What is the long term ambitionof our club????

[IBK]

Which, in the modern world, are driven by winning. You don't make profit in mid-table.
I'm not saying they're not interested in money but the two ambitions are at least compatible.

In a sense they are (compatible) - or would be if the clubs ahead of us didn't have the money making part to worry about. In the EPL and in Europe - silverware is only compatible with losing money, and having creditors or sugar daddies happy to absorb the losses.

This is the problem. Arsenal may be a shining light as regards managing its resources properly, but it ain't going to win us anything. And it doesn't feel great as a fan having the so-called moral highground.

[Letters]

Letters. I have to put this one to bed. I met the partner from PWC who has done the stadium financing deal over the Summer. He shot me down on this theory big time, by explaining that the bonds cannot be paid off any more quickly - without the club incurring an early repayment penalty that would effertively make any interest saving pointless. Also, the company with the liability for the phased repayment of the bonds is the company to whom all gate receipts go - and match day income is the source of the repayments.

Fair enough. Just my thoughts on the accounts I saw whidh I'd be the first to admit I didn't fully understand.

[Fats]

Regardless of the incompetant pricks at the club I am sure they want

A, To win silverware

B, Make some money

Not neccessarily in that order at this momment in time.

[IBK]

Fair enough. Just my thoughts on the accounts I saw whidh I'd be the first to admit I didn't fully understand.

Aye - I agree that paying off the stadium debt would appear to have been the logical reason behind what the club is doing. I was left totally nonplussed by the reality.

[Letters]

In a sense they are (compatible) - or would be if the clubs ahead of us didn't have the money making part to worry about. In the EPL and in Europe - silverware is only compatible with losing money, and having creditors or sugar daddies happy to absorb the losses.

This is the problem. Arsenal may be a shining light as regards managing its resources properly, but it ain't going to win us anything. And it doesn't feel great as a fan having the so-called moral highground.

We'd have won a trophy or 3 in the last few years had we had the mental resolve to go with our technical ability. Some of our lack of success has been down to lack of investment but that isn't the reason for the complete lack of success. OK, the Carling Cup isn't prestigious these days but it would have got that monkey off our back and us losing the final wasn't for want of ability.

[LDG]

Aye - I agree that paying off the stadium debt would appear to have been the logical reason behind what the club is doing. I was left totally nonplussed by the reality.

What do we need to develop all this other land that has been talked about?? Is some of this cash going towards that??

[IBK]

What do we need to develop all this other land that has been talked about?? Is some of this cash going towards that??

As far as I know, the financial arrangements for this redevelopment (Queensland Road) aren't available, but I know that its due to be completed by 2013, so I guess its possible...(clutches at straws)

[Keith]

Is part of the problem the fact we've not been taken over yet?

[IBK]

Is part of the problem the fact we've not been taken over yet?

Could be - because we are kind of in limbo with the majority and the next biggest shareholder at odds...

[Alan B'stard]

Right, so we get a bright shiny new stadium. We're told it is to ensure the long term stability of Arsenal FC. We're told we no have plenty of money available. We're told we're after super quality.

Yet. We sell our two best (ish) players. We scrimp and save every penny we can in the transfers we have made, ditch a load of the youth project players (Vela, Bender, Traore, Denilson etc etc etc) and bring in more experience, but some players on the wane....

What excatly is the long term plan? We were building for the future. Now we're replacing the bricks that fell out. There are some bricks being laid which have no foundation, and some bricks which seem to be building something entirely different.

Far from careful planning, and looking to a bright future we were all promised before the stadium, we now have a owner content on raping the club, a manager who is more concerned with keeping a staus quo rather than pushing us on, and a board who seem spineless and completely out of touch with its fans.

We just seem to be trying to tread water, but the current is actually pulling us under a bit.

This whole thing is a mess. I've no doubt that we'll carry on keeping up with the top four (there or thereabouts) but this club is worth more than that. Some of the shackles need to come off, because we don't look ambitious. We look lost and hanging on to the coat-tails of champions league football.

Where the fuck is this club going??

i thought for a long time that was the aim. generate your own cash and use it to win stuff.

I now realise its a load of shit. the previous board were happy to sit on their shares and invest nothing while wenger showe everyone how badly run football was and looked like a miracle worker - by doing stuff that is now industry standard (diet, training, scounting etc).
Meanwhile london property prices shot up and the club realised it was well placed to become a property developer.

So they borrowed money, turned The Home of Football into flats to flog at a profit, and then gambled even more on a new stadium and more flats on any spare land it can find. WInning stuff became hard with chelsea, City jumping in so they do just enough to get by. However any extra cash gets ploughed into new and more flat building opportunities, not attracting or keeping stars.
Meanwhile, people like dein, lady nina and the Danny Fiszman's estate have made huge profits flogging their shares.

AFC is currently a joke. It has become a property development company with a football club tacked on as an afterthought. Id like to think Kronke has bought it to win stuff, but I suspect he likes all of the above, and thinks he can double its value by improving its merchandising, asia tours, tv deals etc.
maybe he is rational enough to take Usmanov's point - that the sponsorship deals are up for renewal in a few years, and you'll need to be winning stuff by then in order to get top dollar

Realistically that's the point when you might see us push to win something. However if you want to win something every season and see big signings every season, find another club.

If you can be bothered.