From Mark Rye : Stan Kroenke/ Wenger
Hi Myles
I’m a gooner from LA.
Stan Kroenke is not as inept as you make him out to be.
And he definitely wants his teams to win.
You made a big fuss about him selling his best player in his basketball team, the Denver Nuggets, Carmelo Anthony. The truth is that Carmelo had his mind set on playing in New York and pretty much went on strike till he could force the move. Stan allowed the trade to go through but managed to get some great players in exchange.
In fact, they managed to play better and qualify for the play-offs after that.
His other big team is the St Louis Rams. NFL teams fortune tends to be cyclical in nature. There is no relegation and the worst teams in the league are allowed to pick the best college players. So inevitably, all teams have mixed fortunes. The key factor tends to be having a good Quarterback. Once you get a good QB, you can build a great team around that person. The problem is that you probably get a ‘great’ QB once every 2-3 years.
Since Stan took complete control of the Rams, he’s acquired some great players. He’s also managed to get one of the best young QB’s and it looks like he’s building his team around him. I reckon they will be a force in 2 years.
With regards to his silence since the Arsenal takeover, you should know that the UK Mergers and Acquisitions guidelines are pretty strict and there are restrictions regarding what a person can say before all the formalities are completed. I think Stan Kroenke is not allowed to say too much at this point of time.
Most of his talking has been through his man, Ivan Gazidis and it looks like Ivan is saying the right things.
I’ve been an Arsenal fan for the past 13 years. Not as long as some of the others on this website.
This is the toughest spell I’ve faced as a fan.
This January was the first time I questioned Wenger. I looked at the fixtures and felt that the title was there for the taking if only we went and bought a good defender. That’s all it would have taken. It was so obvious.
But Wenger refused.I was shocked.
I know its easy for us to sit behind our computer and make judgements about Arsenal. But the truth is that none of us know as much as Wenger, because he’s right there, seeing everything in the club everyday. I believe that the financial problems are deeper than they lead us to believe.
If we had a lot of money, I’m sure Wenger would have gone on to add to our squad. I dont think he’s blind to the issues we have. When he says our defense is not bad, he’s not speaking to us, he’s trying to keep his defenders morale high. He’s not a senile, old man.
Have a little faith, Myles.
Arsene knows.
Myles says:
Arsene knows what Arsene likes – that’s all he knows.
But maybe you will get your defender today, Mark.
Wenger has bid £12m for Phil Jagielka recently
I was told two days ago that £14 million will get him.
An overnight email tells me that Arsenal will make another bid today.
The papers apparently say Everton want £18m and Wenger will bid £13m.
Years ago I spent a weekend in Sheffield with football agent Imre Varadi, a lovely guy.
We were zooming around in his car, talking football, watching Sheffield United reserves in the morning, and the Sheffield Wednesday first team in the afternoon. In the press room I bumped into the young alcoholic who blew it for all of us by calling Lee Dixon at home at ten to midnight, causing Lee’s phone number to be changed.
I remember asking Imre about Jagielka, who was then playing for Sheffield United.
I asked if he thought Jagielka was good enough to play in the Premier League and Imre immediately said, “Absolutely. Of course he is.”
Since Imre works for the Stellar Agency in the North of England, and Jagielka is a friend and one of Stellar’s players, you might think, “Oh, he would say that. It’s his job to say that. Of course he would say that !”
My impression was that Imre Varadi was 100% sincere and spontaneous at that moment.
He was surprised to be asked that question.
Jagielka was signed by David Moyes in 2007 and was Everton’s Player of the Year in 2009.
On ANR on July 6, I told you that Wenger’s two targets were Mata and Jagielka.
That was 22 days ago.