Why Stanley is A Stain on Arsenal

The European Super League is dead. Arsenal’s role in this failed coup is well documented as its owner, Stan Kroenke was likely one of the drivers of the American-style closed league.

With the discussion on this super league closed for now, Arsenal supporters are calling for blood and the blood they want is our owners. He’s further taken the name of this great club and sullied it. He’s further eroded the fans faith in the direction the club are headed under his watch.

But this isn’t something new. Many of us, this blog included have been railing against his ownership since he first signed on as a majority share holder back in 2011. He’s been awful and whenever there has been a glimmer of hope something comes to smack us all back in the face with a hard dose of reality, this time it was the European Super League

The Absent Owner

When Stan took control of the team  there was some hope and a desire that his  control of the board would bring a change in how the club approached things. The papers and some sections of fans speculated that the club would be given a transfer war chest and a new era of Arsenal prosperity would begin. Lots of people said that – this blog and a wasn’t one of them.

Years on and there still is a significant lack of leadership emanating from Stan’s cloistered office far, far away from Arsenal.

From the day Kroenke came to Arsenal there have concerns about his purchase of the club. That feeling hasn’t subsided and well, after the fiasco of the failed European Super League endeavor Arsenal fans are pretty united in getting him out of here.

Even with though there have been gradual improvements in how the operational side of Arsenal is structured and moving to a more continental approach for business, there remain significant issues with the club.

We continue a slide into a trend of mediocrity that seems well entrenched and acceptable to our absentee owner.  Can anyone truly articulate what Stan Kroenke really wants from Arsenal? Short of milking it for the odd £3 million here and there that is.

Early those who thought Stan’s leadership would bring some new approach to running the club, likely they did not know much about the man they affectionately call ‘silent Stan’. A lot of people pointed to his successful ownership of US sports properties as a hopeful sign he would bring back the winning ways to Arsenal.  Some might have even gotten excited a when a few years ago,  Sports Illustrated labeled him “the most powerful man in sports.”

All of that (the lack of understanding of his US entities and SI’s misguided proclamation) was based on the following:

• Arsenal – Premier League
• Los Angeles Rams – NFL
• Denver Nuggets – NBA
• Colorado Avalanche – NHL
• Colorado Rapids – MLS
• Colorado Mammoth – National Lacrosse League
• Altitude Sports Entertainment – Regional Sports Network
• The Pepsi Center (home of the Nuggets and Avalanche)
• Dick’s Sporting Goods Stadium (home of the Rapids)

Those sports “investments” as well as his real estate endeavors mean that his total net worth puts him at $8.8 billion – number 167 on the Forbes 400 list.

With  his ownership of all these clubs and a simple look back at their historical performance in their respective leagues, one has to wonder if Stan has the bandwidth to be an effective owner?  Mark Kizzla of the Denver Post seems to concur as he once said this about Stan in relationship to his ownership style:

. . . and simply appearing to be cheap (Stan Kroenke’s Avalanche and Nuggets). Isn’t it fair to question whether Kroenke is simply spread too thin in terms of interest with all the teams he has ownership of?

It’s a fair question. If he has ownership in all these companies and if he is an active owner – where does his attention lie? All of his focus seems to be with the Rams since their move to LA and why not, with $2 billion worth of the TV rights and the NFL adamant they have a competitive team in the market, it makes sense. The NHL’s Avalanche and NBA Denver Nuggets yo-yo with being in playoff contention to not. It should be noted however, that both those franchises have stabilized slightly under the guidance of Stan’s son Josh.

Does Stan Even Like Football?

And for the MLS Colorado Rapids they are now considered one of the worst run teams in the MLS. Former Rapids and Stevenage manager, Gary Smith, in an interview in 2012 offered this insight into the kind of owner Stan is:

“I think his sport that he enjoys mostly is basketball, and he owns the [Denver] Nuggets, and I think his actual understanding and appreciation of the game and rules [of football] is not necessarily that of maybe owners who have been around for donkey’s years in this country.”

I had no interaction [with Kroenke], if we’re just specific about that period of time, that looking back on I was probably a bit too vocal in the press about and I will have learnt an awful lot from. Like I said, I had a fantastic time there.

“Stan’s involvement, from my knowledge, was negligible. He obviously puts a chief exec [executive] in place to deal with the day-to-day running of that football club, and that individual was my contact and my negotiation point in the future.

Stan’s approach is a marked difference to that of Liverpool owner John Henry who also owns MLB’s Boston Red Sox. Henry has been engaged and active even from a distance. Who can forget his active involvement in last season’s Suarez transfer saga? Henry jumped right in, slapped people around took control of the situation. The result has been Liverpool have gone from hanging around 6th and 7th place, to winning  for a title the Champions League and breaking their long suffering duck on the Premier League title.

It should also be noted that even though Henry has done well, any of the good will he’s built from these moves and approach has been thrown out the window through his involvement in the European Super League.

The expectation isn’t so much about Stan being open and vocal as Henry was, however,  a simple statement of intent on what he wants the club to be and the direction he wants the club to take in, would be a fantastic move to letting us know he actually gives a damn.

In one of the club’s Q&A sessions a few years back that he jokingly said we would see more of him in London, we didn’t know at the time that it would be in the form of the Rams of the NFL visiting London 3 times over the 3 seasons. Oh joy

Let’s be clear, we are rudderless. Our team continues its slide into something other than its former great self.  There seems to be a perception (only because any thoughts to the contrary haven’t been vocalized) that the status quo in terms of our performance is fine to the ownership. Sure we’ve gotten some feedback from Arteta and Edu that its not acceptable,  but it’s not the same as hearing it from an owner who is supposed to be leading the ship. This is absolutely not fine!.

The product on the pitch continues to falter despite the talent (yes we have talented players) on the pitch.  Through all of our ills though, one thing that remains the same – the owner and board fleece the fans while they do nothing about the state of the club.

It’s about Leadership and Vision

Stan’s silent approach to ownership seems to be a case of Nero fiddling whilst Rome burns. As it stands no one knows exactly what Stan thinks of the slide from potential title challengers in 2015 to oblivion over the last few seasons.

Stan was preferred on the board as the eventual majority stakeholder because he was a like-minded individual to the board members at that time. To our board and now to our current ownership we are merely a means to an end – increasing the value of the club.

When Stan took control, the expectation was that not much would change. After many protestations, Peter hill-Wood and Danny Fiszman’s relented to Stan being on the board. In time it seems they found a like-minded  person who thought much like they did on how a club should be run.

It made sense then when Usmanov made his move that Kroneke was given a seat on the board as opposed to the Russian. I don’t think the board would’ve allowed him a seat on the board if it didn’t in some way think he was going to carry on the traditions of prudence at the club.

The sentiment and goodwill Stan seemed to enjoy from fan groups at the start of his tenure all those years ago is long gone. While they were originally encouraged by statements to meet with the supporters groups and honor the traditions of the club –  the lack of engagement, the ending of fan share and the couple of years £3 million was charged to the club for “consultancy fees” has wiped that away.

Admittedly, as much we know Stan is wrong for Arsenal,  back when he took over there was  some hope for a positive direction but the that  hope existed that would quickly be proven wrong. The negatives grew and expanded and have only been magnified he once again continues to view Arsenal FC as a means to expand his financial portfolio.  The issues at the club we had hoped we could have move on from are again amplified as we clearly lack a leader to steer us back to the lofty heights we want to see our club enjoy.

Conclusion

There are many issues with Arsenal, chief among them our owner. His view of Arsenal as an investment has led him to continue to make decisions that sully the legacy and name of this storied club.

Stan was wrong in when he told the Guardian  that US ownership of these teams is a good thing. It was wrong because the American model of detached ownership is not what football in any of the major footballing countries is about. Even in the current state of the game, ownership needs to be seen. it needs to be seen to give a sense that they give a damn. And even if they are money grubbing blood suckers, they still want to be seen as having the interest of the fans at heart, namely that they want the teams to win things. .

It’s cheesy to say “that with great power, comes great responsibility” but given the longevity of these clubs and the stewardship entrusted to current owners, there is a responsibility to give the supporters more than just a bottom line on a ledger sheet.  No, this isn’t about Stan spending exorbitant amounts ala, Mansour and Abramovich.  It’s about active engagement, wise investment, and looking at Arsenal as more than something than a means to line a pocket.

Stan Kroenke continues to fail at every step of the way, even as fans were trying to find ways to perhaps come to terms with his ownership. This last ploy is the last straw. The lack of transparency, the lack of consultation and the overall clandestine approach to joining in the Super League venture is a bridge too far.

Enos Stanley Kroenke your time is up and you need to get out of Arsenal and now.