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Should Arsenal accept the reality of debt in the modern world?

For all our talk about beautiful football, we were beaten by it twice last week. It seems that beautiful football is something we have made up ourselves at Arsenal and can only mean what we want it to mean, whether we win or lose. We win, lose and draw with beautiful football so everybody else is wrong apart from Arsenal because we're doing it right.

This is an easy sell. Look at Steve Jobs on his sermon on the mount performances telling the world how he is giving them "what they need" when in fact, it's an idiot's game all this consumerism and branding. You have to be a fool to part with your cash simply because it means something at the expense of all the things in the world that really do matter to us, or should matter for that example.

In football, there is a reliance upon an industry that churns out employees with massive wages at a high cost for the consumer. Arsene Wenger earns millions and millions year upon year so are we to believe that money doesn't matter at all in this game? I want to say right now, that I realised recently Arsene Wenger may very well be the greatest manager in the world of football today but not for the reasons you may be thinking. A club acquires a manager based upon their intent and the board members at Arsenal, need a manager, who will keep them away from having debt and paying debt.

We're a funny company you see. I know the world is saying that debt is bad but we're not living in that world anymore. We're not living in a world where a company is completely built upon its own finance. No matter what the press and their know nothing bloggers and reporters say, debt is good for a company. It can be the saving grace and a very very cheap way to finance a major project. What was our major project? The Emirates stadium at a debt of a very low interest rate built upon the de-regulation of banks that brought all of this about.

When the idea of the stadium was going ahead, the arguments coming from the boardroom were not entirely about what is good for the fans or for football, it was all about the most appropriate financial approach to the game. I still believe, in fact I believe it more so than before that David Dein was thinking on a purely footballing basis when he made his decisions heard about Arsenal. This is extremely rare and for a massive global brand like Arsenal that completely ripped apart football into a corporate object is indicative of nothing more than Arsenal being far away from football and all about money.

I used to hear some fans saying that our board members didn't make that much money - but seriously... 20/30 million is a lot when you've only got 1 million in the bank (and I say only there, but it is a lot) and that's what Arsenal is. The board may not take a wage but they must look after their investment and they are all invested in the club in some capacity and the debt, with the structure arsenal has as a company will be to the board member's expense so they can't allow it.

I'm going to get to the football and Arsene now. Arsene's role at the club is simple. Avoid debt, avoid needing to go into debt and bringing in massive investment (which is possible with a billionaire backer) and play some games that will allow us to stay in the running for TV rights, European and Premiership money to pay the bills and avoid the money needed at other clubs.

The world's banking system will not change over night so as long as a football club can bring in money to the club at a low cost and pay off any costs attached to that debt... they're fine. They could do anything to do this by selling players or changing the way they play football and buying other players. The board members at a club will adjust for any scenario and as much as some clubs have gone into liquidation, how many have completely disappeared? I say this while Leeds are fighting to get back into the premiership from league one? Sounds like a good solid 5 year plan to me.

Now, I'm going to be absolutely honest. Do we need it? I think yes. I think it would be nice to win some trophies and show what Arsenal are capable of but I have some further theories beyond this. What if Arsenal don't win trophies because they know that it's more important for United, Chelsea to win them because of their debt? You are nothing without your competition in football. If your competition suffer, Arsenal will also suffer too. We need the competition in this game to survive in order for us to survive, especially with the financial situation we have chosen with our current board who need that money when the debt, the debt built from a credit crisis that practically destroyed parts of the world, will disappear and so will our board members with a lot of money in their hands.

They will sell it off. Arsenal will disappear once this board has alleviated themselves and the future will show that Arsenal will not be able to survive solely on this stadium. We will have to go into debt because that not only how football is, but importantly how world finance operates and we will be no different from any other club. So get ready for it and stop looking down at other clubs - we will be next.

The stadium was nothing more than a project that will provide a return for the people who run the club and have ownership in the club. Any idiot who thinks there is anything else occurring at the club really needs to work out the world we live in. Football can be fun but I think people are, well I think they are, wiser to what is occurring in the world. I personally find the idea of debt quite, uncomfortable but it works for corporations, it works for the owners of corporations and it operates well for world and building these modern economies that exist around us.

I don't feel the vast majority see this. I think Arsenal could have won a few trophies this season, a couple at least but with the restraints that such a financial structure gives you in football, I don't think even Arsene can overcome this. I recall people blaming the ref or blaming certain players. I think the person to blame in all of this, is, the greatest football manager in the world today, Arsene Wenger; a puppet for the Arsenal board. I feel sorry for him in fact. Here is a man who chose millions for untold footballing glory.

posted by Arsenal Muse @ 3/15/2011 01:40:00 PM