Stan Kroenke is expected to set out his vision for Arsenal when he attends his first annual general meeting as majority shareholder today. ‘Silent Stan’ has had little to say since he became majority shareholder in April.
Stan Kroenke is expected to set out his vision for Arsenal when he attends his first annual general meeting as majority shareholder today. ‘Silent Stan’ has had little to say since he became majority shareholder in April.
Shareholders are expected to ask some testing questions. Fans are aggrieved that Arsene Wenger did not spend the £40m he had available to him at the beginning of the summer. The club made a £16m profit on transfers in the summer, the fourth time in the past six years that Wenger has generated a surplus. Prudent financing maybe, but not the best strategy to win a trophy after six seasons without one.
Arguably Wenger performed better on transfers when he had David Dein as vice-chairman to help him. Why has he not been replaced since he left in 2007?
Supporters are puzzled about why Arsenal’s wage bill rose from £110m to £124m in the last financial year. It is not far short of Manchester United and double that of Spurs yet Arsenal have few big earners compared to other top clubs. There is a view that Wenger’s graded pay structure is outdated and not really need to secure squad harmony. Fans would also like to know why chief executive Ivan Gazidis was paid a £600,000 bonus on top of his £1m salary, although individual contractual arrangements may be regarded as confidential.
Fans were unhappy about the 6.5 per cent hike in seat price. They also question why attendances are based on tickets sold when there have been big gaps in the stadium. Certainly in the Football League clubs have to pay a levy on seats sold and that is why that figure is used. One would also have to employ people to count numbers and that might not be a good use of money.