Stan Kroenke - an open letter
By Avenell Dave
Dear Mr Kroenke,
It is with great interest that us Gooners discover today that you have again upped your stake in Arsenal F.C and are now within touching distance of launching a formal takeover.
Arsenal's position as the last English-owned big four club (or big six if you include Man City and Villa) looks as if it is about to end and I don't know if that is a good thing or not.
It is ironic that the man who introduced you to Arsenal in the first place, and to many, the man who helped transform the club into the powerhouse it is today, is no longer involved.
While David Dein's allegiance switched to Alisher Usmanov, you have continued to buy up shares to the point where you even bought shares from chairman Peter Hill-Wood today.
The Arsenal Supporters Trust said this week that it believes in plurality of ownership and that has always stood us in good stead.
But with your possibly takeover looming, I am sure there are many of us who want to know what your intentions really are.
Are you buying a blocking stake to prevent others from taking over the club?
Do you wish to ensure you get the best possible price for shares if Mr Usmanov or someone else surpasses the threshold and has to make an offer at a high price?
What IS your interest in Arsenal?
True, we have been transformed into one of the most successful clubs in the world in recent years and our turnover is the envy of all but a handful of clubs in Europe.
But you have no obvious links with North London and the other American owners of Big Four have hardly looked after the long term interests of their clubs.
The Glazers have saddled Manchester United with debt - and no Gooner wants that. But the club remain successful and are winning Champions League and Premier League trophies.
Liverpool are saddled with debt, their stadium situation is unclear and they don't even get on, apparently.
Certainly Arsenal offers a huge opportunity to someone in the medium to long term.
The stadium debt is manageable and when Highbury Square is completely sold, the club may be in a position to clear much of its borrowing.
The £3m turnover each matchday is the envy of most and the club looks set fair to maintain its challenge for top honours.
It would only take a relatively modest sum, perhaps £40m, to buy the missing pieces to ensure the squad can cope with injuries and suspensions and make the step from contenders to champions again.
The consensus is that the majority of Arsenal fans are behind you and are happy for your takeover to succeed.
There will be nigh-on a quarter of a million fans wondering just why you want to buy Arsenal.
Is it to add a European element to your portfolio?
Is it because you think there is a huge amount of money to be made?
The fact is, no one seems to know, and your moniker 'Silent Stan' raises some alarm bells for those of us who care so deeply for our club that we want to be understand who is going to be running the Arsenal in future.
I appreciate discretion is necessary until your takeover or share offer is complete, but there must be some way the club can reassure us that your intentions will always have the good of Arsenal both on and off the field - and not just to focus on profit.
Sincerely,
The Addict team
DA
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Reader Comments (5)
I have supported Arsenal for 50 plus years and although no longer in a position to be able to attend home matches as I once could I still have a vested interest in what happens to the club. I wish Stan Kroenke would once and for all come out and say what his intentions are for the club, is he (1) just upping his stake so that Usmanov can't buy enough shares to make a take over bid or (2) going to make a take over bid and or (3) which I dread to think about sell to the highest bidder and make a huge profit. Arsene Wenger has stated that as long as his role as managerand the way he deals with the team are not interfered with he's fine but if it became an issue of Kroenke versus Wenger then Webger I am sure would give notice and leave the club for which he has done so much, and this is something the fans need to know that that is not going to happen.
where exactly are Arsenal the last english-owned club ??
There are legalities surrounding these issues that us mere mortals don't know of. Whatever Mr. Kroenke says could have a direct baring on the cost of shares and I'm sure that sort of behavious is neither permissable, nor in his best interests. Suffice to say, that in Messrs Hill-Wood, Fizsman and co., the club is in good hands and the eventual acquisition by Mr. Kroenke will not cause too many waves in the short to medium term.
In Arsene we trust
My question is what makes many arsenal fans, like you, have a different tone when it comes to discussing Kroenke shares acquisition as opposed to Usmanov? Why are the prospect of Usmanov buying up the club deemed more fearful than that of Kroenke. The language against Usmanov attempts is often very robust and hostile while when you the "perfect" fans than we are seem to have a leniant vocabulary when it comes to discussing Kroenke. For me, the fact that P. Hill-wood sold his shares to Kroenke makes Kroenke a more dangerous prospect than Usmanov. The board have had a lot of in fighting recently, they managed to sack anyone who dared oppose them and now they are happy to sell their shares to a member of the same cliché other than any other person. That makes it very dangerous to me. I'd rather want to see the buyer be someone who merits it, not someone who is a friend as it seems to be the case.
I'm not yet certain there's any difference between a takeover by Kroenke or a takeover by Usmanov. Either one is a bad idea. What's wrong with the club continuing to be owned by a number of people and having shares listed on the open market? There is nothing in law to prevent Kroenke or Usmanov from doing to Arsenal what the Glazers did to Man Utd i.e. use the club's own money (in the form of a mortgage on the ground) to pay for their purchase. Net result, zero cost to the purchaser and potential disaster for the club. I hope Kroenke will stop at 29.99% and go no further.