PHW sold out long before Kroenke got involved. He sold the club to Dein for a song, Dein flipped it to Fiszman for a huge profit, then Fiszman sold it on to Kroenke for another huge profit. They just keep PHW around out of tradition, plus his usual foolishness is a convenient distraction.
Aha. I thought PHW still retained a few shares independent of what Fizman did. So if we're getting closer to a new chairman, I guess it's not going to be a Hill Wood then. Do you think a new chairman could have much more positive an effect than PHW had, or is this position largely a cermonial, occassional public-face-of-the-board, kind of thing?
I assume it is going to be the same. They will find some other upper class twit to make a fool of himself in the papers a few times a year. Could be a job for Boris Johnson.
Hmm... Boris... what a good idea. He's an Islington lad I believe. On my last trip over (May 2008), post-match, we were walking down Seven Sister or some such... and there was Boris!... just walking down the sidewalk alone. No bodyguard or nothin... lookin care free & happy. Not like he just took on being the mayor of one of the biggest most complex cities or anything. I hear he's pretty darn popular dude in certain circles. But something tells me he doesn't know a bicycle from an indirect free.
Dein was never Chairman of Arsenal, its been a Hill-Wood since the 20s, thats why PHW has the position. Its mostly ceremonial, so I suspect some male heir of PHW will take over that title.
The entire board is symbolic. Does anyone really think Arsene is going into January wondering what Sir Chips Keswick and Lord Harris are thinking? There are three people at Arsenal that matter: Arsene, Gazidis, and Kroenke. Everyone else exists to entertain their friends in the directors club.
Whatever. I still think we should make a human sacrifice of PHW to get more transfer funds. (I'm being facetious, so chill out if you're offended)
I think the entire board kept a symbolic shareholding until the sale to Kroenke. As far as I remember, everyone involved has sold.
I believe they all hold a small handful of shares. And by handful, i mean you could literally count them on one hand.
It sounds like the name of a most famous Nigerian prince-general who keeps e-mailing me I've told him so many times I don't have a Western Union near me
tell you what, for being a symbolic board member, he sure as hell has an impressive list of boards he's a director on. they are multi-billion £ operations, and that's not even counting the bank of england, which is into the hundreds of trillions.
Exactly. The board members are not symbolic. Especially the non-execs will have been choosen for their experience and contacts in key industries or sectors. They don't run the club - that is what the CEO and Wenger are supposed to be doing.
I never said his position was symbolic, nor PHW's role on the board is symbolic. I wasnt that clear, I meant PHW's role leading the discussion at AGMs and other stuff is symbolic because of his family. I dont doubt there is other value to having those guys on the board.
no, you didn't. wooddraw before you did, but you mentioned keswick's name, so i just quoted you. sorry for the confusion.
Alan Davies has lots of fun talking about Chips and his ear trumpet. "What's Peter old boy saying? Where's my ear trumpet?" Always good for a giggle.
I looked on the Bank of England's website and didn't see him listed as a director. Anyway, of those other businesses, how many do his family own? It's not hard to get well paying, no work jobs on corporate boards when your family has pretty much owned Hong Kong for 200 years.
thats fair, but the point is he is on those boards and can use his connections to benefit the club (we hope). No one is talking about how he got those role.
Yes, our commercial department has done brilliantly under this board's leadership. :/ Even the executives boxes and club level areas have been struggling. Isn't that a main area where they should be using their connections? I see the board as nothing but a legacy of the pre-Kroenke days. They all sold out, and as part of that agreement Kroenke promised them they could all stick around and go on with their charade. Even Nina Bracewell-Smith, who the board had kicked out fairly unceremoniously, was welcomed back in as "honoary" something when she agreed to sell to Kroenke. Basically she got her acess to the directors box back.
i should have said "on or been on" here are the appropriate dates: http://www.debretts.com/people/biog...ohn) Chippendale Lindley (Chips)+KESWICK.aspx afaik he doesn't own any of those companies.
what in the dickens are you talking about? Im talking about the connections that the board members have. Dont you think that Sir Chips Kenswick's connects at the Bank of England got the club a good deal on the stadium loan? We have no idea what else those people get for the club behind the scenes. This is completely different than the commercial stuff.