RSSMore about Farhad Moshiri. And is it Dein’s ego vs Arsenal’s interest?
THE Moscow correspondents have furnished us well with profiles of Alisher Usmanov this morning. Make your own mind up.
But what of Farhad Moshiri? Well, I’ve been doing a little digging and this is what I can find: For a start, our Farhad Moshiri is NOT the Iranian artist of the same name born in 1963.
In fact, our Farhad Moshiri is aged 52 and is also Iranian born but is now a British citizen.
While Usmanov is acquainted to the club through the box he owns at the Emirates, Moshiri is also no stranger to north London. It seems he has lived in the area for years and at various times has been linked to flats in Maida Vale and Swiss Cottage and most recently to a house in Hampstead. The Hampstead property changed hands for a little over £2 million back in January 2004. Also known as Ardavan Moshiri, the qualified chartered accountant previously worked for Deloitte and married in London in 1988.
Just as Alisher Usmanov appears to be a man of steel, so does Moshiri, with investments in various companies and as has been reported elsewhere, previous link-ups with Usmanov.
In those 19 years since Moshiri got married in London, how many Arsenal games did attend before Usmanov got his box? I’ve no idea.
But what of Dein? The longer this drags on, the less altruistic it all feels. When I heard Kroenke had been replaced (or at least been complemented) by Usmanov what came to mind was a common tart all to ready to shack-up with the first sugar daddy they stumble across.
Nobody doubts David Dein’s attachment to Arsenal. But is his love for the club above his love for himself? It’s a pertinent question as he embarks on this rocky road.
The health of the club’s finances depends on who you listen to. However underlying Dein’s argument appears to be the contention that without investment we are lagging behind the other top clubs and that it is the issue of investment and transfer funds that is paramount.
I don’t argue that investment matters. But let’s remember that had David Dein been in overall charge at the club nine or so years ago, instead of playing at Ashburton Grove we would now be playing at Wembley. Retaining the identity of the club has been tough enough when moving just a few hundred yards.
Looking at it now, I think a move to Wembley would have been a complete and utter disaster for the club in so many ways. I reckon not even all the foreign investment in the world would have saved the shell of a club that would have resulted from such a geographical shift. In short, big money signings are not the be and all and end all that some people would have you believe.
Henry Winter is spot-on when he nails Dein’s talk of us being the number one club in the world as if it is some kind of measurable accolade. Sweeten your proposals with talks of European titles if you must. But the world’s number one club? Pur-lease.
Going back to the stadium, that is why we must be sceptical of Dein. It is for that reason that we should not swallow everything he believes as gospel.
He certainly got the appointment of Arsene Wenger spot on but he got that ground decision wrong and if he wants to convince the likes of me that his motives are pure, he should acknowledge as much.
Otherwise, this whole thing stinks of an egotistical power battle far removed from what is really in Arsenal’s best interests. It creates instability and uncertainty and I’m afraid that intentional or not, the only result will be to hasten Arsene Wenger’s departure from the club.
One thing you can be certain of is that he will have little time for all this posturing. Not when there are games of football to be won.
31 August 2007 at 7:42 am
Well said Playa. It would take a very short memory to not remember that Mr Dein has smoothly executed a dramatic U-Turn from his historical opposition and criticism to foreign investment in Arsenal FC (especially Russian Oligarch investment ala Chelski). It also begs the question, why did Mr Dein need to sell his entire stake to Usmanov in exchange of the Chairmanship of Red & White Holdings? Could he not keep his stake and form an investment company of his own to potentially take over the company? Mr Dein wanted to both liquidate his holding (generating vast personal wealth) as well as remain in the picture as far as forcing his way back to the AFC boardroom is concerned. Talk about having your cake and eating it too.
Usmanov has acquired Mr Dein’s stake for a sound financial reason. When the next round of AFC Financials hit the market (reflecting increased gate receipt/ sponsorship/real estate/ TV deal revenue), his 75 million GBP investment will sharply escalate in value. According to Forbes, AFC is already the third most valuable football club in the world after Man U and Real Madrid. With its revenues improving by the day and the debt incurred for the stadium decreasing by the year, the day is not far when Arsenal becomes the most valuable football club in the world in terms of net worth.
Wenger has already admitted that money is available to buy any player he likes but he is not prepared to cough up a king’s ransom for them. There is no guarantee that if Wenger is hypothetically given a 70 million GBP transfer budget, he would go ahead and spend it. It’s just not his style. Therefore Mr Dein’s talk of foreign investment being essential to compete with Man U, Chelsea and Liverpool is superficial at best. The foreign investors in Arsenal are staying invested for large potential capital gains and not for any love of AFC.
31 August 2007 at 8:00 am
what transfer window?
31 August 2007 at 8:11 am
Hi,
Just to let you know Farhad Moshiri is Iranian but not an artist! He is an Arsenal supporter lived in North london for years.
31 August 2007 at 8:11 am
How is one’s “love” for a football team quantified? It seems to me that there are people who see themselves as “better” supporters of the team than others. Hence this talk about “… not for any love of AFC”. My thinking is that let’s wait and see what Dein and Co. proposes before we go on and on about the club being financially secure, Arsenal not needing oreign investment etc.How financially secure the club is, none of us knows. It has simply been Edelman’s word against the media’s.
What I don’t understand is that if a club like Man Utd required a foreign investor, at a time when it was the world’s most valuable football club, who is to say that Arsenal don’t need one?
31 August 2007 at 8:30 am
I agree with your sentiment, Playa. Dein is acting VERY whore-like. I think he cares far more about himself than about the Arsenal. I really hope that Fiszman, Chips, Nina B-S, and Edelman are able to fend off sny hostile approach and continue their stewardship of the club, which has been so spot-on to date.
31 August 2007 at 8:33 am
Man U needed a “foreign investor”? Of course not. They were subject to a hostile takeover, there was no question of them having the option of objectively weighing up the options and deciding they needed to be privately owned by a foreign businessman.
31 August 2007 at 8:36 am
Man U didn’t need the money - the shareholders wanted money and sold out. So far the Arsenal shareholders have shown they don’t want the money. I agree 100%with Goodplaya (and Henry Winter). It is beginning to look like Dein’s love of Arsenal is far outweighed by his ambition to be the grand panjandrum of Arsenal and have revenge on the remaining directors. It seems to be quite well known that he and Danny Fiszman were not on speaking terms for years. What is the money for? How can he say that Arsene’s continuation as manager is vital and say we need money since we all know that Arsene doesn’t want to spend 10’s of millions on established players with ego’s to match?
31 August 2007 at 8:40 am
[...] Some more reaction - Henry Winter in the Telegraph, Arsenal at War in the Mail, First blow in a bloody battle - David Bond, Goodplaya on Dein’s ego vs Arsenal [...]
31 August 2007 at 8:46 am
I don’t think Man U needed investment at all. They’ve always spent a lot of money when they needed to, look at the money they spent on Veron, Ferdinand and Rooney, all before any foreign ‘investment’.
31 August 2007 at 8:49 am
Excellent article Goodplaya. Alex & Magic Hat, further express my views.
I hope we are wrong about DD’s motives.
31 August 2007 at 8:58 am
It just makes me want to vomit TBH. The tango man is destabilising us just as things were settling down.
We don’t need any foreign money & we certainly don’t need Dein
31 August 2007 at 9:01 am
Well said Playa and Alex. This is all a scrap about the value of the Arsenal brand. The trouble is the brand is seen by some as just a means to make money. To the fans the brand represents the whole identity of Arsenal, what it stands for, what we want it to be. I see no evidence that any of the fans want Arsenal to become a plaything of commercial interests from any quarter - GB, US or Russia.
What Arsene has built is a team with an amazingly strong identity. It’s about talented playing coming together as a team to play collective football of great quality. He’s done that on limited resources but I don’t see Arsene arguing for billions to buy galacticos because he knows that would upset the balance of the team he wants to build. He’s had money to spend this summer but has chosen not to - and I think he’ll be proved right again.
But there’s little reason to place trust in any of the competing interests at the moment when the current management is trying to register the name ‘gooner’ to make money out of merchandise.
31 August 2007 at 9:02 am
I for one am glad DD is back on the scene. As far as I am concerned he is good for AFC, the man has vision, unlike most of the rest of the board.
He had the vision to bring in Wenger and he had the vision to see that the new ground would harm the club’s finances and standing on the pitch, which it has. Eventually the stadium will be paid for, but will AFC still be a major force in football then?
Don’t get me wrong, the new stadium is fantastic and will eventually bring to the club more riches to finance many new team’s but we have to stay in the running and by that I mean challenging for major honours each season, something we have only barely done in the last few seasons. With the likes of other so called smaller clubs now appearing on the horizon the threat to us of not being in the running for any honours becomes greater and I strongly believe we do need more financial clout.
Currently, but not for ever, the Emirates lessens that financial clout. I don’t quite believe the story that we have loads of financial muscle at our disposal, why have we offloaded our highest paid players ? Thierry aside, did we really have to lose Pires, Edu or Vieira ? We hear the accounts will show how well off we are, but do not forget this is paper money and accounts can be shown to display many things.
Answer me this, do you not think that a few years ago Wenger would have wanted to sign Zidane ? Of course he would have wanted to, IF HE HAD THE MONEY. Well, someone else did have the money and bought him. Replace the word Zidane with Ronaldinho, or Torres or Tevez or whoever you like. If you want the worlds best players you have to be lucky enough to have them in your team in the first place (we do have a few already) or pay the going rate to get them.
Great players are not all stupid, they go where the offers for their work are the greatest, much like you and I. And I do not mean just financially. They go where the prospects are the best for them, financially and for footballing honours. They know the money is good but they also know that without any medals in their cabinet they have achieved nothing as a footballer.
A few years ago we offered a good chance for a player to achieve honours at AFC. Today, all we can offer to a potential future player is a chance to fight for qualification in the Champions League. We may show glimpses of expectation in a domestic cup. But we won’t be challenging for the Premier League because we have fallen too far behind due to lack of investment in top quality players. We can’t even keep our best players anymore.
For AFC to climb to the top of the footballing mountain we need three things:
Wenger - to keep producing the fantastic footballing team(s).
Dein - to run a dynamic board with vision.
Money - if you can offer the best deal you can attract the best players, sad but true.
Without any of the above, at best we will stay as we currently are in the footballing world,
ALSO RAN’s !!!
31 August 2007 at 9:21 am
Dein’s statement yesterday thoroughly depressed me…
he said he wants to make Arsenal no.1 club in the world - to every Arsenal fan we are that already…
Dein is motivated by vengeance, power and greed
we do not need to compete with the millions squandered by Chelsea, Liverpool, Man Utd (and even Spurs)… we are in the unique position of having a manager who nutures raw talent and buys cheap… and competing on the pitch is not about money but how talented and cohesive your team are…
I certainly don’t want there to be a power struggle at our club - we are doing very nicely thankyou with a brand new stadium that is sold out every game and the source of the money from Dein’s backers is extremely dubious to say the least
do the honourable thing Dein and move on gracefully
31 August 2007 at 9:22 am
Where does all this leave Kroenke? Many seem to assume he’ll necessarily side with Tangoman and the Russians. But what if he were to hold onto his holding and throw his lot in with the existing board/main shareholders…..that would leave the current board in a far stronger position than they are currently in percentage shareholding wise. There must be a reason why Dein didn’t sell his stake to Kroenke. Perhaps the latter favours playing the long game and maintaining the status quo,ie backing the current board, at least for the moment. Could this all blow up in The Orange One’s face? I for one do hope so, for all our sakes……
31 August 2007 at 9:29 am
What about Wenger’s role?
Hey fellow Gooners. It just strikes me as odd that nobody is contemplating the possibility that Arsene Wenger could be - how to put it nicely - “aligned” to his friend Dein’s interests.
Witness the lack of spending, the obvious degradation of squad strength and experience profile. Compare this to the other Red teams in England’s NW, who’ve spent countless millions of quid on recreating midfields and wing players.
Surely one can be forgiven if one wonders, is this deliberate? Is this one friend helping another?
I’m not saying it is. I’m just saying - why not CONSIDER it and then denounce the whole setup.
What say?
31 August 2007 at 9:30 am
I agree with Geez go back to the 60’s and 80’s when we were then also told we wanted to be the best by the presentr chairman’s father he spoke a load of rubbish and arsenal were not a big club ewe came back into the big time under wenger by buying good and exoerienced players mixing them with young ones namely petit overmars lauren mixed with henry and viera.. many of you are quite happy arsenal to finish at number every year until overtaken by spuds etc come into the real world .. also k edelman is not an arsenal man dd is
31 August 2007 at 9:36 am
give the man a (Sammy) Nelson salute !
31 August 2007 at 9:38 am
@New Delhi Gooner - Wenger is well known for being extremely prudent with money… it has been repeated often enough that there is more than enough money for transfers but he likes to do it his way… this year or next we will be premiership champions on a shoestring budget!
WE DO NOT NEED DEIN’S DIRTY MONEY
31 August 2007 at 9:58 am
Disagree with you completely, geez.
For one thing, Arsenal are not exactly poor as it is. We are in or around the top 5 richest clubs in the world.
For second, we are emphatically NOT also-rans. We have as good a chance as any side of winning trophies. If you want star players, you should lobby for a new manager.
Third, for me the soul of the club is the most important thing.
I’ve followed the Arse for over twenty years and one of the reasons I’m so proud to be a gooner is that Arsenal are one of the few world clubs left to retain their integrity. I’ll happily own up to being no expert but when Arsenal met Barcelona in the Champions League final, I thought it was a victory for football in general.
Usmanov is a corrupt oligarch, and has made his money on the back of bribes and backroom deals with human rights offenders and murderers like Putin and Karimov in Uzbekistan.
There’s less info on Moshiri, but if Dein is happy to bring money like this into the club then I agree with you - it’s hard to see that he’s really got Arsenal’s best interests at heart.
If this leads to a takeover then I for one will turn from Gooner to Gonner, and I will feel the loss deeply.
31 August 2007 at 10:10 am
geez (point 13) - To say the new ground has harmed us on the pitch is ridiculous. We have had two fallow seasons (one where we got to the final of a Champions League final). Between 1998 and 2001 we had three seasons without a trophy and while we may have finished second, in two of those years we were as far off winning the league as we have been recently.
Wenger would never have gone for Zidane and to say we are also rans is an incredibly short-term view of things.
Sig (point 14): “he said he wants to make Arsenal no.1 club in the world - to every Arsenal fan we are that already…” Brilliantly put.
31 August 2007 at 10:10 am
I take pride in what AFC is and how it has conducted itself over the years. I would hate for us to become a Chelsea or a MU. Money and big signing are not everything. Look at Spurs ffs. Wenger never has and probably never will buy big. He has bought kids, unknowns or failures and turned them into the most exciting and interesting players I have ever had the pleasure to watch. The thought of throwing away our history, traditions and CLASS, for a few quid appalls me. How many Italian or Spanish clubs are owned by foreign investment companies? Dein’s intentions may be honorable, but I doubt it given the way he has flitted from one billionaire to the other. I am not against change, but it must be undertaken in the right way, and not by chasing anyone with some spare cash to throw around. F**k all those clubs that have to sell their souls to get a little success, they are not Arsenal.
31 August 2007 at 10:11 am
Hey I dont trust Dein - We dont need the money. We have a great team - If the board sell up then we loose the heart and soul of AFC. The history and tradition matters not the amount of money you can spend on 1 player !!
31 August 2007 at 10:17 am
If Wenger likes DD, and I do too, thats good enough for me.
Does it really matter if the consortium are American, Russian or Martian? If they own shares they have a say. The only difference these people have brought to our rivals is more success than us.
Football is changing, we change with it or cease to exist.
31 August 2007 at 10:23 am
Geez… Wenger shares a history with Dein but his values are diametrically opposed to Dein’s - Wenger isn’t interested in money but raw talent…
Arsenal have proved we can compete without squandering millions… Arsene has proved himself…. WHERE IS YOUR VISION?
31 August 2007 at 10:27 am
Thanks for a really good article, GoodPlaya! My sentiments exactly. Why has DD suddenly switched alliegiance? While I think he did a great job for us (apart from the Wembley fiasco), I think he has lost the run of of himself (as my mother would have said) and thinks he is now bigger than the club, as this is clearly a further de-stabilisation.
IF we are heading for a change of ownership ,and I still really hope not, then I’d prefer a sports-mad yank to becoming a toy for a russian!
Tottally agree with Ignatz re the soul of the club!
31 August 2007 at 10:42 am
Sig (point 25)
My vision is that for AFC to stay where they belong, as you rightly said
“Arsenal no.1 club in the world - to every Arsenal fan we are that already…”
they have to change.
We are already having to fight very hard to achieve a place in the Champions League when not so long ago we did it with ease. We do not have the all the players we need to achieve that, some of them have left. Some we have passed by.
And I think you misread DD’s actions. He is not in it for the money, he is in it for AFC just as Wenger is. They could both make much more money elsewhere. Tell me, would you have been so concerned about DD had his backers been English and born in Islington ?
We all want the best for AFC, but as I see it, in my humble opinion, we need to change. And change fast before we lose even more ground to our rivals. If you think we will challenge in the Premier League this year then you are mistaken. We do not have the players or the squad to do so.
Vision comes from taking a good hard look at what is happening around you.
It’s hard to do that with your head buried in the sand.
31 August 2007 at 10:47 am
geez - we are having to fight hard to get into the CL because we have not played well enough. Simple as that.
Not everything is about money.
31 August 2007 at 10:47 am
I believe David Dein is purely trying to destabilize Arsenal due to a grudge against some of the Directors. He invested 350,000 Pounds and has now cashed in for 75 Million Pounds! Wouldn’t all Arsenal supporter like to have such investments. As far as I am concerned, we have a stable situation. The Board has done an excellent job particularly with the new stadium and the location, which requires enormous amounts of work and perseverence and intellegence. I am confident Arsene Wenger will resign within the next couple of days. This is Dein’s only real accomplishment, brining Wenger to the Arsenal. With regard to the finances, we are in great shape, with the 110 Million Pounds from Emirates, and 200 Million for the new apartments being built at Highbury, and also the sale of some of the railway land which Arsenal also own, and the massive increase in gate receipts and merchandizing we have a great future, and we do not need an unknown Russian and Iranian even if they support Arsenal.
31 August 2007 at 10:50 am
[...] & White” is Farhad Moshiri, who features in a well-researched profile by Goodplaya here. From what I can gather, Moshiri is essentially Usmanov’s British [...]
31 August 2007 at 10:50 am
your point being that we sell out and start paying top dollar for over-priced players??? why would we need to do that?? Wenger has spent the last few years putting a totally new team together - they need time to gel and get used to the new ground - we had a season of “bedding in” - we cruised through the CL qualifiers and have a very healthy position in the league with a game in hand…
why do we need to change that? Wenger has a long term plan which is just coming to fruition… Dein is just out for revenge - he doesn’t have the best interests of Arsenal at heart - if he did - he would leave us alone and enjoy the football we are playing
31 August 2007 at 10:55 am
Goodplaya - my view on it is that we have played well enough with the players we have at our disposal. I have only seen a drop in class since we parted with Vieira, Pires, Henry etc.
The current squad we have are not ALL in that class which is why we are struggling to challenge for honours.
I agree, its not all about money otherwise Henry would have gone years ago, but it helps.
31 August 2007 at 10:57 am
Geez (Point 27), how do you think we will ‘change’ if/once DD is in charge of the board running AFC? Do you think Arsene will start buying galacticos and in turn relegate some of the existing 1st team to the bench?
Integrating our reserves team comprising talents like Gilles Sunu, Carols Vela, Fran Merida, Nacer Barazite and Havard Nordveit with our first team in the future is the next episode of Arsene’s future strategy and vision for our team. Buying galactico’s Real Madrid style is not. Sure there will be replacements for players who move on from our club from the transfer market at then prevalent market prices. But the chances of a dramatic ‘change’ in our transfer market strategy if DD were in charge as you suggest is not visible.
31 August 2007 at 11:04 am
This is a great blog!!!
Guys the Stadium debt is not as a big burden as the media would like to make out. The fact is when the flats are completed at Highbury and the ones around Ashburton, the sale of those will pay off a huge chunk of this debt. The board at Arsenal have a clever repayment scheme set up with the banks which allows for around £30m-£40m of funds to be available for transfers. The fact Arsene chooses not to spend it is a different matter.
FYI Geez, Arsene tried to sign Ronaldinho when he was just a youngster(Ronaldinho, not Arsene), but the ‘redtape’ of the work permit shot that right out of the water!!! Can you imagine how great that would have been if Henry and Ronaldinho were playing in the same team? Oh hang on……!!!
31 August 2007 at 11:30 am
DonCorleone (point 34)
I agree, this is a great blog, well I’m enjoying it anyway.
The fact that most do not agree with my points suggests, but does not prove, that I am wrong, thats the great thing about debate.
The one thing that we all agree on is that we want the best for the club and thats where we all start going in different directions.
I believe DD is another Mr Arsenal. Just like Arsene. I do not believe DD is out to make mischief, if that were the case I am sure his friend Arsene would depart AFC now. I believe Arsene knows DD’s plan and that is why he is preparing to sign on again. I have never heard DD say anything detrimental of AFC, it is so obvious he loves the club. It just appears that in order to see his vision out he has to go in partnership with others to allow that to happen. You and I do not know the plans of the ‘investors’, maybe even DD does not know all of them, but he obviously trusts them.
You all suspect the worst from them, but I don’t and obviously DD does not either. Maybe their plans include some new ways to greatly increase revenue and fan base and not throw in their so called ‘dirty money’. Hopefully that is the case. (Incidentaly, has anyone ever checked out where the current board of directors got their money from ?)
Until then, I am trusting in my own thoughts and opinions which tell me DD is right for the club and the future of it. As well as Arsene, of course.
31 August 2007 at 11:40 am
You claim to be the club’s biggest fan/supporter; you go behind the board’s back to shack up with one investor. Then, when they kick you out, you go find another one to shack up with. And then you tell people it’s a vision you have of making the club no. 1.
The vision is of power and nothing more. Double-D wants it and it seems like he’ll do anything to get it.
31 August 2007 at 12:09 pm
Geez(point 35)
I am sure DD has the best interests of the club in mind and if it was only DD that was trying to takeover the club then I would be over the moon. But it is the fact he has chosen a Russian Thug (who is probably trying to turn his black money white)to back him up, is what is most worrying.
We are all afraid of the unknown!!!
31 August 2007 at 12:18 pm
As an Arsenal fan of about 40 years who pays promptly for an ever increasing Sason Ticket I feel let down not have earned any money from Arsenal. Maybe if I loved Arsenal as much as David Dein I too would be £75million richer. To change horses mid-race is quite a feat, hope you don’t fall flat on your a**e & all. To demonise and belittle People who have ran the club for generations for promised riches in the future is a big risk.
31 August 2007 at 12:32 pm
I totally agree with Tom from Romford. Good Point!
31 August 2007 at 12:32 pm
I’m hoping David Dein is just a side show. He sold his shares and made a fantastic return on his investment, and he will probably never have a good night’s sleep again unless and until he becomes the Arsenal CEO - but his personal hell should be a small footnote in the Arsenal story for the coming seasons. Cesc and Co. are the real story for me, and Peter Hill-Wood and his close share-holding friends need to continue doing what they’re doing - holding their shares and keeping quiet.
31 August 2007 at 12:34 pm
Geez, while I don’t doubt that you are an Arsenal fan you don’t seem to be much of a fan of Arsene Wenger. If you have followed any of Wenger’s 10+ years at the club you will see that Wenger does not splash the money about for the sake of it. The class players you have mentioned (e.g. Viera, Henry, Pires) were purchased for sums well below that of a so-called ‘galacticos’. In point 32 “The current squad we have are not ALL in that class which is why we are struggling to challenge for honours” you make another questionable point. Even in our invincibles team you can’t argue that ALL the players were of the same class. We had a good squad with similar strength in depth - that is the Wenger way. We have never had a big squad with 2-3 world class players in every position and consequently Wenger has been able to keep the squad happy most of the time which cannot be said for most of the ‘big spending’ clubs.
The bottom line is if you trust in Wenger and want him to remain at the club then there is no need for any extra investment. If you believe that Wenger is not the right man for the job then you have an argument. As it is most Arsenal fans believe Wenger is the right man for the job and so if he says he has money to spend and is happy with his squad then you have to trust our manager.
These events only serve to destabilise the club and give the media (who are never shy of predicting doom and gloom for Arsenal) more ammo with which to knock us. The current regime have done us proud and you can have no real grounds for complaints with the way our club has been run to date. Get behind the club and lets support Arsene and our football team.
31 August 2007 at 12:44 pm
Geez, you say “If you want the worlds best players you have to be lucky enough to have them in your team in the first place (we do have a few already) or pay the going rate to get them”. We weren’t ‘lucky’ to get some of the best players at Arsenal, they were spotted and coached by a genius. It’s not ‘luck’ that we’ve done better on a small budget than Spurs or Newcastle have done on a large one.
31 August 2007 at 1:22 pm
GoodPlaya - out of interest I counted the number of pro DD bloggers who posted and those against. 25 anti DD and 6 pro DD.
Not that makes the 25 right, but you can sense from this that most Gooners vary from sceptical to total distrust of the man.
31 August 2007 at 2:23 pm
DD is desperate to gain control he knows Fiszman has control and will do anything to ensure Dein does not re-gain control. Dein’s view of football is one through G-14 glasses A European League etc.
He is however impatient as he is quite old has had no income since he was sacked from the board. Stan probably can’t act in Dein’s timescale so Dein has gone elsewhere Ecclestone and now these current investors.
The greater availability of tickets this season shows future cash revenue growth from the stadium is limited what is in it for new investors.
Meanwhile ENIC have realised football income has peaked and Spurs need major cash injection to enlarge White Hart Lane are seeking to sell their interest, aiming to offer CL qualification to attract an extra £30-50.
31 August 2007 at 2:23 pm
Reading ANR, even Miles, who is a big DD fan, seems a little scared by his love-in with the Oligarchs. I think the board my attempt to cosy up to Stan (as a lesser of two evils).
31 August 2007 at 2:34 pm
vivb - you may well be right about the slow down in the growth of football, and that may not be such a bad thing. However, you value spurs a bit on the high side - £30-50 come on - I wouldn’t pay more than £9.99.
31 August 2007 at 3:52 pm
ooops now i might get sued by arsenal 4 using ‘Gooner’. champs draw, no new signings, wenger still stalling on contract, Russians have landed, DD get 75M in pocket, another evental day as Gooner. ooops that word again
31 August 2007 at 4:36 pm
It is important to note that while everyone credits Dein with bringing in Wenger. Dein was actually referred to Wenger from Gerrard Houllier. It is not like Dein had this man magically up his sleeve. It is also important to note that Rioch was a disaster.
31 August 2007 at 4:49 pm
heard has found oil under da emirates hence da intrest in da club, honestly y r all those frn want 2 by clubs dont b fooled about da pool an mank spending heavly because they want make money 2. 4 some reason i feel DD has an agenda
31 August 2007 at 4:59 pm
I wish Nick Hornby had enough currency to buy around 20% of the stakes in our club and save it from this monster called Dein. Let’s all go out and purchase one more copy of Fever Pitch, all true Arsenal supporters around the globe, to make this possible! Honestly, I’d rather finish 5th in the premiership than witness Dein’s ego and his foreign friends take over the club. Dein must lose this one. And I believe and hope that he WILL not succeed in his plan. I don’t want superstars for £50m, I want Wenger to continue his beautiful architectural work.
Well spoken, Playa.
31 August 2007 at 5:18 pm
Nicely put Mr. Playa. More power to you.
31 August 2007 at 5:21 pm
Goodplaya, you are Ace! Great blog - though, personally, I am on the fence right now and need to hear more. BUT - if I am honest, I will admit that I was more pro-Dein 2 days ago then I am now after yesterday’s news. This point of “changing horses” as one of the comments above said, doesnt sit well with me…but I am willing to play this out.
BUT - the one bone I have to pick (and honestly, I would like to understand your reasoning) is Henry Winter’s assertion that we will never be the #1 club. Now we can argue whatever the hell “#1″ means (and to me Arsenal is the greatest club in the world regardless of whatever happens), but why cant we acquire the ‘glamor’ and “European Cup Tradition” of the other clubs? Sure, Man U have the whole Busby’s Babes mystique, etc., but for the most part, all of these clubs earned their position today. They had great teams and won things. Why cant we do the same and reach that level? That is what Arsene clearly wants, that is what we all want (to win things consistently), so why do we discount our ability to do this? Note that I am NOT making this point as a way of saying we should go the Chelski route and become a bunch of whores - I do think that Arsene is working this path in his own frugal way today - I am just making the philosophical point, that we will only be as big a club as we believe we are. It may take 10 years, maybe 20, but I do believe we can be the biggest club in the world.
31 August 2007 at 7:15 pm
I don’t think Arsène wants the glory of the trophies he wins to be belittled by a suspicion that he wouldn’t have achieved it without an artificial cash injection. I’m glad about that, because there was something inescapably hollow about the ‘buy one, get one free’ Chelsea titles and Man United’s last title financed by gargantuan debt. Our manager is on record for saying he opposes financial doping. Thank God for that. And by the way, get these Russian crooks out of here.
31 August 2007 at 9:50 pm
I can’t believe all these negative comments about David Dein.The footballing world is changing and if we are not careful arsenal will be left behind and we will even be struggling to qualify for the eufa cup.
You guys get real about this….if Wenger didn’t like this deal he would have voiced his concerns LOUD but he knows this deal will benefit the club.
Times have changed and if we are not careful we will be left behind the day Wenger leaved.DD brought G.Graham and Wenger to this club so give him some credit where it is due.He might be wrong about Ashburton Grove but hey who doesn’t make mistakes? you do and i do.I am pretty sure that when he decided to bring Wenger to Arsenal some of this same board members might have resisted this insisting it would have been better to get an english manager.Him making some money by selling his shares for me is no big deal cos most people will do the same.
You guys stop dreaming and get real about this…its time for arsenal to move on and to be able to challenge chelsea and co in the transfer market.I am tired of reading all these stories about arsenal losing its english traditions,etc if we sell out to a foreign investor.David Dein,thank you for this move and God bless you!
31 August 2007 at 9:58 pm
hey guys, all those that replied to my earlier posts expecting a reply, my humble apologies, I had to attend a family crisis.
I look forward to future posts from you that I can reply to, in the mean time UP THE GUNNERS and I am with you all.. (even if you don’t all agree with me, but hey, we are all gooners, eh ??)
31 August 2007 at 10:39 pm
no more signing what the fuck has wenger and the board los their mind, every season were look to get some really quality signings so we can win the league it looks like 4 years in a row without winnig the league, no more excuses like we r 2 young fucking dissapointed bullshit.
31 August 2007 at 10:50 pm
no signings what a surprise
31 August 2007 at 10:51 pm
same old arsen money available?????? but no signings funney
31 August 2007 at 10:52 pm
wont win da league
31 August 2007 at 10:57 pm
Castro
Read Arsene’s view on this foreign investment vultures now at Daily Mail before you come to any conclusion. Arsene said he believes in club self-sufficiency and that foreign investment is not the way forward. Go and read it. Dein has now proved to be selfish and diabolical; he’ll fall on his own dagger.
1 September 2007 at 12:42 am
First, I don’t understand those fans who want to win all the time but don’t want any big-time investors coming in. Football is growing, especially in China and the rest of Asia. A few clubs– those that win, and win with known players– will create global brands that will be hard to displace once they have the fan’s affection. Arsenal is on the edge of that upper caste, but would need money to join. I am happy with the way things are– competing against the big boys with integrity– but you can’t have it both ways.
Two, Dein got dumped on his ass by the board for talking to Kroenke. So, he goes looking for somebody else. I feel really sickened by dirty money coming into my club. In my heart they were pure (and that is what set them apart from clubs like Chelski). But you can’t just accuse the guy of changing horses. The board were real assholes to treat him like that instead of giving him the respect he deserved and coming to some agretment.
Three, if you don’t like what is going on, then UEFA and the FA will have to institute some kind of salary cap and transfer fee limits. Otherwise the fees for top players will be endless driven up. To make an analogy, Pirates of the Carrebian
1 September 2007 at 12:46 am
Whoops…
I was saying, Pirates of the Carribean 3 made about $1 billion, but it is not clear if it made a profit. Likewise the fact that 4 or 5 clubs will be winners of the global branding battle will continue to drive players wages up and up since they are what will help teams win the battle. They are the big winners. So, we will either see an endless escalation (followed by a bust, I imagine), or the game will have to institute a salary cap. Luckily Arsenal have Wenger to keep us competitive without the huge spending. But it seems that many fans are not happy with that.
1 September 2007 at 1:00 am
typical arsenal another late window signing, diarra 2 arsenal but dont we have 2 many central mkid players i was hoping for a winger but what do i know
1 September 2007 at 2:07 am
teh diarra signing is encouraging. he’s not god’s gift to midfielders (for now) but it shows that wenger sees that song and flamini just aren’t a long-term answer
1 September 2007 at 7:46 am
This is the deciding factor for me. I was a bit unsure about the Dein/Kronkkee question. Red White holding stinks, I just worry that this will be the end of Arsenal as we know it - the way Chelsea ended with Abramovictsdfsd.
1 September 2007 at 8:20 am
Geir
It will not happen to Arsenal what it happened to Chelsea. chelsea was in debt for 90+ and need to sell to avoid bankrupcy. Dein has sold his shares finito, he was going round auctioning to the highest bidder. He even approached Kroenke to sell and didn’t care the effect this will have on the Arsenal. Well he helped create the value Arsenal has but did he need to stab Arsenal in the back? Read the Telegraph today and you’ll realise Dein is a sell-out. His son was also the one who convinced Henry to leave for Barcelona. Geir, the Dein family is all about self, right. He’s lost his clout now with the club after selling his shares. The Russians having bought his shares will eventually get rid of him because they’ll want to have good relations with the Board. In any case, I know this board will do everything to fend off a full takeover. They are Arsenal true and true. Dein is a crook, its over for him now. Today, Peter Hill-Wood said they new he was going round looking for a buyer for his shares.
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