How the Chelsea implosion affects Arsenal and the wider football community Part two by Jon Fox
In Part One, I outlined the wider aspect of how Chelsea’s implosion affects football in its wider aspect. I now concentrate on how it specifically affects us in the near- and long-term future.
What recent events, not only with Chelsea but also with Ukraine, have shown so starkly, is that fans are fast evolving in our attitudes towards not accepting rogue owners and rogue states, far more quickly than many of us have hitherto realised. There is in today’s younger generation a far greater resolve than was present in our older generation to stand up against despicable behaviour at corporate level and indeed against pariah states, such as Russia, China, North Korea and also the Saudis, who are, disgracefully IMO, the commercial friend of our British government.
On other platforms I have delved in great detail into the wider aspect of how fast society is evolving but here on JA I want to stay with how it affects our beloved Arsenal.
Over the last few months and even weeks, there has been a sea change in how many Gooners see our future under Arteta. Our site is now bursting each week, with positive comments about how our team is improving so quickly and becoming exciting to watch, hungry to win. And optimism about us making top four is higher now than it has been at any previous time. Of course, some do not share that optimism and that is to be expected, as all fans at all clubs never all agree. That is healthy for debate and, in general fan terms, entirely normal.
Within a relatively few short weeks or months we have seen one club, Newcastle, ditch its unwanted owner but then sell its soul to a far greater devil than Mike Ashley, in the Saudi state, who now own them. We have also seen Abramovich forced to relinquish ownership of Chelsea and they are, seemingly, soon to be owned by another billionaire(s), though hopefully, less ghastly ones.
Our own club is also owned by a multi billionaire, who though some of us – well I do at least – consider him obnoxious, is not a monster, such as Putin or the Saudis.
I foresee in the near future a new and healthier situation for we fans where rogue states such as Saudi Arabia are banned, by British law, from owning clubs. Indeed, had Putin’s Ukrainian war happened a year ago, I believe that Newcastle would have avoided, by law, the Saudi ownership they are now slaves to. With Newcastle, the stable door was shut but too late!
I see Tracey Crouch’s new ownership regulations, currently in final preparation, before becoming law, as being decisive in preventing Saudi United from Gateshead, from being a new Chelsea under RA. I hope and believe that real teeth will be in legislation designed to prevent any one rogue owner from financial doping, as Chelsea and City have done, this century. It may be too much to hope though that Man City will now, after all this time, be banned from outspending all other clubs and the best we Gooners can hope for is that Guardiola’s managership soon ends. I do not see him staying there for many more years, personally.
With better financial control at Arsenal, there is no reason why in good time we cannot compete on equal financial terms with Liverpool and the newly owned Chelsea too. Of course, we need to stop right now the constant letting of players leave for nothing or for peanuts. And we need to stop buying players of the calibre of Elneny and his ilk and wasting money and wages on nothing worthwhile.
Further down the track, I predict that all top clubs will be forced, both by increasing fan resistance to corporate bullying – ( altering dates with little notice and bad scheduling, where TV schedules dwarf all other fan considerations) – and hopefully legislation giving we fans more say in how OUR game is run, to drastically reduce the way we fans are mistreated by the corporations running elite level football. A decade from now, but hopefully far sooner than that, I foresee our game that we love and which rules so many of our lives, being healthier and less bullied by the corrupt corporates who currently dictate policy.
I believe, dear friends, that one day, we may all including our own beloved club, get our game back from the bullies. I also believe that player salaries will be forced by sheer economic reality, worldwide, to become less obscene and, that the all-important fan/player relationship will thrive. For my money, I want NO more Ozils, Aubas and others who take us and our club for the fools we have been.
I BELIEVE THAT, IN TIME, WE WILL NEVER AGAIN BE TAKEN FOR FOOLS.
Here’s hoping, my dear fellow Gooners.
COYG.
Jon Fox
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Sadly, many football fans don’t care about where the money came from. The UK government should’ve rejected any potential buyer whose income is generated from his/ her connection to a ruling, military or religious group, but I guess they realize the UK requires the huge investment badly
If Newcastle stay in EPL, I’m afraid they will be Chelsea 2.0 next season. I hope they beat Spuds to ensure our fourth place trophy, but we also need to beat them
Jon, thank you for your opinion piece.
You obviously feel very strongly for football and for Arsenal, which I can only commend you for.
The piece touches so many subjects from both moral and philisophical angles, that I find it impossible to comment on all of them.
I will concentrate on one.
I agree, some owners should never have been allowed to own football clubs and use them for Sportswashing of their money or their regimes.
I think this is mostly the fault of the Government, as it shouldn’t be legal.
Once it isn’t handled by the government, I think it becomes quite a bit more complex. Then it requires football organizations to act on the basis of their moral judgement, and that can soon be very difficult to control.
Most can probably agree on some standards, like boycotting Russia. But once you do that, where does it end?
In many European countries, you will hear a lot of people arguing the upcoming World Cup in Qatar should be boycotted, because of the regime and the slave-like working conditions for some of the workers building the stadiums.
The moral issues are obviously there, but should we boycott?
How about playing football games against non-democratic nations? One of the friendlies, England is about to play, is against the Ivory Coast. I believe the current President there was “elected” in an “election”, where no opposition leaders took part, because they disputed the democratic process.
Should Arsenal play Newcastle, or should we refuse, because of the Saudi owners?
I am leaning towards answering these questions from a legal point of view. If it is legal, then football organizations and football clubs should be very careful with going further on moral grounds. Not because I can’t see the obvious issues, but because I can’t, where the lines should be drawn in the long run.
soory, missed a word in the second last line. It should be:
“Not because I can’t see the obvious issues, but because I can’t, where the lines should be drawn in the long run”
Anders what a joy it is to read on this site, with all its cliches and stating of the obvious(which makes up a large part of its total output,IMO) such an erudite and deeply thought through first reply
I do agree it is a very complex issue and I can speak only for my own principles.
I will be replying to Pires (below) when I say I would not wish to be owned by a multi billionaire who was a monster of the Abramovitch or Saudis type.
I DO NOT LIKE KROENKE AT ALL BUT I CAN EASILY SEE HIS LOATHSOME QUALITIES ARE OF A FAR LESS HARMFUL TYPE THAN THOSE OTHERS.
He is, at least, NOTa wilful human killer.
Why not like him cos his not buying the EPL like other oligarchs…He is building a team….something we should be proud of
“legislation giving we fans more say in how OUR game is run”
I think this is the only part I really disagree with. Where does this entitlement come from? Having a feeling for a game or football club doesn’t give you the right to be involved, and to ask the government to make legislation about it is wrong in my view.
Let me Ask You Dear Jon:Would You love Arsenal to be bought by a billionaire and have the same success Chelsea had …..I am waiting….
Pires, Please see my post to Anders above. I assumed you meant – though you did not specifically say- that the billionaire would be of the Putin or Saudis type.
You can’t moan over and over again about lack of investment and and be against waht brings Money…..We’d the same debat Dear Jon about the Super League WE must be ruthless and beware of the tough reality of business(and i Know that you’r a realiste Jon) look at City and Chelsea….I may sound cynical but it’s about Dollars not about dogmatic “moral”
Pires you have your view and I have mine . Unlike you, I would not sell my moral principles by which I live for ANY amount of trophies.
I would give up supportingArsenal in an instant, if a monster such as Abramovitch or Saudi State ever bought us.
For your sake, I SINCERELY HOPE THAT SOONER RATHER THAN LATER YOU REALISE THAT ETHICS IS FAR MORE IMPORTANT THAN OUR CLUB. OR FOOTBALL!
You were critisizing Wenger for the lack of trophies but he was thinking the same way as yours and we’r left behind now……
Pires what has that to do with a corrupt or otherwise multi billionaire owning us?
I find that people who are losing the argument often attempt, as you have , to change the discussion subject
The reason I love sports and football in particular a seems not to understand much other in the wider scales of things.
In all this I would just hope we do not throw out the baby with the bath water from in the tub.
Club owners are an interesting bunch who inspire curiosity. A businessman who runs, let say a supermarket chain. Is unlikely to receive insults and objections on a regular basis. Unhappy customer will simply walk away towards a competitor store without making much fuss about it.
Perhaps some angry word could be exchanged, maybe a bitter comment on social media ,but it mostly end there.
No giant banner asking the Koronke to leave or sell out with riots in the street.
Which makes you wonder who these owners are really, the love of football leads me to think real deep at times
@jon fox are you mistaking Abramovich for Putin? You called him a monster. I thought it the Russian dictator who was a monster and not Chelsea owner. Are you implying that all Russians around the world are monsters because Putin is? Sports and politics are unidentical. Let’s separate politics from sports. I hate Putin. But should I hate all Russians?
I tend to agree with you Soccer boy