The Board-Finance-Kroenke

[Red Gunner]

Alisher Usmanov: Foreign owners are good for English football

Britain's richest man and Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov has defended the foreign ownership of Premier League clubs, saying it's good for the English game.

The billionaire said the growing influence of overseas shareholders was not stripping the sport of its identity in England.

And while he praised Arsenal's impressive start to the Premier League season, he said he reserved the right to criticise the club's board if he felt they weren't getting things right.

The Russian, who has a fortune of more than £13bn, has spent more than £200m over the last six years, building a 30% stake in the Gunners.

He has been involved in an uneasy stand-off with the club's American majority shareholder Stan Kroenke, accusing him and chief executive Ivan Gazidis of failing to invest sufficient money in Arsene Wenger's team despite significant reserves of cash.

Usmanov has stated he would like to take full control of Arsenal in the event of Kroenke ever deciding to sell.

Asked whether it was right that so many top English clubs were now foreign-owned, he said: "It's an artificial question which somebody wants to put on the table.

"Everyone who has legal right to buy something can perform this right.

"We have Kroenke, [Aston Villa's Randy] Lerner, many, many people and now many Asian owners. I think everyone is comfortable if the club are successful.

"If the club are not successful then, of course, everybody wants to find somebody guilty."

In recent years, investments from outside the United Kingdom in Premier League clubs have included Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich at Chelsea in 2003, American Malcolm Glazer taking control at Manchester United in 2005 and Sheikh Mansour from Abu Dhabi buying Manchester City in 2008 from former Thailand prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

"I'm sure it is good [for English football]," added Usmanov. "When investors come and invest in the economy, in British football, it is a big part of the entertainment economy in the United Kingdom.

"What's bad?"

With the Football Association chairman Greg Dyke establishing a commission to examine the underperformance of the English national team, Usmanov appeared to hint that top clubs like Arsenal needed to work harder to get the right mix between foreign and English players.

He said: "We need to find the balance of international players and local players. Every country has this problem. Russia also.

"I think everybody must think about his own success. National team - it is for national federations. Clubs for the Premier League. Everyone has his own interests."

Last year Red and White Holdings, the investment company which holds Usmanov's shares in Arsenal, wrote an open letter to the club's board, criticising their prudent self-sustaining model and accusing them of squeezing fans with higher ticket prices at the same time as selling their shares for personal profit.

The letter also criticised the lack of spending on the team, arguing that it led to the departure of Robin van Persie to Manchester United.

But since then Arsenal have spent £42.5m on the German international Mesut Ozil and are currently top of the Premier League.

Usmanov said he was very happy with the way the club had started the season but added that he would always speak out if he felt they were making mistakes.

He said: "I never said anything bad about the club or somebody personally. I said what, in my view, we can do - not better - but more effectively. I continue to keep this right for me.

"If I am [a] fan, if I am [a] shareholder and my team is in position number one, of course I am very happy. I hope this result keeps on until the end of the season. I wish this [for] my club.

"The club and team demonstrate Arsene Wenger's capacity to be number one. This is Wenger's responsibility and his vision.

"He does not every time have the possibility to solve this. Now I think he has this possibility and we support every effort to make our club [the] best.

"In the past I tell the club that if they want to pretend to be number one in every tournament then they must have best players in the world, and if we don't have them in our squad we need to buy these in the market. Wenger confirmed this by buying, for example, [Mesut] Ozil.

"I don't think somebody heard me but in any case anything that gives to Arsenal, good results, is for us very good news. This is our mission and hope.

"We wait - I think we begin a new era for Arsenal where we win trophies. It's most important for football, winning trophies. We will be number one."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/25153372

[Red Gunner]

Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov warms to fine form

Alisher Usmanov's more conciliatory tone towards Arsenal's board suggests the cold war between those with the power at the Emirates could be thawing - for now at least.

Success on the pitch always tends to silence the critics, even if they have a much bigger agenda and the mind-boggling wealth to act upon it.

By declaring a new era at Arsenal, the Uzbeki-born billionaire might be jumping the gun a bit. Arsenal are four points clear at the top of the Premier League going into Saturday's game at Cardiff but there is still an awfully long way to go before manager Arsene Wenger can claim the club's first league title in a decade.

Nevertheless, it is hard for Usmanov to criticise Arsenal's "silent" American owner Stan Kroenke and Old Etonian chairman Sir Chips Keswick when they have finally released the purse-strings to buy Mesut Ozil and the team are four points clear at the top of the Premier League.

Broadcast interviews with Usmanov are rare - I can't recall him ever doing one with the BBC - but whenever he is quoted, he uses the media to send a strategic message to those in charge at Arsenal.

He also tries to reassure supporters that he has the club's best intentions at heart and that he, like them, is a fan. He has an executive box at the Emirates and six seats in the directors' box and regularly ensures they are filled. By contrast, the American is rarely sighted at games.

Despite that - and Usmanov's almost £13bn fortune - Kroenke shows no appetite to sell.

Although he has seen a massive jump in the value of Premier League TV rights deals since taking control in 2011 with a 63% holding, he is a shrewd businessman who senses the next round of TV negotiations could be even more lucrative.

He believes financial fair play and Arsenal's prudent approach will lead to a big increase in profitability in the future.

Some fans are worried Kroenke will take profits out of the club to service other parts of his sports empire. They would prefer an owner such as Usmanov, who would ensure Wenger always has the money to buy the best talent and to win trophies.

All of which begs the question: Why doesn't Usmanov make Kroenke an offer he can't refuse? He surely has the money and Kroenke surely has his price. But sources say Usmanov remains a "rational" investor and won't overpay (despite offering £14,000 a share to shareholders in the past).

When Kroenke increased his stake to 63% in 2011 he paid £11,750 per share, valuing the Gunners at £730m.

Usmanov's offer of £14,000 per share would value the north London side at £868m.

So for the time being, it's stalemate. And while things are going well on the pitch, Usmanov wants to let fans and the board know that he has no intention of rocking the boat.

He didn't go so far as to say this, but he no doubt feels vindicated that his calls to invest in world-class players have been acted upon with such immediate impact.

Much will now depend on the outcome of this season and how Kroenke and the board respond.

One thing he and Kroenke seem to be in agreement on is the benefits of foreign ownership.

Arsenal have come to symbolise the ideological debate at the heart of English football - the self-financing model versus the super-rich benefactor.

With the Football Association establishing a commission on the state of the English game, there is renewed scrutiny on whether foreign investors have the wider interests of the national game at heart.

Put more simply: Are they in it just for the money?

Usmanov dismisses the critics and is in no doubt that men such as him and fellow Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, who has owned Chelsea since 2003, are good for the English game and the British economy.

"It is an artificial question," he told me. "Everyone who has legal right to buy something can perform this right.

"When investors come and invest in the economy, in British football, it is big part of the entertainment economy in the United Kingdom. What's bad?"

This laissez-faire approach has driven the Premier League's startling commercial development over the last two decades.

And while television rights and other revenues keep going up, it's hard to see that coming to an end.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/25161093

[Dan_85]

A quick reminder that the AISA guest list to attend the Arsenal Supporters Festive Drinks, being held at The Emirates Stadium on Monday 9th December 2013 will be sent in very shortly. The new Chairman, Sir Chips Keswick, Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis and various Arsenal senior staff will be present. If you would like to attend please email [email protected]

[StuartL]

A quick reminder that the AISA guest list to attend the Arsenal Supporters Festive Drinks, being held at The Emirates Stadium on Monday 9th December 2013 will be sent in very shortly. The new Chairman, Sir Chips Keswick, Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis and various Arsenal senior staff will be present. If you would like to attend please email [email protected]

Will there be popcorn ?

[Dan_85]

A quick reminder that the AISA guest list to attend the Arsenal Supporters Festive Drinks, being held at The Emirates Stadium on Monday 9th December 2013 will be sent in very shortly. The new Chairman, Sir Chips Keswick, Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis and various Arsenal senior staff will be present. If you would like to attend please email [email protected]

Will there be popcorn ?

Delaware North will be serving only the finest stale popcorn that has sat on a shelf in Club Level for a month. A small portion will cost just £27.99.

[DB10GOONER]

A quick reminder that the AISA guest list to attend the Arsenal Supporters Festive Drinks, being held at The Emirates Stadium on Monday 9th December 2013 will be sent in very shortly. The new Chairman, Sir Chips Keswick, Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis and various Arsenal senior staff will be present. If you would like to attend please email [email protected]

Will there be popcorn ?

Delaware North will be serving only the finest stale popcorn that has sat on a shelf in Club Level for a month. A small portion will cost just £27.99.

Will that include the cheap grease stained paper popcorn cup with Arsenal logo??!!!

[Dan_85]

Arsenal Football Club has announced that Josh Kroenke has been appointed as a non-executive director: http://po.st/Gan4hC

[Red Gunner]

Arsenal Football Club has announced that Josh Kroenke has been appointed as a non-executive director:

http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archiv ... enal-board

From his Wikipedia page:

"He enjoys reading Harry Potter, watching Entourage, and having breakfast at McDonald's."

[brazilianGOONER]

Arsenal Football Club has announced that Josh Kroenke has been appointed as a non-executive director: http://po.st/Gan4hC

i thought nepotism was only that ridiculous in Brazil

what's next, sarah kroenke our new manager?

[StuartL]

Arsenal Football Club has announced that Josh Kroenke has been appointed as a non-executive director: http://po.st/Gan4hC

i thought nepotism was only that ridiculous in Brazil

what's next, sarah kroenke our new manager?

ONE SARAH KROENKE, THERE'S ONLY ONE SARAH KROENKE

[DB10GOONER]

Arsenal Football Club has announced that Josh Kroenke has been appointed as a non-executive director:

http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archiv ... enal-board

From his Wikipedia page:

"He enjoys reading Harry Potter, watching Entourage, and having breakfast at McDonald's."

How old is he - fourteen?!

[QuartzGooner]

Arsenal Football Club has announced that Josh Kroenke has been appointed as a non-executive director:

http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archiv ... enal-board

From his Wikipedia page:

"He enjoys reading Harry Potter, watching Entourage, and having breakfast at McDonald's."

How old is he - fourteen?!

These youngsters eh?
What are they like?
Do you think he will be Twerking during board meetings?

[QuartzGooner]

I for one am not at all convinced the share sale will mean much.
Kroenke sells up but so what?
He gets to invest in his American franchises and makes a profit, but only a small one.
So the Royals own two thirds of the shares, or nearer 60 percent as I believe Kroenke keeps about five or six percent.

There will be little new investment except for the new sponsorship deals which were happening anyway.

I can see how the board believe that "our brand" will be stronger and apparently we can now use the Queen's coat of arms on the outside of the stadium, but we will continue fighting for the fourth place virtual trophy and Wenger has as good as comitted to two more years.

It looks good for the PR types but does little to impress.

[swimmer1]

I for one am not at all convinced the share sale will mean much.
Kroenke sells up but so what?
He gets to invest in his American franchises and makes a profit, but only a small one.
So the Royals own two thirds of the shares, or nearer 60 percent as I believe Kroenke keeps about five or six percent.

There will be little new investment except for the new sponsorship deals which were happening anyway.

I can see how the board believe that "our brand" will be stronger and apparently we can now use the Queen's coat of arms on the outside of the stadium, but we will continue fighting for the fourth place virtual trophy and Wenger has as good as comitted to two more years.

It looks good for the PR types but does little to impress.

Sorry mate am I missing something?

April fool?

[TurnipMasher]

I for one am not at all convinced the share sale will mean much.
Kroenke sells up but so what?
He gets to invest in his American franchises and makes a profit, but only a small one.
So the Royals own two thirds of the shares, or nearer 60 percent as I believe Kroenke keeps about five or six percent.

There will be little new investment except for the new sponsorship deals which were happening anyway.

I can see how the board believe that "our brand" will be stronger and apparently we can now use the Queen's coat of arms on the outside of the stadium, but we will continue fighting for the fourth place virtual trophy and Wenger has as good as comitted to two more years.

It looks good for the PR types but does little to impress.

I was like 'WTF? Has Quartz been at Hlebby's stash??'

and then realized