Forget profits – Arsenal owe the fans a trophy!
We have a new Guest Writer today . His name is Ralph J. and I assure you all that he will give you a few things to think about in his articles. Today he has decided to question whether the fans should be happy that Arsene Wenger (and the shareholders) have been running Arsenal as a profit-making enterprise, when really all those millions that they have in the bank is down to one reason….The Fans!
So I present to you Ralph J.’s first post……
The True Valu£ of Arsenal Fans
The fans are the most important stakeholders…
“I’d rather play in front of a full house than an empty crowd” Johnny Giles, an Irish football midfielder once quoted. Those powerful words epitomize the driving force behind the Arsenal team – YOU! The fans are without a doubt the most important stakeholders of the club and let us not forget that. The fundamental question we have to ask ourselves after 5 seasons without a trophy is: Have we been taken for granted by the club and have we been selling ourselves short?
From a business perspective, Arsenal fans are the “cash cows” of the club and contribute heavily to their bottom line results. Fans from around the world contribute to the income of the club by spending their hard earned money on merchandise, membership and tickets. Season tickets can cost up to £1825, which is the most expensive in the Premier League. The median price of a match day ticket is approximately £50 and the average attendance is 60,045 persons. With around 30 games per year at the Emirates Stadium, the income that the fans generate for the club is astronomical. Based on past annual results, match day revenue is in fact the largest source of income for the club at approx. £90.6 million. That is over 50% of the club’s total revenue. The demand for tickets has remained high since the move and the supply limited as the stadium continues to sell out. So the fans DO deserve a pat on their backs – well done fans!!
In light of the above and on the back of 5 seasons without a trophy, is it fair to say that the club has taken us for granted and that we have been selling ourselves short? Let us start off by looking at the building of the Emirates Stadium. Several fans are quick to point at Arsene Wenger’s past accomplishments to make up for his present letdowns on the sporting front and believe that he should be attributed the acclaim of building us a new stadium. Can this be right especially since he is not paying for it with his own money? In fact, it is the revenue generated by the fans (in addition to other sources of income) that is being used to pay back the debt on the stadium. From an economic standpoint, the cost of building the stadium in itself is passed on to the fans in the form of high ticket prices. Therefore, aren’t we selling ourselves short by not recognizing that it is through our love and support (and money) for the club that has made the move to the Emirates Stadium a possibility and not solely Arsene Wenger?
Arsenal is now one of the richest clubs in Europe and has paid off most of the debt, thanks to the fans who have contributed approximately £450 million in match day revenues over the past 5 trophy less seasons. Arsenal has a healthy transfer budget, which also comprises of the fans’ money and is strictly adhered to. This means that the club is well aware that they are capable of spending X amount of money without the risk of putting themselves into financial difficulties. Despite this, the club has shown the fans on numerous occasions that they are reluctant to bring in quality players to strengthen the team.
Arsenal appears to be more interested in maximizing the value of the shareholders and running the club for profits rather than catering to and satisfying the fans’ interests/ needs when we so happen to be the largest “investors” of the club in terms of revenue. The latter can be substantiated by Arsene Wenger’s rigid spending policies, the pretext of building a young squad (which has not delivered), sales of top players and little re-investment back into the squad. Now if Arsenal was a business enterprise, the notion of running the club for profits could definitely stick. However, Arsenal is a top flight football club who should be constantly re-investing to strengthen the weak areas as well as adding depth and balance to the squad in order to mount a serious challenge for titles year after year – within its means of course.
That being said, are the fans being overly demanding in wanting the club to do well, to win silverware after 5 years and to bring in quality (where needed) when we have supported the club not just with our love and support but monetary wise as well? Have Arsenal taken the fans for granted and are we selling ourselves short? I am convinced that everyone at the club especially the board members want the games to be played in front of a full house rather than an empty crowd.
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“the club has shown the fans on numerous occasions that they are reluctant to bring in quality players to strengthen the team” – Arshavin? Nasri? Vermaelen? Fabregas? Song? Walcott? Rosicky etc etc? Do you mean that the club is reluctant to bring in quality players, or do you mean that the club is reluctant to spend over the odds in order to bring in expensive players who are not any better than the players we have merely to satisfy a small element of the support that things the price of a player equals the ability of a player?
“Arsenal is a top flight football club who should be constantly re-investing to strengthen the weak areas as well as adding depth and balance to the squad in order to mount a serious challenge for titles year after year – within its means of course” – well, this summer we added Koscielny and Chamkh, have just added Squillaci, and have promoted Wilshire and Frimpong from the youth team. We have challenged seriously for the title 2 of the last 3 years. Havent the club been doing exactly what you want? Oh yes, I forgot, you mean that the club should be investing in high-priced, big-name players because, after all, that is a PROVEN way to win things. Just ask Real Madrid.
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It’s normal to be angry about 5 seasons without some gold. It’s actually perfectly normal. No one wants their team to go that long without a trophy! But I’m all on Wenger’s side for this one. If Arsene Wenger didn’t put the work in to pay off the debts, we might not have an Arsenal team to win those trophies!
I think if Arsene Wenger had these millions upon millions of pounds to spend, he would have done it. I still don’t understand how people are calling for this player, that player, expecting all of our problems to be solved and we can all dance away with harmonicas and happy animals and rainbows. If Arsene Wenger doesn’t think a player suits Arsenal, despite fans’ calls for a new name person with 1 good season under his belt, then I wouldn’t want him on my team either! Wenger has an eye for talent, he finds out about the players who will suit and represent our style of play.
Look at Adebayor! That guy had 1 great season with Arsenal, ONE! Scored a shitload of goals, and is now warming the bench over at Manchester City. Who says the same thing won’t happen to us if we go out and buy up the hot, new prospect based on his performance in 1 season?
I think settling the clubs’ money issues is a good thing in the long run! Look at the big picture! They get the debt settled, Arsenal Football Club can be here when the van Persie, Jr.’s, Walcott, Jr.’s, and Ramsey Jr.’s are able to play for the club.
Arsene Wenger has done nothing wrong here, and it’s getting pretty irritating to hear some “supporters” constantly questioning, “Should Wenger go?” The man has been nothing but a blessing for this club! He brought in the best players, managed “The Invincibles”, and has reduced the debt. Who says we can’t have an unbeaten season this season? … besides many of the fans who already doubt our season and we’re only 2 matches in!
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Ralph, your article is very problematic. First of all, think about what you’re implying. The idea that the shareholders are running Arsenal Football Club as a profit-only business is interesting, but it doesn’t add up. First and foremost, Arsene Wenger would not stay on at a club which hindered his chances at success by telling him he could only spend X and saying ‘trophies don’t matter’. For the wages he’s paid, he would have shipped off to Madrid or Italy for a pay-raise and a serious shot at success years ago! Yes the fans contribute many many millions of pounds to the club every year, but to say that the board and Wenger are quite happy to turn down the millions brought in by Premier League, Champions League, and FA Cup winnings, as well as TV rights (all of which would be brought in by more successful campaigns) is ludicrous. It’s frustrating to watch them try and fail with inexperienced players, but to accuse them of not trying to win trophies is naive. I don’t know you Ralph, but I get the feeling you (and many other fans) haven’t been an Arsenal fan for long enough if you are getting so itchy for silverware that you are willing to criticize the manager and the board who literally made this club what it is today. Arsene Wenger and his transfer policy have transformed Arsenal in the past 15 years and while he has made some mistakes (Almunia, Fabianski, Bendtner) you have to believe he will come through. I think his record speaks for itself.
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no they don’t! be glad you can go and see something worth watching every week. pillock!!!
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I am with you for the need to invest sufficient funds in the team to help us fight for trophies. However, the £90m does not even cover the salaries of the players for the year. And if we buy a star player , he will demand astronomical wages, further adding to the the wage will. Its a delicate balancing act and I hope that club now have reached the point where its financial future is safe and it can now invest necessary funds. Its time for the club to reward the supporter for their patience and support for such a long period. Moreover, I can’t understand why do we have a large wage with such a young squad.
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I think your blog is all style and no substance. Cups are not the sole measure of success. If you have folowed the team for any length of time, you would realise we are in a golden period. Long may it last.
In the coming years, perhaps months, the profligacy of our compeditors will come home to roost. Irrespective of how many cups they have won.
I for one would sooner have a club to support now and in the future, than look back fondly on a club that used to be.
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it’s ok not bringing in kaka, villa etc, but we do need some top players , a keeper for one and a top defencsive mid and one playmaker to cover fab, we also only have one proven striker wwho has never scored more than 15 goals in a season or indeed played any were near a full season. so i think we do need to spend.
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i have never commented on articles before 2day but this article has inspired me 2. please don’t take that as a compliment because what i’ve just read is BOLLOCKS!!!! your whole arguement is pure rubbish, i mean seriously dude are you for real?! did u read over this article before u submitted it? infact nevermind you, did the editor read this before he allowed it to be posted? i bet the answer is no 2 both questions. what u are suggesting basically is that there is 1 big conspiracy by wenger & the board 2 steal the clubs money! seriously?! the youth experiment hasn’t worked hey? ok so is that why arsenal has some of the best young talent in the world? and is that why its seeming like the next generation of english super stars (gibbs, wilshere, walcott just 2 name a few)are going 2 cum from arsenal? you say the club is reluctant 2 bring in quality players!? come on mate you’re having a laugh aren’t u? so what do u call nasri, ashavin, vermealan, chamakh, kolsiency & now squillaci? sori mate keep ur dayjob
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The price of a season ticket at the Arse is irrelevant – BTW my season ticket is priceless. I don’t want to see Arsene splashing our hard earned dough on overrated arseholes that johnny-come-lately pot hunting fans suggest we should be buying. I’ve been going to the Arsenal for years – sat through all the shite times – seen all the glory – and if ‘celebrating’ had been an Olympic sport I have been on the f@#king podium. I’ll tell you something – these are the best years I’ve spent watching Arsenal – no trophies for 5 years – so what – entertainment in spades. Arsene is building a sustainable future for our club in the middle of all this media driven madness. So basically, you’re wrong – sorry!
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sorry i should of read the article but got bored with it after about 5 or 6 lines, i doubt it a guess writer,just another admin story to stir up emotions.
it the same boring talk of wenger out, wenger out,i’m starting to think admin are spuds in disgiuse, always finding stories, that try to ruin arsenal and in particular wenger,(hence why i could’t be bothered to read article).
yes admin i know your reply going be read the article before i speak but i say the replys you recieved from arsenal fans says it all. especially the following repliers
Paul Collins, TheRobin,Chamakh N’ Cheese,and especially kiwigooner, well said lads, if admin oops sorry ralph, knew any thing, then he would know what i said a few weeks ago, on here,is true, which is one…. we are in a golden era at arsenal,ever since george graham,took over in 1986,we’ve won more trophys in the past 24years then the previous 40years,two, we got a beautiful stadium, and a better youth policy, then ever before,three, we got to a stage where we can refuse not to sell a player like cesc fabrigas to barcelona,no matter how much pressure they putting on us to sell.
arsenal are in better hands then at anytime in our history, and thats saying something, because we’ve been blessed with directors and chairman and managers who care about the club.
lets hope you don’t get your way ralph!! or we all could live to regret it.
arsenal for life, not just a season !!!!
(Hi I can assure you that Ralph is a new Guest Writer, and it seems to me that I give everyone the democratic right to have their opinion heard, whether you or I agree with it or not. Instead of complaining about other peoples articles, perhaps you should send me one of yours to publish and see if everyone agrees with you or not?
PLUS can I point you to an article I (personally) wrote yesterday which blows your theory out of the water?
http://justarsenal.com/is-it-time-to-give-arsene-wenger-a-break/5004
Everyone is entitled to an opinion mate — ADMIN)
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sorry just got say, well said gareth , you said it better then i ever could your a true fan best of luck to you mate.
and SouthAfricanGunner, another true gooner that cares
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Admin,I don’t get it .this could be an excellent site but you allow this nonsense
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I ACKNOLEGDE THAT THE FANS DESERVES A TROPHY AFTER 5 LEAN YEARS,BUT YOU HAVE TO REMBER THAT IF NOT FOR ARSENES GENIUS,OF BUIlDING A STRONG TEAM AND PLAY BEUTIFUL FOOTBALL,MOST PROBABLE THE EMIRATES WILL BE HALF EMPTY TO WATCH ARSENAL,SO MY FRIEND GIVE CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE ,AND THAT CREDITS NAME IS arsene wenger
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Well, we cannot use the same cash to both pay down the debt and invest in the squad can we? Best of both worlds? Life aint that easy. We have to balance the club finances, pay down some debt as well as invest in the team. unfortunately for the last 5 seasons it would appear that we could not invest as much as we wanted in the team therefore we went for youth. The future is looking brighter everyday from a financial perspective ala our rejection of Barcelona’s bid for Cesc. keep the faith guys, things will get better. Ralph, to gain some more perspective, do yourself a favour, assess the last 50 years and not the last 5. Maybe then you will appreciate what we are witnessing right now.
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Wow. This article is very thought provoking. I do agree with it as it is well argumented. Where would Arsenal be without the fans revenue??? Only educated people with a business sense will understand this article.
Most of you who disagree, have probably never contributed a single penny to the club. The youth policy hasnt worked out and this team is not good enough to win anything this season that’s for sure. Man City just beat Liverpool 3-0 and we can’t even beat them with ten men.
The club is taking us for granted. We deserve better!!! who is koscielny and squillaci by the way??? relatively unknown players as far as I am concerned.
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I posted two articles several weeks ago stating the same facts. Nice wording but its been said before Ralph if you look at my articles published on here. We have established Arsene runs for profit and not success. We have established Almunia is the main problem in the lack of silverware and depth in key areas. So why copy what has already been said several times into a new post?
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its a business, they sale, u buy , simple as that.
if their cant fulfill ur demand, u dun buy , simple as that.
But arsenal did have 2 good season, 07/08 and last season, other than that, they play some pretty attracting football, so there still many ppl willing to buy it , although they know arsenal only provide false hope.
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Taking your thesis to the logical conclusion:
Since fans keep showing up for Arsenal games year after year,even without a trophy at the end of each year, and we are in a free market economy, either the fans are fools (or irrational to use the economic lingo) or they know something you don’t.
Indeed, they are not as one dimensional and as incapable of seeing the complete picture as you imagine.
Indeed, fans, just as lovers, are irrational; otherwise, you will have to explain why the stadia of other clubs who haven’t seen a trophy in 5x5years and have less hope of seeing one in the coming years than Arsenal still have fans trooping in to watch their home games.
Indeed, most Arsenal fans have figured they’ve never seen the brand of beautiful football Arsenal plays under Wenger before and don’t see it in most other clubs around.
Indeed, fans reckon that no approach or coach can guarantee winning trophies year on year; you can only hope your club is up for it every year. Though Arsenal is written off by pundit every year, there has been no year they’ve not been up for it.
Lastly, fans wish to be fans of a steadily successful club; one that take prudent steps to remain successful in the long haul and that means taking firm steps to preserve and enhance that possibility – just as the Arsenal Board, working in tandem and in agreement with Wenger have act to ensure in the last 5trophyless years.
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I think the board takes advantage of the fan’s loyalty and Wenger’s belief in his young players. I don’t think the board keeps Wenger around because they think he can win, I think they keep him around because he gives the fans a sense of security that the team can compete.
It’s much like why Liverpool tried to keep Rafa around for as long as they did. You don’t have to spend money on a new manager’s transfers or ideas about reshaping the club, and because of Rafa’s pedigree (well, they won Champions League once really), fans would give the manager the benefit of the doubt.
We give Wenger the benefit of the doubt, Wenger gives his players the benefit of the doubt, and the board just keeps stacking up the cash for sold out match, after sold out match.
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dear mr admin i think the response 2 this article is clear 2 see. bottomline is its a badly written piece, period!! many of us are actually confused as 2 why you allowed it in the 1st place. yes you’re right every1 has a right 2 an opinion but the thing is this is a blog not the market square. we come here expectin a certain level of writing & a certain level of intelligence from the writer/s. defending this piece by saying its his opinion is not good enough i’m afraid. coz well i hav an opinion 2(as u can see) but once i put it up 4 public scrutiny people have the right 2 tell me whether they think i’m talkin sense or spouting rubbish. & da verdict is clear on this 1, sorry
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I think everything is really good right now. We just need one more CB and a proper keeper and silverware will be coming our way. Our youth player’s are fantastic and we always score lots of goals. We just NEED a good keeper. Without one I question how far we can go.
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@ adimin
can I send my post as a guest writer
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@Adam Kemp,”we have established”.Really,listen mate just because you say something does NOT establish it.How unbelievably arrogant of you, not to mention stupid,but I really don’t want to get personal so I will leave it there
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I am a knob-end
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TheRobin and Chamakh N’ Cheese i totally agree with you guys. however Chamakh N’ Cheese i dont think bendtner is a bad player at all. He always has 10 to 15 goals a season. always. And he is just 22. He actually has a better statistics than when drogba was his age! So have patience in him too mate.
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You can’t make s**t like this up. If I didn’t know better I’d say I’d been suckered in to posting on here to drive up hits and….DOH!
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This was written by a true ‘customer’, not a ‘supporter’.
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Anyone question Wenger’s way of running the club is stupid.
You can always fulfill your fantasy in a video game instead of supporting a real sports team.
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admin, you might want to consider proof-reading these pieces before publishing. to any AFC fan with a shred of common sense this is completely false and a bastardizing of our club
it’s most certainly unfair that your guest “writers” have the gaul to say “we” when referring to arsenal supporters, they think they’re one of us!
wrong, if you state wenger steals the club’s money, you’re a straight out of the barrel retard.
there is no proof. none.
i can’t say wenger is right in everything he does, but i know he tries. you can see it in the quality of THE LAST 5 YEARS. do you fella’s even play football? OUR SQUAD IS GOOD.
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Hi
Arsenal have not payed a dividend to their shareholders in over 30 years. Therefore the argument that Arsenal is being run for the shareholders is flawed. The money is being invested in the club (either in facilities or in paying off debt). This will result in a stronger club in the future.
A consistent top 4 finish is not failure. Being relegated (Leeds or Newcastle) is failure. If all football fans took this attitude then all the clubs from the bottom half of the premier league downwards would fold due to lack of support. A genuine supporter takes the rough (and to be honest Arsenal haven’t really had any of this) with the smooth.
(ADMIN COMMENT – It is always said that Arsenal don’t pay their shareholders a dividend, but their enormous profit will come when they sell their shares. Nina Bracewell-Smith has 16% of the Arsenal shares on sale now at around £9,000 (or more) each. In 1995 when Arsenal joined the stock market they cost her £700 each.
This means she will sell her shares for £85m+, while she bought them for around £7m. There is the profit…
Just three years ago, the shares were worth around £6,000 each. That is over 50% PROFIT in just three years. Would the shares be worth that much if Wenger hadn’t been financially prudent?
ADMIN)
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Wenger has gone too far with his youth project, the fact that it cannot win anything is slowly, and for some of you very slowly, being realized. The single redeeming quality of this stratagem is the financial results. Is the football really so attractive these days? Like I said, very slowly.
It is quite funny that after the club abandoned a winning mentality to become solely a financially focused club sections of supporters who had prided themselves as football aficianados now consider themselves as financial experts. Far more likely many of you can’t balance your own check books. And for those creative personalities that believe arsenal will be the only club left standing should a financial armaggedon arrive, well, then I believe you’ve made your point, a pyrrhic victory at best.
I’ve often been somewhat concerned, not troubled mind you, but concerned that the thought of investing in players immediately conjures nightmares of leeds united or man city mayhem in the minds of certain supporters. It’s as if a measured middle ground just doesn’t exist in the psychology of certain folk.
Current and former players have been echoed the same sentiment – ‘spend’. It should be rather obvious, but then again, crusades happen for reasons we may never appreciate, or would want to for that matter. Wenger has engaged himself in a noble quest to single-handedly transform football into a game of financial sustainability and profit maximization, yet in the pursuit of this lofty goal all other objectives have been rather casually discarded the last few seasons.
A final thought, if we are financially sound and able to spend, perhaps it is best if we do not spend. There aren’t enough available players that we could feasibly afford even now to build a title winning squad anyway, so much damage have the previous relatively inactive transfer windows caused. In the meantime I gather we can become even more financially stable and really that’s what the support are looking for, to be number one in revenue and profit.
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/feb/26/arsenal-financial-figures
As far as I know the only team in the premierleague who have invested such big cash and actually win things is Chelsea but for that Abramovich relased £650m in 5 years, Spurs and Liverpool have also spent millions on big name players and are still waiting for results.
According to stats, Arsenal have over 22 millions fans around the world and according to my research, about 25% are like you, moaning all day long about Arsenal decisions, the let me tell you one thing, if you are a ticket holder, then give up, there is still thousands of people who will enjoy it.
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I give up after 5 lines too, just for ralph, as there is about 22 millions fans around the globe, if you feel that you season ticket is not worth I am sure that many others will be please to get their hands on it, me first
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You need to understand that if Wenger and the board follows the splash the cash call, we would be in a big mess financially in a short while. Given that our debt is still about 200 Million pounds, we could well double that figure in the red if we splashed the cash like Real Madrid did last season. Ironically, we did better than them in football terms in spite of our frugality – we went farther than them in the Champions league.
With respect to strengthening the squad, how do you rate Chamakh so far? He would have been quality if we bought him for 35 Million Pounds. Since Wenger got him for free, then he is rubbish! We criticized the arrival of Koscienly. But the guy has shown that he has some qualities even though he is not bulky. Last summer, we sold Kolo Toure for 16m Pounds and got Vermualen for about 10m pounds. Oh of course that must be bad business since we made a profit of 6million. We should have bought his replacement for 25m pounds. We sold Adebayo for 25m pounds and now his replacement a season latter, came for free. Wenger should have bought someone for 40m pounds before we acknowledge that he wants to win trophies. It is an open secret that we are after schwartzer in the goal keeper position. Oh! we should buy a younger world class keeper and throw away Manone and Scszesny. That is what would show ambition.
From the academy, we do not value the arrival of Wilshire into first team football because we did not buy him for 20m. Frimpong does not value anything because we did not buy him.
I Watched a game of the reserves the other day and saw some absolute qualities coming through. Emmanuel Thomas is comparable to Drogba in the use of physique and as a goal poacher. He only seem to be more skillful on the ball. This is irrelevant because we did not spend millions to get him. Let me not talk of Lansbury, Chuks Aneke, Afobe, Cruise and the others.
I am getting sick and tired of reading myopic and mediocre articles. Let me end by saying that many AAA’s will be forced to eat their words when other clubs will be sinking while Arsenal will be Soaring in the near future.
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to reply to the person who said arsenals youth policy don’t work,i’ll start with players from another era, the 70′s ok
charlie george,liam brady,frank stapleton,o’leary, adams,keown,
rixs,parlour,merson, thomas, now under wenger, clichy, cole ,bentley,fabrigas,walcot, bendtner , wilshire,gibbs,vela,and comming through now frimpong, bartley ,jet,lansbury.
to name just a handful, some may not made it at arsenal, but made us money. some got a lot off promise, so where is it not working? icould go on with players from the past and in the now and for the future, but you would’t understand what youth policy does for arsenal not just now but has done in over 50 years.
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@ Sam, Deano, VM & Steve
I am glad that some people in here are mature, smart and educated enough to understand the article.
@ The rest who posted in here
The core focus of my article is to show the importance of the fans as stakeholders of the club. It is a FACT that the fans generate more than 50% of the clubs annual revenue which goes to paying the debt on the stadium, transfer budget, paying the players wages etc etc u name it. Without you, there would be no Arsenal or Emirates Stadium so why should the fans sell themselves short? We should be proud of our importance to the club.
As for whether the club is then taking the fans for granted, I am glad that you all shared your thoughts. I have never implied that the Arsene Wenger or the shareholders are trying to steal the money. That would be rather silly as there are AUDITORS. I merely stated that they are more concerned about paying back the debt and not re-investing the money (which also comprises of the fans revenue) back into the squad. This strikes me as rather strange especially when we supposedly have a transfer budget set aside for doing this.
They are reluctant to spend, which is true. How often have we seen the club haggling over the transfer fee whereas at the other end of the stick, Arsenal wants top dollar their own players. Arsene Wenger also does not like to enter bidding wars as well as it will tend to drive prices up.
I think that the target audience for my article is aimed at educated people and sadly none of you seem to grasp it. Nonetheless, I hope that all of you can at least understand the importance of the fans as stakeholders of the club.
Thank you all for your comments!
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True arsenal fans know the 5 good reasons y we haven’t got a silverware For five years and are happy to waiting litle longer.for those who don’t know the reason and those biased
article writers let me educate u the arsenal way.
1 (transfare window) to play the best football in the country year in year out u need good players who fit the bill technical mentaly and can be adapted to playing the arsenal way.they are few players that fit the bill and those who do their managers try to extort AW for more than the players actually current price coz they know under Wenger nearly evry player becomes world class and his selling price triples.
2( youth policy)_whats the point teaching someone for years and spending lots of money in process to just let the person go make money for other clubs.and if u have trained a player for years since a young age u getter a better understanding of each btween the two.A player brought through the system has better knowledge and passion for the club than the one bought in his prime.
3 (Team regeneration)it takes two full years to bring up a full title challenging team even with billions of £.this is y this major reason we got no trophies.
1999-2001 the invincible where created
Henry viera toure bekamp lehman
Their reign
2002-2006 numerous trophies and champions league final
They got old and had to be replaced
2005-2007 th best midfield was in the country also (known as the greed generation) was created
Rosicky Edu Hleb flamin bapista reyse fabrigas eboue diaby
Their reign
2007-2008 second in the the premier league
most of them got gready and left b4 Their prime
2008-2010 young generation
Theo wilshare Rambo nasri ashavin chamak TV5 kolsky fripong vela
Reign
The began a season well. last year they where title contenders not bad so the future is bright .
2014-2016 – born and bread arsenal
Sunu jet watts cruise chucks afobe Silva etc.
A true fan knows Their past present and future that’s y we don’t worry about small gliches from the greed genertions coz we got more potantial coming to replace them.
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To all:
In my article, I also mentioned in a sentence about Arsenal being more concerned about maximising the shareholders’ value. I just felt the need to repost the ADMIN’s comment to Neil as it is too insightful for readers to miss and really explains the business aspect of it:
(ADMIN COMMENT – It is always said that Arsenal don’t pay their shareholders a dividend, but their enormous profit will come when they sell their shares. Nina Bracewell-Smith has 16% of the Arsenal shares on sale now at around £9,000 (or more) each. In 1995 when Arsenal joined the stock market they cost her £700 each.
This means she will sell her shares for £85m+, while she bought them for around £7m. There is the profit…
Just three years ago, the shares were worth around £6,000 each. That is over 50% PROFIT in just three years. Would the shares be worth that much if Wenger hadn’t been financially prudent?
ADMIN)
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@ Ralph J. your arrogance is quite staggering.You think that it takes someone with intelligence to understand your pathetic drivel?This statement alone confirms to me that you have,at very least,less than an average level of intelligence.It is quite clear from the comments that your stupidity puts you very much in the minority. In fact you are clearly to stupid for me to bother with further.
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@ Admin,Your points prove .do they not,that Arsene has very successfully managed the club (with the board).the fact that the shares are worth so much more is simply a reflection of the club ,as a hole, being in a better state than it was . This improvement in the overall value of the club will be reflected in our future ability to spend money.The problem is ,I think ,that some people want more money spent on transfers ,where Wenger spends it on squad maintenance . Only time will tell if Arsene really does know best
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Hi
@Admin – A good point about the shareholder value which I overlooked (BTW didn’t Lady BS inherit her shares rather than buying them?). However, as football clubs are currently the playthings of the very rich rather than true investments one might be able to argue that shareholder value would be increased by the glory of spending big to win trophies??
@Ralph – I’m not sure I appreciate my education being written off simply because I don’t agree with you!
I think in the medium term the outcome for the club financially and in a footballing sense will be better as a result of this period of prudence. As the debt is payed off Arsenal will be able to flex the financial muscle that the move to the Emirates has created.
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The issue not about spending more money or the youth project, the issue is about being able to field a well balanced and competative team that can win trophies. Now Arsene Wenger has failed to do that in the past 5 years, there is no good excuse for that! Benitez had good money at first but he still failed to assemble a good team. Man United do not necessarily win because of an expensive squad, Furguson knows how to play players to their strangth.
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@ Neil
Sorry if you took it the wrong way mate and I had no intention of writing off your education whatever it may be. By “educated” I meant (according to the definition of the word): Having an education, especially one above the average. I do not think that it is an offensive word compared to the distasteful name calling that others use in here.
I disagree mate. Arsenal has replaced most of the bank debt with long term bonds, which are to be paid back over a 25 year period. According to Hill-Wood, their repayments on the stadium are under £20 million per year. Even after taking this into consideration, Arsenal have recorded annual operating income (earnings before interests, taxes, depreciation & amortization) at around £41.6 million!
They do have a transfer BUDGET of approximately £40 million. I don’t know how many times I have to stress my following point. It means they are well aware that they are able to spend this amount of money without running the club into financial difficulties. This should therefore be re-invested into the club year after year to make them more competitive.
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Lets see how well old red nose does now if will be unable to buy everyone else’s best players
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@ Ralph J .Again you insult our intelligence.Show me where anyone of relevance,that is not you,stated we had a transfer budget of £40 million this year ,or any other for that matter.You should not compound your silliness by putting fantasy in writing
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To George:
Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood “It is our policy that we give the manager a transfer budget, which includes the ability to use all the money from player sales,” said Hill-Wood. “He will get the money no matter how much we got from selling a player,” he told Soccernet.
Hmmm we have sold quite a few now haven’t we? ade, toure, eduardo..
Unless chairman Peter-Hill is lying?
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Wenger said “you have to accept that any transfer budged must include money to improve contacts in order to maintain the squad” Now can you see what he meant with “ability to use”?
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And still don’t see any mention of a £40 million annual transfer budget
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The thing is Ralph,I respect your right to thing along different lines to me,and also to have different values and aspirations .However it is no acceptable to start making statements of FACT that are in fact nothing but misinformation. Because a lot of readers don’t see the difference and it soon becomes the truth to the less perceptive
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George, they do not have a £40 million ANNUAL transfer budget as you said. Therefore please use the term “annual” correctly.
I don’t wish to discuss things with you anymore so if you want, you can figure out the math by calculating all the players sold versus players bought over the last seasons. £40 million is an approximation as I said. Based on Peter-Hill wood comments about the policy which gives the manager the “ability to use all the money from player sales”, there should already be £40 million from the sales of ade and toure to man city excluding whatever amount that was already in the budget to begin with.
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I dont blame you, to stop digging is always a good idea
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The youth policy has been a success if you take the view that we are in the ‘financial’ results business. It’s as if many supporters were first introduced to AFC by taking their daddy’s hand and strolling down to the london stock exchange to watch arsenal’s stock price perform.
Again, cat calls for splashing cash? Please just stop it, no responsible supporters is asking for financial recklessness.
What I do find encouraging is wenger’s apparent shift away from over emphasizing youth. Squillaci, potentially ciani, scwharzer, and a top, top dm(not cover) and I begin to rate our chances for the league again.
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Do you know that there are only 2 teams in the Premier League that make a profit, and Arsenal is one of them. Man U can go belly up anytime. What would become of other monumentally unprofitable teams like Chelsea and Man City if their billionaire owners grew tired of them? How many buyers would be attracted to their insane business models? Supporter-owned Barcelona? They were lucky to get a $200 loan to cover operating expenses. Real? Please, just more insanity. Arsenal are the only big team that doesn’t lose money. You tell me who is keeping faith with their fans, a team built on a self-sustaining business model, or a team deficit-spending team. Arsenal will still be standing when other big teams go the way of Liverpool, trying to sell their sinking teams to the devil, er uh a “Hong Kong financier with ties to Soverign funds.”
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@Ralph
That’s fine, I guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree. You can’t have been surprised by the standard of debate – discussing football does often seem create a lot of vitriol
I guess I’m not so bothered about the money since my direct contribution to Arsenal so far amounts to a couple of mugs and going to the Emirates Cup
As a bit of an armchair fan I’m happy to follow the fortunes of a club that stands for something (playing good football and developing for the future) rather than just winning at any cost – but can quite understand if others feel differently.
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The youth policy has been a success if you take the view that we are in the ‘financial’ results business. It’s as if many supporters were first introduced to AFC by taking their daddy’s hand and strolling down to the london stock exchange to watch arsenal’s stock price perform.
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