A tough day for a blog. The cover-up over Hillsborough was known about but the depth and extent of it was incredible, statements of ambulance drivers being altered underlining the depravity of The Establishment. As well as re-opening inquests in the light of the extent of the cover-up, new criminal charges must be brought against those responsible for the deaths that day. For me the greater shock came in the fact that blood/alcohol tests were made on children, as well as the possibility that 41 people might have come home from that match, might have needlessly died. All of the deaths were needless, senseless, the result of a callous disregard for safety from those who were responsible for it.
The truth has been revealed; now Justice.
I remember finding out the extent of the tragedy in the toilets at Highbury that day, as half-time approached against Newcastle. A Danish supporter overhearing the news fragmenting through – and entirely misunderstanding, which in the circumstances was unsurprising – offered the opinion that English fans were animals. Quickly realising the mistake judging by the shock and disgust at his comments, he made a swift exit with his views of the baser instincts of English supporters reinforced by the anger his words brought and demolished at once by the sadness in the reactions he had witnessed, as he later admitted.
And what was the FAs reaction to the report? Steven Gerrard was disappointed with his red card for England against Ukraine.
The irony of the “I’m happy with this“. A typical response, more honest that MacKenzie’s apology; ignore the problem, it will go away. The Donkeys moved from the armed forces and re-created their fiefdoms in English football.
So to Arsenal, contracts once more coming to the fore. This time it is the manager with Ivan Gazidis talking to Daily Telegraph reporter, Jeremy Wilson, about Arsène and the future. It is a divisive subject; the trophy drought on the one hand precludes debate as much as the one-eyed loyalty on the other. Acronyms fly around in disparagement, a psychologist would probably have a field day with the human desire to belong, if they ever got beyond the childish nature of the abuse that follows. The abusers are always the first to complain about being abused; a psychological minefield.
Gazidis reviewed the manager’s performance, turning a favoured statistical measure onto his critics: spend defining performance. As you would expect, Ivan saw Wenger as overachieving,
We can get into extensive debate about individual decisions – and like all clubs we are not perfect – but the ultimate arbiter of whether you are spending your money efficiently is where did you finish in the Premier League versus your overall spending. When you look at what Arsene has done, within the overall constraints, he has outperformed our spending every single year he has been manager. It is extraordinary.
I am not sure extraordinary is a word I would have used in the context of his budgetary strictures. Where I would have used that word is in his squad building abilities, in the vision he had for the club, in the model which was built for all age groups. The realisation of that philosophy has been extraordinary, the choice of staff to implement the theories in a practical manner often under-appreciated.
Ultimately though, it is the performance of the first team on which the manager is judged. In the eyes of Gazidis – and presumably he is speaking for the owner in this context – the club is in the right position to achieve success,
We’re not dominated by fear. Arsène never succumbs. We try to do more than win, we try to win with style. I know we haven’t won trophies in recent years. There’s no one here that doesn’t feel the pain of not being able to do that. We’re very optimistic about this season. We’re absolutely trying to win silverware and we’re trying desperately hard to do it this year.
I cannot believe that anyone does not understand the club has ambitions but too often this is dismissed. Anyone connected with the club who does not believe that the club can challenge for trophies should not be there. However, the definition of success is becoming broader than simply silverware with the moneys that can be received from the Champions League; fourth is the new League Cup, third the FA version.
It is this narrowing of vision that is causing some of the dissension toward the manager. Fans of a certain age still view the two cups as trophies but the ascendancy of the Premier League has diminished their relevance. The Europa League does not have the prestige of the Uefa Cup. If the FA wants their premium competition to regain its sheen, then Champions League qualification is going to be a pre-requisite. I doubt that many clubs would object to that and the ‘big’ clubs might start to habitually field strong teams against all-comers.
So should the club be talking to the manager about a new deal? On balance, I would suggest yes. The squad is moving towards challenging for silverware once more and with the uncertainty over finances for another couple of seasons until new commercial deals are struck, there needs to be stability on the playing side. Ideally, it would be a short-term deal to allow Steve Bould to show interest and aptitude to take the step up to the senior role, perhaps the manager retaining responsibility for the junior levels in a Director of Football role in four / five years time?
As it is, I see no outstanding candidates around at this moment who can successfully operate within these financial constraints. There will be those who succeed, of course, but there will be those who fail as well. Change for changes sake is not a guarantee of success.
’til Tomorrow.
YW, I have just read that interview with Ivan Gazidis.
I have read the resume of the AISA meeting with Tom Fox.
Gazidis and Fox, are allowed to dodge the “bullet”, by using Mr Wenger as the “de facto” decision maker. The reporter is a “hack”, the questioners at the AISA. were “muppets”.
The majority of the money does not stay in the club or in football. IF, the wages and salaries are £124 millions, then at least circa £50 millions goes to the Inland Revenue in PAYE and NIC. The property part has distorted the recent VAT returns in a positive way. The Value Added Tax at 20% can only be guestimated from the match receipts, transfer fees or sales of players’ registrations less purchases of course, within the European Union, there is bound to be an outflow to the Inland Revenue. There is the agents’ cut paid by The Arsenal, at least £5 millions per season, I would hazard a wild guess! Over £60 millions out of the Club and out of football.
IF I was advising Mr Wenger and with his known activities, Mr Wenger would be a consultant for tax purposes! An employee, I cannot believe The Arsenal and Mr Wenger can be that dumb!
Arsene is a truly decent man: he deserves to stay and realise the fruit of his tireless labour, exceptional loyalty and great vision. An engineer with a masters in economics, he always reminds me of my induction day to the faculty of engineering when I studied 23 years ago. Our dean said, and I quote, “an engineer is one who can do with 500 bucks what any fool can do with 5,000.” May he stay, and win, and laugh, and hear all his detractors and all those bashers at Le Groan and all over the net sing:…one Arsene Wenger, there’s only one Arsene Wenger!
Good old Mustafa Kemal is no saint (although the fact that I am not totally anti-him despite having to put up with 18 years of having his personality cult shoved down my throat does bode well in his favour), but tis a good quote nonetheless.
Galipolli at every level (from an Allied perspective anyway) is such a clusterfuck of errors that it’d make you laugh if it wasn’t all so fucking tragic. The incident where Anzac troops spent an entire day fighting up near vertical hillside after one of the most dangerous landings to finally capture the position only to find that the British forces were still camped on the beach below having dinner, thus rendering all the fighting and deaths irrelevant makes me feel sick.
Have been a couple of times, it is honestly one of the saddest places I’ve ever been…all the trenches are still there and spending 30 minutes walking around you can always find at least 3-4 bullets even after all these years, and seeing how close the trenches were to each other. As Cbob pointed out it is a massive bone of contention there that the Allied graveyards are so neat and maintained in honour of the dead, while the ones for the fallen turkish troops are in complete disarray.
ANyway enough of that…I cannot wait for Saturday, I swear each interlull gets more dull than the one that preceded it, if that is at all possible.
That should, of course be, Gallipoli, not Galipolli
Donkeys, indeed. YW. Brilliant piece.
I wonder if this Hillsborough investigative panel model could be used more widely to promote transparency and openness, prerequisites for democratic accountability, since it seems to have succeeded in getting further into the meat of the evidence – actual tampered-with documents – than other official inquiries and legal processes, Sheffield Wednesday’s insurance files notwithstanding?
For example, how did campaigners get the 30-year confidentiality rule waived for public records? How did they do that? Because that really is quite something.
Perhaps there’s a big, useful precedent here? Because on Iraq, a crime in international law, we’ve had whitewash (Butler) after whitewash (Hutton), and look set to get another (Chilcot, next year), even though key evidence is still being withheld by the powers-that-be:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-18858217
Meanwhile, our democratic deficit grows and grows. So perhaps the Liverpool families have not only scored an important victory in their fight for justice, but have also offered us a fitting legacy for their struggle: a new, workable information-gathering model for tackling other, significant and as-yet-unprosecuted crimes, for which no one in authority has been brought to account, and which still cry out for redress?
A shortlist would include Iraq, and the Ponzi-led banking crisis, as well as Hackgate/Murdoch, although at least some criminal trials are still pending for the latter, if years after the fact, of course.
At the very least, the whole saga cautions wariness about the motives of any official rush to apportion blame in the wake of a disaster, without properly evidenced, impartial inquiry.
I don’t want to be pedantic Yogi,but Stan is not “the owner” He is the majority shareholder.
And as such,he would be foolish to invest his money in the playing staff(or any other part of the club)for the benefit of the other shareholders.
A great day on ACLF – main post especially but comments throughout. Wish I had the time to offer my tuppence worth but no great loss; good to just read now and again.
Nice to see Dexter out on another early release and bizarrely found myself in agreement with much of what Bill had to say.
Probably time for a lie down.
Good evening all.
Ludendorff: The English soldiers fight like lions.
Hoffman: True. But don’t we know that they are lions led by donkeys.
Science is the most reliable guide in life.
- Atatürk
I tried to watch the Tottenham match on television in my hotel yesterday, but I fell asleep.
- Wenger
Andrew @ 6:09:
“bizarrely found myself in agreement with much of what Bill had to say.”
Sort of a creepy feeling isn’t it. Showering with full strength Clorox bleach and Lysol probably your only hope for full recovery. Never know how good you might look as a bleached blonde.
I can’t feel the anger and sadness coming out of you when you wrote today’s piece YW.
steww
can’t?
Notoverthehill
PAYE is tax deducted from salary so does not cost the club anything; it is the employees tax and NIC burden, deducted at source by the employer. Employers NIC is about 14% (I think).
So your £50m is actually about £17m.
So what if that money goes out of football? It’s come in the first place and Arsenal is a cash positive business.
Cbob
Not you but Booby GeeWhatAWasteOfABrain
Bill – just a tongue in cheek remark from me
But you called it right – I DO look the part as a bleached blonde!
WHICH part is, sadly, open to some debate.
Andrew:
I know, its all in good fun.
Ah, that Bob.
Ha – what a completely crap typo.
I hope you realised my mistake.
I did wonder. That mp3 gets better with every listen. Suggestion for next week: A Stone’s Throw Away by The Style Council. Sort of pertinent.
Heh! I was just thinking Steww, Jeez what is it you’d like YW to do – carve it into his own face with a compass?
Come on YW let’s see some genuine anguish on the page.
Nice to see Dexter out on another early release
————————————————–
Does this release come with the same preconditions as the other ones?
i.e. You are not allowed within 50 yards of a playground or primary school?
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/09/video-bank-robbery-suspects-dump-cash-during-police-chase/
FREE MONEY!
Anguish? How about £79.99 for the luxury edition re-release of The Gift by The Jam, available on No2 son’s birthday…
Consols – so funny that you thought YW thought of you as Bobby McGee (sic)
Think it’s accepted that you are Mr. Chairman ~ and what that says about you can be taken two ways!
“Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose -
Nothin’ that’s what Bobby left me – yeah”
That son of yours is in a jam, man. No way you pay for Paul Weller (and maybe he will get well (er..sorry!) one day) – the ‘poor’ man’s Billy Bragg.
Anucill5
arse in the gang
And most disappointINGLY. MDG
Regarding comments yesterday,
NEXT TIME AIM BEFORE SHOOTING
good having you back DEX
Free money??
Nah mate, the robbers were just trying to slow down the cops,
Didn’t work,
DON VITO has done well
One more game
Agree with BILL from. TEJAS
regarding ARSENE AND ARSENAL Board,
He is in full control
Sorry YW, you are right and wrong!
Looking at the last firm details, 31st May 2011, Gross £109,578,000 with the employers’ NIC £13,340,000. We will not quibble! I would suggest that with the employees’ PAYE, NIC + the employers NIC, about £4.5 millions per month goes to the Inland Revenue. In fact, £124,401,000 leaves the Club and football.
Curiously, the November accounts omit the wages and salaries, BUT does inform one of the amount that is due to the Inland Revenue, including VAT. It is guesswork, though!
In previous years back in the 80s, the final accounts would list those who earned over £30,000 per year, in bands of £5 or £10k! Great fun for those not in the know, in deciding who earned what!
Why the AST does not ask how many employees earn over £1 million, escapes me. It is how many, not WHO!
How many executives are not on the Annual PAYE and NIC return. How many, not WHO!
Is The Arsenal VAT return made calendar quarterly! October and November home games for the VAT guesswork, and of course April and May for the end-of-the year report!
Unless the annual turnover is less than £1.35 million per annum NOTH I fear a quarterly regime is in place
And you are correct on the calculation of wages in the accounts
Every damn thing
No Arsene. It’s a shame that we keep selling our best players to Barcelona. Who the fuck would be happy with that? It’s a shame! There is nothing to be proud of here.
I am proud of Arsene’s achievements. And Song was never our best player.We sold our “best”player ,in the singular.
George,
You’re correct. Robin was our best player last season, and Song the second best. I don’t think anyone would argue against that. Most fans thought that. I don’t think Arshavin was anywhere near the top ten. Football common sense.
NOO
I have no idea what point you are trying to make.
Are you saying that players should not be paid?
I’ll explain PAYE simply. Arsenal do not pay PAYE. The players do since PAYE stands for Pay As You Earn (P.A.Y.E) and means that personal tax and NI liabilities are deducted at source, i.e. from their wages. The PAYE is nothing to do with the club save for administering the government’s tax system. It is disingenuous at best to claim it is the club’s fault this is money flowing out of the game.
November’s financial statements are interim and are unaudited. They do not have the same legal requirements for detail as the final statements for May, that is why there is less detail. Nothing underhand on the club’s part, normal business practice across any sector.
The Accounts in 1980s only reported high earning salaries. That was the law in those days; the goalposts have shifted and such declarations are no longer necessary in such detail. If you have a problem with that, address it to the lawmakers.
All employees of the club are subject to PAYE so that answers your question.
I have no idea when Arsenal report VAT but it is normally quarterly and co-terminus with the financial year. Given Arsenal’s year ends in May, that suggests the quarters are August, November, February and May, provided of course, they do not report monthly.
No ,you are right about Arshavin and Robin.But wrong about Song.
He was never ,nor never would have been,our second best player.He was not evn our second best mid fielder by the end of the season.Artera and Rosicky were way better.
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/behind-the-numbers-alex-song
Meh. Song has gone. Move on.
Arteta as the defensive pivot look better than Song already – especially as it allows Cazorla to do the creative role (at which he is a thousand times more adept than Song).
But you keep on living in the past and moaning about a player who tried to hold the club to ransom and failed. If you miss him so much go and support Barcelona FFS.
Moan. Moan. Moan.
Song wasn’t a defensive ‘pivot’ last season. Even than Arteta played that role. Song was what you call a complete midfielder. Good at attack and defence. You think Barca were stupid to buy him? Don’t you see how he’s so proud that he produced a player for Barca. I think that’s the best compliment he can take for himself, given that he hasn’t won anything for years. Or produce a bunch of players at low wages who can win something. Always a few players short, some inexperience, youth, unfortunate injuries, or so the story goes………….
Shameful comment in my opinion. We shouldn’t be gloating that we’re the feeder club to the top European team.
“We shouldn’t be gloating that we’re the feeder club to the top European team.”
Spot on, we should be gloating over our achievements. I’d try to move on if I were you, this shit will just make you bitter.
Too late, steww.
Very mellow here on ACLF at the moment. Any post that suggested that Arsene’s continued reign was not a given on here a year or mso ago would have had posters in apoplexy.
A sign of maturity, disinterest in the interlull or is the balance of views tipping?
a complete midfielder should be able to add goals to his game. you can assist as much as you can but you still need a player to put it away. most of song’s assist to rip last season were difficult for any average striker to score. we have lost rip and song in my opinion is completely useless if he cannot concentrate more his on defensive duties.
how many assist did he have in pre-season. cazorla would have created more already if we have people to put it away. and that will come with time.
http://www.aclfarsenal.co.uk/?p=9492
Today’s notes and observations
Cbob
I’d like to say that it was maturity but I’m not sure. I’d like to say that its a balance of views but on balance, Ivan said it at the right time; the interlull makes for soporific minds.