Gazidis - Kroenke is involved in the Club
By Chris Harris
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archiv ... n-the-club

Stan Kroenke has been “involved and supportive” since he increased his majority shareholding in Arsenal earlier this year, according to Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis. The American has been a Club Director since September 2008 and now owns 66.64 per cent of Arsenal Holdings plc after making an offer for the Club in April. Speaking to Arsenal.com, Gazidis outlined how things work with the Club's new owner. "He is constantly being updated, asking intelligent questions and being supportive where he needs to be," said the Chief Executive.

"He is an owner who puts people in place that he trusts and relies on them to do the right things. But he is involved. He knows who the players are, he thinks and talks about strategy. He is not an owner who is ever going to say, 'I think your judgement on the left-back isn't the right one'. He is just not going to do that. But he is somebody who wants to understand the strategy and be involved and supportive as well." Gazidis also pointed out that Mr Kroenke has been forced to keep his own counsel over his involvement in the Club by rules governing takeover bids.

"He has been in a period during the takeover where he has been restricted in what he can say," said Gazidis. "He will be an owner that you can get to know, fans will get to know, our staff will get to know better. He is an engaging guy and very focused and interested in what goes on on the pitch. He is a believer that what drives the success of any club and particularly Arsenal, where we are in such a competitive environment, is on-field success. I think you will all get to know him better and I think that will be good."

Interesting example regarding the left back there Mr Gazidis, something on your mind?

I am perfectly happy for Stan Kroenke to sit in the background, its very rare that owners/chairman speaking to the press is a good thing, our own club is a very good example of that.

Bernie: Kroenke is pumped up
BY BERNIE MIKLASZ - Posted: Sunday, September 11, 2011 12:35 am
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/ ... e27d1.html

Stan Kroenke, international sports capitalist, was happily jetting to Missouri from parts unknown on Saturday afternoon. The guess here is that Kroenke didn't fly commercial, but the billionaire owner was as fired up as any tailgating, face-painting, beer-drinking Rams fan. "I was talking to (commissioner) Roger Goodell recently, and I told him I'm more excited about the start of this NFL season than I've ever been at the beginning of a season," said Kroenke, speaking from 20,000 feet. "I think a lot of people are, after the grueling process that we went through to get a labor deal."

Football is back. And in St. Louis, hope returns with it. The Philadelphia Eagles are in town for Sunday's noon kickoff at The Edward Jones Dome, and it's time to see how ascendant quarterback Sam Bradford and the precocious Rams will measure up to an NFL elite. The Eagles may be the league's so-called "Dream Team," but the rebuilding Rams have their own fantasy of winning the NFC West in 2011. After a surprising 7-9 finish in 2010, the Rams attempted to solidify their young talent base with an aggressive free-agent recruiting mission. The result: six new starters (four on the defensive side) and improved depth in other areas, most notably running back. And the offseason's biggest move was the hiring of coveted offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. We're all curious to see if the Rams have done enough to generate a winning record for the first time since 2003. And the Rams' second-year owner is right there with you, anxious to see his team in action. "I think we ended up with more depth, and I think we have a better team," Kroenke said. "But the schedule is more difficult. It's interesting to me to see how they handle it. But I like the mix. We have young leaders. We've brought in some veterans to help. I like our coaches. It's going to be fun to see what they all can do."

Enos Stanley Kroenke deserves credit for providing general manager Billy Devaney, VP of football operations Kevin Demoff and head coach Steve Spagnuolo with the resources used to upgrade the roster. The Rams have spent to the NFL's salary-cap limit for 2011, and that commitment is significant considering that 13 NFL teams were at least $10 million under the cap at the end of August. And the Rams are spending more than division rivals Seattle, Arizona and San Francisco. "Stan has been great," Devaney said. "He's been consistent in his approach, very supportive. He's encouraged us to do what's necessary to improve the team. And that really helped us get some things done."

The essential philosophy remains the same: build the roster through the draft. But with a glut of free agents available after the lockout, the Rams took advantage of a buyer's market to sign multiple players to reasonable, one-year deals. They shelled out more lucrative sums for free-agent safety Quintin Mikell and free-agent guard Harvey Dahl. It made sense. The Rams have an opportunity to win now, perhaps ahead of the anticipated timetable. It hasn't taken long for the Rams to re-emerge from their horrific three-season record of 6-42 between 2007-2009. The project isn't completed, but considerable progress has been made. "You're never going to be perfect," Kroenke said. "But I believe we're moving in the right direction."

Kroenke, however, plays down his role in the upward movement at Rams Park. "We like to know what everyone is doing, and we keep up with it," he said. "But we have our football people in place because we believe they can get the job done, so we just let them do their jobs. I don't coach. I don't play. I don't scout players. The idea is to put good people in place and trust them to do their jobs."

Kroenke has applied the same guiding principle to his ownership of the prestigious Arsenal soccer club of the English Premiere League. And the same is true of his family's ownership of the NBA Denver Nuggets and NHL Colorado Avalanche. The Arsenal story is intriguing. Arsenal, one of the esteemed EPL franchises, got off to a terrible start this season, causing a storm of criticism to come down on manager Arsene Wenger. Wenger, a careful talent evaluator, will acquire players only if it makes financial sense. After Arsenal was left weakened by the late-summer transfers of midfielders Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, Wenger took his time in enlisting replacements.

The British press hounded Wenger — and by extension Kroenke — to spend more money to settle the roster crisis. Wenger finally made some moves, bringing in five new players near the conclusion of the transfer period. But Wenger did so on his terms, and that was fine with Kroenke, who fully supports the embattled manager. "There's a risk of going backwards if you overreact and start throwing money around in an attempt to solve your problems," Kroenke said. "Unfortunately we saw that with the Rams several years ago. Signing a bunch of free agents wasn't the answer. It set things back, and it took us a while to dig out of it. Our track record is out there for people to see. If we think there's good value, we'll spend."

It's too soon to know how the new collective bargaining agreement between the NFL owners and players will impact the Rams, who are in the bottom half of the league in revenue. An analysis by Forbes magazine concluded that smaller-market teams would eventually lose ground during the 10-year deal, but Kroenke isn't sure. "It's all about the ability to compete," Kroenke said. "I don't think the small-market teams went backward in this deal. Did they gain a lot? I wouldn't say that's true. It's easier for a big-market team than a small-market team. But at the same time, you see examples of small-market teams thriving. Look at Green Bay. But the small-market teams have to be smart."

The financial flow of the CBA could impact the Rams' future in St. Louis. The Rams almost certainly will be free to opt out of their stadium lease after the 2014 season. With Los Angeles clearly on the prowl for a team, St. Louis fans are nervous. Kroenke politely declined to discuss the stadium situation Saturday. For now, Kroenke's attention is locked in on the immediate future. "I'm really looking forward to the season," he said. "We've tried to put together a good organization. Our people have been working hard. Let's see what we have."

I'm really happy to hear these comments from Stan. Voicing what Wengers already said when buying talent... Arsenal are in the market to sign top quality if the price matches the quality coming in.

The AST are having their AGM as we speak some very good information has come out of it, especially in igt of the meeting the AST had with Gazidis before the Swansea game on Saturday.

Apparently Wenger is running the whole show at AFC, it's almost as if Kroenke reports to him.

Wenger has not wanted to spend, he was happy with the transfer business before the Old Trafford massacre, then reacted afterwards.

you can follow it here:
http://twitter.com/#!/LeGrove

Has anyone read today's Telegraph interview with Stan Kronke?
Says nothing positive about the future except how he can make more money in the future through improved commercial deals!
Absolute bunch of crap from start to finish, and it has served only to lessen my little faith in him as the future guardian of Arsenal Football Club.

Don't know what you expected him to say TPB. Here is the whole interview:

Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke: Arsène Wenger is one of the greats – he will be in charge for as long as he wants
If popular myth were to be believed, the owner’s box at the St Louis Rams’ vast 67,000-seat indoor arena would be a fairly quiet place to be. Silent, even.
By Jeremy Wilson, 30 Sep 2011
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/footba ... wants.html

Yet there is nothing remotely muted about the imposing and charismatic 6ft 2in billionaire businessman standing immediately to my left. “There it is, there it is... WOW!” shouts Stan Kroenke as he exchanges a high five with his wife, Ann. “Now that was an unbelievable play!” The Rams have scored what turns out to be a consolation touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens and Kroenke has his arm around me. “Do you want to know why that was a great play?” he says. “I’ll tell you why. For the quarterback to have that kind of arm strength, on the run, was unbelievable. Watch the replay... on the run. BOOM! That’s really strong. That’s a big-time play right there.”

In between frustrated sighs and excited applause, Kroenke has been talking with similar enthusiasm about Arsenal, and especially Arsène Wenger, who today reaches the milestone of 15 years as the club’s manager. It is the only in-depth interview Kroenke has given about Arsenal since a share-buying spree that began in 2007 and culminated this year with him becoming majority owner in a deal that valued the club at £731 million. Added to a portfolio that already includes leading American football, basketball, ice hockey, lacrosse and Major League Soccer teams, Kroenke has emerged as the most powerful and prolific owner in world sport.

“You know something,” he says. “Arsène is one of my favourite people I have met in the last 20 years. He is a great person and I love the way he handles himself. I love his focus. He is a very intelligent guy. You can talk to him about anything and, when he starts talking to people, I really love to listen to him. He should hold seminars he is so good at it. I have tremendous confidence in him. He is one of the great managers in the world.”

So could Wenger, under such scrutiny of late, go on to match Sir Alex Ferguson and potentially manage at Arsenal for another decade? Kroenke’s endorsement could hardly be more emphatic. “With Arsène, it’s his decision and only he will know that,” he says. “He still maintains himself in tremendous physical shape. You have to have stamina and energy. It’s an energy business. You are coaching, training, travelling and in stadiums packed with pressure. It’s almost like you are training like an athlete. Arsène has great energy and that will always be his decision.” Kroenke then reveals that he has been admiring Arsenal from afar for more than a decade.

“I have always been aware of Arsenal,” he says. “I would say it was about 10 or 12 years ago that I really started following Arsenal. I followed very closely the season when Arsenal went unbeaten. It was unbelievable. I went over to see several games when ­Thierry Henry was still there.”

Kroenke also discloses a conversation involving Billy Beane, the famous baseball coach whose life story is the subject of bestselling book Moneyball and a new Hollywood film in which Brad Pitt plays the lead role. “Billy Beane is a very famous guy in America,” Kroenke says. “And do you know who his idol is? Arsène Wenger. No kidding. You know why? His ability to spend money and extract value. That is what it is all about to be successful in pro sports. If you can do that better than other people, you are always going to be pretty good. Billy Beane’s idol is Arsène Wenger. Check it out.”

Yet nobody at Arsenal, least of all Wenger, has been feeling particularly idolised recently. Defeat earlier this month against Blackburn made it the club’s worst start to a season for more than 50 years, while the 8-2 loss against Manchester United was their heaviest in the Premier League. Kroenke’s response is to note last Saturday’s “big win” against Bolton and apply a wider perspective.

“There are always going to be people with a point of view, particularly in this internet-laden 24-hour news cycle with the ability for anyone to say anything,” he says. “That’s just part of the game. Sure it is a challenging start to the season. I know everyone thinks it is always going to be like that [pointing upwards], but it’s not. We would all love it if it did. If you look at the Arsenal’s history, it has not always been that way. To finish in the top four 14 times in a row is just unbelievable.”

If there is alarm at the possibility of slipping from the top four this season – and losing about £25 million of Champions League money – Kroenke is not showing it. “A wise man was asked, ‘If you had your life to live over what would you do differently?’ He said, ‘The thing I look back on that robbed my life of the joy I had was worrying about things that never happened’. I try not to worry too much because I think that is good advice. Having said that, you are always concerned. You want to see people you care about achieve their potential. It’s a rocky start but what do people really expect? Cesc Fabregas is a great player whom Arsène developed from the age of 16. He decided last year that he wanted to leave. Maybe it is one of those times when we have to work our way through, maybe with some young players. Arsène has been really good at developing these guys, people like Alex Chamberlain and Jack Wilshere.There are some really good players that Arsène thinks can be special. Sometimes you go through periods like that. Arsène’s our man. As an owner, that’s who we put our confidence in.”

That confidence was also evident during the summer, when Kroenke liaised with Wenger but did not interfere in huge decisions over the futures of Fabregas and Samir Nasri. Fabregas fulfilled an ambition to return home to Barcelona while Nasri, who would not sign a new contract, was sold to Manchester City rather than risk losing him for nothing. It has led to fears of a repeat next summer if the contracts of Robin van Persie, Thomas Vermaelen and Theo Walcott, which all expire in 2013, are not extended during this season. So, is Kroenke confident of keeping his star players? “Yes,” he says. “They [Fabregas and Nasri] were unique situations. Arsenal is a great club. London is a great place to live. Why would you want to throw that away? I think we have a great organisation and we have Arsène there, the ultimate evaluator.”

Of the sale of Fabregas, he says: “That was between Arsène and him. I like the kid but I’m not going to change his mind. Arsène made the decision. If we wanted to be really hard about it, we could have done but Arsène believed that it was the right way to do it. We talked about it when we were in London. I also get it on Nasri. If we didn’t do something on Nasri people would be looking at us next summer and saying, ‘Why didn’t you do this?’ We bought in a lot of resources that we can use on other players. I honestly didn’t make the decision on Nasri. Of course the board talks about these things but, at the end of the day, that’s for Arsène.”

While we are talking, the Rams are succumbing to a crushing 37-7 loss and it is fascinating to observe at first-hand Kroenke’s body language. He is fiercely competitive and defeat clearly hurts immensely, yet there are no individual recriminations or sweeping judgments. Kroenke’s wife, an heiress to the Wal-Mart fortune, also remains unerringly friendly and down-to-earth despite the on-field disappointment. The Rams’ head coach, Steve Spagnuolo, later tells me that he would not want any other owner during this difficult patch.

It is obvious that there is a particular focus on the longer-term picture with all of Kroenke’s sports teams. He cites the stadium, the academy, the opportunities for commercial growth and the introduction of financial fair play as reasons that Arsenal will compete with any club in the world. He also explains how his involvement with Arsenal began simply with a desire to help the Colorado Rapids, his ‘soccer’ team who are the reigning MLS champions.

“We didn’t invest to come in and control the club,” Kroenke says. “I thought that we needed a strategic alliance with one of the big clubs. We did have lots of different opportunities presented to us to invest in European football. I didn’t have the motivation to do it until Arsenal. It is such a great club, such an interesting club. If we are going to invest in a European football club, I wouldn’t really want to invest in any other one. I know I’m supposed to say that, but it’s the truth. I like the tradition of Arsenal. I love London. I have a lot of friends in the UK. I like the fact that we have such a following internationally. Arsenal helps me learn over here and I think what we have learned over here helps Arsenal. That’s what motivates me. I like that part, to think we are all growing and learning.”

What Arsenal can most obviously grow is their commercial revenues and, with the main sponsorship deals due to expire in 2014, Manchester United are the target off the pitch as well as on it. “I've known Ivan [Gazidis] on the business side for a long time," Kroenke says. "We have definite plans for what we want to do on the business side and hopefully we will be able to do as well as Man U. The ownership there was the most controversial but I don’t know how you can do it much better. They have built the commercial side. What the Glazers have shown is that it was way under-marketed. The revenue of the club now is huge. That gives you lots of options. I think Arsène historically has been able to build players better than almost anybody. If we can do that and can grow the revenue, I don’t see why the club can’t be great. I wouldn’t want to be involved if I thought we would struggle. Remember, five months ago, we were in a position to win everything. Everybody doesn’t need to panic. I have a lot of confidence Arsenal can compete, stay very competitive and hopefully win championships.”

Kroenke’s respect for Manchester United prompts a discussion of various ownership models. Mindful of the deep unpopularity of United’s leveraged takeover, Kroenke has promised that his purchase will not place any debt or interest liability on the club. His company, Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, entered into a finance facility with Deutsche Bank and it is understood that the decisive share purchases this year, from the late Danny Fiszman and Lady Bracewell-Smith, are structured with payments to be spread over five years.

There have been calls for other guarantees, such as never to award dividends to shareholders. Kroenke believes that his long background in sports ownership should provide reassurance. “We have a lot invested over there,” he says. “We are going to engage with our fans’ groups. We are always going to try to protect the club, develop the club and make it a viable competitor. We are going to try to retain our flexibility just like anybody would do.”

He also points to the fact that he has been on the Arsenal board now for three years and has supported significant investment in the squad. “We are not only developing talent, we are also spending money on players,” he says. “If you look at the total wage spend, we are up there. We have never told anyone not to spend one dime. Not here and not in London. They have been free. Denver have been one of the top spending sides on the NBA side and in hockey. Not always, because it isn’t always there that you can get players who will truly make a difference. Arsène is big on the chemistry of the club and the best people I have met are really big on that. It’s not just about throwing money at it. You bring these guys in sometimes and the locker-room gets weird.”

Arsenal, of course, have another billionaire shareholder in Alisher Usmanov, who, despite owning almost 30 per cent of the club, is not on the board. Usmanov reacted to Kroenke’s Arsenal takeover with a higher offer to shareholders and still appears to be a willing buyer. Kroenke simply stresses that he has never sold a share in any of his teams. “We are long term,” he says. “Look at everything we have done. There were a lot of shareholders who loved Arsenal for half a century or more, who wanted us to step up and spend hundreds of millions of dollars to keep this thing stable and protected. We did that and we did that honestly. Some people want their private benefactor. I don’t think it is sustainable. Maybe it is, maybe it [football] will always be the one place where there will be guys coming who are willing to pour money in. I don’t know. We have a self-sustaining model. We are committed to that model.”

Kroenke has been talking non-stop for the best part of an hour, firmly contradicting his ‘Silent Stan’ moniker. He shrugs when his reputation as some sort of recluse is mentioned, but it is clearly a source both of irritation and bemusement. “Someone will take a point of view, someone else will emphasise it,” Kroenke says. “I haven’t said a lot, I don’t know that I need to. We have really good guys out there in London. Sure, people want to know what we are doing but we are not going to do anything differently than we have ever done. There is no owner with as many years or as many hours in sports as we do. I don’t think so. We have had a good amount of success. I have a lot of respect for all of the other owners. I’m not decrying their way. What I am saying is that if you look year after year at sustaining it, Arsenal have done a pretty good job. Arsène Wenger has been the real reason for that and I like our future.”

As the conversation eventually drifts away from Arsenal and back to his teams in America, Kroenke makes a point of introducing Mike Jones, a Rams legend for a match-saving tackle in the final seconds of the Super Bowl in 2000. Kroenke recounts an incident that has gone down in American folklore as simply ‘The Tackle’ and is savouring the memory. He clearly also believes that Arsenal can experience moments of equivalent glory. “It’s much more fun when you win,” he says, “and, you know what, it’s really fun when you win the whole thing.”

Very positive throughout, and that's really what was to be expected. I would be glad if he (and Gazidis) addressed our commercial revenues, because that has been a major weakness in the past years. I think his words are promising in this regard.

Unfortunately he said exactly what I expected. Everything is great in the Arsenal world according to Stan! Nothing needs to improve or change.

What about our performance in the last transfer window? How many of our first choice targets did we get? When we moved to the Emirates, Arsenal had the chance to move into the top echelon of world club football but over the past few years we have moved down not up. Where did Kronke indicate he would like to see improvements to reverse that trend? Nowhere that's where!

Everything seems set for business as usual. Announcing transfer budgets of £50 million plus and not only not spending any of it, but actually making cash from top players sold. Charging top prices for tickets. Ignoring obvious failings in the way the club is being managed and directed. Implicitly acknowledging that we won't be competing with the top Premiership teams. Allowing our best players to leave.

But as long as the crowds roll up the cash machine will continue to generate big bucks. Stan has no passion for Arsenal. His comments about his earlier interest in the Club are pure bullshit. Following this, he has no passion for success on the playing field. His interest is in successful cash generation full stop. Unfortunately everyone else below him seems to share the same objectives, including our manager.

I hope Stan reads what is said on this forum. If he does I've got a bit more news for him. if things go on the way the have been, the 60,000 crowds will disappear; the European dream will become a memory; top players will want away; and our attraction for top players to join will be zero. Then Stan your cash cow will start to look very sick.

I share some of your concerns TPB, but I don't think an interview would be the right place to criticise our transfer business or announce that we have done bad in some areas. You cannot expect him to come out and say "That Wenger bloke, if he doesn't change his ways he is gone. Oh, and as far as I am concerned, he can take his whole staff with him as well. It's time to make a clean sweep, because this club is going down the drain. To stop this, I promise you to buy Hazard with my own personal resources in January, whether the Frenchman likes it or not. We will be going back to 4-4-2 as well."

Of course this interview is fabricated PR (I don't buy his comments about earlier interest in Arsenal either, by the way), but we shouldn't expect anything else and we shouldn't judge him by what he announces in interviews, but by what he does - and also, especially in Kroenkes case, by what he does not do. Same goes for Gazidis, whose rhetoric is probably envied by most politicians: Let them talk their talk and rather judge how and when they walk the walk.

By the way, I have no problem at all if Kroenke sees Arsenal as a self-sustaining business - or, as you call it, a cash machine. The alternative is being reliant on the generosity of you owners, whether their name is Kroenke or Sheikh Mansour. Arsenal is a business, and it's Kroenke's job to have an eye on that. It's Wenger's job to care about the footballing side of things.

May be a financially wise head could help me understand this.. Stan has dropped in his personal wealth within the past few years, is that all due to investments he's made?

With regards to the interview; he certainly isn't the type to jump on bandwagons. When this all kicked off we feared an owner not understanding Wenger will come in and get rid of him being so close to success. Arsenal were only a few players short of doing something special.. going all the way yet now the tables turned, flipped, its broken if anything.

Stan said, in the article I posted above...


We all know our business in windows has been poor. Poor in the sense of not signing extra bodies with quality who are out there, just neglected by Wengers ways. Arsenal had the chance to correct the mess a few years ago. Buy extra players with quality, end of story but it didn't happen and now the club is recovering from a massive implosion. Yes its all very good creating players, buying talent for the future, its 'basics' nothing more.. having the ability, the balls to buy extra players is something else but all goes hand in hand.

Stan seems extremely confident, likewise the businessmen up top at Arsenal regarding sponsorship renewals. May be a reality check is in order. Man Utd are doing extremely well on that front for valid reasons, reasons which I don't even need to state. Arsenal on the other hand have been predicted to loose out on a CL slot for a few season now yet come back fighting although its a little different this time around.

I think in some ways, it is heartening to finally hear him actually say something. I wouldn't get too caught up with him talking about the business side. We bitch and moan that we never by the top top players out there, but a lot of that is down to us not having a big revenue stream...compared to some of our rivals (or a rich and willing benefactor, like some others). Getting to the point where we have that increased money coming in, will allow us to compete on that front in the future. What has transpired this summer, though, has just made it more of a tight-rope situation.

Ultimately, what this interview has made even more evident, is the fact that Arsene Wenger is a very powerful man in the hierarchy. He is very well respected by the owner and the board and has been allowed the freedom to conduct the football business as he has seen fit. I think our frustrations could either be thrown at him, for being as stubborn as he looks to have been all these years, or the board, for giving him such a loose rein. Either way, I've resigned myself to the fact that we're rebuilding again. I don't expect us to do much of anything the next few years, but it will always be fun watching us on the field.

Garty4u;

The club can still buy quality able to go straight into the first team. Just because Usmanov isn't throwing money into the transfer expenses pot doesn't mean the club cannot go out and buy. Arsenals scouting network is drolled over, don't settle on such bullshit.

Do you believe those revenue streams will be as much as the club could have obtained had said the club done the business instead of riding it out, somewhat failing and getting negative media coverage in the process?

The last bit sounds as though your about to top yourself mate. Yeah Wengers rebuilding yet again likely to fail in the same areas.. yet again! but exciting? Our results have been nothing short of despicable.

Even if we don't have a rich benefactor, or Man U's income stream, if we had spent what we took in during the last window, we could have signed all or most of our first choices and still remained profitable as a business. I would like to hear someone in authority justify why we didn't do this. They won't because they can't!

By the way, even in these circumstances, Arsenal is still one of the richest clubs in the world.

Can you re-word this so that it makes sense? I'm not saying I disagree with you or anything. Just I can't understand.

Thanks in advance.

The sponsorship deals up for renewal will be completed upon successful negotiations. What can Arsenal use to aid them standing up tall against attempts from "x" company closing a deal financially lower than what could have been had the club gone and brought in top class players? The negative media coverage the club gets wont exactly drop "x" companies guard dishing out more money to get a deal wrapped up.

Prolific, I'm actually one of those persons who are willing to "accept what they can't change". I've already voiced my opinions about Wenger's managerial decisions in the last few years. I've actually said that I'm all for him being sacked and someone else brought in. I've said on a number of occasions that we needed a few players (probably the very same ones we bought in August) a few years ago, and could have been able to afford them. On the other hand, you just can't ignore our realities. One being that Kroenke, and the board really do see Wenger as the man to continue managing this team. I honestly think some of you on this board, and in the wider media just overreact to just about everything.

Everyone keeps harping on about how this is the worst Arsenal side ever, and what have you. I probably having been paying attention long enough to try to refute those claims, but I don't think we're nearly as bad as EVERYONE is making out. Do we have some problems? You bet. But I don't think it's the end of the world. I'm firmly of the opinion that if we actually placed renewed focus on one particular aspect of our game - defending, that we would be in a much healthier position. Surely not world beaters, but definitely not relegation.

I agree there have been tons of missed opportunities over the years, but what to do now? Turn back time? What can anyone do RIGHT now, at the end of September, to change a football clubs fortunes? The only thing would be to change the manager which, even in our predicament, might be premature. I've advocated getting rid of the manager, but only at the end of this season. I think a new manager would struggle to get as much out of this group of players mid-season. Give him a preseason to start shaping his own team. More to the point, why are we beating dead horses and crying over spilling our mug of milk? We haven't had the results we should have had over the years, why moan this every goddamn week?


I'm a fan of Arsenal FC, prolific. I don't even deliberately watch other teams play - I don't have the time, to be honest, but I always make time to watch us play. Only games I've not been able to watch live these past few years were due to being on a plane, on vacation or getting married. Even when we're playing like sh**, I still look forward to the next game. That will never stop until we're no longer AFC. The reality is that we're in this situation, and we always have to look forward. Going forward, I strongly believe Wenger should go at the end of this season. It may/may not happen. I also strongly believe that we will be able to improve commercial revenue in the coming years which will put us in a better position. This will dovetail fairly well into the fact that we will probably have a new manager that will probably not be as astute as Wenger has been over the years in developing quality players from unknown talent. At the very least, he may not have the financial handicaps that we know were there at least up to a couple years ago. Regardless of what might happen, I'm still going to be a fan, and frankly, as bad as we've been, there has still been some fun moments, be it when we win a game, or just a single goal that we scored.

It's funny, Stan Kroenke is doing EXACTLY what everyone was bawling out for a new owner to do - let the club continue as it was. He hasn't interfered, hasn't made himself the center of attention like say Roman Abramovich, or Hicks-Gillet.