Arsenal need Usmanov to bring back the glory days

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What have we seen over the last few week? Man City win the league and Chelsea win the Champions league. It proves that football has changed and teams now need to pump money into the club and sign the worlds best players in order to win titles.

But Arsenal have a man who wants to do this.. Uzbek billionaire and major Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov wants to bring the best players to the club.

Usmanov who is not an Arsenal director even though he owns almost 30% of Arsenal Holdings, believes self-interest among the board members is stymieing the club’s chances of on-field success.

Usmanov also said that there would need to be a switch in emphasis if he is to end up on the board.
Usmanov said “If the role of a board member is to oversee a trophyless period while making significant personal profits and asking fans to pay inflation-busting ticket price increases then, no, I would not want to be on the board.

“If instead it is to try to deliver sustained success, to increase your personal investment in the club, to help develop the commercial position and to ensure the fans have a say in the running of the club then, yes, I think I certainly have something to contribute.

“In terms of doing things differently, let me give you a very clear example. Arsenal has all of its major commercial contracts coming up for renewal in the next couple of years. It’s no secret that to maximise the value of those you want to have success on the field and be winning trophies. To do that you need to invest now in building a winning team. This is simple commercial logic. Whether it comes to pass, we shall see.”

The sad fact is this. Arsenal will never win anything again without major investment. We need Alisher Usmanov to step forward and take control to bring back the glory days.

Since Stan Kroenke took over the club what have we seen? Any investment? Any major signings?. In fact we have seen our best players SOLD and the money NOT pumped back into signing replacements.

Another sad fact is that since 2005 and when Ashley Cole was apart of the FA CUP winning side, we have not won anything and Ashley has gone on to win EVERYTHING in football. Who can blame him, Clichy, Nasri, and so on for leaving in the hunt for glory.

We need change at Arsenal and we need Usmanov.

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Comments

  1. Nick says:

    Hate to say it . While I have been very adamant that we do things the ‘right way’ seeing the chavski win the European cup last night and sheik city the league it does seem now that the way to compete . Alas even if 100 mill is pumped into the club for buying players we are still going to be third choice behind the chavs the sheiks and utd for any top players even if we match the ridiculous wage demands of top players let alone the price .. Very sad that football is going this way but I can help thinking if we can’t beat them then we have join them throwing money at it…..

  2. Andy Cole says:

    Totally Agree we need Usmanov to save our once great club. We need a revolution and the cams demanding that Stan to leave the club NOW.

  3. Judith Le'Strange says:

    I have always said that we should never had invited Kroenke to buy into the club and become the majority shareholder, he has no idea of English football and is only interested in acquiring another franchise. What has he actually done for the club? nothing. The Board have become complacent in that as long as they continue to line their pockets at the sake of the fans they don’t give a damn. Peter Hill Wood should be replaced and David Dein brought back to the club. Usmanov should be invited onto the Board then perhaps we would see a change in attitude and it would be so good of Kroenke was ousted and Usmanov being the majority shareholder, but are there enough shares still floating about so that Usmanov could purchase to get the required 30+% to become a board member, then perhaps we would see a change, but until the Board change their attitude we will continue to be an alsoran team with limited finances, perhaps Wenger needs to be ousted & a more forward thinking manager brought in!!!

  4. John says:

    Yes, absolutely we need to be like Chelsea and Citeh!!! I want trophies, I want to win, I need bragging rights!!! I don’t care if we do a Leeds in 6 years time, I don’t care if we get kicked out of Europe due to FFP. I want us to be Alishernal.

    All AKB’s out, you are deluded and have no ambition.

    I’ve got an idea, let’s do a bin bag protest.

  5. john says:

    t hurts to see our rivals succeed while we still live with hopeless philosophy “keep the faith”. We have no right to accuse departed players. What they won after left arsenal is the justification that their decision was right and our club is not planning to win anything apart from stupid honor of participating in uefa champions league. Things have change, if can’t invest on the team forget about winning tittles. Fans are paying inflated price for tickets than any other club but they are not receive value for money due to poor poor performance

  6. Matt says:

    What would Usmanov want in return? If all he wanted was success for Arsenal he could write a cheque now for £200 million and give it to Arsene to spend, he wouldn’t even notice the tiny hole in his account. Sell your club to whoever has the money, don’t ask any questions. I remember Blackburn Rovers “bought” the Premiership a few years ago, whatever happened to them?

  7. Jamal says:

    Absolutely right….i want to be proud of football glory. I dont give a shit about self sustaining business. If some billionaire wants to spend his money on us, let him. Its unbelievable we turn this away, when every other club would embrace it. I hate the fact the club now think finishing in top 4 is an achievement, its not. Arsenal need to start acting like a big club again. Arsenal fans need to mobilise and force this change

  8. clockendrider says:

    And the fact that Usmanov has publicly started that the first thing he will do us institute a policy of issuing dividends ro.shareholders gives the beat indication that this man is looking se Arsenal as a financial investment that is money out and not money in.

  9. Bakrima says:

    We have been saying this for a long time Usmanov + David Dean + Guardiola this is not a dream .It is possible it just needs Arsenal Fans to stand up for their club and makes it happen.

  10. shabi adeola says:

    Why can’t wenger spend arsenal money?plsss wenger don’t mind comin with d team 2 nigeria cuz we die hard supporters are now d target of all team,u’ve succeded in turnin us into laughing stock….WENGER OUT!

  11. tesfay says:

    yes,all right we need this in order to win trophies,,,,,,all the players ,,,,supporters,,,,,,& even every body knows to ”’gunners take this,and let to commig on best footballers in the world,instead of leaving super stars? ,,,,,,,,at this momoent the primary idea ‘s let mr.usmanove come to the board!!!!! arse ‘ll like barcelona / city in bussinees as well as having best foot ballers in the club!!!!!!! ””’

    UP GUNNERS””! ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,LET WE BELIEVE IN ARSENE WENGER””’!!!!

  12. youngbash basiru says:

    Yes!!! We need alisher to take on we want 2 be lyk mancity, chelsea nd

  13. Iceman says:

    Hard to admit it, but you are right – albeit that many of us have never stopped banging the Usmanov, Dein drum. We are a decent outfit who play attractive football, but the shadow of the Invincibles envelops our every move and until we re-fresh we will never be as good. We needed to invest in players of real quality SIX seasons ago and we are still stalling. I love Arsenal and although I think it is hilarious that the Tiny Totts have missed out on ECL, we are so much bigger than that crumb of comfort. We should have been the first London team to win the Champions League, but sadly now even I have to admit that via Roman’s millions Chelski are bigger than us. We need change. We need investment. We need it now to reclaim our rightful place as the best team.

  14. gun4it says:

    Spot on I was against this, but we need a winner on board and that man is usmanov and dein. They are nothing without us filling the stands! We need to make a stand and campaign for usmonov to get a seat on the board. We need top wages and top players only! Sell your shares to usmanov

  15. nwite c. says:

    i feel so sad d way last night game ended,my anger 4 both wenger & d board has increased once again,they have made us 2 look lik fools simply bcos we support arsenal.look @ chelsea,who hav never bn close 2 arsenal,they hav taken over d glory of d game bcos they hav Abramovic while we hav selfish & silent stan that does not want knw d direction dat d game is going,what a shame.is only a fool dat wil blame rvp if he leaves.

  16. j says:

    Er-der! Wasn’t all this at arsenal so clear when dein got booted out so PHW can use the club as his pension whilst stan sucks out the cash for his us teams. Let’s face the truth : dein will not be allowed back, stan will stay in his vampire role and PHW will do spurs proud – its cos of wenger we qualify for the champs league, when he goes we’ll swap places with stoke.

  17. hosea says:

    with wenger, dont expect enything, he buy the fringe players and still complain about them. Let him go

  18. don says:

    what we need 1st is change in management,wenger has lost hunger for success n the only thing that motivates him is the heavy salary he gets despite his lack of ambition in recent past.many are happy we finished 3rd n all i can say is same script different season,how long r we ready to see the club go trophyless? we all now know he is tactically inept,makes poor decisions n despite everybody seeing them n pointing them out,he still remains adamant n sturborn not to change them,what makes u think if purchases things will change? we had good players the past 4 seasons n nothing changed.it is very necessary usmanov is put in the board n even more urgent to get a new manager with the hunger n passion for success

  19. gunner17 says:

    chelsea didn’t win it because of the money they pumped in, they won it because they had a strong spine of experienced players who’ve been playing together for 5 years or more, who’ve seen it all and done it all, and know how to get through games like that.

    cech. terry. lampard. cole. drogba.

    that’s it.

    arsenal don’t need usmanov, they need to keep a strong core of players together for a decade. then we’ll win big.

    sczcesny, vermaelen, kocsielny, song, wilshere, rvp…add a couple more, keep it together for 5 years, then you’ve got a team that can get to the CL final repeat times. keep them together for 5 more, we’ll win it.

  20. terry says:

    i dont get it, a man as rich as Usmanov has not been able to buy the club till now and he is twice as rich as Anzhi…. i fell this is bullshit… this man will not invest anything into the club.. coz if he loved the club he would have already brought it when we sold cecs and nasri last season.

  21. Ricky says:

    Usmanov is the way forward now.. Kronke has had more then enough time to show & prove but has failed misserably. We need ambitious men running our club like the old days.

  22. Gbolahan says:

    My first question is do Wenger and greedy board members read all these comments?if not,it will be a waste of time and energy,I think all Arsenal fans should revolt against these people,enough of these heartbreaks and selling of top players without replacing them with quality players,RVP is on the verge of leaving us cos stingy Wenger has refused to spend money and Kroenke and his board are not concerned,we seriously need Usmanov on the board,the man who loves our dear club,we have endured and kept the faith enough we need trophies now,we need Usmanov who is ready to splash the cash.

  23. Dave says:

    Completely agreed. Those who think Usmanov should just invest under current ownership are completely missing the point. Why would he invest in something he doesn’t own and has been rejected from, with no say on it’s running. It would just be like giving Kronke the money.

  24. GumbiGumbi says:

    Arsenal supporters have always blindly asked for loyalty from players while keeping yet another blind eye to the fact that there are people at Arsenal who are making massive profits and doing nothing to make sure that Arsenal is competitive on the field. I will never admonish Ashley, Nasri and Fab. They did what was the best for their career and its now showing up. Evra once said that when Arsenal win a single game their supporters makes a lot of noise as if they have won a trophy. The only trophy Arsenal can get is Carlington or FA cup.

  25. Anonymous says:

    Sad to say it,but apart from money,both owners of Man City and Chelsea have a burning passion for football glory and they succeed. Look at Arsenal,owners past and present, esp. AK,only wanted a running business and they also succeed from the contribution of an economic-minded ONLY manager. The difference is stark. Ones who try to attain their vision with their resources and ones,like Arsenal,puts up grand illusions every season to misguide and consolidate their financial model,hoping FPP will come to their rescue eventually.

  26. chandler says:

    I understand what you are saying but some is not possible Dein is now Liverpuds director of football or something along those lines. Usmanov deserves a place by ownership but if not then why would any business pass on one of the 21st centuries best business men. Usmanov has not sat on his laurels by an way of the imagination. He has invested re-invested and sold tuns of companies. He easily made over a billion when FB went public, is media mogule that could crush Virgin. This guy is an amazing business man. Arsenal need him much more than Dein, in business Usmanov has true vision and hates not be first in anything. He belongs on the board by merit and ownership. Not a person on the board or field have done close to what he has in their lifetime.

  27. kel says:

    well i didnt renew my season tickets quite simply i just refuse to give my money to a lost cause!! there have been tickets available for every match this season so i’ve decided to go if and when i want!! kronke will bring nothing to Arsenal the guy is not a winner, he is just happy for Arsenal to hang about in and around 3rd 4th 5th place.. KRONKE = NO AMBITION = NO INVESTMENT= UNABLE TO COMPETE… get used to it people the next 5yrs will be dominated by city & chelsea, man u will always be in with a chance as long as they have fergie. but Arsenal can forget about it wenger simply makes the same mistakes over and over again 49 goals conceded??

  28. samuel says:

    The usual bollocks from one-eyed fickle Arsenal fans who are so quick to blame Stan Kroenke and Ivan
    Gazidis when the real blame is with the;lost his mind; manager Arsene Wenge,seven trophyless seaso
    ns of Wenger stupidity and sheer ineptitude have cost the club dearly,the manager picks the starting X1
    every match day ,not the Arsenal board of shareholders ,it,s not Alisher Usmanov,s job to interfere with
    team selection,so the current manager needs to be sacked right now, to allow a new fresh coach and
    his ideas into the club ,the time has arrived ,new ideas, new coach,yes we can ?

  29. AKB HATER says:

    Where is all the money going? Arsenal fans are being conned by the askenazi board! For the last 8years! They never moved to stadium for better plyers and improvements, it was for more money for themselves! ARSENAL FANS DO ONT RENEW YOUR SEASON TICKETS OR BUY MERCHANDISE.

  30. Joshua songba says:

    That so called board management is just 4 nothng,invest in quality and experienced players

  31. diamond dave says:

    WHAT A BREATH OF FRESH AIR, GREAT ARTICLE, I HAVE BEEN SAYING IT SINCE LAST SEASON WENGER AND SILENT STAN NEED TO BUGGER OFF AND LET SOMEONE COME IN WHO CAN BRING BACK THE GLORY DAYS TO ARSENAL, IF YOU HAVE NOT NOTICED LOKK HOW WE LOST OUR STAR PLAYERS ONLY TO BRING IN MEDIOCORE PLAYERS, AND LETS BE HONEST OUR PERFORMANCE WAS DISMAL, 20 POINTS BEHIND CITY AND UNITED, AND WE DID NOT DESERVE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FOOTBALL, I HATE TO SAY IT BUT TOTTENHAM WHERE THE BETTER TEAM IN LONDON, WE HAD DIFFICULTIES BEATING SWANSEA, NORWICH ETC ETC, AND LOOK AT THE EXCUSES WENGER HAS MADE ABOUT THE PERFOMANCES AND THEN BLAMES THE REF!! WENGER NEEDS TO TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT HIMSELF HE MAY HAVE EXPERIENCE IN THIS FIELD BUT HE LACKS TACTICAL AWARENESS, HE CAN NOT GET HIS TEAM TO DEFEND, AND IN THE FINAL THIRD WE ARE HAVING DIFFICULTIES FINISHING OFF TEAMS WHY? BECAUSE HE BELIEVES IN A PHILOSOPHY THAT DOES NOT WORK, FOOTBAL IS NOT ABOUT EXHIBITION IT IS ABOUT TRYING TO SUCCEED, AND WHAT IS SUCCESS IT IS ABOUT WINNING THINGS NOT SAYING WELL WE GOT THIRD, SOME OF THE PLAYERS IN THE ARSENAL SQUAD ARE OVER PAID, AND ARE NOT QUALITY PLAYERS, IF VAN THE MAN LEAVE GOOD LOOK TO HIM, THIS CLUB HAS LET THE PLAYERS AND THE SUPPORTERS DOWN, BY SELLING THE BEST PLAYERS AND HOPING SOME CHEAP BARGAIN BASEMENT BUY IS GOING TO BE A WORLD CLASS PLAYER AND HAS IT HAS SHOWN SOME OF WENGERS BUYS ONE HAS TO LOOK AND ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT HIS ABILITY, THEN WE GOT SILENT STAN, HE IS OBVIOUSLY KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT FOOTBALL OR ARSENAL FOOTBALL CLUB ALL HE SEES IS POUND SIGNS EVEN IF THAT MEANS SELLING OUR BEST PLAYERS JUST TO ALIGN HIS OWN POCKETS, WE NEED USAMANOV NOW, NOT FOR HIS MONEY BUT LIKE US HE WANTS TROPHIES AND REAL SUCCESS NOT JUST TO TAKE PART IN A TOURNAMENT KNOWING WE WONT WIN IT, BUT TO TAKE PART WANTING TO WIN, IT IS ABOUT TIME ALL US SUPPORTERS WHO TRULY LOVE THIS CLUB STAND UP AND DEMAND WENGER AND STAN LEAVE THEY ARE KILLING THIS CLUB, AND THE QUESTION REMAINS HOW LONG IS IT BEFORE WE ARE FIGHTING RELEGATION, AND I WOULD BET NEXT SEASON WE WILL BE IN THAT MIRE, IT IS ABOUT TIME WE GOT THIS CRAP OUT OF OUR CLUB AND GET SOMEONE IN WHO WANTS TO BE SUCCESFUL USAMANOV WE NEED YOU NOW!!

  32. michael says:

    Arsene wenger and the arsenal board are just fools and selfish,they need to leave the club for Alisher!!! They all about the money(wenger,stan and the other foolish members of the board)!!!!! Where are the Arsenal fans in the United Kingdom? Are you people sleeping????????

  33. MAH MOUD says:

    Well Said I agree with you

  34. gunner17 says:

    you people should be ashamed of yourselves.

    do you have any idea how these guys made their billions? how many people have died and suffered to make these guys so rich?

    arsenal fc should have nothing to do with that kind of money.

    we’ll win the right way.

  35. Chris66 says:

    Why is there so much pity for Usnanov as if he is a victim of the current owners. If he really wants to own Arsenal he doesn’t need to keep picking up individual shares to play this political game. He has the option to make an offer to Kronkel to buy the club from him. If , as it would seem this is just another investment for Kronke, offer him enough money and I have no doubt he will pocket his profits and go back to his US interests. It’s just a matter of price.

    Usnanov has made enough money from his Facebook punt alone to fund this many times over, let alone all the Gazprom money he seems to have accumulated (thanks Putin). But he hasn’t chosen to do any of this has he. He just sits on the sidelines and plays politics. The 30% thing is irrelevant other than a blocking move. If he wants the club then just bloody pay up and buy it. Please don’t tell me that these “businessmen” won’t pay over the odds as this is exactly what they do, what has Abramovich’s Or the Sheikh’s ROI been on the billions they have pumped in to Chelsea and City? Fuck all, it’s a toy thing for them. You want Arsenal to be Usmanov’s toy, so what is stopping him? Hill Wood owns virtually no shares, the only person Usmanov needs to pay off is Kronke

    Perhaps he isnt the white knight you think he is..

  36. DocBrody says:

    Owners like Usmanov represent everything that is wrong with football. Shady Russians or oil rich sheiks, paying outrageous transfer fees and player wages. It might get them results in the short term, but in the long run its bad for the leauge and its going to lead to the downfall of the EPL. And when that happens, the cache of owning a team in what is no longer the best league in the world will be gone, and so will those owners, leaving “death and destruction” in their wake – teams will go bankrupt, the league will be crap, attendance will plummet.

    I’ll take Americans over these guys any day. They may not know much about football, but for the most part they are basically honest, if a bit naive. They haven’t all succeeded, but every American owner has shown an interest in pursuing a sustainable busines model focused on the long term health of the club. Sure, they’ve tried and failed at things like debt financing, etc. but the important thing is that their goals are always long term, not quick glory. Stan might be silent, but he is NOT the problem.

  37. doctor says:

    I think itd time we the fans officially asked Usmanov to take our great club and for the silent one to step down,thats the only way forward for the club,its so unfair they rub the self sustainability crap on our faces while they enrich themselves

  38. g clarke says:

    more money keep buying dont care who not worth knowing the players keep changing them spend spend thats the way forward who cares about watching players develope and achieve buy at top an dchange every year

  39. gnuueir says:

    Myles is right, 3rd place is a great achievement for Wenger. And while other teams are chasing top players and buying them, Wenger keeps on talking philosophy….SO MUCH SO THAT OUR TOP PLAYERS HAVE NO HESITATION ABOUT LEAVING.

  40. Naz says:

    I blame the board principally, as they continue thwart any real efforts for change in the shape of Usmanov as it ultimately lead to their demise!

    Wenger should be applauded for keeping us competitive with the likes of the Mancs and Chavs – he’s made mistakes but no more than can be expected. However, I do hold him responsible for supporting the Boards spin about how good and competitive our team is!! Also that we have funds available when clearly they’re not…

    The lies about our current direction are the most infuriating part; I’m not sure if Usmanov is the answer but it can’t be any worse than where we are today!

  41. Idealist says:

    This is the truth the entire world knows, kronke & co only interested in money. Honestly what he cares about d club and I don’t think he ever had a passion in football!! To him, year in year out, let’s look how can we (AFC board) to increase tickets sale etc etc…god, we need Usmanov back to Arsenal. He’s the only one that cud save n bring d glories days back to Emirates. Reinstate David dein n kick out d bunch of selfish n zero ambitious kronke n co…if d whole world says AW is being selfish n pretended as a wise economist guess we r absolutely wrong..I guess d real culprit is kronke n co. Stop acting like an angel pops out of nowhere n says I will support AW etc etc..it’s so fake.

  42. Wenger says:

    This is a great club run by stooopid people. And this blog is equally stooooooooooopid!!! Get a life!

  43. Wenger says:

    OOOOPS!!!! Apologies to you, this blog is a great one! My bad.

  44. swezzy says:

    See I love arsenal but I can’t go on watching chelsea,man u and man city winning every time no doubt arsene wenger is a great coach but I think he has lost his touch as for the board they are slowly killing our team its time that Usmanov is brought in I’ve had people talking about long term and being in trouble coz of spending that bull look at chelsea they have spent money for 10 years already but they seem to be getting stronger and stronger truth is we are becoming a mid table team and it all down to the people in charge looking after themselves and not thinking about our team gooners let stand up and take our team where it belong to the top

  45. Tommy says:

    This is utter shit people. Who gives a shit about one or two trophies the upcoming seasons. The Arsenal I support is a shining beacon of light. Arsenal is a pure club, a rightous club. We have a great history and we are damn proud of it. There is no way in hell I would welcome Usmanov to Arsenal just like I do not support Kroenke’s overtaking of the club. We should not be run by some bored billionare out to win some silverware. They do not know what love for a club is all about. Usmanov should buy West Ham or Nottingham and spend money on them. I do not want him or his money anywhere near my Arsenal!

  46. Clown shoes says:

    Fickle fickle gooners,

    Do you understand how this man made his money? how many lives were lost? why he served time in jail?

    The club is run in the right manner, win, lose or draw, and just because City and the Chav’s won, why now? now that the stadium is nearing pay off….?

    If all you want is money, go and support the Chav’s or City, it’s that simple. You wouldn’t run your own life in such a manner, spending double your income, so why expect someone else to do it.

    And the question what does Usmanov want out of the club? if he wants to spend 500 million, he can do now…. if success meant that much…

    the sort sightedness of some Arsenal fans is worrying. Would you seriously risk financial riun for your family just to keep up with the Joneses? If the answer is yes, you are a complete muppet.

  47. afc25 says:

    Soooooo this is where all those disgusting cowards who booed our team, and told us that we would be relegated, not play european football again, finish below Spurs – CROWD where……….

    Wow – now the season is over, and the team, manager and real supporters can’t point to the next game and the season’s course – you all come out from under your filthy Rocks!!!!!

    WOW SO BRAVE! Well done backstabbers- go on shout out about how a team that has never signed a star (outside of Bergkamp – who Arsene found for us) – should go out and do just that, and then spend £ 250 k a week for every major player in the WORLDDDDDDDDDD – forever and forever – because there is so much honour in that huh?

    Please support Chelski, or Man City, or your traditional favourite Man Utd – Leave this Great Club alone, and bend your knee to your superstar owners. I support a club, not an oil baron.

  48. George says:

    Alisher Usmanov probably doesnt want to just simply buy Arsenal. He has been a winner for his entire life, if he takes over Arsenal, he’ll want it to be because he has had Gazidis crawling up to him and begging him to buy into it. With Usmanovs money, Wengers brain, and Arsenals class we would be able to attract top quality players for the right money and right wages. I dont want to see our club become a man city or chelsea, but i do want to see proper investment to allow us to win trophies again. Usmanov in, Gazidis and Kroenke out.

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