Kevin Whitcher
Arsenal will make approximately £4.5 million net profit over the next 12 months from the decision to raise admission prices by 6.5%.
I will keep this brief, but the club are asking for more money because they are able to get it on a simple supply and demand principle, not because they need it for their much vaunted self sustainability model. To clarify, Arsene Wenger has between £35 and £40 million untouched in his player trading account. That is money for use on transfers and wages. It could have been used on the pitch in the 2010/11 season, but the squad was good enough to win trophies without the money being spent. That’s what the manager reckons and the club pay him £6.5 million or so a year for his wisdom. I am paid nothing by the club and my opinion is worthless because I have not worked half a day in football according to M. Wenger. But the decision to play Manuel Almunia as the first choice keeper after 1st September 2010 made me believe Arsenal would end the season potless. And for all those who hate me with a vengeance for stating an opinion on the football team I support, I am totally gutted that the manager did not know better than me (and thousands of other Gooners, I am not claiming any unique insight here).
The amount in the player trading account will rise this summer without the ticket price increases. An extra £4.5 million is not going to make much difference given the manager’s reluctance to spend it. He’d rather pursue the long-running vanity project that keeps the average age of his team too young to actually win any silverware.
So what’s the £4.5 million going to be used for? There is this delightful category the club declare in their annual accounts called ‘other operating expenses’. It’s invariably over £50 million and about a quarter of the club’s total expenditure. And frankly, we can only hazard a guess what ‘other operating expenses’ mean. The club have been asked to break them down by supporters’ organisations in the past but have steadfastly refused to do so. And the reasons for the lack of transparency? The club don’t have to reveal the information legally and they know damn well there would be uproar if we found out how some of this money was being used. I asked Ken Friar directly about what this money was used for at a supporters’ q&a when he was managing director after Keith Edelman’s departure and he wouldn’t give me a straight answer. So the man in charge of running the club did not know what a quarter of its income is used for. He said he would report back to the Trust on the matter but they heard nothing subsequently. The club have named a bridge after Ken. He’s sold his shares to Stan Kroenke. A real club man, in all senses of the word.
Arsenal do not need the extra money they are asking of supporters. But they can get it. What it will be used for is open to debate. If not directly assisting to pay for Stan Kroenke’s purchase of the club, who will know if it is not being filtered out in other ways. Other operating costs? £50 million is one hell of an electricity bill and no mistake.
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