Should Arsenal fans be WORRIED about a potential takeover bid?

by Mr Comfort on December 18th, 2008

News coming from the Emirates is sure to start a mad scramble for the shares on the market that could trigger a takeover!

Claim your FREE bet right now!

Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood insists a major boardroom reshuffle will not alter their policy of trying to keep the club’s ownership in-house.
Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith, Arsenal’s third-largest shareholder, left the board on Wednesday.
Hill-Wood said he was not sure whether Bracewell-Smith would sell her shares.
But if her 15.9% stake was to become available, Uzbekistan metals magnate Alisher Usmanov could pass the 30% mark which would force a takeover bid.
Usmanov already owns 24% through his Red & White Holdings company, having initially bought former vice-chairman David Dein’s 14.5% stake in the club.
American sports tycoon Stan Kroenke, who holds a stake of about 12% in the Gunners’ parent company, accepted an offer to become a non-executive director on the Arsenal board in September as ties with his Kroenke Sports Enterprises group were strengthened.
If Kroenke were to buy the shares, he would become the club’s majority shareholder with a 27.9% stake.
Unlike Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool, Arsenal remain under British ownership and have so far resisted attempts by overseas investors to take a controlling share. (BBC Sport)

I for one have been a big admirer of the way Arsenal have hitherto conducted themselves as a responsible business as all around them spent frivolously in the Premier League climate of boom and the inevitable bust but could this recent development open them up to a takeover?

I am not against foreign investors running English football clubs but it is good to see that the north London club are still, for the time being at least, under British ownership and that surely can’t be a bad thing. Where Lady Bracewell-Smith’s decision leaves the club is anyone’s guess but it’s a situation Gunners fans will want to keep abreast of for the coming future and in the short term surely this could affect any transfer dealings in January that Arsene may have planned. Are Arsenal fans worried about this breaking news?

Discuss the latest football gossip at the Brand New COS forum!

Samsagoona - December 18th, 2008 at 11:21 am

If it means we will spend in January im all for it.. its good be to english owned but if that means falling behind united chelsea and lpool i wud rather be taken over.. wenger and the board are being really stingy.. i thought after selling the creativity and lungs of are midfield last year we would buy atleast players to replace them and bulster the squad.. we never..sure we gt stars 4 the future but surely we should of bought world class players aswell? the amount of money we get every home game and the stingy fucks buy no1.. i dnt wana be like man city saying i want him him and him but a little but of talented world class players here and there instead of average players wouldnt hurt.. denilson. song. djourou. eboue. bendtner. starting for us? its madness
Andrew - December 18th, 2008 at 12:25 pm

A few months ago I would have been against any takeover, but now I think it may be a good thing. For far too long now Wenger has been in a comfort zone allowed him by the board – I believe this has come about because he saves a lot of money for the club by acquiring young players for next to nothing then selling them on when they become known. As a result the board are more interested in raking in cash than winning trophies. To be honest I’m sick of this attitude now so a potential takeover by someone who actually has an interest in WINNING trophies would be welcome.
gunner - December 18th, 2008 at 2:25 pm

i think it would be a good move, it would shake things up a bit at the club n give the players, staff and supporters something to look forward to.

also it might tempt the board to provide wenger with some cash for players in january, the only question is will wenger betray his current policy of playin with arsenal produced youngsters or go out n buy some world class additions to the squad .

ultimately it will mean wenger admitting he was wrong, which im afraid is unlikely to happen given the mans poor record of accepting defeat.

its defntly frustrating to be an arsenal fan at the moment, as we all know the captain is meant to go down with the ship. thts wot it feels like arsene is doing at the moment. he refuses to give in n would rather the club go under than admit he made a mistake.

i have no doubt in wengers ability as a manager, coach and professional… hes defntly one of the greatest managers of all time but sometimes u jus have to hold your hands up son n jus admitt…. you was wrong… now correct it!
john - December 19th, 2008 at 7:35 am

I’d be happy if Kroenke bought up some more shares. He’s done a great deal of investing in the MLS and let’s face it being an heir to the Wal-Mart machine means that despite the tough times he is actually gaining more wealth as opposed to losing it like some other Russian Oil Tycoons.
Dagnachew - December 19th, 2008 at 12:01 pm

I will not be happy if kroenke bought some more shares
bert - December 19th, 2008 at 3:59 pm

arsenal are an example of how a football club should be run, while other teams are facing uncertainty over their futures arsenal still look pretty stable, if all these foreign investors sold up tomorrow, chelski, manu,pool,villa, man city etc would be absolutely fucked. Arsenal are run by people who have a genuine affilation and passion for the club who have run it well for decades and who aren’t interested in making a few quid or looking good at a dinner party.
ok so we have a big debt in the form of the stadium, but we are in a good financial situation living within our means which includes being in control of our debt.
the whole point of the youth set up at arsenal was to help pay our debt however it has reaped a lot of rewards and wenger has genuine faith in it as we all should. apparantly there are funds there if wenger wants them as the debt of the stadium is ahead of schedule, mainly due to the youth setup and saving on transfer fees in the last few years. a takeover won’t make arsenal go out and spend millions on players, if thats what you want, then you don’t know arsene wenger and should probably go and follow chelski or man city.
don’t get me wrong i believe arsenal are in need of a couple of quality signings, especially at cb and dm but there are players out there who wouldn’t break the bank and would fit in with the way we play football while adding some much needed experience to the team/squad. i don’t feel a takeover would give us anything, and would only make us as unstable off the field as we are on it at the moment.
calvo - December 19th, 2008 at 6:57 pm

sorry but arsenal need a board that are willing to compete not just “look good”.
yes its great that they have held out til now but when you consider when arsene took over he could tap into the french market and get the vieras n petits,but then rafa came and got the spanish market and fergie with the help of quieroz got portugese players and yet all along these clubs win trophies,yet arsenal for all their pretty football have not won anything for ages.now in order to keep the fantastic young talent at arsenal they need to give them improved contracts and get in experienced players and then see what wengers made of in the process.
Because when you sign a youngster there is seldom any pressure which maybe what wenger likes but ultimately inconsistency which by the time that gets rectified who knows how far behind you will be by then.
when a player of stature is signed then there is a stronger element of expectation,which the likes of fergie has proven down the years.
Im not for 1 minit knocking wenger and the job he´s done but if he truly believes that arsenal can compete then he and the board need to ask themselves can they do it without a takeover and currently the answer is no.
ash - December 20th, 2008 at 11:23 am

why do we need a takeover? our club has survived and will continue surviving under the current situation. wenger and the board has done a fantastic job- henry didn’t cost us much (he was wenger’s decision at the right price), cesc, toure, van ‘the man’ persie…we all could go a long way back and see arsene’s transfers. it has been fantastic given time…henry never performed in his first season but was a hero at the arsenal by the end of his captaincy at our club. why spend when wenger and most fans should feel that we have a sufficient squad. if we get money to spend wenger will and should have it his way,still. he deserves it. danny is doing the right job as director and lets wenger pick. his arsenal through and through. however, what will others be? they are not arsenal through and through. wenger has the mentality of brining in great players at the right price. why spend 30 to 40 million pounds on someone who may not fit in with our football. what wil happen to the current players? we are hard done by injuries but what happens when the lads return? does that mean they don’t play?
siraji hassan ali - January 20th, 2009 at 7:03 am

aresnal should buy one or two players who can fit in our squad since we play brilliant football in the english football.

Samsagoona - December 18th, 2008 at 11:21 am

If it means we will spend in January im all for it.. its good be to english owned but if that means falling behind united chelsea and lpool i wud rather be taken over.. wenger and the board are being really stingy.. i thought after selling the creativity and lungs of are midfield last year we would buy atleast players to replace them and bulster the squad.. we never..sure we gt stars 4 the future but surely we should of bought world class players aswell? the amount of money we get every home game and the stingy fucks buy no1.. i dnt wana be like man city saying i want him him and him but a little but of talented world class players here and there instead of average players wouldnt hurt.. denilson. song. djourou. eboue. bendtner. starting for us? its madness

Andrew - December 18th, 2008 at 12:25 pm

A few months ago I would have been against any takeover, but now I think it may be a good thing. For far too long now Wenger has been in a comfort zone allowed him by the board – I believe this has come about because he saves a lot of money for the club by acquiring young players for next to nothing then selling them on when they become known. As a result the board are more interested in raking in cash than winning trophies. To be honest I’m sick of this attitude now so a potential takeover by someone who actually has an interest in WINNING trophies would be welcome.

gunner - December 18th, 2008 at 2:25 pm

i think it would be a good move, it would shake things up a bit at the club n give the players, staff and supporters something to look forward to.

also it might tempt the board to provide wenger with some cash for players in january, the only question is will wenger betray his current policy of playin with arsenal produced youngsters or go out n buy some world class additions to the squad .

ultimately it will mean wenger admitting he was wrong, which im afraid is unlikely to happen given the mans poor record of accepting defeat.

its defntly frustrating to be an arsenal fan at the moment, as we all know the captain is meant to go down with the ship. thts wot it feels like arsene is doing at the moment. he refuses to give in n would rather the club go under than admit he made a mistake.

i have no doubt in wengers ability as a manager, coach and professional… hes defntly one of the greatest managers of all time but sometimes u jus have to hold your hands up son n jus admitt…. you was wrong… now correct it!

john - December 19th, 2008 at 7:35 am

I’d be happy if Kroenke bought up some more shares. He’s done a great deal of investing in the MLS and let’s face it being an heir to the Wal-Mart machine means that despite the tough times he is actually gaining more wealth as opposed to losing it like some other Russian Oil Tycoons.

Dagnachew - December 19th, 2008 at 12:01 pm

I will not be happy if kroenke bought some more shares

bert - December 19th, 2008 at 3:59 pm

arsenal are an example of how a football club should be run, while other teams are facing uncertainty over their futures arsenal still look pretty stable, if all these foreign investors sold up tomorrow, chelski, manu,pool,villa, man city etc would be absolutely fucked. Arsenal are run by people who have a genuine affilation and passion for the club who have run it well for decades and who aren’t interested in making a few quid or looking good at a dinner party.
ok so we have a big debt in the form of the stadium, but we are in a good financial situation living within our means which includes being in control of our debt.
the whole point of the youth set up at arsenal was to help pay our debt however it has reaped a lot of rewards and wenger has genuine faith in it as we all should. apparantly there are funds there if wenger wants them as the debt of the stadium is ahead of schedule, mainly due to the youth setup and saving on transfer fees in the last few years. a takeover won’t make arsenal go out and spend millions on players, if thats what you want, then you don’t know arsene wenger and should probably go and follow chelski or man city.
don’t get me wrong i believe arsenal are in need of a couple of quality signings, especially at cb and dm but there are players out there who wouldn’t break the bank and would fit in with the way we play football while adding some much needed experience to the team/squad. i don’t feel a takeover would give us anything, and would only make us as unstable off the field as we are on it at the moment.

calvo - December 19th, 2008 at 6:57 pm

sorry but arsenal need a board that are willing to compete not just “look good”.
yes its great that they have held out til now but when you consider when arsene took over he could tap into the french market and get the vieras n petits,but then rafa came and got the spanish market and fergie with the help of quieroz got portugese players and yet all along these clubs win trophies,yet arsenal for all their pretty football have not won anything for ages.now in order to keep the fantastic young talent at arsenal they need to give them improved contracts and get in experienced players and then see what wengers made of in the process.
Because when you sign a youngster there is seldom any pressure which maybe what wenger likes but ultimately inconsistency which by the time that gets rectified who knows how far behind you will be by then.
when a player of stature is signed then there is a stronger element of expectation,which the likes of fergie has proven down the years.
Im not for 1 minit knocking wenger and the job he´s done but if he truly believes that arsenal can compete then he and the board need to ask themselves can they do it without a takeover and currently the answer is no.

ash - December 20th, 2008 at 11:23 am

why do we need a takeover? our club has survived and will continue surviving under the current situation. wenger and the board has done a fantastic job- henry didn’t cost us much (he was wenger’s decision at the right price), cesc, toure, van ‘the man’ persie…we all could go a long way back and see arsene’s transfers. it has been fantastic given time…henry never performed in his first season but was a hero at the arsenal by the end of his captaincy at our club. why spend when wenger and most fans should feel that we have a sufficient squad. if we get money to spend wenger will and should have it his way,still. he deserves it. danny is doing the right job as director and lets wenger pick. his arsenal through and through. however, what will others be? they are not arsenal through and through. wenger has the mentality of brining in great players at the right price. why spend 30 to 40 million pounds on someone who may not fit in with our football. what wil happen to the current players? we are hard done by injuries but what happens when the lads return? does that mean they don’t play?

siraji hassan ali - January 20th, 2009 at 7:03 am

aresnal should buy one or two players who can fit in our squad since we play brilliant football in the english football.

Banter

Steaming Fresh

LOGIN

Squad

Should Arsenal fans be WORRIED about a potential takeover bid?

Leave a Comment

Polls

Categories

User:
Password:

User:
E-mail:

User:
E-mail: