A bunch of Arsenal fan groups, websites and blogs have come together and issued a statement aimed at Stan Kroenke and KSE.
Here at JustArsenal we fully support the #WeCareDoYou campaign and in solidarity are publishing the statement in full.
Following the statement, we give our response to the campaign and its aims.
#WeCareDoYou
As Arsenal fans we have watched with frustration as the team’s football performances have declined over the past decade. When Stan Kroenke began buying Arsenal shares the club had just competed in a first Champions League final. Twelve years on, Arsenal are about to play in the Europa League for the third year running.
Off the pitch, fans have never felt more marginalised, less listened to or valued. This was sadly illustrated when Stan Kroenke forcibly bought out the last remaining supporter-shareholders without even a word of appreciation for their custodianship role in the club.
It feels as though Arsenal is at a crossroads. Things need to change.
What all of us as signatories to this statement want to see is meaningful action by Stan Kroenke to reinvigorate our football club.
This requires work to strengthen the club’s board and football executive and to once again make Arsenal a place where fans have a real sense of belonging.
Change needs to start with better leadership. In his takeover document Stan Kroenke said:
‘KSE’s ambitions for the club are to see it competing consistently to win the Premier League and the Champions League.’
We see little evidence of how this is to be achieved. Instead our club feels like an investment vehicle, personified by the owner’s statement that he didn’t buy Arsenal to win trophies.
It is sad that an institution like Arsenal FC has such passive ownership. All of us want to see a clear sense of purpose and direction. KSE should start by being more open and accountable and explain how they intend to achieve the goal of winning the game’s major trophies.
If Stan Kroenke is going to be absent from London he needs to make sure the board he delegates to is fit for purpose.
There is a desperate need for some new and dynamic appointments. The addition of independently-minded directors can act as a genuine check and balance on the owner. Ideal candidates would have football and commercial expertise relevant to the needs of a football club in 2019, and ideally some ‘Arsenal DNA’.
Arsenal have invested money in recent years, but their approach to both buying players and paying wages looks uncoordinated and appears to lack strategy. There has also been a lot of turnover in the senior football personnel. A strong board would be proactively managing this.
On a matchday the Emirates Stadium can be a soulless place. The atmosphere is poor and there are thousands of empty seats blighting almost every game. If Arsenal really cared they would make sure seats weren’t left empty by investing in an improved ticketing system and actively supporting initiatives like safe standing. The club uses the strapline ‘Always ahead of the game’. It would be good to see action to demonstrate this.
Finally, the very fabric of football in England and across Europe is at threat from proposals for a European Super League.
These moves are driven by the greed of a few so-called elite clubs who want guaranteed entry into top-level European competition every year. Why care if you finish fifth or lower if automatic qualification is guaranteed? Arsenal and the other clubs involved should understand that fans do not want more meaningless group stage fixtures designed only to rake in more broadcast and ticketing revenue. You could call it the ‘franchisation’ of European Football. Arsenal should immediately clarify they will have no part in this.
As Arsenal Supporters, we care deeply. We would like to hear from our club and see actions that demonstrate that they do too. The first opportunity comes when the Managing Director and Head of Football speak to invited supporters on July 25th. We urge them to address the issues raised here. We will watch with interest.
Signatories:
Arseblog
Arsenal Armed Forces Supporters Club
Arsenal Supporters’ Trust (AST)
Black Scarf Movement (BSM)
Highbury Library
Highbury Squad
Hugh Wizzy
Gooner Fanzine
Goonerholic
Gunners Town
Gunnerblog
Le Grove
REDACTION
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon
You Are My Arsenal Blog
7am Kick Off
JustArsenal response
That statement covers the points beautifully and we know from the many comments on this site that our readers feel exactly the same.
This situation is fast becoming untenable and if Kroenke and the board continue to ignore the anger and frustration, the fans will make their voices heard.
This is just the start, the pressure will grow, not because we want to be agitators or thorn in the side of the Arsenal but because we cannot stand by and allow what is happening to our great club to continue.
This transfer window is fast turning into a debacle but it is more than that, it is the attitude of the owner, the lack of passion, the lack of understanding of the club and it’s culture, lack of communication and to be quite brutal, the feeling that they just don’t give a damn.
We all love Arsenal, we live and breath it and if Kroenke, the board and KSE think we will just stand by and let the situation continue without having our voices heard then they are sorely mistaken.
Right as well!
#kroenkeOut
Arsenal is an abusive husband in a relationship, he beats u. Then u threaten that u will leave the beating stop but not long it starts all over again back and forth. Arsenal im no longer ur punching bag.
The dust has settled, now all our fans need to get on board.
No more fighting against each other, we need to unite as fans.
No more blaming each other or pass regime.
Kroenke is now sole owner and whatever happens now he’s responsible.
Great article, I am in full agreement with the letter and admins response,We are the Arsenal the true heartbeat of the club, Kroenke and the rest of his muppets are bleeding us dry, we want to be competing and winning trophies Kroenke’s admission that he never bought the club to win trophies smacks of a greedy tycoon out to make money for himself only,we need to take action and make them sit up and take notice,We do care. !!!kroenke out!!!
I’m all in supporting the #WeCareDoYou campaign.
The club is slowly dying by having people who really dont care running it. Time to let them know exactly how we feel.
Its about time Arsenal fans are heard and taken seriously. I just hope hope this campaign does not die off minus any improvements are made.
The regime’s mouth piece has been out of step with the action happening at the club and on the pitch for years now. The new stadium and the steps taken afterwards were suppose to allow us to compete with the “worlds” best however since then we have been going backwards.
Fully agree there needs to be more openness, why are we not competing and what are the plans put in place to make us compete again.
Stop b**%^^ing us and tell us the truth, we are adults!
Stan Kroenke owns six other American sports teams his core business is sports that’s where he makes his money so unless he sells arsenal for a huge profit he will not change in his business model, i would stil like to know what happened to the new sponsorship deal money??
you can bet on the dying days or hours of the transfer window we will be linked with a world class player but we will be told sadly the deal broker down no fault of Arsenal and the window shut to do another business, once again “WE TRIED” would be the words coming out of the management,
i say if we can get Zaha for around 55m and he puts in a good shift for a season and if we get in to CL then his price could go over 100m and with CL income plus sale of Zaha ( or one of our forwards) plus any profits from that season we could be looking at around 180m to spend on rebuild
AW used to take bullets of critics to protect his former useless employer Satan. But the new regime has exposed the darkness inside AFC.
Stan won’t respond to this as sole owner he has complete power and if the fan groups think he cares what they think. They will be mistaken.
Kroenke views arsenal FC as a project to mortgage against further development and nothing more. He cares more about what he has for lunch than what fan groups think.
Nothing will change.
Kse holdings doesn’t care.
Look at what Stan has done to every club he owned in the USA
Do you Thier fans cared less than us? He’s the devil and will destroy our club.
? Does anybody expect Stan Kroenke to treat Arsenal supporters better than he treated the St Louis supporters of the Rams?
I see a lot of criticism on the Arsenal Self-sustaining business model so I must ask, is there a business that can operate year after year while turning a loss? Maybe a government organization could get away with it but sooner or later taxpayers will be pilling pressure on the relevant authorities to shut down the venture.
There is capital investment, so you spend heavily now, then generate the money later based on the money spent
Damn right!
It’s what all the big clubs do! It can be high risk when done right with the proper personnel the risks are actually quite small because the club is seen as invest-able and attracts business and exposure on a global level!!!
it has almost become impossible to be a trophy hunter club and make money, football club owners are fast changing there are already one or two trillionaires owning football clubs and pumping huge sponsorship money and advertising from their main business to bump up income, its all pocket change for some owners and they are in in for the buzz of wining and not for the money its like they buy a flash car nothing more to them, Arsenal is a big club and im sure there are one or two Trillionaires after our club but Stan is looking for the one over the top buyers
If only that were true, Tas. If only all those rumors about Dagnote being interested in buying out satan k were true.
I have a theory that once Dagnote’s newest investment in the oil industry starts paying itself over what was invested in it, the man will contact the yank c***t and make an offer it can’t refuse.
Investment in players doesn’t hit your P&L immediately for the full amount since it is an investment which you amortize or sell for a profit or a loss.
As of May last year we had 230 million in the bank. Releasing some of that would not mean we spend money we don’t have.
I thought most busineses were run on a ” speculate to accumalate” model, then when grown they invest more money and again and again………………Kroenke has not speculated a penny into Arsenal Football Club, he has bought shares and could double his money if he sold.
Not sure what his ultimate goal is ?
Spot on I support the#Wecaredoyou..admin I didn’t see just arsenal signatory??
We didn’t find out about it until now!
Good luck having his secretary’s cleaning lady’s cousins best friend read it. But I do appreciate the energy. No one should go down without a fight, which Arsenal fans are definitively doing – going down. The club will go to whatever direction its sole owner decides. The fans have less than a zero say in it, especially the true fans, mostly because they’re fiercely outnumbered by the plastic prawn sandwich eaters and fanboys/fangirls who would kill their next of kin to buy a new kit year in year out, the ones that are actually keeping the club afloat, you know. And they’re never going to dwindle in numbers, even WHEN the club becomes a full-fledged mid-table team with the dearest matchday tickets in the world.
I hope we all agree that this club is on a never-ending downward spiral as long as it’s being run by satan k and his minions.
? Agree with everything you say; however unlike Stan Kroenke we don’t have another team to follow. Arsenal through thick and thin.
yes we care
Great article ?@Admart
It’s now reported on sky sports ,so will start trending quite quickly now .
It’s all over the BBC too.
Great article and a good response. That’s quite some statement from the fans, all that’s needed now is the follow up with some actions especially when the season starts. Up the Arsenal!
It’s about time Arsenal supporter groups did this but I doubt you will hear anything from wonky Kronke any time soon!
This guy will not buckle to pressure. It would have to get so bad to the extent that he is losing lots of money before he does. Trust me, he’s a business man!!
After a decade of heading further south in the league and ignoring the plain fact that the club are not able to challenge for the top honours is showing the obvious signs of a club owned by an owner that does not have winning ambitions. The fact we can not break into the top 4 any more and the lack of investment and transfer activity so far makes it blindingly obvious he does not intend to change his ways any time soon!
#WeCareDoYou #kroenkeOut COYG!
WE are aware of Kroenke, please send our support and make a straight action proposal; no one at stadium nor bying shirts and watch how Kroenke reacts. Dont buy any tickets for pre Season please, make him feel the Lost as if today to stand a chance for him to react before window closes. If not, no need to go to stadium until next window and watch how fast that greedy Kroenke reacts. Or this article and action have no power but boost Kroenke to treat us liké shit even more so and embarrass and hurt us all… No need to talk ot complain, we are his first support by paying more money to be humiliated all year as never. Dont buy anything, Emirates cup nor a shirt.
Whilst I do agree with article there is also a flip-side to it as well. The very fabric of the demands that have been listed by the Arsenal supporter groups may make it tricky in signing our targets this summer. That is, if indeed we are actually in the hunt for the players we have been linked with so far?
The point is, If a player who is seeking a new challenge sees this kind of unrest amongst supporters it’s obviously going to have repercussions?
I hope for the clubs sake that the 25th of July proves to be fruitful because if it doesn’t, it may just get a lot worse and we may be starting the next season weaker than when we finished?!
#WeCareDoYou #kroenkeOut COYG!
The only way to say and really care is to not but any short and tickets. Then Kroenke will react, losing what he is here for: money!
Hé is used to us be unhappy, no Biggie, focus is on cash.
He will only go if the losses are for a prolonged period, he could buy one or two players to appease us and get fans back interested but that will only be a temporary fix, we need him gone for good ASAP.
Stan Kroenke has treated Arsenal Football Club solely as an investment for far too long. He’s sucking the life out of the club & would happily watch us fade into mediocrity as long as it lines his pockets adequately. Either step up, or get out
It’s about time #WeCareDoYou currently trending #4 on twitter. Good work guys let’s keep those tweets flying in. I love this table we’re shaking.
#Kroenke OUT#LOVE ARSENAL HATE KR
OENKE#
This is pointless.
You guys still buy season tickets in droves.
The only way to prompt action from the higher ups is to disrupt
the money train.
We’ve been protesting for years now, you can have every Arsenal Supporter Organizations sign a pointless letter, it won’t change anything.
Us idiot supporters will still buy tickets and shirts.
Tell that to Phil and the likes of him ?
TH14, just read this and wondered about you personally and what you would give up?
Do you have a season ticket? Doubt it
Are you on any list waiting for one? Take yourself off it.
Do you ever go to the emirates? Then stop going.
Rip up your iwobi shirt? If you had one of course.
I’m like Phil and 45,000 other season ticket holders, what financial input have you ever given to the club?
“The likes of him”? 40 odd years a s/ticket holder, travelled the world supporting the club even when it was in a worse state than it is now and believe me it has been.
Your contribution?
Apart, that is, from advising everyone who has one to give it up their s/t in order for 40,000 others to purchase it immediately – yeah do you think we’re that stupid?
The clearest statement to kronkie would be for the 45,000 s/t holders to boycott the first fifteen minutes of our first home game, THAT would send a message.
We do have a tremendous amount of power, unlike a so called fan trying to belittle a supporter, who, by the way, can actually say that is EXACTLY what he has been…a supporter.
This is exactly the problem, You, Phil and the other 40k ready to buy the season tickets… You guys are too selfish to look beyond yourself and do what’s is necessary for the future of out beloved Arsenal.
If only we had more Jon fox as supporters than you lots
Ann, thanks for the reply.
Now, are you a season ticket holder?
What have you decided to give up for the future of our beloved Arsenal?
Truth now, if we 45,000 s/ t holders gave them up tomorrow, do you think Jon Fox wouldn’t buy one?
That’s If , of course, he’s on the waiting list.
If not, there are between 40,000 and 100,000 reported to be waiting for one…will they be selfishly buying one?
Funnily enough, Jon used my s/t himself last season, what a selfish thing to do, wouldn’t you agree?
Ann to ask season ticket holders to give up their tickets, which they may have waited years to get, is totally unreasonable. If they give them up to make a point against Kroenke’s ownership, the season tickets are only bought by any of the tens of thousands on the waiting list.
Should Kroenke sell and the Arsenal situation improve, the people who have made this sacrifice can’t just rock up and ask to renew. They go to the end of the waiting list!
Is there anyone on Just Arsenal who actually likes Kroenke ?
If so, please feel free to give your reasons for insanity !
😆
This won’t do much if were being realistic. IF fans keep packing the stadium and making Kroenke rich, why would he care? You’ve gotta get into the minds of mega rich ppl. They only care about everybody else if it affects their bottom line.
Can there be any true supporter of The Arsenal who doesn’t support this?
Great to see and feel a real momentum starting to gather pace, with no looking backwards or forwards to blame anyone, except the present owner who controls and owns everything at our club.
Now watch us sign the three players mentioned in a previous post…that’s The Arsenal way!!!!!!
The man is an absolute joke!
When Roman bought Chelsea I thought, this won’t last he will get bored of it blah blah blah.
But you have to credit the man, he wants to win – period!
If you don’t you’re gone, simple as that.
He had a plan when he took over, he knew the club was small and could pull the best players to realise his dream, so he threw big pots of gold at them and started to grow the club.
That man is at every home game, he loves the club and he had/ a strategy, same as the spuds with levy .
It’s a right old shame because we were a top top club when he decided to start buying arsenal shares, we were in the rise
Look at us now, what does our owner want, greedy yank twat can sod off back across the pond
? And his son Josh, doesn’t have the common sense and decency to wear a Arsenal shirt, tie or whatever, but turns up to meet the management team in a LA Rams shirt!
Love the movement, at least there’s something all the fans can unite over. We can’t blame Wenger for this haha.
Welbeck, you wanna bet?
The great man must be smiling at the “vast majority” who couldn’t see past their own noses.
A new backroom staff, the famous three musketeers (down to two already), a new coach, six new signings, five new contracts and we were told that “WE HAVE OUR ARSENAL BACK”…whatever happened to konstantine by the way?
At last it begins to unravel, the reason why AW could only buy “average” players – players leaving for nothing – salaries being OTT (Lichsteiner on £70,000 a week) – players identified but not signed by the hierarchy (griezmann etc)…all these things were going to change once AW left, remember?
Wasn’t he accused of being in sole control of everything? A control freak? Offering absurd salaries? Having favourite players? blah blah blah blah
There were many on here who tried to explain the real situation, but the vitriolic language used by so called realists (dullards – mentally unfit players – dross players – incompetent and lazy players for example) always thought they knew best.
One man owns, controls, decides and supplies the money for what our once famous club can now do…absolutely everything, just as he did under the previous regime…what a pity some on here didn’t realize this.
It was as plain to see AW should have left after defeating chelsea in the cup final, but as they say:
You reap what you sow – yet some still can’t seem to get it!!!
Spot on Ken, I had to read your post several times to digest it fully. I agree with everythung you’ve said here and can only add my support for your views.
I’ve always supported the greatest manager we’ve ever seen because through all the vitriol he received from the media and judas fans alike, he always conducted himself in a dignified manner. A man with a masters in economics would not frugal in the transfer market.
A very classy, intelligent man who understood and respected humanity. He deserves nothing but respect for transforming Arsenal singlehandedly.
He would make an excellent FIFA president.
Ken my criticism of Arsene Wenger has always been that he covered for the situation, making comments like “there are no quality players available” and didn’t use the considerable personal capital he had, to stand up to the Board and speak out.
ozziegunner, firstly my apologies if you thought I was ignoring your comments…I wasn’t, but there are others on here who just have to be replied to because what they say is wrong.
It seems that if one praises the work that AW did during the twenty two years, we are labelled “dullards”…and that’s one of the polite words used.
You know I have never said that AW was a perfect manager, who is/was?
Your criticism of the man, whilst being feasible, cann also be viewed as a man who was loyal to his players in public (who knows what was said behind closed doors?) and his employers…isn”t that a positive as equal to how you see it as a negative?
As for the fans, why do those who threw obscene abuse at the guy, now expect him to cowtail to them…if it was me, I’d tell them where to goand remember the fans who queued for three hours just to write a thank you in the book made available at the Armoury, it would be interesting to see how many of the “vast majority” signed it!!
It really doesn’t matter anyway now, because he is part of our history and each of us view it as they see it.
WELBECK, BELIEVE ME MY FRIEND, THERE ARE MANY MANY MORE WHO THINK LIKE WE DO, BUT, AS USUAL, EMPTY VESSELS MAKE THE MOST NOISE.