Usmanov now has 29% of Arsenal’s shares.
That’s interesting in the light of what Matt Scott wrote last week.
Matt\’s an Arsenal supporter whose Arsenal stories are very well-sourced, so he has earned respect from discerning Gooners for quite a while now.
Matt said that if Usmanov can increase his stake above 30%, the metals magnate reckons he can “make sure things are done properly”.
This is because Premier League rules give anybody with over 30% of a club the same access to management accounts as any director. Usmanov would then know the wages paid to every Arsenal player.
When I read that Digger column last Wednesday, June 15, I thought, “What a good story “
Key paragraph : The rules state that anyone with a stake of more than 30% is considered to exercise “control” over a club’s policies, affairs or management. This confers the right to have access to “brief particulars of each material transaction sufficient to identify its date, its amount and nature”. These “material transactions” include all transfer fees, player remuneration and payments to agents and other third parties.
My gambling greengrocer, John, was tipping Czech Republic weeks before the Under-21 tournament in Denmark.
The Czechs scored late goals to beat England 2-1 on Sunday night, after Danny Welbeck scored with a tasty header around 76 minutes.
Before that third game on Sunday, Mick Dennis of The Daily Express did a midweek paper review on Sky Sports News and hit the nail on the head.
Mick said what I\’ve been saying since 1982.
He succinctly summed up the biggest problem revealed by Stuart Pearce\’s precarious 4-3-3 style in Denmark: “Hitting it into areas has benefits occasionally, but as a total game-plan it is so depressing.
“And the quality of the passing is so slipshod. If you watched the Under 21s last night, you saw the problems of the way English players are developed.
“Those players are good players. They look good in Premiership teams when they are surrounded by players who make themselves available for passes, can receive passes well, and give passes well. When we get eleven of our blokes on the field, we hit it long and hope for the best and it’s thoroughly depressing.”
Yes, Mick, I thought, but they needed Jack Wilshere.
They needed Jack’s football brain and his keep-ball skills.Nobody runs towards the ball, nobody links, nobody slows it down.
Watching England v Ukraine the night before, I was thinking : If we had Jack, we’d win this.
Michael Mancienne says exactly that in today\’s papers.
A defender who has just joined Hamburg, Mancienne deputised in Wilshere’s midfield role.
But he admitted, “The type of player he is, he’s very creative, so he would have made a big difference. We would have gone through if we’d had the likes of Jack and Andy Carroll here.”
Porto boss Andre Villas-Boas, 33, has a £13m buy-out clause.
He is the same age as Drogba and Lampard. If he gets the Chelsea job, it’s an interesting one and a big challenge. As if working for Roman isn’t enough of a challenge.