Right then. There’s only one thing to talk about this morning and that’s the shock departure of vice-Chairman David Dein from the club late yesterday afternoon. The Chairman, Peter Hill-Wood is quoted, saying:
On behalf of the Board I would like to express our gratitude to David Dein for the many years of loyal service he has given to the Club. We sincerely regret that irreconcilable differences between Mr. Dein and the rest of the board have necessitated a parting of the ways.
So, from that we take it that David Dein did not resign. He was sacked by the board. There are all sorts of theories about why it’s happened but the most obvious one is that Double-D wanted in with Stan Kroenke and perhaps when the board asked him to pledge not to dispose of his shares for at least a year, like the rest of them, he refused to do so.
You’d have to think this is something that’s probably been stirring for a while though and perhaps Dein saw a Kroenke takeover as a way of bringing new money into the club which, because of the new stadium, isn’t exactly cash rich. If the other board members sold to Kroenke then the American could look after the financial side of things while Dein became the new football supremo.
The first inklings of a problem came about when Mr Hill-Wood pointedly ommitted Dein when talking about being ‘horrified’ at the idea of the club selling up to Kroenke or anyone else. Matters obviously came to a head yesterday and a man who has made his name and reputation, however you wish to judge it, through Arsenal Football Club was gone before tea-time.
Now, there are all kinds of stories about Arsenal being in turmoil and the sensationalism is something you have to expect with a story like this but there’s not too much to be worried about, in my opinion. Obviously there’s a gap now between the manager and the board, and by that I simply mean that we need to find somebody to do the work that David Dein did. Transfers, negotiations etc etc. The way some people have been going on you’d think that Arsene Wenger and the rest of the board were complete strangers which is utter nonsense, of course. I trust the board to find the right person for that job and as they have some time on their hands to do so I’m sure the appointment will be a sensible and well-thought out one.
People might say that David Dein was the man responsible for bringing Arsene Wenger to Arsenal and that, to an extent, is true. It’s also true that the rest of the board were aware of Arsene at least two years before he came to Arsenal so it’s not simply down to Dein. Yes, Wenger and Dein are/were good friends and I’m sure the manager appreciated the fact he had somebody with whom he had a good relationship and with whom he could work on the stuff that managers and boards need to work on. That doesn’t mean David Dein is the only person that Arsene can work with in that way and Arsene Wenger is intelligent enough to know that things change, people come and go, but football goes on. Will Dein’s departure mean anything whatsoever to Arsene’s control over football matters or any of his other responsibilities? Not at all. Does it cast doubts over his future? Not really – his contract is up at the end of next season anway, so those doubts and tabloid stories would exist with or without David Dein.
So from that point of view I’m not worried at all. Arsene will still have the good relationship with the board, full control over all things football and from what he’s said in recent interviews it strikes me that he wouldn’t have been in favour of any takeover so perhaps this is something Wenger and Dein wouldn’t have seen eye to eye on. The Chairman has also moved to calm any fears of Arsene following Dein out, saying:
I believe the relationship that Arsene has with the rest of the board is good. He is on contract with us until 2008 and we very much hope that he will extend his contract beyond that.
He also claimed that there was money for him should he need it, saying:
We’ve always made funds available to Arsene, he attends the board meetings, he understands the financial position. I can assure supporters that we will continue to provide funds when Arsene requires them.
So, really there’s no problem at all in terms of the manager as of yet. You might say that it could affect things when it comes to renogotiate his contract but there’s really no point speculating about that now. There’s plenty of time for the board to ensure a good working environment and I think his contract renewal will have far more to do with what’s happening on the pitch than whether or not David Dein is vice-Chairman.
It occurs to me that Dein has underestimated the rest of the Arsenal board. There have been rumours for a number of years now that he’s been looking to sell his shares in Arsenal. Was it the promise of a lump sum and a prestigious job at the club that saw him side with Kroenke, if that’s what happened? Remember as well that there have been frictions in the past between Dein and other board members, most notably about the new stadium. While the others were aware and respectful of the fact that Arsenal should have its own home David Dein pushed for Arsenal to take up residence in the new Wembley (again at odds with the manager who was heavily involved in the new stadium project). What a fiasco that would have been, eh?
Now, when I say underestimated I mean he hasn’t considered, or understood, quite how much work the board have put into creating Ashburton Grove. They’ve gone through years of planning, years of difficult, at times impossible, financial dealings, local governments, councils, NIMBYs, various other objectors and obstacles that come about when trying to build a state of the art 60,000 seater football stadium in North London. Why did they do it? For the good of Arsenal Football Club. For the club they all support, the club they all love, the club they want to be successful. Why on earth did he think that less than a year after completing that massive project they would in any way favour somebody else coming in to take over?
Yes, things are tight in terms of money in the bank but that was something they knew, something they and the manager of the football team were aware of and planned for accordingly. Arsene’s youth project, however much we might criticise from time to time, was born as much out of necessity as anything else but it was, like the board’s stadium project, done with the best interests of the club at heart. Sure, we could take the American’s money, or some Arabian money, or some Russian money and spend a load in the transfer market but at the end of the day I’d rather Arsenal Football Club remained in the hands of people who love it rather than sell up so we can splash cash on players who, let’s face it, are temporary parts of Arsenal’s history. And given the big money signings we’ve made in recent years we might regret the filthy lucre sooner rather than later.
Let’s not forget that the Chairman, who spoke exclusively to Arseblog about this in Arsecast 16, said that the board did not need investment, did not want investment and would not welcome anybody trying to come in and takeover the club. If this was a board that was interested in profit they’d have sold up the minute anyone came sniffing around. This is a board where people have put more money in than they have ever taken out.
People say it’s just a matter of time before we’re taken over but I don’t agree and I sincerely hope it doesn’t happen. I’m proud of the way the Arsenal board dealt with the situation yesterday. There was an obvious rift. They wanted to go one way, Dein wanted to go the other way, they got rid of Dein. I have no doubt in my mind they want what’s best for Arsenal which makes you wonder about Dein’s motivation. Was it for the good of the football club or were his reasons more to do with personal ambition and wealth? You can decide that for yourselves. I know what I think.
The question now is what happens to his shares. If he sells to Kroenke then the American becomes the single largest shareholder at the club. Would he take a place on the board or would he assign somebody? Somebody like, for example, David Dein. Given the fact that board have stated that ‘they have entered into an agreement not to dispose of their shares for at least one year and have confirmed that they intend to retain their interests on the expiration of this period’ he may decide to wait and see what happens and not sell just yet. If he could liquidate and enter into some kind of an agreement with Kroenke then that’s what he’ll probably do. However, it would be very difficult to see him on the board as Kroenke’s representative given the way he has been removed from the position of vice-Chairman and if he did then you’d again have to question his motives. Is boardroom strife really in the best interests of the club?
I’m pretty sure there’s a lot more to come from this story but for the time being I’m not too fussed. I don’t think it’s a disaster or a huge problem by any means. I know some people will be concerned at his departure (whether that’s to do with his position or with the man himself I don’t know) but equally I know lots of fans who, while respectful of what he has done for the club, won’t be too unhappy to see him gone and it will be interesting to see how the club moves forward from here.
Bottom line, don’t panic, don’t believe the shit-stirring and sensational stories. Arsenal can, and will, function just fine without David Dein.
Away from boardroom bonanzas Julio Baptista has signalled his intentions at the end of the season by complaining about the English weather (his mother and girlfriend don’t like it and he says it’s ‘killing him’), teams from up north and defenders who kick you and take the ball off you. He says he likes to do fancy flicks and bicycle kicks but isn’t allowed time. Fuck me, he should try trapping the ball before any fancy flicks. Cheerio, Julio. I’d love to say it’s been a blast but it hasn’t.
Tomas Rosicky is upbeat for the rest of the season while Gilberto says there’s still work to do especially with Sp*rs at the weekend.
The RNG did its thing this morning and the winner of the Goalhanger t-shirt was Graham Tonge. Well done to him. There’ll be another t-shirt to give away next week but don’t forget you can actually buy them from the good lads at Goalhanger!
Right then. Time for some breakfast and then to track some people down to have a chat about this whole thing for this week’s Arsecast, which will have a brand new sponsor. More on that tomorrow.
