Arsenal News 24/7Writer: Rocky7 
Date:Friday September 28 2007
Time: 10:18AM
UK time is: 12:53:26
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Usmanov Is Not Taking The Hint
If you told any normal person that you didn't like them then they'd be upset, and then if you got your entire group of friends to tell that person to p*ss off, that they'd do a runner and not come back.
Well it appears that Alisher Usmanov is not any normal person, and even after one of the largest Internet protests ever staged regarding the dealings of a football club, he still carries on regardless.
News hits us this morning that Red & White Holdings has upped it's stake to 23%.
Some media sources are suggesting that Usmanov is a little angry with the board, and in particular Peter Hill-Wood for describing his business dealings as 'murky'.
Indeed, a close source said in the Mirror 'Alisher is very angry at the rubbish and slurs that are being written and wants to explain the truth to Arsenal fans and the people in England.
'He feels he has been treated with disdain by the board at Arsenal and denigrated by comments, especially given that he now has a significant shareholding.'
If Usmanov believes he is due some sort of respect simply because he has a disgustingly large wad of cash enabling him to hoover up all available shares, then he is very much mistaken.
Even though we have gripes about our current board over issues such as over-stewarding at matches, ticket prices etc etc, they have earned their respect (even more so over the past couple of weeks) through years of hard work, dedication and love for this club.
Usmanov will NEVER have any respect from 99% of Arsenal fans.........no matter what he does.
_______
Note to ANY football fans reading this page; Please sign the petition linked. This not only aims to address the issues of ownership of Arsenal Football Club, but football clubs across the nation. It is in everyone's best interest that we stop the influx of people buying club with the sole interest of profit.
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Oligarchs/
Thank you.
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Your Comments
no!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!which son of a bitch sold him!
korodon
You know what, I am not being funny here, but what is the board doing to ensure that all the remaining shares out there are somehow out of this idiots reach? As much as I admire what the board has done for this club I have to question them in this respect. Usmanov is finding sellers and he is 2% away from having a holding vote at board room level. Surely the board has the money to ensure that he does not get one more share? I mean whats going on here! I am actually fuming here. I dont want this fat russian ******** dictating things and worming his lack Dein back onto the board.
Trennon
Trennon - The pack the board formed not only prevented them from selling their shares, but from buying them also. A blocking stake isn't as bad as it sounds. Indeed Edleman pointed out the other day, there has only been 2 instances in the past 10 years where a blocking stake could have put a stop to proceedings, one of them being the development of Ashburton Grove.
Rocky7
Usmanov isn't out to win any hearts and minds. His motivation is much more basic than that. Dein, the organ grinders monkey, if he has any conscience left, may well be regretting the damage he has done to his standing amongst gooners but is probably still in denial believing himself to be the 'Messiah' that supporters desperately crave. Usmanov is not for life - he will only be around for as long as the money is there. It should be incumbent on every true gooner with a long term interest in the club to make both Usmanov and Dein as uncomfortable as they can be for as long as they chose to continue p*ssing on our stability and ambitions.
Amos.
Pack = Pact
Rocky7
The problem is that this is not a popularity contest! The Glazers were absolutely hated by many fans prior to the takeover, a pretty strong campaign against them was conducted, but we all know the end result. If there are sellers, he will buy. He knows we'll always support the team, at least he majorityof us.
afri-gooner
The board don't need to buy anymore shares, they already have control & Usmanov cannot do anything about it. One paper suggested he will demand a place on the board once he reaches 25% but thats also incorrect. To get someone on the board he needs over 50% of the club. Red & White made it clear they would buy upto 29.9% of the club & then stop there because they cannot go any further without making a formal offer which would just be refused.
Ashburton Gooner
It doesn't have to be a popularity contest AG, just that the person coming in has to have the club best interests at heart.....which Usmanov clearly doesn't.
Rocky7
BTW that AG id afri-gooner and not the other AG.......lol
Rocky7
I agree with you, just wanted to point out that guys like him don't care too much about what we think of them. I tried to take part in the petition, but I'm not british. I hope Kroenke will move closer to the board so that Usmanov's ambitions get comprehensively blocked. Maybe Uzi can buy Tottenham, an "attractive proposition", according to one dutchman!
afri-gooner
Usmanov will make his money not by selling Arsenal shares but by selling his company Red&White Holdings which owns the shares. This puts Dein in the position where he can influence whoever buys R&W and thereby a stake in AFC. In truth Arsenal shares are pretty much worthless without overall control - profits simply don't leave the business. R&W Holdings has been set up with the sole purpose of helping someone to gain overall control as some point in the future. As long as the board hold together this is, in practical terms, impossible.
Amos.
guys , let us calm down for a moment. firstly, i agree that we do not need the russian as an investor as our results clearly show, it seems he wants us more as his own investment. secondly we only know about him from sources and nothing is concrete, until i see him in an interview being asked difficult questions i will hold my judgement. At the end of the day money is money, and people will buckle if they are offered way over the top prices for their shares. the word is that the lady bracewell smith who paid £15m for her shares, with current price being offered from Usmanov they are suddenly worth £100m and that my friends is something that could tempt her to sell. she is one of the largest shareholders and if this russian is serious and alot of people believe so with his agressive buying, then that could spell trouble.
PUREGOLD
PG, I don't think we have to worry too much. Does she need the cash to buy groceries? A lot of companies don't pay regular dividends, yet their shareprices increase, and value investors become wealthier. Of course that's great appreciation on an asset, but she can hang on to the shares for another 5 years, and they might be worth 150m. All of a sudden, it doesn't look so attractive to sell.
afri-gooner
Lady Nina already has a personal fortune of 85+ million. She doesn't need the money & to be fair if she had any intention of selling she would've taken DD's side when all that Kroenke business started. The fact she wasn't interested in selling would suggest she really doesn't care about the cash.
Ashburton Gooner
With regards to LNBS, this is just complete speculation but, wasn't the shares she now owns were given to her by her husband after they had been handed down to him through generations? Isn't it conciveable that she now considers the stake a family airloom to be passed from generation to generation rather than just a money making venture?
Rocky7
Lady Nina will have signed up to the lock down agreement so that nothing will change before April next year. The board are rumoured to be considering extending that agreement so in any case a takeover isn't imminent. Nonetheless there is no harm in us making Usmanov and Dein feel as unloved as possible in the meantime.
Amos.
I agree with Rocky. Family airlooms become priceless within the minds of families. The fact she has money is a safety net for us. We all Dein was struggling financially which always made him a seller.
Trennon
i would take dein over hill-wood any day of the week hill-wood is only using this smear campaign because he owns 0.1% in shares that his only means of income is being arsenal chairman
young-Gunner
If you think Hill-Wood depends on Arsenal Football Club for his income young-gunner then you really are are way off track. His fortune is very much 'old money'. He, and his family are seriously wealthy, and unlike Dein almost none of it has been generated from his involvement with Arsenal. Whether you like him or not he isn't in it for the money.
Amos.
I wonder if Kroenke will sign up for the lockdown agreement... Perhaps if the board give him some nice plums, like the rights to the Arsenal name in North America (so he can change his own club's name...), merchandising rights, etc. etc. so he can generate some serious cash from his investment...
devvil
Usmanov is just a rich, greedy man who wants to get richer with Arsenal. But he's not the villain here- David Dein is. First he tried to get control of Arsenal by supporting Kroenke's attempt to buy the club against the board's wishes, and I don't doubt Kroenke backed off when he saw the reaction of the fan and the board- nobody wants to be hated. Then he turned to Usmanov who obviously couldn't care less about the team or the fans, just the profits. It would be ironic if the board invited Kroenke into the fold and by doing so destroyed Dein's dream of control forever.
ps What the hell is an 'airloom'? Perhaps you mean heirloom?
elbondo
PHW indicated that Kroenke was 'misled'. Seems to suggest that Kroenke did not expect such vehement resistance from the Board to a take-over, which was probably influenced by Dein's feedback. Now, Kroenke and the Board seem to have met directly with each other, and they know where they stand. Dein has seriously let himself down in my eyes, and I agree with elbondo. Its Dein who has to take much of the blame for ALL the unnecessary unrest (including Kroenke when it 1st came about).
prits
god help you if he gets his own way
muffdaddy1983
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