Post by Salem6 on Nov 17, 2003 18:32:53 GMT
Top of the table, still unbeaten in the Premiership and to round things off nicely Arsenal have just seen off Tottenham.
What could be better? OK, more points in the Champions League would be handy, nobody’s going to deny that, but things on the whole seem to be running pretty smoothly.
But that, unfortunately, is where you’d be wrong. Seriously wrong.
In reality, Arsenal find themselves stuck on the horns of a particularly nasty dilemma. Actually, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to describe this period as the most significant in the club’s entire history.
Yes, you know where I’m leading: Ashburton Grove and the ongoing saga of whether Arsenal can afford it.
Committed boardroom supporters of the project will argue that the club cannot afford not to push ahead, the increased revenue from the new stadium being absolutely vital in securing a financial foothold towards the peak of European football.
But this is where the conflict comes in. Within those oak panelled walls there are other strong voices who urge a bit of caution, worried that the club could be taking on far too much debt.
Without wanting to write off Ashburton Grove completely, certain figures are keen to explore the other options out there.
These include ground-sharing with Tottenham (shock! horror!), whether it’s down the road at the new site or even across town at the new Wembley.
Though there are sticking points with both options, the costs for the new stadium in either case would be drastically cut, allowing the manager more funds to invest in the team.
After all, if you don’t keep the playing side healthy, what on earth is the point of building a huge ground?
And to emphasise the point here’s a telling statistic.
According to Arsenal’s accounts from last year, gate and match revenue totalled £28 million, but a whopping £52 million was collected from TV income, mostly through the Champions League. In other words, you earn more with a good team than you do with a big stadium.
And on the subject of ground-sharing, thousands would go spare. “Share with that lot? No chance!” Both sets of supporters would hate the idea – since in this country at least – it goes right against the grain. So where does that leave us?
In a mess, that’s where. If the Arsenal board could have known at the start how incredibly difficult this relocation lark was going to turn out, I bet they’d have opted for simply extending Highbury.
Fill in the corners, replace the Clock End with a mirror image of the North Bank and you’re not far short of housing 50,000.
Not ideal, but it’s an affordable alternative that would have allowed Arsene Wenger to at least compete more ably in the transfer market.
As it is, his hands are being tied – a situation that he certainly won’t tolerate indefinitely.
Arsene, let’s not forget, was at the forefront of the original plans to move up the property ladder, just like he was in partly designing the magnificent training ground.
The trouble is, he could not have foreseen the prohibitive costs involved with Ashburton Grove, costs that are now making his job all but impossible.
That’s why – new stadium or not – the Frenchman will surely move on at the end of his contract. Let’s face it, when you compare his resources to those at Manchester United, he’s been overachieving for years. Where else is there to go? What else can he do?
Depressing as this particular thought may be, the only way is down, especially when you glance across London and see Roman Abramovich at work.
So yes, we’re at a crucial stage. My guess is that the club will eventually secure the extra few million in loans that they need to go ahead with their plans.
Then you’re looking at several years of frugal spending as the huge debts are paid.
And here’s where we say a sad au revoir to the genius that is Wenger.
Whether it’s at Real Madrid or Bayern Munich, his next challenge lies elsewhere.
Source:-
www.islingtonexpress.co.uk/archived/2003/1114/sport/asp/arsenal5.asp
alan.smith@islingtonexpress.co.uk
What could be better? OK, more points in the Champions League would be handy, nobody’s going to deny that, but things on the whole seem to be running pretty smoothly.
But that, unfortunately, is where you’d be wrong. Seriously wrong.
In reality, Arsenal find themselves stuck on the horns of a particularly nasty dilemma. Actually, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to describe this period as the most significant in the club’s entire history.
Yes, you know where I’m leading: Ashburton Grove and the ongoing saga of whether Arsenal can afford it.
Committed boardroom supporters of the project will argue that the club cannot afford not to push ahead, the increased revenue from the new stadium being absolutely vital in securing a financial foothold towards the peak of European football.
But this is where the conflict comes in. Within those oak panelled walls there are other strong voices who urge a bit of caution, worried that the club could be taking on far too much debt.
Without wanting to write off Ashburton Grove completely, certain figures are keen to explore the other options out there.
These include ground-sharing with Tottenham (shock! horror!), whether it’s down the road at the new site or even across town at the new Wembley.
Though there are sticking points with both options, the costs for the new stadium in either case would be drastically cut, allowing the manager more funds to invest in the team.
After all, if you don’t keep the playing side healthy, what on earth is the point of building a huge ground?
And to emphasise the point here’s a telling statistic.
According to Arsenal’s accounts from last year, gate and match revenue totalled £28 million, but a whopping £52 million was collected from TV income, mostly through the Champions League. In other words, you earn more with a good team than you do with a big stadium.
And on the subject of ground-sharing, thousands would go spare. “Share with that lot? No chance!” Both sets of supporters would hate the idea – since in this country at least – it goes right against the grain. So where does that leave us?
In a mess, that’s where. If the Arsenal board could have known at the start how incredibly difficult this relocation lark was going to turn out, I bet they’d have opted for simply extending Highbury.
Fill in the corners, replace the Clock End with a mirror image of the North Bank and you’re not far short of housing 50,000.
Not ideal, but it’s an affordable alternative that would have allowed Arsene Wenger to at least compete more ably in the transfer market.
As it is, his hands are being tied – a situation that he certainly won’t tolerate indefinitely.
Arsene, let’s not forget, was at the forefront of the original plans to move up the property ladder, just like he was in partly designing the magnificent training ground.
The trouble is, he could not have foreseen the prohibitive costs involved with Ashburton Grove, costs that are now making his job all but impossible.
That’s why – new stadium or not – the Frenchman will surely move on at the end of his contract. Let’s face it, when you compare his resources to those at Manchester United, he’s been overachieving for years. Where else is there to go? What else can he do?
Depressing as this particular thought may be, the only way is down, especially when you glance across London and see Roman Abramovich at work.
So yes, we’re at a crucial stage. My guess is that the club will eventually secure the extra few million in loans that they need to go ahead with their plans.
Then you’re looking at several years of frugal spending as the huge debts are paid.
And here’s where we say a sad au revoir to the genius that is Wenger.
Whether it’s at Real Madrid or Bayern Munich, his next challenge lies elsewhere.
Source:-
www.islingtonexpress.co.uk/archived/2003/1114/sport/asp/arsenal5.asp
alan.smith@islingtonexpress.co.uk
