The new Arsenal Advisory Board is just a waste of time

Do you remember the week the ‘big 6’ withdrew from the Super League?

The Gary Neville’s of this world were demanding UEFA hand out the harshest sanctions. Graeme Souness predicted no way back for the majority of those owners.

Other pundits declared it a victory for fans.

From an Arsenal perspective, at the very least the consensus was that Stan Kroenke would be pressurized into investing in the transfer market as a PR strategy.

A couple of months later what’s happened is what many others viewed as obvious.

Fans got distracted by the Euros, are still buying 70–100 Pound shirts, renewing season tickets, etc.

Mr. Kroenke is still not showing the ambition required to challenge the elite (I respect the market is still open) with Amazon’s documentary paying for a left back few gooners had heard of.

Led by his son Josh though there has been a response to the fallout from the end of the last campaign.

Kroenke Junior has an increasing control over the Gunners, and he has put in an action plan to show those protests outside the Emirates were not a waste of time.

Ready? …………

Drum roll ………..An Arsenal advisory board!

These will be elected members of various Arsenal Supporter Groups, who twice a year get to sit down with our board and give a supporter’s perspective on the running of the club.

Then Arsenal can tick a box and declare they have listened and are giving fans a voice in serious decisions.

In these meetings Fans will confer with Josh Kroenke, Tim Lewis (board member), Vinai Venkatesham (executive), Mark Gonella (media, Communications) and Mark Brindle (liaison).

These are successful businesspeople, in some cases millionaires.

It’s unlikely that their strategy is going to be influenced by anything a fan has to say.

It’s funny that when I heard about Daniel Ek’s bid to buy the club I was more interested in his promises to invest, reinstall our DNA and challenge for major honours.

Paying lip service to customers isn’t something I care about.

The Kroenke family have had serious power at Arsenal for over a decade.

If at any point they cared about customer feedback, they could have picked up a paper, gone on the Internet, attended a few fixtures, etc. to get the general mood of the fanbase.

You don’t need a couple of official meetings to learn gooners are not happy.

It’s hard to believe they will learn anything from this that they don’t already know.

It’s equally hard to fathom an advisory board going into a meeting and coming out with any dramatic change.

I’m not important enough to be on this board but would turn down the offer anyway.

I couldn’t think of anything more tedious than an evening being patronised over a topic I’m passionate about – by a group of suits who have zero knowledge of the sport.

It’s really simple.

Under the current model we have regressed to the point we have not qualified for Europe for the first time in 25 years.

We are further away from winning the prem at any point since we last won it.

We are owned by one of the richest men in the world who if he wanted could spend more than he is.

The more you invest the better chance of winning things.

Most have accepted we are simply part of a portfolio who print money based on the brand, no matter where we are in the table.

You don’t need an advisory board to tell you any of this.

 

Be kind in the comments

Dan

Tags Arsenal Advisory Board

59 Comments

  1. Let’s see the amount of transfer budget we’ll spend this summer. The super-rich people like Kroenke are also affected economically by the pandemic, so let’s see how they’ll balance their books by selling our assets and invest wisely

    I don’t want Arsenal become another mismanaged club like Barcelona, that have to sell most of their high-paid players to avoid bankruptcy. Barcelona bought a lot of superstars because of their fans’ pressure and look at their huge financial problem now

    Fulham also spent more than 150 M for new players in 2018 and got relegated in the end of the season. We need to spend wisely like we used to do in the 90s

  2. Twice a year, how exciting! Tim Lee is is the only person mentioned who could rationally discuss Arsenal FC or football in general. The only positive other than the Kroenkes being able to tick a box, is that Josh may learn something about the history and aspirations of the Arsenal.

      1. Yes twice a year, with hand picked people and no real say! Non event really. The board and Krankie still decide 100%.

  3. Kronke Kronke Kronke. The guy has literally just invested 50M IN A CENTRE BACK, signing a £20m midfielder, and is pursuing Locatelli. Last year spent £72m on Pepe. But hey, just following the lazy narrative that he does not invest.
    And could you please enlighten me as to what ‘reinstall our DNA’ means? reinstall what??????

    1. We still have a couple of signings we are yet to complete and regarding the answer to your question,
      I’m curious you know

    2. SS
      it’s how we spend the money
      Who sanctioned £72m for a player who at best is worth half of that
      No accountability
      The person should be sacked
      It’s a typical American run business
      Lots of lip service. We care, we listen, the fans are our life vlood but get to the core of the business and the really don’t give damn
      AFC is the jewel in the crown for them that makes huge amounts of money for them
      If the fans and Elk who recently scared them in to thinking they better act, engage and understand the fan base better then all well and good and now we have ourselves proper owners but me being cynical thinks “a leopard 🐆 can’t change it spots”
      Onwards and upwards

    3. He DID NOT invest his own money before the Partey transfer and even then, he invested 15M£. This season might prove to be different with the supposed White transfer. Lokonga will eventually be paid with player sales, while Amazon has obviously financed Tavares.

      So let’s wait and see.

    4. Can you tell me the Attacking midfielder he brought last summer ?
      Given how we were struggling at Xmas can you tell me how much he then invested to help the team ?

  4. Club needs real expert advisers not fans to decide player signing. Arsenal is already paying inflated salaries for few relative to its PL positions in the last 3-4 years. Tottenham & L – city have done better at 50-60 % overall wages.This all started when Wenger lost the control in his last 2-3 years as a result of fan unrest fuelled by media/ pundits. Wenger might have done some mistakes & probably it was time for him to go but even his worst years are still better than the years after him.

  5. On the league prediction, Dan I also suggest you get everyone who is interested in participating to indicate, so we know the number of people who would be participating, and that would make your job easier, help us know who would go all the way. Not people dropping out after one prediction or coming on and off, like any time they feel like. We need everyone to be committed all through the season. 20/30 serious0 people will make a lot of sense My opinion though.

  6. It’s just “bad” investing by the owner.

    For example, £72 million on Pepe, rumored £50 million on White, but can’t afford a top manager or director of football?

    1. Durand, the owner didn’t make the investment decisions, but the “management” team and Board he selected and retained.

  7. Hang on a minute alot of people wanted MA as manager because of Wenger and pep suppose av learnt of them but he turned out to be a big head and won’t give anyone a chance apart from his pets anyway hopefully white is coming plus the other 2 signings and James mad and no 2 keeper and a CF forward we or good

  8. I have to applaud DAN for telling it as it is. Straight and to the point. It will surprise no one who knows my regular anti Kroenkes posts that I AGREE WITH EVERY WORD HE SAYS!

    Some fans may choose to believe that leopards can change their spots. DAN, I and most Gooners worldwide know differently!

  9. Arsenal’s net spend the past 6 years is higher than that of Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs. The issue is not how much we spend it is buying the wrong players and doing a horrible job at personnel management.

    The whole concept of “listening to the fans” is stupid. The fans do not speak with one voice. Look at the difference of opinion on this site alone.

    1. Well said. Fans on here are blind saying we don’t spend, we spend a hell of alot. I don’t like Kroenke but he definitely doesn’t choose what players we buy and sell,he’s clueless about football so how could he?

      Arsenal model:
      We buy overpriced, average players and sell good players for peanuts.

      That our problem, simple!

      1. Totally Agree. But it seems like that is changing. When ever clubs saw Arsenal coming for a player the inflate the price. Gone are those days of paying too much for players who have not proven themselves in premier league. Classic example is Buendia and Norwich they tried to force us to offer more and we walked away. If those teams can unearth these gems why can’t we. I think that is the model we are adopting. And it is the right one

        1. dboy It is all about coaching look at Xhaka in the Euro’s different player Arteta got to get is act together

  10. Wenger left 70 million on the table for Alexis and gave Ozil that ridiculous contract. Personnel management his final seasons was horrible and the team is just now getting all those mistakes off the books.

    1. Yet after watching Wenger’s “mistakes” first-hand, our management made the prudent decision to sign the young Willian on a three year contract on a Champions League wage.

      Everyone makes mistakes in life. It’s important to learn from the first and to make sure that the same mistake doesn’t repeat again.

      1. Don’t forget Aubameyang and his contract, which seems to be in the same ball park as Ozil.

        By the way, every single penny that The Arsenal make /turn over and/or lose, all belongs to Kronkie…. so it’s wrong to say he’s not investing his own money.

        When will people understand this very simple point?
        And as we are reportedly about to spend £50,000,000 on a CB, spent £8,000,000 on a left back, offered £27,000,000 for a midfielder, this nonsense needs to stop.

        If MA succeeds or fails, kronkie has backed him to the hilt and should demand a return for his money or heads should fly!!!
        As for the article Dan, agree 100% that it’s a waste of time.

        1. KEN YOU SOME MAKE GOOD POINTS. I DO NOT THOUGH AGREE THAT “KROENKE HAS BACKED HIM TO THE HILT”. LAST SUMMER WAS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF FAR MORE TRANSFER MONEY BEING NEEDED BUT NOT GIVEN.

          That being said, I also believe that both Kroenkes have been very spooked by Daniels Eks bid and th fan support for him andthat is the ONLY reason for this charade of a fan advisory board that DANS ARTICLE HAS DEBUNKED SO BRILLIANTLY.

          As have you, I and others , all correctly!

        2. Ken, I do not agree that “Kroenke has backed MA TO THE HILT”. Yes, there HAS been some backing but “to the hilt ” is a tad, actually a large tad, too exaggerated.

          I much that believe this “fan advisory board” – so brilliantly debunked by Dan and many others, including you and I on this thread – together with the massive fan movement against the obscene Euro super league proposal, have FORCED the Kroenkes into trying to ape normal decent humans.

          But I do not buy the attempted illusion that a leopard ever changes its spots. Not one bit!

      2. VasC Yes we all do make mistakes and some keep repeating the same ones.
        But the same mistake BUT made by a different person, eg Ozil by Wenger, Willian by MA are not truly repeated mistakes.

        You could say the club repeated the mistake but I believe that individuals, not organisations, make the real mistakes. There is always an individual ultimate decision maker who is the real mistake instigator.

        And overall, any mistakes(or minuses) need to be set against that individuals plusses AND in the same time period too, as decision makers do change their own abilities, whether for plus or minus, over a sufficient time.

        I just thought your rather basic final sentence, though not wrong, needed more context.

      3. I assume you mean the Aubameyang contract VasC, along with always being in the top four was not a trophy.

        1. Jon, at what point would you say that kronkie IS supporting MA then?

          He delivered with the players MA wanted out, at great cost to him financially – both in salaries and the price received from sales.

          Furthermore, we have seen changes in the backroom staff and all that this means regarding redundancies and compensation from other clubs.

          This season alone, we will invest, it is reported, over £100,000,000 on players that MA wants – the largest outlay ever in one transfer window.

          On top of the above, he also authorised the obscene and grotesque contracts of Aubemeyang and Willian.

          Finally, despite our lowest season finish in over two decades, the fact that we will not have any european football for the first time in, once again two decades, he decided to back MA with all the above!!!!!!

          So Jon, when will you say he has backed him to the hilt??

          By the way, this doesn’t mean I believe kronkie is a brilliant owner… far from it.

          1. Correct Ken and we should all expect a massive upturn in Arsenals fortunes from the very start of next season. Arteta has been given more than most of our managers in his short time, he needs an impact from the get go or GET GONE!

          2. Ken,I’ll answer by asking you your own question! You have already read MY answer, so no point repeating what I have said already countless times.

            For clarity, I do not believe so called “reports”, until they happen and they have not happened yet and won’t imo, at least not to the description of “backed him to the hilt! But then you already knew that KEN !

      4. Well said Vasc – I don’t think this is unique to Arsenal. Modern society is incredibly unforgiving of anybody in the public eye. One mistake and people demand a sacking. Imagine if that starts to permeate down to us out of the public eye – we’d all be unemployed.
        There is no tolerance, no patience and no middle ground now – you must either love or hate somebody. Total polarisation, anger, conflict. Those of us that try to take the middle ground on Arteta are ridiculed for doing so. Supporters must see no fault, Opponents must see no good. It’s pretty sad.

    2. Some Guy. We blame Wenger for that too. Sanchez and Ozil were our best players then. Wouldn’t you have screamed your lungs out if he sold them both that window? What do Arsenal fans really want?

      1. Of course they would have done Kobin and how they clamoured for Ozil to sign, no matter what!!!
        Just as they did for Aubameyang to “sign dat thing” – hindsight must be Arsenal fan’s most gifted powers, seeing how they all knew / know what the answer is.

      2. I seriously don’t understand….fastbackward to the time city bidded for Sanchez…. everyone here was saying we need to stop selling our best players and we shouldn’t be a selling club…..in hindsight now people are saying another thing….same situation with aubameyang and ozil…. people need to stop all this hypocrisy and understand transfers and signings are risk….it either work out or not…. When you make the best decision like we did at that very point in time for Sanchez and ozil coz they were our best players at that point in time we move on from it and keep making the best decisions…enough of this hypocrisy….kroenke is backing arteta and it’s on him this season whether he fails or succeed ….

        1. Well said Dammy – please keep posting. We need to keep trying to bring reason back to what is becoming an increasingly unreasonable and extreme element in our fanbase.

      3. Well said Kobin – fans have selective memories – they beg the club to do something then pillory them later for it.

      4. No, I screamed when we turned down the 70 million for Alexis. I loved him to death but he had 1 year left on his contract and refused an extension. The only sensible thing do to in that scenario is sell.

        I liked Ozil too but there was no big demand for his services. We retained him for PR purposes, to say we kept an important player. Never would have happened at a club with competent management.

    3. I would suggest recent net spend is Chelsea and Liverpool being better at what price they get players for
      Judge Koronke on when he first got power at Arsenal and there are numerous examples of him not showing enough ambition
      As recent as January – who did we sign after our worst ever start to a season ?

  11. Im afraid our once great club is now a sham and a shambles. Our owners are absent owners and they will never ever understand Arsenal and the way we work as long as they have o hole in their arses. They spout rubbish about returning us to the elite and the truth is they have not got a clue or motivation to make us great again. Our Manager is not up to it, our Director of football is not up to it and the rest of the board are not up to it. Arsenal are dead under the krankies and we are going knowhere with thos manager. We are nearly starting a new season and we haven’t improved in any departments, even if we sign White as good as he might be, or not be. The areas we need strengthening are not being strengthened and we are being sold false hopes, that are not there.

    1. Reggie, be calm mate, we are only halfway through the transfer window.
      There are SIX weeks left, don’t give up so easily!

      1. Pat, its not about hoping, waiting, dreaming or any other non factual pastime, you only have to look at what is going on to see, we are not the club we were. I would never advocate Wenger coming back ever but we have gone backwards with managerial and board decisions. Dont try and tell me any different as to what is actually going on.

        1. I am only urging you to wait until window shuts. Don’t say its a bad window until the fat lady sings….

    2. Reggie, as usual, your posts in “support” of your own club are uplifting and positive. And all this in pre-season. I think your comment that no matter how good White is he won’t improve the team kind of confirms that you have decided that nothing will ever be good enough for you. I look forward to the joy your writings will bring in the season proper.

      1. Guy, do please let me explain because i dont just spout, i have reasons. Firstly we are signing White to replace Luiz, now without causing debate, Luiz was our best defender and improved our defence last season. People may find that just too hard to admit but he was. Is White better? That i have my doubts because Luiz was and is far more decorated than White. So big boots to fill. Is Tavares going to oust anyone? Not Tierney, so doesn’t make the team better. Is Lokonga, if we sign him going to replace xhaka? I doubt it because there are rumours we may loan him. So no he isnt replacing xhaka and may not be a regular first teamer. So i have very very good reason for my opinions. I hope this helps you.

        1. Tavares can also play as a RB, as his right foot is almost as strong as his dominant left. This maybe his best chance of first team football provided Tierney stays fit. He is young and adaptable and has played right back in Portugal. A promising display first up against Glasgow Rangers.

  12. So far –

    Tavares – 8 000 000 pounds
    Lokonga – 17 000 000 pounds
    White – 50 000 000 pounds

    Total spent so far – 75 000 000 pounds.

    Hopefully, we will see more signings in the GK, CM, AM, RB, and maybe ST.

    Getting all these players might cost up to 200 000 000 pounds in total.

    1. Yet we are being told that kronkie isn’t supporting MA to the hilt!!!!
      WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE.

    1. Other top commented article on the front page by Dan “Is saliba arsenals worst signing.” Seriously? Your fast becoming the talksport of just arsenal. Find that particulary hilarious given your frequent attacks on aftv for harming the club. Again seriously? You write well and this comment will no doubt help you get the job you seem to be angling for. Can’t help your soul though.

      1. When did I say.I don’t write negative articles
        I’m openly very worried about my club so yes lots to be negative about
        Salibas the Most commented article so it’s an issue peeps want to chat about
        Also wrote well done arsenal for mind charity but you chose not to mention that
        Unfortunately dude if a club is failing your unlikely to get many positive articles at the moment
        Can’t help my soul? Well deep lol

  13. Mikel Arteta has been supported in the transfer windows to sign new players since he joined Arsenal. And offload some indiscipline and the no longer competent ones fleecing the club. And he is still being supported by the Arsenal owner during this current summer transfer window. As the club have signed one new LB. And are looking to complete the signings of 2 new other ones within days.

    But in all honesty, if after Arsenal have completed the 2 new signings who are in the offing for them to sign them in addition to the new LB signing they’ve done

    Do us honestly see Arsenal signing more new players this summer? More especially if Bellerin and Xhaka remain at the club this summer.

    But apart of a new goalkepeer signing that Arsenal might do if Arthur Okonwo fails to impress to become a competent backup goalie to Leno. Arsenal may then resort to pursue Onana’s signing. Despite that he’ll be late to start goal tendering for Arsenal if signed this summer. The club may still go after getting his signature to sign for Arsenal.

    But with Partey, Elneny, ESR, Willock and the new incomings Lokonga. All in the Arsenal midfield for next season’s campaign and with none of the 5 looking will be offloadefl this summer. Arsenal may not sign any new midfielders this summer.

    And with the four strikers of, Auba, Laca, Nketiah and Balogun all Looking will remain on the Arsenal books this summer to not any of them getting offloaded this summer. And Martinelli looking he can join the fray to play down the middle centrally. I can’t Arsenal doing any new striker’s signing to add to their ranks this summer. But save if the club offload one of their 4 or 5 strikers who are currenty at the club.

  14. When is Arsenal going to ditch zonal marking at set pieces to the “dustbin of history”? Man on Man marking please to ensure accountability, as Arsenal’s defense at set pieces is abysmal!

  15. Agree with Dan. One thing most supporters miss is that Kroenke is a Narcissist. So for the sake of having the control he craves, he will believe everything he does is right, even if reality and Arsenal being a fail proves him wrong. Truth and empirical facts mean nothing to Narcissists.

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