Despite a transfer budget of around £70 million, Wenger is yet to spend any
money this summer and now appears increasingly unlikely to land the three
“world-class” signings that had been his aim for the summer... Wenger insists he is pursuing other options and, however unlikely it may seem,
Arsenal have not given up hope on Luis Suárez and Wayne Rooney.
Following Arsenal’s shocking defeat to
Aston Villa on the opening day of the season, a group of Arsenal fans
who are functioning under the name “The Black Scarf Movement” (BSM) have
written a letter to Arsenal chief Ivan Gazidis, expressing their
concerns over the state of the club in a hope that things will change in
the near future. The group consisting of over 4000 Arsenal faithfuls
are one of the biggest official supporters groups.
BSM spokesman David O’Leary
said: ‘A long-standing concern of the Black Scarf Movement is that
profits have always remained in the business and were not re-invested in
the team. We have lost in excess of 20 players this close-season and,
while some would have been considered “dead wood”, the squad is now
dangerously thin as we go into the new season.
‘Our concern has always been with
matters off the pitch and not on it but the Aston Villa result coupled
with the non-arrivals this summer have proved again that the Board
running the club are not interested in success on the pitch. Only profit
in the bank.’
Here is the full transcript of the letter:
Following a poor few months in the
transfer window, resulting in today’s poor defeat at home to Aston
Villa, we have written to Arsenal Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis. We’ve
expressed our concerns and the general feeling among fans at present,
demanding that positive action is taken. Below is a copy of the letter…
Dear Ivan,
We
write to you as Arsenal’s largest and fastest growing supporters’
group, to convey our deep concern at the current state of our team going
into the new season.
In
early June, around season ticket renewal time, you were widely quoted
following your Q&A event where you spoke about the club’s new
financial firepower and ambition moving forward. Many fans saw this as
the club finally about to break free from the shackles of moving
stadium; new commercial deals were coming into place, we had a vast
amount of cash available in the bank, profit from the Queensland Road
property project was secured, the vast increase in TV revenue was about
to land on our doorstep, and after treading water since moving from
Highbury it seemed as if we were finally going to push on.
What has happened since then is nothing short of a disgrace.
There
have been noises coming out of the club over the summer that the market
was slow, that other clubs weren’t doing much, and that things take
time if you’re after top quality players. We feel all of these were poor
excuses, designed to deflect focus away from our shortcomings.
The
only positive of the summer has been the release of many players who
were generally considered ‘dead wood’ – and naturally this frees up more
cash for investment in the team. But with the departure of these
players, virtually no movement has come in the opposite direction and
we’re now left with a squad severely lacking in depth and experience.
Indeed, the squad registered for the Champions League in the last week
had to be padded out with kids.
As
a group we have been concerned for some time that the Board running our
club has lost sight of the raison d’être i.e. we are Arsenal Football
Club; not a business purely focused on posting profits year after year.
You
will have seen the results of our end of season survey, which came out
in favour of Arsene Wenger but with 70% stating that he has too much
control over transfer negotiations and setting of wage levels at the
club. The same survey revealed that 87% of fans feel the current Board
of Arsenal is out of touch with the feeling among fans, and that 73%
feel less valued by the club since we moved stadium.
It
is our view as a group that the Board of Arsenal is too relaxed about
the competitiveness of our team, and that as long as a top four place is
secured, it is a case of ‘job done’. This should never be the case but
despite hearing you say you’re not happy every time we end a season with
nothing to really cheer about, nothing changes.
So
in June following your statement of intent, fans were rightly hopeful
but what has happened since then? Yet again we’ve spent the summer
dithering while others around us have strengthened, and once more we
start the season playing catch-up. With five competitive matches due
before the transfer window closes, there is every chance that our season
could be dealt a hammer blow before we’ve had a chance to take stock,
and this weekend’s defeat at home to Aston Villa should act as a huge
wake-up call.
We
are now in a situation where we’re faced with a carbon copy of 2011,
where it took an 8-2 humiliation at Manchester United to force a
‘trolley dash’ on the final day of the transfer window. Of course by
then it was too late. For Arsenal to be in that situation once is
unacceptable; for it to happen twice in three years will be
unforgivable.
It
is imperative that the Board of Arsenal does its job and manages the
Manager – an employee of the club you are supposed to be running. What
are Arsene Wenger’s targets / KPIs set by the Board every year? Is the
he not even answerable to the Board, with free rein to do as he pleases
as long as he helps the business achieve a profit? Is he having to do
all the running himself when it comes to transfers or if support is
there, is he taking it? Clarity is required here because something
clearly isn’t right at the club when it comes to the acquisition of new
players.
You
put all the focus on the Arsene Wenger yourself at that Q&A session
in June, but to fans there is little evidence of questions being asked
of him; this despite approaching the end of the transfer window with no
sign of needed, established quality coming in. Does the Board feel that
it’s been a good summer? Because we’ve now lost our opening game of the
season, our squad is already blitzed by injury, once more today there
were fans coming to blows in the stands. As a Board member, does this
even bother you?
Of
course if we used the funds we do have available, brought in top
quality players and competed for prizes, in would come better commercial
deals, you wouldn’t have as much trouble trying to get corporate
punters back into the stadium, and naturally the more successful we are
it becomes easier to attract better players. Or is the Board too
short-sighted to realise this?
A
competitive team isn’t one which scrapes the position of 4th best team
in the league on the final day of the season and gets dumped out of
domestic cup competitions by lower league opposition; you need to
realise that most fans are aware of this fact. They’re not duped by
finishing in a position which may result in us playing in the Champions
League. So what, if the cash from that competition is simply banked and
never sees the light of day?
It
should be noted that as long term fans of The Arsenal we’ve seen plenty
of lean times and poor teams over the years. Silverware isn’t the be
all and end all; we follow this club out of pure love and will always do
so. However, loyal matchgoing fans continue to walk away from Emirates
Stadium, unwilling to part with their hard-earned cash when they feel
let down and lied to by our Board. We pay the highest ticket prices in
football after being sold a dream, but it’s always a case of ‘jam
tomorrow’ and many have seen through the spin.
Enough is enough.
If
the Board is actually intent on making Arsenal a successful force in
football once again, changes have to be made. Arsene Wenger should have
experienced, qualified support to help bring in top quality players, and
he needs to be managed effectively if the right business isn’t being
done.
Or
if the Board is simply intent on milking the Arsenal brand for all its
worth to the detriment of the team (but to the benefit of our bank
account), season ticket prices at Emirates Stadium should be reduced
accordingly. Our loyal fans should no longer have to bear the burden
after doing so for many years.
Make
no mistake, if there is not significant improvement in our playing
squad over the next couple of weeks, the rapidly growing anger in the
stands will become difficult to overturn. There hasn’t been a poisonous
atmosphere like this at Arsenal for over 30 years and the Board has
simply stood by, while things have gone from bad to worse. I am sure you
appreciate, this can no longer happen.
We look forward to your response in due course.
Yours faithfully,
Where Has Our Arsenal Gone (the Black Scarf Movement)
Naturally we will keep you informed of any response we receive from Gazidis, or anyone else at the club.
