The Perfect Pitch

The latest news on the takeover front see Usmanov’s Red and White Holdings increase their shareholdings to 21%, making them the second largest shareholder at Arsenal. As I’ve stated before, I’m totally against a takeover, back then led by Kroenke. My feelings have changed though since. I’m now even more against a takeover, especially one led by Usmanov and also now that Arsenal current board are doing a fantastic job on the financial front without the need for some billionaire owner to start taking money out of the club.

So much at Arsenal is under the direction of Arsene Wenger, that we often overlook the contribution of the board. And the fact that us fans have never really had much trouble with the board means we’ve really taken them for granted. Make no mistake, the current board are probably one of the best in the country. They have very modern ideas and have taken Arsenal in a bright new direction with the new stadium. Arsene Wenger’s new contract reflect this as well, not to mention Arsene actual words of praise for the board. And if you want contrast, all you have to do is to look at the trouble Martin Jol is having with the Sp*urs board, and the Abramovich/Mourinho saga, and realise how important a good board/set of owners is. Do we want to end up like Sp*urs or have Arsene Wenger being forced out due to a difference of opinion with the new owner?

But a series of key questions exist, and the answers of which will determine whether a takeover is going to happen or not.

1. If the current Arsenal board has control of over 50% of shares (as largest shareholder Danny Fiszman has claimed), does this mean that a takeover is practically impossible?
2. If it is impossible, and assuming that Usmanov knows this, why is Usmanov still buying shares?
3. What will Stan Kroenke do with his 14%?
4. Are the Arsenal board really going to hold out against a takeover no matter the cost, or will they fold if the price is right?
5. If the Arsenal board want to keep things as they are, why aren’t they buying up shares to shore up their position?
   

I wish we didn’t have to think about these things, and just concentrate on the football. It’s hard enough to win things these days without having to deal with takeover speculations, and in truth, there is only one man to blame for all of this.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 18th, 2007 at 6:11 pm and is filed under Arsenal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.