It’s completely clear to even the impartial observer that things need to change at Arsenal. The approach of Stan Kroenke of running the club from overseas, to allow him to keep tabs on his American sports interests, have led to this embarrassing situation and seeing as he has no intention of selling, we are stuck with him indefinitely.
That accepted, let’s look at the options before us and swap negativity for positivity by addressing the issue at hand.
Kroenke’s long term plan is to hand the reigns at the Emirates over to his son, Josh. So why not accelerate the plan by the summer.
The only thing needed from Josh Kroenke would be his presence and undivided attention, something the club has lacked from the various people put in charge.
Would he be a good fit ? Well, he couldn’t be any worse and perhaps the enthusiasm and drive of the younger Kroenke is what is desperately needed.
There was nothing wrong with the position of CEO except Arsenal employed the wrong man in Ivan Gazidis. Gazidis and Kroenke senior have something in common, they know nothing about running a football club because their expertise is on making money.
They are not genuine, passionate sports people and have a greater affinity with sports branding, packaging, marketing and finances and as such, that has been the main contributing factor.
Aside from that, Kroenke has not taken an interest in the running of the club, preferring to install people into that role to allow him to promote his US based operations.
The extent of the chaos at the Emirates, starts with the building of the stadium, which was an inevitable move but it impacted on a reasonably successful side and things started to unravel for Wenger in monetary terms.
Forced into penny pinching and making do, the World class players he acquired soon realised they would have to use the exit door to find trophies.
Kroenke could also have kept Usmanov at a distance indefinitely but his ego wouldn’t let him. There was a rumour that the Russian was going to sell elsewhere and he played Kroenke like a second hand guitar securing a massive buyout but to Arsenal’s detriment.
The sum to buyout the Russian, is thought to be in the region of £600 million and anyone thinking that those figures would not have some baring n the club, lives in a tall ivory tower and probably goes by the name of Rapunzel.
There have been unmitigated disasters in the form of a contract extension and retraction, involving Arsene Wenger and that would not have been cheap to achieve.
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The contracts for players were allowed to run down with no clear initiative for renewal. Aaron Ramsey’s situation is a prime example of this particular incompetence.
The Welshman may not be everyone’s idea of a top player but who would have quibbled about a price tag of £30 million had he been under contract ?
As it stands, he is a free agent and has agreed to join Juventus and recent reports suggest Arsenal are looking for £18 million to release him earlier, which is laughable. Talk about closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.
Juventus don’t appear to be that desperate and can easily hang on for the summer, now terms have been agreed with the player.
The hierarchy also appointed a head of recruitment in renown talent spotter, Sven Mislintat, which at the time was seen as a statement of intent and the indicators were that this appointment alone, showed ambition and presented an exciting future.
Fast forward 14 months and Sven Mislintat could be on his bike because of he has apparently deemed his position as ‘untenable ‘
Rumour is that Mislintat is unfulfilled in a job where the coach, Unai Emery, now has the casting vote on comings and goings, preferring developed players to emerging ones.
That was bad enough but Mislintat has rarely been off a plane for long in the last six months and has used his highly evolved network of contacts to compile a list of targets, only to find that Arsenal have no money in the coffers and is now dependent on loaning players.
To those on Twitter, claiming the club is well run, you need to take stock or sober up in a hurry. For a business man of Kroenke’s stature, even he will admit that this has not been one of his most impressive business ventures to date.
He has overseen a calamity, which lurches between the obscene and the ridiculous for ten long years. Ten years for God’s sake !!!
He has presided over mistake after mistake, been ultimately responsible for a series of poor appointments, ill conceived decisions and is guilty of letting things slide.
His attempts at restructuring, are at the moment, a spectacular mess and show no signs of abating, therefore, he needs a plan B.
I also had a delicious idea at the expense of one of our rivals. If they need someone to run the club until Josh Kroenke gets the nod from pappy, perhaps there is an answer available this side of the pond.
West Ham’s Vice Chairman Karen Brady, is known as the First Lady of football and was crucial in the turnaround in Birmingham City’s fortunes from 2002.
Passionate and astute, Brady is no ones fool when it comes to running a club and she established a reputation for ruthlessness, earning her the title of ‘ The sacker ‘
When a player once challenged her by saying:
“I can see your tits from here”.
Brady replied:
“When I sell you to Crewe, you won’t be able to see them from there will you?”
And on taking her role at West Ham, she wrote in a Newspaper:
“To West Ham fans I’ll make a single pledge – while we are on the board, we will hang in the Tower of London before your club again goes through the financial turmoil which so nearly brought it down”.
Generally known to be a slick, no nonsense operator, with a track record of running clubs and keeping them financially viable, Brady has overseen the move from Upton Park to the London stadium.
Not only that but she is responsible for ensuring that the Hammers are in a position to buy players instead of loaning them and as a result, they invested between £92.6 -£100 million on new players and secured the services of a top manager in Manuel Pellegrini. As I said, she’s no one’s fool.
Although, Brady’s appointment is extremely unlikely, she could show these boys a thing or two. The fact remains, Arsenal need a hands on owner or perhaps the owners son. If not it needs someone who has the credentials and obvious passion to turn this club around and fast.
