Paul Skinner
I have been up to Wigan a couple of times on my Arsenal travels. I have seen us win once and lose once, but it is a good day out. There aren’t many home fans to talk about, so it is more of an Arsenal away day, and, given that it is made up of your Arsenal away fans rather than your average ‘prawn-sandwich’ home fan, it can be a day of full-bodied enjoyment (or disappointment). However, this season, and for the next few seasons to come, I am skint, so - like so many others - I watched it on the TV down the pub. It was a workmanlike performance; the defence was, on the whole, pretty well organized, which perhaps wasn’t difficult against a pretty poor offensive performance from the third-worst side in the Premiership. However, with this and the performance against Reading, I really do feel the side is starting to gel somewhat and that it may go on to improve in the second half of the season.
However, that improvement should see us finish fourth, or at best third, and without a trophy unless we get good draws in the FA Cup and have a bit of luck on our side, which isn’t impossible. That is because the way Arsenal is run at the moment is down to marginal profit, i.e. the ‘buck’ that you get back from every pound invested. Say, for instance, that for a club like Arsenal to win the Premiership or the Champions League costs £100 million in transfers and salaries and, because we have relatively low economies of scale compared with a side such as Man Utd, we will only make £110 million i.e. £10 million profit. Compare that with investing only £50 million pounds. That gives you the best shot at fourth place with a return of £70 million against your investment, which means that you are actually making more money per pound invested. These figures are of course purely hypothetical, but this is what I genuinely believe, since the club is run on ‘sound’ commercial grounds unlike City or Chelsea.
But given that the club is run on grounds that are more commercial than sporting, if the club’s management were to say, “Okay, what the hell; we will cut our profit margins and go for the Premiership win”, then we might be able to gain ground on Utd, who, although they have higher economies of scale and will get back more per pound invested, are still run on commercial lines. Chelsea and City would then just increase their expenditure due to their bottomless pit of petro-dollars and make it harder to get into what would then be the top two. This is, of course, to accept the current (and my) view of financial fair play rules, that they are just piffle. The ideal is then that we as fans should do all that we can to oust Kroenke and get Usmanov in and so make Arsenal another chav club like City or Chelsea, which would in turn escalate the top players’ wages and transfer fees and make top-flight football even more detached from the average fan than it is now. Personally, and this is only personally, I don’t need my football team to win the Premiership every season to give me a vicarious sense of achievement. I am satisfied with my own life, unlike your low self-esteemer City or United fan; class is what lasts in my view, and making a good fist of what you have is enough.
However, the problem with the Kroenke regime is that they have no interest in football, viewing Arsenal as a financial and commercial investment rather than a organization aimed at sporting excellence. We are not fans to them but consumers. Arsenal is not a football club but a brand, with strong brand-loyalty. I firmly believe that Kroenke is taking money out of the club, before financial results are posted, so as to finance his initial purchase of the club and then to make a profit on his investment, much the same way as the Glaziers are at United. But then, you may argue, he is a businessman, so why shouldn’t he do that. After all, I have strong brand loyalty to Sainsbury’s as well as to Arsenal, and I know that they make a profit out of me. The difference is that, because of our culture, it is harder to swap football teams than supermarkets and, at the moment, Gazidis and Kroenke know it is like shooting fish in a barrel; just like tobacco companies used to say “get 'em young, keep them for life”. Branded companies need to keep the faith of their loyal consumers; because Arsenal is a football club, they don’t have to try so hard. Whatever happens this season, I won’t be renewing my Arsenal season-ticket. It is a hard wrench for me, but whereas Kroenke can afford to buy an £80 million ranch in the middle of a worldwide recession, I just can’t afford my season-ticket. In words that Gazidis and Wenger will understand, ‘my marginal utility’ is not high enough compared with the ‘utility’ (and price) of all other goods. So what is the answer?
Hit the brand where it hurts - in the profit margins - to ensure that it comes on line with perspective on its consumers.
Peace and Love and a Merry Christmas. Up the Arse.
