Arsenal
Homes/Aways, Neutral Games at Highbury, Arsenal Pre-War Programmes
and Memorabilia FOR SALE
An
illustrated history of Arsenal home programmes
Other Clubs
A-Z and International Programmes (Good selection covering most clubs)
FOR SALE
Cup
Finals, Semi-Finals and Charity Shield FOR SALE
Pre-War and
Wartime Programmes and Memorabilia
Football
Ticket Stubs
World
Cup Stamps (many illustrated with photographs) FOR SALE
Football Books &
Other Memorabilia
Ordering
Instructions, How To Contact Us
Programme
Of The Month
Selling
Items To Me
Links
To Other Sites
Comment on Alisher Usmanov and his attempted takeover at Arsenal FC - DO YOU WANT THIS MAN OWNING YOUR CLUB?
This website has never been used to make a public comment before, but I feel obliged to do so now because of the actions of certain individuals in relation to Arsenal FC. When David Dein was removed from the Arsenal board he had a lot of sympathetic support among Arsenal fans. That support has pretty much gone due to his selfish attempts to regain control at the club regardless of the impact his actions have on the stability and wellbeing of the club. First he tried to partner with Stan Kroenke. When that relationship failed to give Dein the outcome he wanted (i.e control of Arsenal and the sacking of the current board) he moved on to an even less desireable ally - Alisher Usmanov. Usmanov seems to want to portray himself as a fan (he apparently owns a box at The Emirates - another bloke with too much money and another plastic fan we don't need) but his actions thus far are more that of a dictator.
Let's look at what he's said and done in a couple of weeks. Usmanov has bought a significant share holding (23% at the time of writing) on the open market - nothing wrong with that. He's paying in excess of £10,000 a share - nothing wrong with that if you have the funds. But he's now revealed that he wants a 'Blocking share' of the equity. That means he wants to get to 25% shareholding becuase he thinks that will allow him to block board level decisions. It won't work that way in reality, but it shows that his motivation is destructive not constructive. Here's what the Moscow AFP newswire reported:
Russian metals billionaire Alisher Usmanov said on Friday that his recent investments in British football club Arsenal would give him a blocking stake in the company. "I've made a strategic portfolio investment. This position will allow me to have a blocking package of shares and I will calmly wait for the price to increase" he told the Echo of Moscow radio station......Usmanov suggested he would steer clear of controversy saying he did not intent "to fight with the club's board of directors".
So, if that's the case, why the desperate rush to secure a blocking amount of shares? Other actions taken by Usmanov seem to point to a more sinister side. A number of websites and blogs recently started reporting certain aspects of Usmanov's past which he didn't want reported (mostly coming from Craig Murray, who used to be a diplomat in Usmanov's homeland and who has some interesting views on him). So, being a billionaire, Usmanov hired some very expensive lawyers - Schillings of London - and had them contact the hosting companies of any site/blog with content objected to by Usmanov. Now, here's the kicker. I don't know what was said to the hosting companies, but it was enough to make them shut down their hosting servers, taking out not only the blogs to which Usmanov objected but many, many other sites on those servers including certain MPs' blogs. If that's the way Usmanov works what do you think he might do to the Arsenal chat forums if he ever gained control of the club? Would any criticism be banned? It's OUR club - the supporters - not yours Usmanov, and we live in a democracy (thank God). Without the supporters the club is nothing. The current board have acted superbly over a long period of time. They've had the foresight and courage to build a superb new stadium (against the wishes of Dein, who wanted to see Arsenal playing at Wembley). They do not take money out of the club (there are no share dividends paid). Why on earth would we want a selfish git like Usmanov to take control? He only wants to buy the club to make money out of it - and that's money that won't be ploughed back into the club as it is today. It's our club and it's time to fight for it. You can start by sigining this petition calling on the government to tighten the controls on the 'fit and proper person' test which anyone wishing to own a football club has to pass:
Government Petition – http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Oligarchs/