Emmanuel Fyle
1. Is there another elite club that would tolerate eight years without a single trophy?
2. The club’s owner recently bought himself a ranch to the value of US$132 million. Arsenal’s other major shareholder is the richest man in Russia – a country with some of the largest natural resources in the world. Are there seriously any Arsenal fans out there still pleading poverty?
3. The manager has amassed in excess of £52 million in salary (excluding bonuses) over the past eight years of failure. Considering ‘football is a business’, an excuse frequently trotted out to justify outrageously priced tickets, what kind of a responsible business would award such exorbitant salaries for persistent failure?
4. It is reported that, if the CEO is sacked, he will nevertheless pocket a severance package that will exceed £3 million (once salary, bonuses and pensions are taken into account). Lest we forget, this is a CEO who oversaw an operating loss, and who was so lacking in knowledge that he elected to cold-call a company for sponsorship opportunities without even realising that the company belonged to Arsenal’s second-biggest shareholder. A farcical error for someone in such a position. Again, is this a responsible manner to run a club?
5. The CEO was appointed to his position as a consequence of being ratified by the manager, the very man he was supposed to hold to account. What kind of business allows a failing employee to appoint his own boss and continue to go unchecked?
6. The Arsenal wage-bill has been implemented, sustained and devised by one person: Arsène Wenger. It has spiralled recently to £150 million – and yet this very team is unable to compete on the pitch with Bradford or Blackburn Rovers. Indeed, the Arsenal wage bill is higher than Bayern Munchen, AC Milan, Borussia Dortmund and Juventus, all teams who are light years ahead of Arsenal. What justification can there be for this? Petro-dollars again?
7. Arsenal fans are consistently told that Chelsea and Manchester City are to blame for their unacceptable state. It appears that Arsenal FC is the only team in the history of European football that has continued to blame other teams for their shortcomings, whilst revealing a cash balance of £123 million (the highest in Europe of any team. (Check it.). If Chelsea and City are indeed to blame for Arsenal’s decline, can an explanation be provided as to how Spurs are looking likely to finish in the top four, ahead of Chelsea again, for the second consecutive year? How are Manchester United able to succeed with an average wage of £64,000 per week (Arsenal’s is £61,000)
8. The manager has proved himself to be an abysmal motivator and man-manager: he spent £7 million on Andre Santos. He was shocking, so he moved him on. He spent £65k a week on Chamakh’s wages; he bombed. When his confidence dropped, instead of attempting to coach him to improve, he was also shunned. £11 million was spent on Gervinho. Poor as he is, instead of coaching the player to improve, he has been shunted to the bench. £10 million was spent on Koscielny, who has regressed from initial promise. Again, he has seen his little confidence shot to pieces by being shunned. Mertesacker cost £8 million, and now stories are emerging of the manager ‘losing faith in him’. Good money after bad is being urinated upon when the simple answer is staring Arsenal in the face: proper organization, defensive coaching and tactical improvement are the tools already at the club’s disposal. So do the board think that leaking planted comedy-stories about ‘£70 million war chests’ is going to placate fans? Or if anything, will it terrify us at the thought of Arsène Wenger getting yet more money to waste on inefficiency?
9. Arsène Wenger has spent £105 million on new players in the past eighteen months. Can any of his defenders who continue to assert that the board have denied him funds, please present factual evidence as to this happening?
10. It is a well-known fact that Martin Keown took charge of the Arsenal defence for Champions League match days in 2006, leading to the team going over 900-odd minutes without conceding a single goal – a competition record that stands to this day. Keown was proof positive that tactical organisation and drilling can turn average players into a solid unit. This was managed with the likes of Eboué, Senderos and Flamini at left-back. Arsenal currently have superior individuals at their disposal but are defending far worse. When Martin Keown began to be praised for Arsenal’s defending in Europe, it irked Wenger and Keown was not retained. Now history repeats itself: with the huge improvement in Arsenal’s shape at the start of the season, Steve Bould has once again been marginalised. Wenger could not accept the positive coverage someone else was getting. Is it acceptable on any level, that one individual’s ego is more important than the club’s overall success? What kind of a business allows this to happen?
11. All around the Emirates, and previously Highbury, all of Arsenal’s trophies are indicated. The FA Cup has formed part of the club’s heritage. Arsène Wenger continues to persistently disrespect Arsenal’s heritage and the wishes of fans, by dismissing the FA Cup as ‘not really a trophy’. That the fans want success there is of no consequence to him – for his ego dictates that having the CL on his c.v. is more important than what the fans crave. Again, is it acceptable for a manager to show his fans such scant disregard? If the FA Cup is good enough for Alex Ferguson, why is it not good enough for an inferior manager like Wenger?
12. Robin van Persie was sold ‘for footballing reasons’. Prior to his departure, van Persie emphasised that the direction the club was headed in was perilous and that he feared for their future. He hinted that the fans deserved better. As Arsenal stare at the very real possibility of Europa League football on Thursday nights, whilst having to watch Tottenham (with a wage bill £50 million lower) compete in the Champions League, in addition to finishing ahead of Arsenal…is there a single person out there who now doubts the integrity of van Persie’s statement?
13. Player after player has departed the club due to losing faith in the ambition of the manager and the club as a whole. Fans continue to bury their heads in the sand and blame the players departing as ‘mercenaries’ – despite the facts staring them in the face. Fabregas, Clichy, Nasri and van Persie in due course have all proved that to be a successful player and win trophies, you need to leave Arsenal. Is this acceptable?
14. Is it acceptable that a club that has a proud heritage of defending and of spirit in adversity, seems to be absolutely loaded with mercenary players on inflated salaries? How long have Fabianski, Squillaci, Denilson, Djourou, Santos, Arshavin, Diaby and company sat around collecting scandalous wages? Despite eight years of inept defending and conceding almost fifty league goals the previous year, how much lower can Arsenal’s reputation sink with Wenger in charge?
15. Arsène Wenger has selected the wage-bill policy, has spent huge amounts on substandard players, has refused to delegate and is a de facto board member. Is there a single person out there that can make a factual case for Arsène Wenger to continue in employment? Please, before doing so, remember that Villas-Boas, a man half his age and with far fewer resources at his disposal, has outperformed Wenger at two different clubs now. And that is without mentioning managers paid far less, such as Klopp, Conte, Allegri, Simeone etc. who have all competed fiercely in the top competitions despite earning significantly less than Wenger.
16. Arsène Wenger and the board conspired to hand Alex Ferguson and Manchester United the league title with the sale of van Persie, which was an act so unthinkable it beggared belief. On the pitch, Arsenal have suffered whilst helping Man United to prosper. Does anyone out there, as they watch the likes of Giroud, forgive Wenger and the board for this grotesque act?
17. Arsène Wenger is apparently hamstrung by funds. And yet Aaron Ramsey was given a new five-year contract. That’s Aaron Ramsey. If Wenger is retained, and in light of the numerous extensions for the likes of Diaby, Denilson, Djourou, can you say with any certainty that Gervinho, Sczcesny, Giroud et al will not be given new bumper pay-deals?
18. Arsenal fans pay the highest season-ticket prices in Europe, to watch a team that they are supposed to be contented to see competing for fourth. Do you find such a state of affairs acceptable? Is it acceptable that the average fan earns circa £30k a year, but is told to fork out over £1,000 for a ticket to see a club steeped in decline? And to witness a club and manager that refuse to cater for their needs? Do you feel you are getting value for your money when you hand it to Wenger and Kroenke? Do you trust Wenger to spend that money to safeguard the future of the club? And if not, do you trust Kroenke and Gazidis to ensure that money goes towards making Arsenal the best on the pitch? If the answer to both questions is a resounding ‘no’…do you not feel there are better ways to use this money?
19. Have you simply ‘accepted’ Arsenal’s fate? The club is sitting there, with £123 million in cash reserves, is handing out scandalous money to players who probably don’t even know which part of London they are playing in, and is allowing players as average as Theo Walcott to hold the club to ransom. Do you merely ‘accept’ that the club will continue to operate in this manner? Or do you feel that as a fan, you have a duty to instigate change by protesting, and hitting the club in the pocket – the only message it comprehends?
20. Considering Arsène Wenger’s numerous protestations about ‘financial doping’, is it safe to assume that, should an Arab consortium or Alisher Usmanov ever take over the club, Arsène Wenger would immediately submit his resignation? Could any of Wenger’s defenders also care to explain how a man who continues to distract from on-the-pitch football matters with constant reference to finances was able to advise PSG on the Qatari takeover? Does this not contravene the very essence of Arsène Wenger?
