Silent Stan and the "protection of mediocrity"

Why in the name of the Buddha would a man who is allegedly worth a few billion quid steal 3 million more from the Arsenal football club?

THAT is the question.

There's so much here that it's a bit difficult to fathom without going all Swiss Ramble on you. Silent Stan conspired to take almost five million US dollars out of Arsenal at the moment that the club can't even purchase an inanimate carbon rod to back up the defence.

Why?

Let me assure you, all I can think of is greed.

This isn't some black scarf/bin bag rant. I'm simply telling you that if you observe the man's behaviour in relation to his sporting endeavours, he couldn't possibly give a toss about championships.

Ah, you say, what is the purpose of a billionaire owning a football club if the "brand" (christ I hate that term) is devalued by his efforts? Football in England isn't like professional gridiron in the USA--winning creates value.

What are the most valuable "brands" (seriously, kill me) in world football? It sure isn't the team that consistently comes in fourth place and averages 1.75 goals/match. No, they're clubs that win titles.

We've been patting ourselves on the back about Arsenal's "renewed strength" in sponsorships, but then we pretend we don't see that the club who finished seventh in the league last season has millions and millions more to spend because companies want to be associated with them.

Puma and Emirates? That's nice. Try Nike and Chevrolet.  And as for the other world giants, Arsenal don't come close to Real Madrid, Barca, or Bayern. We're lucky that we have a tangible history, unlike Chelsea and Manchester City, so that we can "exist" without their petrol fueled cash.

Take a look at Silent Stan's holdings--he's simply a business man who makes money. He isn't at all concerned with trophies or glory. My guess is, as an astute person who married for money and is simply in the business of making more of it, he looked at the next "growth industry" in sport and selected the most valuable "property" in England into which he could buy.

Lucky us.

He literally married the Walmart lady so that he could develop land around their stores. What a fucking romantic.

Arsenal represented "property" for Stan--both the real estate kind and the entity. And what's more, he got a rabid, loyal group of supporters to whom he could pass along 3% rises in ticket costs and then essentially pay his bloody offspring the difference.

Stealing from the club and not giving a toss about winning the league is one matter.  "The protection of mediocrity" is the other.

Let me tell you that as a Yank I have a bit of perspective on Stan's ownership of the St. Louis Rams NFL team. This is a club that since Stan bought into them has won exactly one championship and has for the most part bumbled along.

He's a real estate agent. Thanks, Lady Nina!

The result of Stan's operation of Arsenal is that he supports what Arsene Wenger calls "protection of mediocrity." An owner who doesn't care one whit about winning trophies ensures that Wenger will stay on board forever.

This is where we are now. Silent Stan, it's all thanks to you.

Us wonned without Giroud? That's unpossible!

(Author's note: I have worked more than 20 years in public relations and communications, and know quite well how organisations use/co-opt/corrupt journalists, bloggers, and all media types. I've worked for two major metropolitan cities and an international trade organisation--all with smaller budgets and lower profiles than a global brand like the Arsenal Football Club. Trust me when I tell you, I'm 100% certain that some bloggers are being used as mouthpieces by the club to influence opinion among the fan base.)

When the book about this Arsenal season is written, perhaps certain truths will finally be told. One of the forgotten ones will be just why Lukas Podolski was held out of the qualifier against Besiktas.

To my knowledge, a player could appear in a qualifier and not count as cup tied, so there could really only be two reasons for sitting a player who has scored 5 goals in only 9 European matches for the club. One, he is still being shopped around and the club have him wrapped in cotton wool; two, the gaffer absolutely can't stand him.

Poldi, as his fans call him, has actually scored 19 league goals in 53 appearances for Arsenal, which is a fair return if you ask me. Olivier Giroud, the darling of the club-connected bloggers, has taken 72 appearances to score 28 goals. I'm no math professor, but if you compare those goal scoring records, and you don't have some hidden agenda, you'd probably say "Hey, that Podolski guy is pretty good."

This is said without considering that Arsenal barely score 2 goals per match anymore.

Since Saturday's draw (it was a draw, remember?) at Everton, the Arsenal universe has spun wildly in all directions. First, it was "See? Giroud is priceless! The team was shit before he came on! Arsenal can't win without him!"

Then it has been "Giroud may be injured. Oh, and Podolski is shit and is on his way out."

Then it was "Giroud is injured, and whilst Podolski is still shit, he's not on his way out today."

Now it's "See? Sanchez really is great and Arsenal can win without Giroud."

Wait, what? I thought Arsenal can't win without Giroud? What the fuck are you saying?

Giroud is massively unpopular with the vast majority of Arsenal supporters. Podolski, on the other hand, is massively popular with Arsenal supporters. Now, if I were a public relations professional (oh, wait, I AM one) and I had a problem like this, my first step would be to "influence the influencers," and make sure that the most widely read and respected bloggers were on my side.

This has been such a divisive issue that the most widely read and influential Yank Arsenal blogger has in the past week written columns on "Is any Arsenal player not divisive?" and "Arsenal don't need a big scoring forward to win the league." He also wrote a love letter to Wenger, praising the man and talking about his glorious history and brilliance in that time. Transparent much?

What these bullshit artists and spin doctors ought to be saying is, "Arsenal won a fucking match without the priceless and perfect Olivier Giroud." But don't worry, you won't see that story from any of them.

Amy Lawrence came close the other day, and probably risked her access to the club, by writing this column that almost comes out and says "Wenger's transfer policy has been an extremely high risk gamble for years now." Amy is a lifelong Arsenal supporter, so I'm sure this was a big step for her.

What's sad about all of this, this spin, this PR smokescreen, is that it is nothing but a mask designed to disguise the things that have threatened the club's worldwide prominence for a decade now. A parsimonious transfer policy combined with a tactical intransigence, plus the unwillingness to embrace the modern world of club football, put Arsenal on the back foot compared to rivals both domestic and foreign.

Things that would erode confidence in the manager have been constantly diminished, as has anything that would spark a MUFC-style revolt against Silent Stan's penny pinching ownership. Keeping Stan out of the spotlight and having a marketing spin wizard like Ivan as his public face, compared to the bumbling Equaliser Ed Woodward in Manchester, has to be a conscious PR move.

The result has been to sharply divide the Arsenal supporters, forcing them to choose between the club as an institution and Wenger as a person (or Wenger's pet players). It's forced people who love Arsenal to choose between a desire to see success for the club and a perceived loyalty to Arsene Wenger.

Name-calling, insults, epithets, threats--all are the result of this spin campaign designed to protect "the brand" that is Arsenal while simultaneously hiding whatever the actual truth is that exists behind the curtain. The club-promoted spin ends up pitting supporters against each other, with one side accepting the "orthodox" view and feeling the need to attack the "heretics."

"If you really loved Arsenal, you'd shut up and support Wenger and the players!" Unless those players are named Podolski, at which point you should shut up and attack the players.

So where are we now? Qualified for the Champions League group stages and the cash that gets Arsenal's summer transfers closer to break even. No plans to strengthen at the back (clearly a desperate need and just wait until one of Per, Koz, or Chambers gets injured), no plans to buy an established goal scorer (because remember, Mr. Yank Stats Blogger says you don't need one), and no need to buy a powerful defensive midfielder.

The purchases of Ozil and Sanchez, taken in a broader context, don't really signify much other than that there is a bit more cash on hand to keep advancing the brand. It's not about putting together a team that will win a league title. It's about the fear of harming the global cash flow. The trip to the USA this summer looks more and more like a one off designed to do nothing more than appease the Yanks who make up an huge percentage of the world's Arsenal fans.

Lastly, because I've gone on far too long, I want you to consider this line from the world's most famous Arsenal blogger:

"When you consider that we’ve just done Besiktas away, Everton away, and now Besiktas at home, that’s a pretty challenging schedule for a team that has got its troubles right now. Injuries, shortened pre-season preparation, new arrivals still bedding in and overall a group of players that hasn’t really gelled yet, to have come through that successfully is good going."

At no point in that statement is there anything that implicates Arsene Wenger or the club for creating those "challenges."  It's as though the "challenges" were handed down by God or some random force. NO!!!!

The TRUTH is that every problem Arsenal have right now is SELF INFLICTED!!!! Stop the club spin! Injuries?  You didn't know that Gibbs is injury prone? You didn't know that Arteta has had major injury problems in his career and is pushing 35? And all the other crap?

I hate corporate sloganeering as much as I hate anything in the world, but all I can say to this bullshit spin is

IF YOU FAIL TO PLAN, YOU PLAN TO FAIL.

Thanks for reading.