afc The Mighty Transition: Why Arsenal Haven't Won Anything in 6 Years.

[Turkish]

I didn't want to read it but did and all I see is Wenger talking the same sh*t again from previous years just with a bit more passion.For Hill Wood to come out and say that about the supporters is another joke, soon as some pressure is on the supporters are wrong.Hill Wood also said that they are prepared to back a bid for any player Wenger wants but he chooses not to spend excessively. TF as much as you blame the board them saying this puts more pressure on Wenger does it not? If it wasn't true why would Wenger just sit by and allow people to think its him that's being tight with the money?

[TF S4DK]

Hill-Wood puts out those sound bytes on backing Wenger on whoever he wants, to shut up the fans from wanting a billionaire takeover.While this isn't a lie, the reality is that we have always had an amount of money (40m) we could "use" from the bank cos of The Emirates Stadium, for player purchases, however the club only uses the money to guarantee other clubs that they will be payed the latter installments on transfers. Hence why when Keith Edelman publically said...

"We have substantial resources of cash if Arsene wants to spend it," said Edelman. "If Arsene came to the board in January and wanted £40m for a player, we would have the money. We said to Arsene in the summer that we have money to spend. He said, 'Thanks very much, I have done my business in the summer. I will spend it later on'.

Wenger was furious and Edelman didnt last in his job long, and shortly after Wenger was quoted as saying...

"The strategy of the club is to sell every year and to buy less expensive players.” He added: “We manage at Arsenal to maintain all our football ambitions — national and European —while having to free up - for 17 more years - an annual surplus of £24m to pay for our stadium. The club’s strategy is to favour the policy of youngsters ahead of stars and to count on the collective quality of our game.”

Now add Friday's...

Q: Arsene, sometimes there's a criticism that you don't sign the quality of player that you used to. Have you had a change in policy?A: "Of course, we've had a change in policy to sign younger players. It's important for football that there's another way then to just come in, put money on the table and buy a star. I feel it's very important for football."Q: Can you expand on that?A: "No, I don't want to expand on that. The way we are doing things is right. Personally, I'm rather proud of this team, proud of the players, if I look at this team I'm proud of them, proud of the attitude of the players and the football we play. It's only in this country that we have to face what we face. If you go anywhere else in the world Arsenal are given much more credit, I can tell you."Q: What about the stadium. It's important to get into the piece, to be positive, to get into the piece, because that impacted on your spending and yet no-one's talking about that? You haven't then been able to sign big players?A: "Nobody talks about the fact we built a new stadium. We have many big players in this team, and the future will tell you that. Whether they play here or somewhere else, you'll realise they're big players."

[TF S4DK]

Sky News & Sky Sports sources are reporting that Stan Kroneke is in "advanced talks" to assume full control of Arsenal.

[mp*]

Good timing for him..In light of recent events, people who a few years ago 100% didnt want a take over would probably accept it now./If it is true, i hope it happens quickly. I dont want a takeover battle during summer to provide excuses for not sorting out the squad./Im not sure whos better Kronke or Usmanov.

[MrJibbles]

Wouldn't this take over be placing debt on to the club? Unless he actually has the financial backing to out right buy it, or selling off assets.A Man Utd/Glazer situation?

[MrJibbles]

I can exclusively reveale that the US tycoon Stan Kroenke is poised to take control of Arsenal Football Club.I'm reliably told that Kroenke, who already owns close to 30 per cent of the Premier League club, is in advanced talks to acquire the 16 per cent stakes held by both Danny Fiszman and Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith.An announcement could be made to the stock market as early as tomorrow morning, although it could be delayed.By securing undertakings to sell their shares to him, Kroenke would take his shareholding in Arsenal to about 62 per cent of the club, triggering a mandatory offer for the rest of the shares.I'll have more on this breaking news later this evening.http://blogs.news.sky.com/kleinman/Post:341d6161-4fd3-438f-81b2-50a8aa4345d0

[Guest Awesome Kong]

If so like what Stat said, bye bye Arsenal FC.

[Heero Yuy]

I dunno what it is but I trust Stan more than the Russian.The Russian seems like he'd throw the money expecting it to be spent and then expecting immediate return. Stan just seems like he'd pretty much run the club the same albeit offering Wenger financial muscle if requested.I'm basing this on Usamanov's trying to give us a shed load of money that time, not too mention his comments regarding Arsenal need to spend to keep up with/excel with their rivals etc. Doesn't really seem like a guy who would sit by idly watching Wenger run the club his way basically.

[Bobby Reds]

Wait and see if the season flops, and then takeover to "cheer" the fans upthey think were idiots

[TF S4DK]

I dunno what it is but I trust Stan more than the Russian.

Better PR/Roman

[Heero Yuy]

That and he doesn't talk as much as Usmanov

[Superstition]

lol @ forcing Dein out over Kroenke and then caving and selling a few years later anyway

[Guest Sun Tzu]

reckon Dein will return?

[TF S4DK]

That and he doesn't talk as much as Usmanov

Kroneke has never really needed to talk tho, and there lies my issue with him.The silent Stan thing may not actually be a good thing. It might be, but it might not... However its been like 2 years, we really should have heard more of his intentions a while ago, cos up until weeks ago, everyone was saying he isn't interested in owning Arsenal, and will sell his shares and cash out big when the debt is paid.

[MrJibbles]

All be it from a year ago, this should give some of you an insighthttp://swissramble.blogspot.com/2010/03/is-stan-man-for-arsenal.html

[Guest Awesome Kong]

Bait wig, my man isn't no Vince McmahonNow that's real hair.

[TF S4DK]

Vince parred him as well...

[TF S4DK]

Stan Kroenke has reached agreement for shares of both Fiszman and Lady Bracewell-Smith.Takes him to 62%http://twitter.com/#!/JWTelegraph

[MrJibbles]

UPDATE 18:45: A deal for Kroenke to take control of Arsenal Holdings plc would resolve the uncertainty surrounding the ownership of another of English football's giants.I understand that he is likely to pay between £11,500 and £12,000 for each of the shares that he is offering to acquire from Fiszman and Bracewell-Smith. Buying roughly a third of the shares in issue would therefore cost Kroenke in the region of £290m.But who is this prospective owner of Arsenal FC?Kroenke is the principal shareholder in Kroenke Sports Enterprises, a Denver-based live sports and entertainment group. He has been an investor in Arsenal since 2007, when he bought a 9.9 per cent stake in the club that was owned by ITV.Like the new owners of Liverpool FC, who own the Boston Red Sox baseball team, Kroenke has major US sports interests, including the Denver Nuggets of the NBA, Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer and the NFL's St. Louis Rams.The timing of Kroenke's move is interesting. On the pitch, Arsenal will have had a disappointing season unless they can overturn a seven-point deficit on Manchester United during the remaining fixtures of the Premier League campaign.Off the pitch, Arsenal's finances are in reasonable shape: at the interim results for Arsenal Holdings plc announced in February (for the half-year to last November), the company reported an operating profit of £12.6m, although of course, many of the club's supporters would prefer the board to be looser with the purse-strings in the transfer market.Incidentally, for those of you who follow these City-related matters, I'm told that Kroenke is being advised by Deutsche Bank, Arsenal is being advised by Rothschild and Lady Bracewell-Smith is being advised by Blackstone.I should point out that Kroenke's takeover isn't yet a done deal for several technical reasons in that he still has to make an offer to the rest of Arsenal's shareholders.There's also a potential obstacle in the shape of Alisher Usmanov, a Russian oil tycoon who owns about 27 per cent of the club's shares. He has also been interested in pursuing a takeover of the club although it's difficult to see how he can do so now without making a knockout counterbid to the other big shareholders.It's also worth pointing out that a takeover of Arsenal by an American tycoon would complete a clean sweep of the top tier of English football in relation to foreign ownership. Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United are all owned by foreigners even as the costs of ownership, driven by higher wages, continue to rise.A spokesman for Arsenal declined to comment this eveninghttp://blogs.news.sky.com/kleinman/Post:341d6161-4fd3-438f-81b2-50a8aa4345d0

[Guest Awesome Kong]

Vince parred him as well...

I remember this, parring his team and then on Raw too.

[Guest Awesome Kong]

Vince needs to buy blackpool or some team like that, but he would wwe it and have everyone be like wtf.

[Guest Sun Tzu]

i'm wary to say the least

[TF S4DK]

reckon Dein will return?

Apparently he been telling people he will be back in the building sooner than they think...Could be gassing tho.

[n/a]

i'm wary to say the least

agree

[Lenny]

i'm wary to say the least

agree