Arsenal must stop selling if they are to win trophies, Usmanov

by Raptorgunner Fri Sep 28, 2012 3:50 pm

'Nobody can convince fans that the club is doing fine if for the past three or four years the club has been selling its best players,' Uzbek-born Usmanov said. 'It doesn't matter who our extremely talented coach, Arsene Wenger, buys to plug these holes if we want to win trophies.'

'I'm an absolute fan of Arsene Wenger,' Usmanov said. 'I support him and I'm confident in him. We think he's a hero.

'Despite changes in the playing lineup, he keeps the variations of the same beautiful game.'
'Arsenal received our letter,' said Usmanov. 'We didn't mean it as a hostile message or a declaration of war.'

However, Usmanov does not want to be on the board himself.

'We are tired of being accused of fighting for a place on the board,' he said. 'We have never in our lives asked for this place.'
'The season is beginning - we must close this discussion and support the club, coach and players,' he said.
'I never say we need to spend enormous money for any players but we must have capacity,' said Usmanov, when asked whether UEFA's planned Financial Fair Play measures mean that teams must cut losses or face exclusion from European competition.

Usmanov said he loves the club and holds his investment as 'a fan... who has participation as a shareholder.' He has no plans to sell, declaring 'if you sell what you love you lose yourself'.

'For now, we stay in Arsenal as shareholders as long as we don't lose our love for this club. Now we wish it support and great victory.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2209960/Alisher-Usmanov-says-Arsenal-stop-selling.html

by TalkingReckless Fri Sep 28, 2012 3:58 pm

He should just shut up

by Sina Fri Sep 28, 2012 4:09 pm

gangsters cant :coffee:

by Raptorgunner Fri Sep 28, 2012 4:53 pm

I dont get the hate really, I really like what he said.

by RealGunner Fri Sep 28, 2012 5:08 pm

Raptorgunner wrote:I dont get the hate really, I really like what he said.

you would, because he is saying exactly what the fans wants to hear. But if he aims to do what he says, that's entirely a different matter.

Since the RVP's announcement. He has been gathering allies, fans. What he wants with the club is not what we should be doing in an economical climate such as today

by Jay29 Fri Sep 28, 2012 5:14 pm

Not many take him seriously because he's so transparent about what he's trying to accomplish. Note how every time he opens his mouth, it's after a major event; the open letter after van Persie's annoucement, an interview after van Persie left, another interview now the club has announced £32mil profits. That's no coincedence.

Moreover, Usmanov, for his claim to be a fan and lover of the club, never speaks a positive word about it. He criticises the board on everything, hasn't complimented the club on the good business it's done this sumer and has never commented on where he thinks the club will finish this season or on it's recent good form.

He just comes off as sounding bitter about missing out on becoming majority shareholder. I can't really like someone who just never has a good thing to say about the club he suppsedly "loves".

by Jay29 Fri Sep 28, 2012 5:41 pm

Incidentally, this line...

"For now, we stay in Arsenal as shareholders as long as we don't lose our love for this club."

...does him absolutely no favours. A proper fan would never lose his love for the club, nor would they ever consider not loving Arsenal.

by sportsczy Fri Sep 28, 2012 5:58 pm

Some things you guys should consider:
- If you keep or buy top players, sponsors and media are willing to pay much more because they have a built in market attacked to those names.
- If there's a long term history of keeping top players or signing top players, the club can get longer and higher contracts from sponsors.

Now if you look at the situation as it stands... if i'm a sponsor, there's no way i value Arsenal on the same level as Chelsea, City, Madrid, etc. THe best players leave every year, Wenger is getting older and the club has shown no interest in competing with the elite.

At the end of the day, you ned to show investment to expect people out there that they should invest in you.

Arsenal is currently living off of its success up to 2005. But that's going to erode soon and there will be issues. There is no way in the world the UEFA is going to take a hard stand against Chelsea, City, PSG, etc. as long as they have long term endorsement contracts that pays for their spending. They would get destroyed in court. Platini can huff and puff all he wants.... but it's just posturing. Only the clubs that truly cannot attract sponsors and have huge payrolls, like the top Serie A teams save Juve, are looking at serious trouble.

by Rev Fri Sep 28, 2012 6:07 pm

I'm adamant that things will change once our Emirates and Nike sponsorships run out. Until then, we've got to win some stuff.

Sportsczy has got a point, but I still think we're in the TOP 10 in terms of popularity in the world.

Arsenal must stop selling if they are to win trophies, Usmanov Keep-c12

Arsenal must stop selling if they are to win trophies, Usmanov Keep-c12

by TalkingReckless Fri Sep 28, 2012 6:11 pm

sportsczy wrote:Some things you guys should consider:
- If you keep or buy top players, sponsors and media are willing to pay much more because they have a built in market attacked to those names.
- If there's a long term history of keeping top players or signing top players, the club can get longer and higher contracts from sponsors.

Now if you look at the situation as it stands... if i'm a sponsor, there's no way i value Arsenal on the same level as Chelsea, City, Madrid, etc. THe best players leave every year, Wenger is getting older and the club has shown no interest in competing with the elite.

At the end of the day, you ned to show investment to expect people out there that they should invest in you.

Arsenal is currently living off of its success up to 2005. But that's going to erode soon and there will be issues. There is no way in the world the UEFA is going to take a hard stand against Chelsea, City, PSG, etc. as long as they have long term endorsement contracts that pays for their spending. They would get destroyed in court. Platini can huff and puff all he wants.... but it's just posturing. Only the clubs that truly cannot attract sponsors and have huge payrolls, like the top Serie A teams save Juve, are looking at serious trouble.

not true, look at where Liverpool is and they earn around the same amount as Man U from the Sponsors.

The reason we are earning less is because we have been stuck on a long term deal (8 year deal), and the sponsors have no obligation to give us more money until our contract with them ends in 2014

by Wilson37 Sat Sep 29, 2012 4:37 am

RealGunner wrote:
Raptorgunner wrote:I dont get the hate really, I really like what he said.

you would, because he is saying exactly what the fans wants to hear. But if he aims to do what he says, that's entirely a different matter.

Since the RVP's announcement. He has been gathering allies, fans. What he wants with the club is not what we should be doing in an economical climate such as today

he always makes use of any oppertunity to turn the fans against the management and the board, claiming that he is a fan and he is concerned.. Crooked mind.. Evil or Very Mad