhaps even the Champions League, ManU. After winning the EPL last year, that team did not stand still and spent a reported 60 million pounds on Hargreaves, Anderson, Nani, and Tevez (players and depth that Arsenal would never have considered purchasing under any circumstances much less after finishing on top of the table.) No wonder then that ManU had the depth to last throughout the year and triumph when it counted most in the Premier League and the Champions League (the only 2 trophies the top teams really care about when push comes to shove).
The frustration only grows when club reps state that Arsene has as much money as he needs to spend on new players only to be followed by a statement by Wenger that he needs to be frugal and not splash the cash. This leads to speculation as to whether Wenger is stubborn and is intent to prove he can win on the cheap with his gameplan or is it that the club tells the world one thing while providing Wenger with a pittance of what it says is available to him. I certainly don’t know. So what is the story here? Is Arsenal cheap? Is Arsenal skint? Is Wenger stubborn as a mule? Is this year his last chance to do it his way as many here and elsewhere advocate? And if we don’t win the EPL next year, do we get a manager who will spend the money on established stars like Torres, Tevez, Mascherano, etc.
The answer is not really clear to me (although I really hope it never comes down to Wenger being forced out because Arsenal did not win silverware in a given year so long as Arsenal is properly competitive). But what I find fascinating is that at this frustrating juncture where one season is over (and we have nothing left for which to play) and the next season is more than 3 months away (without any assurance we will get the big-name striker, midfielder, left winger, leftback, goalkeeper, and/or name any other position that we desparately need), I go on to the Sports Illustrated website and find an article by Gavin Hamilton of World Soccer magazine titled “In The Red” that states the following regarding ManU, the team which right now we all seem to envy at least in terms of results and accomplishments:
As Manchester United prepare to face Chelsea in the first all-English Champions League final in Moscow on May 21, it might appear that everything is fine and dandy with the club’s owners, the Glazer family.
Scratch beneath the surface, though, and a very different story emerges. This week it was revealed that the club suffered a £58 million loss last year and now owe a total of £764 million to their various creditors. The accounts for the year ending in June 2007 also disclosed that United owe £56 million in outstanding transfer fee instalments to other clubs.
Most worrying for the Glazers is the news that they still owe £152 million to hedge funds at a rate of interest of 14.25 percent. With a recession threatening to engulf the world’s financial markets, the Glazers cannot find anyone willing to take on the debt at a more reasonable interest rate. The hedge fund loans were the most controversial element of the financial package used by the Glazers to fund their takeover of United. This “leveraged” buyout loaded liabilities onto a club which had previously been debt-free. Now the Glazers are struggling to re-finance.
The Champions League final will thus be a battle between the free-spending oligarch in Chelsea’s Roman Abramovich and the credit-crunched Glazer. While the English media speculate that the Russian billionaire will use a slice of his £12 billion fortune on a world-record bid for Lionel Messi, United fans must contend with the news that the Glazers only paid off £42 million of the £81 million in interest due on their debts last year. The outstanding interest payments, accrued to the hedge funds, have been rolled over, to be repaid in 2016 — or whenever the Glazers can re-schedule their debts.”
Interesting, I think.
132 Responses to “Arsenal’s Financially Prudent Ways (or Is Arsenal Just Cheap?)”
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May 7th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
As I have mentioned previously in my blogs at Arsenal America, Manu and Liverpool have been in a fiscal crisis for the past few years due to their operating losses and inability to infuse new cash to cover these losses.
Chelsea has their benefactor in Abramovich, City now has theirs in Shinawatra, Ashley may infuse some of his millions in Newcastle as with Aston Villa and Maybe Levy with Spurs. However, these clubs are all running at varying degrees of losses and are being subsidized by their benefactors or by the sale of shares.
Apart from Chelsea who can survive as long as Abranovich does not get bored and City, If Shinawatra can get his assets unfrozen, the other clubs are in peril of being bankrupt in the near future. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your views, with the EPL being recognized as the most attractive league in the world and the enormous upsurge in share values there will always be some billionaire person or corporation willing to part with their funds for the prestige and notoriety associated with the purchase of an EPL club.
If clubs do not rein in their spending in the not too distant future, the EPL will have few if any British owners.
Arsenal on the other hand should be commended for taking a logical and financially sound stance while still providing great entertainment on the pitch and being contenders year in and year out.
I sometimes get very irate when all the fair weather fans repeatedly lambaste Arsene and the Board, and want us to spend, spend, spend and win now at any cost without looking at the “BIG” picture.
May 7th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
It’s quite simple. Think of it this way.
Your are trying to raise your kids properly, and not spoiling them with gifts and toys. You can afford some nice toys, but only if it’s measured and controlled so that their siblings will learn and appreciate the merit that’s involved in receiving the rewards.
Then a rich neighbor moves in, spoils their kids to the core, and never punishes them for any wrongdoing. Now your kids makes a comparison with how their neighboring kids are treated and they now think you don’t love them as much as your neighbor does for their kids.
You have two choices:
1) Stick to your principles and explain to your kids and hope that one day they will appreciate and thank you for that life lesson. But you will suffer many years of frustrations until the kid matures.
2) Break your own rules and do whatever that makes you kid happy. You get instant gratification but the long term effects can be insurmountable.
Forturnately, you kids can’t just “switch families” nor could they just leave on a Bosman or do a Webber. But you get my point.
I think enough is enough. Wenger needs to splash the cash this summer for a couple experienced players to re-enforce our squad so that we can try to win some silverware while building up the team.
I don’t think Wenger purposely sacrificed silverware in order to implement his youth policy, but his faith in players’ maturity is a bit too naive. Kids can perform but may not have the “nerves” to hang on.
We have seen this season, the ability is all there in the current squad, but we don’t have the “spine” to stand up to challenges or “injustices” that we’ve suffered this season - this is a mental thing that only comes with age and experience.
Now back to my analogy - Wenger must realize by now that Arsenal is a football club, not a family. In fact it’s not even his family - he’s just a temporary custodian. It’s great that he’s trying not to do a “Leeds” on us, but the cash should be splashed when it’s needed.
And this summer, it’s needed because the only other currency to keep players at the club is SILVERWARE.
May 7th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
Its funny that Glazer has NOT spent a SINGLE DIME of his OWN money on Man U…..yet has loaded a great deal of debt (almost 1billion pounds) on a massive club that had absolutely NO debt before he bought it.
Funniest of all, even with all their spending of 60 million dollars, remove Ronaldo from the equation and they WONT win anything.
Man U are pretty much just like Barca who also blasted 60 million - the only difference is that Barca’s “ronaldo” Messi, played very few of the matches - so couldnt save their asses.
May 7th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
That said, I firmly believe Wenger has at least 25 million in the bank. He SHOULD spend that money at the very least.
May 7th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
For me the challenge is to look at the lessons from this season and critically ask yourself what evidence is there that we will improve.
This season we had a slow-leak all season. The absences of RvP & Rosicky and the young set not firing as hoped. It got significantly worse with Eduardo’s injury in Feb.
When the heat came on in Feb who was around to respond? Who could take the responsibility to create and score enough goals under immense pressure? We know the answer, the Walcott’s and the Bendtners wheren’t good enough at that time. So why should we hang our hopes for the season on a guy like Vela?
Every season teams take steps both backwards and forwards. Nothing stays the same, ever.
the backwards…..this seasons star may fail next season (Ronaldiniho), someone’s career goes OTT (Henry), some leave (Flamini, Hleb?),a massive injury (Eduardo)……
the forwards……some youngster blooms (Clichy), an astute signing (Sagna), a breakthrough year (Hleb)…….
Count for yourself the steps backwards and forwards for Arsenal.
I believe the chairman when he says they have never turned down Wenger for a transfer. If Wenger said I want to buy so and so…..I believe he would get him, the Board would back him. That is balanced with Wenger’s ‘good steward’ approach to management. So are Arsenal cheap?……no, I think their wage bill proves that. Are they prudent? Yes, the best managed football club in the EPL, only Bayern Munich seem to have the same ’sense’.
But this off-season I reckon we need some experience coming in. My main concern is quality at wide midfield and 2nd striker. Guys who can take responsibility NOW. Probably Eduardo/Sagna type signings, not big name, but guys with the maturity to mesh into the team reasonably quickly and contribute.
I wholly agree the spine (and defensive unit) is critical - just Wenger doesn’t think that way, George Graham did. That’s why Wenger inherited the best defence in EPL history. So…….I mitigate my expectation in this regard and cross my fingers that ‘collectively’ we defend better.
May 7th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
The problem is Wenger seems to lack a certain amount of foresight in regards to the teams problems or potential problems, and he also appears too quick to sweep these lingering concerns under the carpet if results are favourable.
I had two main concerns with the team this season. One was the inability of the spine of our team to deal with long ball strategy implemented by a teams who play a high tempo game coupled with a pressing game. The other was the Wenger’s reluctance to use squad rotation- partly through not having a deep enough squad- which as we saw in 2006-07 led to our key players looking decidedly leg-weary and mentally fatigued when we needed them at their peak.
The away game to Aston Villa in late November convinced me that our team could not deal with the first concern. Villa may not have got the equaliser that day but Arsenal defended in a similar fashion against their onslaught as they did against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. We were just darn fortunate Villa didn’t have a great deal of bodies in the box to punish our second half bottle job.
Now, did Wenger notice this obvious discomfort in dealing with high ball pressing game? And did he react to it? Nope, he didn’t. Because we got away with it he ignored the problem. Instead of addressing the issue this summer he could of turned his attentions towards it in January and Arsenal may have hung on in there in the title race or not collapsed in such a dramatic fashion.
The game at Goodison Park illustrated by second fear about this Arsenal squad’s ability to last the course. Fabregas was in a sulky mood, Hleb looked totally incompetant. In short, we looked and played terrible. This may have been due to a combination of things but it looked like fatigue had caught up with us, having just played an intensive game at Portsmouth days before. Eduardo’s brace and a strange set of events therafter meant we scampered away with a 4-1 victory. Again, did Wenger notice the lack of vibrancy and energy from the players and forsee a similar drop in Spring? Did he use the January transfer window to try and replenish our midfield engine room or creative department so to give players like Fabs and Hleb a rest to alleivate fatigue concerns? Nope, he didn’t. He instead focused on Eduardo’s great predatory instincts and turned a blind eye to the dangers lurking beneath.
So lack of foresight in a few departments cost us this year, not including lack of foresight in not catering for the obvious Rosicky extended absence, cost us the chance of following through and giving this season an identity by grabbing some silverware. Will our prudency lead to the same mistakes being made again, or will new ones rear their ugly head. Wenger’s philosophy appears to be a breeding ground for potential hamartia.
May 7th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Kiwi, if you listened to Wenger’s responses at the shareholders’ meeting, he said we were weak down the spine and needed help in that area. Somehow on an earlier blog someone interpreted that as meaning a DM. The spine means your CB’s and DM’s so Arsene, like most of us, are in agreement.
I am all in agreement we should spend the “AVAILABLE” cash to acquire players which can have an almost immediate impact and shore up our areas of weakness, IF and I repeat IF, they are available. It also does not make sense to splash cash for someone who will not suit our needs just because we have the cash.
We keep hearing about all these available players with whom we are linked, but truth and in fact most of these are just rumors without credence. These players may not be available period or available at a much higher than suggested price.
We are all fans but we have no idea what goes on behind closed doors in the boardrooms at these clubs. In my career I have had many chances to be privy to boardroom conversations regarding acquisitions, mergers and business strategy. The final output to the media almost never embraces the true reasons, what actually occurred and what was discussed.
In our rather limited manner we seem content to make broad based decisions for Arsene and Arsenal without ever knowing the “REAL” facts.
May 7th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
I can understand Wenger’s need to not crack open the wage structure and follow the path of a team like Leeds (Neova mentions this as well above). I think it is tough for him to balance his idea of building a successful team while fighting off the huge salaries that exist out there. Although, like regular jobs different players are motivated by different factors — some by money, some need a real challenge, some need to win trophies or some are just happy to be there. There are some players who are happy to come off the bench but some need to play in the first team every game (Ole Gunnar Solskjaer & Cudicini are two names that come to mind who were/are happy to sit on the bench).
Some players can change their mind depending on which factor is more important for them. Roberto Baggio took a huge pay cut to move to Bologna so as to get playing time to get back in the national team. Di Canio took a huge pay cut so as to move to his beloved Lazio team. But at other times in their career, these guys moved to a bigger club for money or a new challenge.
Wenger’s comments about Flamini’s departure point to how he was hoping that Flamini would stick around and focus on the team as opposed to getting more money. I think the way Flamini went about might have upset Wenger as well. When Edu left the team, he left on a positive note and was given such a nice reception by his fellow team-mates when he scored a goal from the penalty spot. Edu wanted more first team football and he left on good terms. And then there was Diarra’s case. Wenger hardly sells players that fast (has he ever let a player go in under a year?) so Diarra’s attitude probably triggered that quick sale.
Unfortunately, not all players would be happy to be paid less than what teams such as Milan, Juve, Inter, Madrid or Chelsea are willing to play. But then again, not all players can make it into these teams. For those that can make it in these teams but instead choose Arsenal and a slightly less wage, that is great. I just hope the players that are there or those that Wenger will bring in can focus on the team and not just about money.
I rememeber the funny yet relevant comment made by Rummenigge when Pizarro wanted more money at Munich:Pizarro was offered a new contract by the club in Spring, though angered club bosses by rejecting it and demanding more money, prompting chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge to remark: “Anyone wishing to earn like Shevchenko must first play like Shevchenko.”
Regarding Man Utd’s debt, I wonder when that will catch up with them? Ferguson keeps talking about how great the new owners are in that they don’t interfere with him. But what about the fact that they took a club with no debt (as you mentioned Fred) and used the club to play their own debts off?
May 7th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
typo..pay their own debts off..
May 7th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
My GAWD Mazza, I actually agree with most of your comments (lol). However, no one but the Trainers, if they are competent, could foresee Rosicky’s injuries and if they are telling Arsene he will be ready in 4 weeks and it turns out to be 14 weeks and still counting we can’t blame Arsene for that one.
I still keep wondering about the competence of our training staff!!!!!!!!
May 7th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Very well said SACHIN and by the way, we all make typos. A slip of the finger is no fault of the typist (lol).
Unless Manu gets a new investor like DIC they will be heading for bankruptcy within two years. Unfortunately for us, Hicks and Gillette will get wise soon and sell to a high profile foreign investor at a profit which will cover the debt. Many large corporations like DICK, sorry, I meant DIC, will do so because of the prestige, media and international exposure which is important to them.
This type of buy, incur debt and sell scenario can only happen a few times before the natural laws of economics rears it’s ugly head.
May 7th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
in hindsight it’s easy to fault wenger for a lack of foresight.
May 7th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
Not when you say it at the time.
May 7th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
CaribKid…..
I listen to Wenger more with my eyes these days than my ears. I see what he does, and has done for 10+ years, and base my judgement on that.
As for the spine……that’s jargon and means whatever a punter wants. I’ve never seen a definition but have heard people talk of the spine running thru the team and referring to the CF,CM,CB,GK…… Many people like to take that as a sign of the health and strenght of the side. If you prefer thinking of it as CBs and DM - fine.
If you think Wenger is in agreement that he needs to strengthen the CBs and DMs good for you. Time will tell. I’m not inclined to accept what he says at face value in that regard after seeing what he does for 10 years.
Even this ‘availability line’ is wearing thin. I’m not into availability, nor super super quality players, I’m into a squad with suficient resources. Are we saying there isn’t a player available to replace Rosicky? Are we saying there isn’t a player available to backup/compete with RvP? With all the players in the world, all our scouting network…….? No the answer in part is choice - Wenger makes a choice on squad depth. I am a huge admirer of his as you know. But you have to ask, when things are apparent, and repeating, why don’t we address them even if it isn’t with our 1st, 2nd, or 3rd preferred choice option.
This team/squad to me looks close, close to what we need. What a shame if we don’t back it up with sufficient depth.
May 7th, 2008 at 7:45 pm
Excerpt from the Independant:
“It will not help the mood of Arsenal supporters that it has now emerged that Wenger did indeed attempt to sign Jonathan Woodgate from Middlesbrough in the January transfer window – only to find that the England central defender was already in advanced negotiations with Tottenham Hotspur.”
I like Woodgate, but maybe we need more of a vidic type player. Woodgate is more a Rio Ferdinand type player. So I’m not desperately disappointed we didn’t sign him. Though he would have come in handy on a certain night at Anfield in April.
May 7th, 2008 at 7:48 pm
Kiwi, when I talk of spine I mean a commanding centre half and a formidable defensive midfielder. Kolo Toure nor Mathieu Flamini are the answer in my book.
May 7th, 2008 at 7:50 pm
Agree Kiwi about over-emphasis on ’super class’ players. That talk is ridiculous when you have players like Eboue and Senderos in your ranks.
May 7th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
I saw that Mazza, in January we were leading the EPL and sitting pretty well. I would find it hard to believe that Woodgate would turn us down (for Spurs) if we made a serious attempt to sign him at that time. My guess is we ‘explored’ the possibility, but Spurs were more serious.
Wenger doesn’t seem to go for the Vidic hardnut type - I can’t understand why. Successful CB combo’s seem to have the right balance - not 2 of the same.
May 7th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
All great central defence pairings have a player who attacks the ball and another who sweeps from behind. Think John Terry and Gallas/Carvalho.
Both Toure and Gallas instinctively drop off when the high ball is used and that’s why we struggle so much when teams like Chelsea go for throat. We are at the mercy of the second ball.
May 7th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
Kiwi, I thought we had the right blend with Campbell and Toure just a few years ago. Campbell could tough it out with the best until he became emotionally fragile.
Also, Woodgate may have felt he would get limited playing time with Senderos, Toure and Gallas as the first choice with Song and Djourou in the wings. He may have sought more playing time with a club that was sorely in need of someone with his capability at that position. He could also figure if he got more playing time this would enhance his overall value.