A few weeks ago I read an article about Alisher Usmanov. The Russian is now the richest man in his country and has for a while been part of Arsenal. In the article there was a quote about how he felt about Arsenal as a club.
“My love for Arsenal is like that of a man for a woman, it is not something you can sell.”
He has had a huge interest in Arsenal and he has been more than happy to confirm he is willing to play the waiting game in terms of a full takeover. He even claims to have been be a supporter of the club for a long time. If this is all true then surely the club should be considering letting him become main shareholder. Stan Kroenke seems to be all about the business side, turning Arsenal into a money-making corporation, which is all well and good but when you decide to sell great players, risk one of our best players leaving and the team seem to fall apart season by season then we run the risk of losing more than we are making. We are also turning more into a business club rather than a football team. I don’t claim to know the ins and outs of the business side of Arsenal…I’m a football chick but surely something has to be done about the situation as it is.
Since David Dein left Arsenal and Gazidis and Kroenke come in that is when the huge difference has taken place, we just don’t seem to have been the same Arsenal since that happened. As much as you can’t blame one person for the downfall at Arsenal we have to admit that David Dein was a genius in terms of who he brought to the club, also he and Wenger got on very well. It had been rumoured that Arsene and Gazidis merely tolerate each other for the sake of their jobs which must make things uneasy. Also between them, Peter Hill-Wood and Stan Kroenke Arsenal seem to be suffering. We’re on the borderline of losing another one of our best players, someone Arsenal fans are getting very tired of after losing Henry, Vieira, Clichy, Nasri, Fabregas and now Van Persie. We clinched 3rd this season-only because everyone else fell apart. We as fans can’t endure another season of failure of such dramatic terms.
So In wonder is Usmanov the answer…not because he is rich because I truly believe that throwing money at this situation is not the best idea but because we need a huge change at Arsenal. Maybe having someone who actually supports the club as main investor which actually bring us back to our winning ways again. All I know is I like every Arsenal fan misses the days of success and if this man can bring that back then hell yeah he’s the change we need.
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I would rather have Usmanov in the driving seat rather than Kroenke who is only interested in the money side and has absolutely no interest in Arsenal as a football club and probably knows has no idea of the history that he and the current batch of directors are doing to the club. At least if Usmanov was in the driving seat we would see a return to the Arsenal and all of the fans know and love. He would invest in the team and probably get rid of Wenger as we now need a forward thinking manager who is willing to spend money on known experienced players and not afraid to get rid of a lot of the rubbish players that we currently have instead of just loaning them out and still have to pay their wages. But I doubt whether this will ever happen unless Usmanov can gain over 30% in shares which would evoke a take over and be made a member of the board. If only this would happen sooner rather than later.
I’m a passionate Arsenal fan, I spend lots of time and money on my beloved. I am like any loyal supporter, I as a supporter, my enjoyment comes when we win trophies or have players other clubs wish they had or seeing a players love for his club, I don’t care about ‘ how much money the club makes! Chelsea – C/L Man C – Prem L, do you think there fans care that they spent money? They are winners and keep investing to take there club to new levels, we no longer go into competitions thinking we can win them! That’s not the Arsenal way!! We are no longer serious contenders for any major trophy? What are we then? Have we ever replaced a world class player with another? No, we buy cheap replacements for players you just can’t replace, it’s sad to see that Spurs seem to have more insentive and are willing to pay what it takes to buy the right players and we have now fallen behind mid table teams when it comes to strengthening our squad!! It breaks my heart that we’ve become a feeder club for the big teams! Unless something changes, we will loose our jewel in the crown for a forth successive year and have replaced them with mid table players, make us great again, spend the money!! We have had some world class players who loved the club and begged Arsene to strengthen or they would leave, that was 8 years ago and we haven’t replaced any of them with anyone better or even equal quality! Please stop promising us player and letting us down, we are Arsenal and we deserve the best!!
How typically predictable. Another load of guff. It’s great just spend other people’s money and solve all manner of problems. And who cares where the money comes from…I mean wear affordable clothes because child labour occurs in far flung places not here…As for football why should it be any different? Dictators, gangsters all are welcome…turn a blind eye…we just want to win football matches….What a wondeful part of the world we live in..
Well I can only speak for myself but I am a football supporter not a business supporter so yes I do want to watch my team win games and trophies! This business side is always going to be shady in any sport but thats not what I am supporting! I am supporting my team.
USMANOV well spoken.as an arsenal fan am tired of every season going cupless and yet arsenal is big club.this board shld kicked out! their issue is only to make money,yet we fans are suffering alot.we need trophies not every season finishing 3rd or 4th.arsenal is bigger than any individual,bring us quality players,we need to get back to our former glory days.arsenal board am talking to you!!!!!
I could not disagree more. Usmanov represents everything that is wrong with English football today. Oil rich sheiks or shady Russians who are willing to pay outrageous transfer fees and player wages. They are going to ruin the league and then disappear when the luster of owning an EPL team fades. You seem to think that treating teams like a corporation is a bad thing, but that’s exactly what they are. Teams must be run as sustainable businesses if they are going to survive over the long term. Silent Stan and his ilk aren’t perfect but they aren’t the problem either. Just wait until the EPL is once again a second or third tier league in world football. When we look back we’ll know it was the kind of owners that Usmanov would be that caused it all.
So we sit on the moral high ground saying “look we’re not using any of our billionaire owners’ money” while City and Chelsea win everything and we fall deeper into mediocrity?
Tend to disagree, we are not saying you spend foolishly but you need to spend to win.Is AFC a money making machine or a football club the fans expect to win laurels. As a supporter, cant pay a huge sum for a season’s ticket and get the disappointment of my life. The Board must decide NOW!
As I said in the article, I don’t think throwing money at situation is the best idea…but we need some sort of change, we didn’t spend millions before and still won it so we can do it again!
Arsenal should allow lovers of football like ‘Alisher Usamanov’ to take-over. We all have seen what chelsea fc achieved this season throug ‘Ibramovic’
We need a change in wage structure it is beyond stupid to keep giving pay rises to players that underperforms or are simply not good enough.Some of Arsenal players simply havnt earned their pay rises they have been given them and it breeds complacency.Look at Walcott,he is on 60 grand a week i reapeat 60 grand a week and he wants 130 grand a week,i reapeat 130 grand a week for what ??? Running around like a headless chicken in vital games scoring a goal here and there.
Djourou 60 grand a week and a new contract,why ???
He had a clause in his contract which meant we had to renew it…Stupid isn’t it.
Football teams shouldn’t be treated like corporations as that’s exactly what they are not.When fans are putting money in through loyalty and love you cant treat it as just another business as the clubs are in a privelledged position in terms of the way there financed,generations of loyalty.Usmanov wouldn’t be bad for Arsenal it would just mean we could compete when clubs are owned by rich men and when they all go the status quo will be resumed with the clubs with the biggest fans bases rising to the top again.Only people who dont put there own hard earned money in think the clubs should be treated like any other business.
In hope kronke & co cud hear tis out loud- we arsenal fans wants you out!!!..get out and make your business greed elsewhere. Here is football, wanna make money, can, make us trophy too. 7 years is enough, damn it…how much more you wanna suck our hard earned monies..we want glory like the invisible era…bring us back Usmanov & David dein…
Usmanov is the answer to arsenal woes. Football environment has changed drastically in the recent years and while we have Usmanov at our disposal let use him. If we dont embrace Usmanov on this case bet arsenal will never win the premier league that i can bet.