Interesting to read this very informative piece by the Guardian’s David Conn today, especially as he gave Ivan Gazidis a sympathetic write-up before the board meeting that rejected the idea of a rights issue.

I won’t go into the technicalities of a rights issue here, that can be read in Conn’s piece. However there are two things to state here. Firstly, it’s a way of raising money by existing shareholders (and then others, should existing shareholders bypass their right to purchase) putting money into the company in return for newly created shares. Secondly, Arsenal have done this before by creating shares bought by ITV around ten years back, when a financial injection was needed as the new stadium was being planned.

So there’s good reason to do it. Moneys raised could be used to clear some of the club’s massive debts (and as a consequence, make more money available to the manager) or some could be given direct to the manager to buy fresh blood – especially given how little has been spent in the transfer market (hardly anything once the money received for players sold is taken into account) since the summer of 2001.

Stan Kroenke is instead using his money to take his share of the club as close to 30% as he can, as he presumably has no wish to make a takeover bid. Why bother when, with Danny Fiszman’s support, he effectively controls the club anyway.

I’m not a fan of Red and White Holdings or Alisher Usmanov and have no idea what form their own proposal for a rights issue took. So I can only comment on the general principle. I am certainly not in favour of anyone taking the club private, and the lack of clear message from either Kroenke or Usmanov about their plans for the club makes me suspicious of both. I think Gazidis is probably sound, but at the moment he’s a bit of a Comical Ali figure having to deliver such a ridiculous message for his fellow board members.

At the moment, Arsenal’s potential future ownership is a question of the devil or the deep blue sea. Neither attractive options. Certainly, the lack of imagination from the current directors is worrying. Just keep getting us into the Champions League, Arsene. And er…. That’s it. Oh sorry, I forgot the bit about what an exciting bunch of young prospects we have. Well you don’t charge people top dollar to watch inexperience learn the hard way.

The Arsenal board need a reality check. The fans will begin to revolt if there is a repeat of last season. That chequebook needs to come out pretty damned pronto and get a couple more experienced players in or it will all go the shape of a pear again.

A rights issue works with the self-sustainability argument. It just requires some financial commitment from the club’s owners. They have the money. To improve the club’s chances of success would increase its value so ultimately they wouldn’t lose out.

So what exactly is the plan, if fourth place is supposedly not good enough? Hope and pray?

To finish, I have just been interrupted by a phone call from a pal. He has been on the season ticket waiting list for a few years and has been offered a ticket for next season. His place on the waiting list of 45,000? Somewhere around 10,000, he told me. People aren’t buying the deceit anymore.