Re: Meeting with Danny Fitzman, Keith Edelman, Officials of Arsenal and other Supporters Representat What a terrible, useless report. Rick didn't even tell us what kind drinks and sandwiches they had. What a waste of time. I kid, of course...top stuff, Rick.
Re: Meeting with Danny Fitzman, Keith Edelman, Officials of Arsenal and other Supporters Representat Rick, Thank you, thank you, thank you for asking this vital question, provoking this very encouraging response!
Re: Meeting with Danny Fitzman, Keith Edelman, Officials of Arsenal and other Supporters Representat Well, the Torygraph says that he sold the one per cent to Kroenke, and that it was apparently in ignorance. But that's just what the Torygraph says. Either way, all reports that I have found indicate that the buyer of the one per cent was one Enos Stanley Kroenke. Just thought you would like to know.
Re: Meeting with Danny Fitzman, Keith Edelman, Officials of Arsenal and other Supporters Representat Hey thanks Rick, for the info .. Good to see the board is trying to minimise the takeover talk in the media, which, as even he understands, could affect the aquad in the wrogn way ..
Re: Meeting with Danny Fitzman, Keith Edelman, Officials of Arsenal and other Supporters Representat To add to this as the figures have been released today hopefully now the people who think we need a trakeover can finally get a grip on the reality that Arsenal are now one of the richest clubs in the world and we are in a far better position now than would be if we sold out to anyone wanting to put debt on us. # Group turnover and operating profit at record levels: - Turnover increased by 46% to £200.8 million (2006 - £137.2 million) - Group operating profits* increased by 274% to £51.2 million (2006 - £13.7 million) # Match day revenues from the Club’s first season at Emirates Stadium were £90.6 million, representing £3.1 million per game and being more than double the £44.1 million achieved in the previous year at Highbury. # £260 million of bonds with long-dated maturities and a weighted average fixed interest rate of 5.3% were issued in the year to refinance all of the Group’s stadium related debt providing a significant reduction in annual debt service costs for the long term. # The Group’s cash balances rose to £73.9 million (2006 - £35.6 million).91% of the units at “The Stadium - Highbury Square” are already pre-sold. The final completion sales value for all units is expected to comfortably exceed £300 million The last is the most important as I have been going on for years - the sale of the apartments is enough to pay off all the debt. Thats just been confirmed by these figures. Now unless the London property market suddenly goes into freefall and has a drop of 20% (which is not going to happen - end of) - then Arsenal is for the forseeable future in a very strong position and much better off than it would be under Kroenke.
Re: Meeting with Danny Fitzman, Keith Edelman, Officials of Arsenal and other Supporters Representat Plus we now sell a million programmes per match, compared with 400,000 at Highbury! WOOT!!
Re: Meeting with Danny Fitzman, Keith Edelman, Officials of Arsenal and other Supporters Representat Rick, Thanks for the information and insight. Much appreciated. I guess we should all sign-up for season tickets now as I am sure you often have a need for them and, if not, looks like we can usually unload them to the team for 10%, which ain't bad. Then again, at the rate I'll move up the list, I will likely be able to use the tickets myself due to the use of flying cars by then... Did the board express a need for American minions? If so, I'd be more than happy to forward them copies of my resume....
Re: Meeting with Danny Fitzman, Keith Edelman, Officials of Arsenal and other Supporters Representat Great info, the back and forth from the meeting really improves my opinion of the board. As NorthBank pointed out, they do seem to come off as out of touch and defensive. That made me question their intentions, as well as how they were going to “protect” the club from the billionaire investor. But the answers given during this Q&A seem more reasoned, and rational, less reactionary. The numbers are fantastic, anyway you look at it, the increases in the bottom line are better than I think we hoped, at least better than I hoped. One question about the numbers, does the 200 million turnover include income from the sales of Highbury Square? I imagine buyers do have to put deposits down for the real estate. Is there a link to the financial report, like the official report the club submits to the stock market/government agency? I’d like to read that, rather than the BBC’s summary of it. As for the takeover defense, is there a reason why the board can’t adopt a “poison pill” into the structure of the organization. This is pretty common in US corporations/business entities, and I don’t see why it wouldn’t be possible for the club, it is a business organization (in a legal sense) just like any other corporation. Perhaps someone with a better background in the law of business organizations in the UK can answer that. Sorry to get legal technical on the board. Thanks so much for the info Rick!
Re: Meeting with Danny Fitzman, Keith Edelman, Officials of Arsenal and other Supporters Representat I've sort of answered my own question. Reading through the "We're in the Money" thread, one of the articles quoted says that revenues were boosted from deposits on Highbury Square. So the 200 million quid isn't entirely from football, still curious to know how much.
Re: Meeting with Danny Fitzman, Keith Edelman, Officials of Arsenal and other Supporters Representat I'll tell you what, this puts all of my fears to bed. Not only the financial performance of the club, but the mechanics of a takeover should anyone, including Usmanov try a takeover. In Edelman's Q&A he mentions that once you cross the 30% theshold you have to bid for the club. If the bid fails, you have to reduce your holding back below 30%. I think the current Board look like they will keep Usmanov out. The club have put out a lot of good information that should serve to keep us all very calm over the next few years. As for Kroenke, my position was that if we were to be taken over, I would rather him than many of the other names bandied about. Usmanov scares the hell out of me, even if he wouldnt bring us any debt. However, all of that is out the window now. The current board are doing brilliantly. By the way, remember my accounting friend who had lived in Geneva for a while? He says he was seated next to you at the meeting! Small world.
Re: Meeting with Danny Fitzman, Keith Edelman, Officials of Arsenal and other Supporters Representat Good to see you have seen the light........................although I must say I was harping on about the good position we were in months ago...........!!! Quite amusing you mention that. He told me he now lives in Jersey (or was it Guernsey?) anyway Danny was quite open and said the media stuff about the tax was absolute nonsense............
Re: Meeting with Danny Fitzman, Keith Edelman, Officials of Arsenal and other Supporters Representat Rick, Good report but I was disappointed there was no discussion about supporter participation in team selection and transfer policy. If the club really wants supporters involved, they'd at least allow us to choose the squad every once in a while.....
Re: Meeting with Danny Fitzman, Keith Edelman, Officials of Arsenal and other Supporters Representat Rick how did you get so involved with the club. I want to be involved with the club as much as you are. No1ArsenalFan aka Rich Smith
Re: Meeting with Danny Fitzman, Keith Edelman, Officials of Arsenal and other Supporters Representat if thats the case then more money is made on programmes than ticket sales
Re: Meeting with Danny Fitzman, Keith Edelman, Officials of Arsenal and other Supporters Representat Good stuff Rick. Glad to see all the speculative rubbish has been confirmed to be rubbish. But with a board you aren't subject to decisions of just one person. As we have seen recently, even though loads of money was sunk into the club, RA didn't like the way Mourinho was coaching and gave him the boot (though he won the league 2 years in a row and the FA and Carling Cups last season). RA then appointed a buddy with little real coaching experience to take over. The locker room is now in disarray and Chelsea are going to stuggle this season. I prefer a board of directors that is made up of a number of long time club supporters.
Re: Meeting with Danny Fitzman, Keith Edelman, Officials of Arsenal and other Supporters Representat Thanks for the report Rick!!!
Re: Meeting with Danny Fitzman, Keith Edelman, Officials of Arsenal and other Supporters Representat I agree w/ you that having a board and a publicly traded company can be a better way to go, compared to a single-entity owner. I was just making the point that the boards statements along the lines of "billionaire investors are bad for club" or "billionaire investors = debt" or "billionaires aren't true fans" are prejudiced. Perhaps they're jealous that they're just millionaires and not billionaires.
Re: Meeting with Danny Fitzman, Keith Edelman, Officials of Arsenal and other Supporters Representat Plays like he's got pocket deuces... Nice. Thanks, Rick!
Re: Meeting with Danny Fitzman, Keith Edelman, Officials of Arsenal and other Supporters Representat Hey ebradlee10, where'd you get that idea for an avatar, mate?
Re: Meeting with Danny Fitzman, Keith Edelman, Officials of Arsenal and other Supporters Representat Guilty! I have several film pix from the tube stop on my trips to N5, but none on digital. You know what they say about imitation & flattery, right? Right?
Re: Meeting with Danny Fitzman, Keith Edelman, Officials of Arsenal and other Supporters Representat Chiming in again with thanks to Rick for not only making this meeting and voicing concerns, but for reporting back to us. It's fantastic to have someone who does so much for supporters, including us crazy Americans. (Even if he is too much of a wuss to karaoke.)
Re: Meeting with Danny Fitzman, Keith Edelman, Officials of Arsenal and other Supporters Representat Rick, Thanks for the report back on the meeting... great to hear the word straight from the people involved. Sounds like great news all around. And thanks again for your help and hard work on the tickets... I had a great time at both games. Already working my boss for another trip to London. SpikeFC
Re: Meeting with Danny Fitzman, Keith Edelman, Officials of Arsenal and other Supporters Representat Thanks for the report Rick it definately seems like this would put to bed the concerns about the shares/money/taxes, etc.
Re: Meeting with Danny Fitzman, Keith Edelman, Officials of Arsenal and other Supporters Representat I wish they wouldve moved to squash a lot of the speculation a long time ago, but now is better than never. I think he is in Guernsey now. Dont quote me though. I know him as an admin on another site that I post on. Danny and Edleman seem gung-ho on not selling out. I wonder what Dein's next ploy will be now.
Re: Meeting with Danny Fitzman, Keith Edelman, Officials of Arsenal and other Supporters Representat What were the sandwiches like?