Arsenal Cognoscenti
Would you like to react to this message? Create an account in a few clicks or log in to continue.

Amy Lawrence's open letter to Stan Kroenke for Fox Sports

5 posters

Go down

Amy Lawrence's open letter to Stan Kroenke for Fox Sports Empty Amy Lawrence's open letter to Stan Kroenke for Fox Sports

Post by John Foxall Wed Feb 20, 2013 6:34 am

http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/facup/story/will-arsenal-owner-please-stand-up-fa-cup-review-stan-kroenke-021713

Dear Stan Kroenke,

You won't know me, although I have seen you around a few times. The first time I saw you was quite memorable. It was at the Arsenal Annual General Meeting a couple of seasons ago, and word had got around that you would speak publicly for the first time.

There were a few hundred Arsenal supporters - all shareholders who, like you, had put their money in their pockets to have a stake - and a handful of reporters in the audience and there was considerable anticipation about what you would say about your plans for the club. "Hey, it's great to be here," you began. But the main impression that lingered from your five-minute speech was that you seemed to have no idea why people would want to hear from you at all.

As English sports fans, not entirely familiar with the U.S. model, there was a very keen desire to understand some basics. What's the plan? What do you want from Arsenal?

But we were left none the wiser. At the end of a very brief speech about how you came to invest in the club and why it appealed to you, you joked that we had better get used to seeing you around.

The thing is, we have barely seen you since. There was another AGM visit last autumn, which was spiky and at times unusually hostile. Arsenal's minority shareholders appeared to be increasingly worried about the club's direction. There was even a protest outside, and the general concern was that financial gain is being prioritized at the expense of sporting ambition.

The English sporting fan is not completely stupid. Although it took some getting used to, we realize that in the modern world sport is business, the sums are supposed to look good. But what seems unfathomable is the wisdom in letting an attractive asset lose the sheen that makes it financially strong. You want Champions League millions, high end sponsorship, luxury price match tickets? It makes sense that more money flows in when a team is successful.

This week Arsenal are expected to announce another set of rock solid financial results. Whoopee! But the trouble is, results on the field are worryingly shaky.

Mr. Kroenke, your Arsenal are in a pickle. The team is struggling in a way it never has before under this manager, Arsene Wenger. Wenger has enjoyed considerable success in the past, but the pressure has really cranked up. This is his worst-ever Premier League points haul at this stage of a season. The team's 1-0 defeat to Blackburn at the weekend means they have been dumped out of both cups to lower league teams for the first time in decades. There is little reason for optimism in the Champions League against a Bayern Munich side which looks far superior. The regular end of season sale of the best players to rivals has taken its toll.

There is a crisis going on, but heads seem buried in the sand. Somebody needs to make a big call or two. But who? The trouble is, there is nobody inside the club who appears to have the power to make these big, difficult, decisions.

Arsenal are not a million miles away from having a team that could be a contender. So is Wenger struggling because he is not getting the backing he needs in the name of profit? Or is he unwilling to invest in the team? Either way, it's a problem that has been fudged for too long. It needs fixing. To be faltering whilst there is a small fortune sitting in the club's accounts demonstrates something is wrong with the current philosophy.

The club talks a good game about how Arsenal are responsibly managed and in a good position to push on if, and when, the effects of new rules to ensure Financial Fair Play in football are felt strongly enough to deter the most lavish spenders. But PR spin about what might happen in the future is being drowned out by alarm about what is happening now.

What Arsenal needs is leadership, direction and inspiration from the very top. Instead we have something that feels like a void, like a lack of interest and enthusiasm, and like an owner that is content to sit back and welcome healthy revenues without due attention to the fact the company is failing in its primary concern – winning games on the field. It’s not really helping.

Mr. Kroenke, what is your strategy? Is it asking too much to ask for a demonstration that you are keen to do what is necessary to turn things around and take Arsenal to a point where they can again compete at the highest level?

A couple of years on from your first public declaration the fundamental questions remain. What's the plan? What do you want from Arsenal?

A clear answer is really needed now.

Yours sincerely,

Amy Lawrence

John Foxall
Matchday Starter

Posts : 538
Join date : 2012-01-10
Location : Bordeaux, France

Back to top Go down

Amy Lawrence's open letter to Stan Kroenke for Fox Sports Empty Re: Amy Lawrence's open letter to Stan Kroenke for Fox Sports

Post by Meshaal Wed Feb 20, 2013 8:58 am

Really beginning to despise Stan Kroenke.

Meshaal
Matchday Starter

Posts : 831
Join date : 2012-02-12

Back to top Go down

Amy Lawrence's open letter to Stan Kroenke for Fox Sports Empty Re: Amy Lawrence's open letter to Stan Kroenke for Fox Sports

Post by Michael Foster Wed Feb 20, 2013 9:19 am

now i dont use this word normally but the guy is a cunt..i have been saying it for some time...and to show exactly that...we need money to spend he fucks off and buys an 80mil+ ranch..well you know what stan...get back on your horse and fuck off back to it....let usmanov buy you out..and i will personally pay for your fights back home basic class as its what you are giving us at most........

thanks for fuck all...


yours pissedoffely
mike.
Michael Foster
Michael Foster
Manager

Posts : 4525
Join date : 2012-01-07
Age : 43
Location : the back and beyond..aka..Norwich

Back to top Go down

Amy Lawrence's open letter to Stan Kroenke for Fox Sports Empty Re: Amy Lawrence's open letter to Stan Kroenke for Fox Sports

Post by John Foxall Wed Feb 20, 2013 9:22 am

I don't think Fiszman and Dein really did us any favours with their in-fighting and choice of suitors. Then again, there aren't any true football Brits at big clubs in Britain anymore.

John Foxall
Matchday Starter

Posts : 538
Join date : 2012-01-10
Location : Bordeaux, France

Back to top Go down

Amy Lawrence's open letter to Stan Kroenke for Fox Sports Empty Re: Amy Lawrence's open letter to Stan Kroenke for Fox Sports

Post by Meshaal Wed Feb 20, 2013 9:33 am

Michael Foster wrote:now i dont use this word normally but the guy is a cunt..i have been saying it for some time...and to show exactly that...we need money to spend he fucks off and buys an 80mil+ ranch..well you know what stan...get back on your horse and fuck off back to it....let usmanov buy you out..and i will personally pay for your fights back home basic class as its what you are giving us at most........

thanks for fuck all...


yours pissedoffely
mike.

He would love Usmanov to buy out his shares so he can walk away with a neat little profit, I am sure I posted the profits he would make on this board in one of the other threads a few months back. I think it was something like a 60% return on investment - off the top of my head.

Also find the Bayern Munich model of ownership truly inspirational - owned by the fans and managed by ex-players and a board with the heads of the top German corporates. They make profits, they win trophies, they buy big players and they are owned by the fans!


Meshaal
Matchday Starter

Posts : 831
Join date : 2012-02-12

Back to top Go down

Amy Lawrence's open letter to Stan Kroenke for Fox Sports Empty Re: Amy Lawrence's open letter to Stan Kroenke for Fox Sports

Post by John Foxall Wed Feb 20, 2013 9:51 am

I love the Ajax model, such history and what an imprint they left on the European game and ultimately on Barcelona's model.

This is the risk of what happens when you have no financial clout though. Bayern are known to have pretty much the highest commercial revenues in Europe. Perhaps part of that comes from being the biggest fish in the relatively limited pond of the Bundesliga, but they've also clearly been very well run.

No other club in Europe would be willing to slip into the romance of what we've allowed Wenger to do. He's been given the keys to do as he pleases, but to too great an extent.

John Foxall
Matchday Starter

Posts : 538
Join date : 2012-01-10
Location : Bordeaux, France

Back to top Go down

Amy Lawrence's open letter to Stan Kroenke for Fox Sports Empty Re: Amy Lawrence's open letter to Stan Kroenke for Fox Sports

Post by Vijay Saibola Wed Feb 20, 2013 10:43 am

John Foxall wrote:I love the Ajax model, such history and what an imprint they left on the European game and ultimately on Barcelona's model.

You mean of being a selling club?!

Vijay Saibola
Reserves

Posts : 64
Join date : 2012-01-08

Back to top Go down

Amy Lawrence's open letter to Stan Kroenke for Fox Sports Empty Re: Amy Lawrence's open letter to Stan Kroenke for Fox Sports

Post by John Foxall Wed Feb 20, 2013 10:17 pm

Vijay Saibola wrote:
John Foxall wrote:I love the Ajax model, such history and what an imprint they left on the European game and ultimately on Barcelona's model.

You mean of being a selling club?!

Cruyff and co, beautiful football. One playing style taught to all their youngsters. They are the club that has had the biggest influence on European football in the past half century. Yes, they are a selling club now..

John Foxall
Matchday Starter

Posts : 538
Join date : 2012-01-10
Location : Bordeaux, France

Back to top Go down

Amy Lawrence's open letter to Stan Kroenke for Fox Sports Empty Re: Amy Lawrence's open letter to Stan Kroenke for Fox Sports

Post by Mike York Thu Feb 21, 2013 12:13 am

I completely agree with that John. The Ajax model and Dutch school of football in general is something to be admired on and off the field. Rinus Michels, Johan Cruyff etc Ajax are a selling club now but that is mainly as they play in a smaller league. Cruyff's influence can be seen in abundance at Barcelona from the first team down to the academy too and they're not a selling club.
Mike York
Mike York
Matchday Starter

Posts : 746
Join date : 2012-01-09
Location : London

Back to top Go down

Amy Lawrence's open letter to Stan Kroenke for Fox Sports Empty Re: Amy Lawrence's open letter to Stan Kroenke for Fox Sports

Post by Sponsored content


Sponsored content


Back to top Go down

Back to top

- Similar topics

 
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum