ARSENAL'S DESCENT INTO CHAOS
David Dein's departure was devastating
IT is simple to trace the root of Arsenal's descent into mediocrity and under-achievement.
Not William Gallas' very public breakdown in the aftermath of Eduardo's horrific injury. Not the dressing-room conflicts which have seen chasms open and spirit shattered.
Not even the latest antics from Gallas, which saw him stripped of the captaincy and held up to ridicule throughout the game.
No, the problems stem from a board meeting in April 2007 at which David Dein was stripped of all authority and effectively sacked by the club he loved and had served so proudly for more than 20 years.
While it's true no director, however powerful and dedicated to the cause, has ever won a football match, Dein's departure was a devastating blow to Arsenal.
More tellingly, to Arsene Wenger.
The appointment this week of Ivan Gazidis was meant to fill the huge gap left by Dein.
In truth, the arrival of a new chief executive in January - on a reputed £1million a year - could be a case of too little, too late to save Arsenal's season.
Because for 19 months the Gunners have been drifting.
With Dein gone, Wenger lost not just his closest ally but a man who shouldered a colossal burden at The Emirates.
The formula was a simple one.
Wenger looked after the team, recommended transfer targets and said who he wanted to keep, Dein did the rest.
Transfer and contract negotiations were down to him as he utilised the extensive network of contacts built up from years of 'schmoozing' at the highest levels of the game, whether it was through his FA, Premier League, UEFA or even FIFA responsibilities.
His critics branded him an arch politician. As far as Wenger was concerned, Dein was the man who made things happen, largely to the benefit of Arsenal Football Club.
With him gone, the club tried to pile the burden of responsibility on Wenger's shoulders, a plan which backfired spectacularly.
As one high-ranking Gunners source explained: "The board thought Arsene could deal with everything David Dein had done with only Ken Friar to help him out.
"Now Ken's a great guy who's been a director for a long time - but, frankly, he's not in touch with the squad or transfer targets and wouldn't be Arsene's choice to carry out contract negotiations.
"As soon as Dein left, the club were in limbo. He wanted to go in a different direction and bring in foreign investment, the rest of the board wanted the status quo and he was forced out.
"But his experience is impossible to replace. When push came to shove, Arsene made it quite clear he wasn't going to do two jobs, running the team was tough enough on its own without him having to be involved directly in bringing players in, sorting out contracts and everything else Dein loved to do.
"It's difficult to believe that if Dein had been here there would be all the problems there are behind the scenes at the moment, let alone on the pitch."
Those problems centre on the loss of Mathieu Flamini and a lack of a replacement ball winner, the controversy surrounding Emmanuel Adebayor's contract negotiations in the summer and the fact the likes of Theo Walcott are less than 18 months away from running their deals down.
The Arsenal source revealed: "Privately, Arsene was furious Flamini was allowed to leave so easily. The board simply didn't seem to recognise his worth . . . although perhaps they can see it now.
"It was as if Wenger was having to put out fires at every step. The Adebayor situation was messy, unnecessary and damaging and only got solved because Arsene stepped in and smoothed everything over.
"But he can't be expected to do that all the time, that's simply not his job. Walcott was told he'd start contract talks in October but that hasn't happened. The fear is he will have to wait until Gazidis takes over in January and, by that time, the damage has been done.
"It's not as if any deal is going to be done overnight, it could go on for a couple of months and - by then - he's only a year away from being out of contract."
To many at the club, Gazidis - currently deputy commissioner of the Major Soccer League in the States - is an appointment to appease American billionaire, Stan Kroenke.
The fear is Gazidis, while proven in terms of his commercial and promotional expertise, will know little or northing about the English and European scene and will have none of the contacts Dein worked so adeptly.
Publicly, Wenger toes to the party line, claiming his determination not to put Arsenal at risk in this era of financial meltdown will serve the Gunners soundly in the long term.
"People have said we you need to spend big but, in the end, what I have done is right," he claimed. "I believe the job of a real manager is to try and be successful but with the financial respect of a balanced budget.
"People haven't analysed yet what will hit society in the next 12 months and the fact that last year we brought in £30m is something I'm quite proud of because - no matter what happens - this club cannot die.
"If you want a club to explode, you go and spend £60m but if you are not in a financially stable position, that makes you weak. We are in a strong financial position and we will try to make the same kind of money again.
"What do you think UEFA are working on at the moment? That a club lives within its natural resources because that's the only way the size of a club is respected
"But we have two important strengths: we are a very young, promising team and we have a 21st Century stadium and training ground. That puts us in a strong financial position."
Yet at the highest level, there is a real fear that, unless Gazidis can forge a relationship with the Frenchman in a similar vein to the one Dein had, then Wenger may be eyeing fresh pastures.
Paris St Germain would appeal, especially if he could run the club from top to bottom.
And the whole of France would embrace him if he would consider the national job.
Wenger has never broken a contract in his life. But unless there is some harmony to be found in Arsenal's corridors of power, even a man of his integrity could be forced to consider his position.
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'Pete, you are sick and lowest of the low!'
This article has 9 comments
Pete,
You sound like a Spud.
Your comment - "Your deluded young man, 'Arsenal still in the EPL' what a joke"....shows the awareness of a Spud. Of-course we're still in it. We were missing nine at City. We had three of them back today. Even better, Eduardo played in the reserves in mid-week.
Watch and learn.
By Bergkamp's The Man. Posted November 30 2008 at 6:32 PM.
There are a few people at Arsenal who would welcome Dein back. Not because they want to sell out (few do), but because his presence meant that the rest of the board couldn't just run the club how they wanted. Dein had initiative, imagination and ambition. The board didn't like Dein. Don't believe me? Look at the situation with Kroenke. Hill-Wood and the board wanted nothing to do with 'his sort' whilst he was with Dein. Now Dein's out of the picture, Kroenke is on the board. Coincidence? I think not. I fully expect to see some kind of reconciliation with Usmanov in the coming months.
Dein was and is a Gooner through and through. His idea of selling to a sugar daddy is one that cannot be considered, but he had only the best interests of the club at heart. He knew that the club would have little money to compete in the transfer market after the move to the Grove. Don't be fooled by the rubbish coming out of Highbury House. The money simply isn't there to spend. Arsene has never been refused a transfer target because he knows the club's finances and won't ask for a player beyond the club's means. Dein isn't the monster he was made out to be. Dein can never come back to the club under the current administration.
But the club will go on. Crisis? Rubbish. Apart from anything else, we have some of the best youngsters, last year's joint second highest goalscorer in the League, two of the best full-backs in the league and, most importantly, Cesc Fabregas. There's no crisis.
By Me. Posted November 30 2008 at 2:02 PM.
everybody is shouting that we are not the top 4 club especially spurs fans?when was the lst time spurs won the EPL?????WHEN?????? and when was the last time Liverpool wan something??????last year Chelsea and Liverpool won nothing...they finished the season empty handed even Arsenal finished 3rd in PM 4 points behind the Man utd....we played just 14 games this season and we are favorites to win Carling cup and are in all 4 competitions!!!!!!
stop being jealous spurs fans!last year u won just carling cup in 10 years if that makes u top 4 team then i dont know where does ARSENAL belong
up the ARSENAL!
By bg. Posted November 30 2008 at 12:35 PM.
That's showed why Arsenal r without any title from 4 years ago!! who has Peter Hill-Wood as a club president i doubt 100% that he will be able to win a title anymore!
By I hate adebayor+our stupid directors. Posted November 30 2008 at 12:18 PM.
Bergkamps the man
your exactly right. We are one strong midfielder away from being a top top team. Once we get him in January or even in the summer the team will go from strength to strength. This team of 'kids' will get better each season and considering this time last season we were 5 points clear next season with the addition of Flams replacement we will be even better!
By Andy. Posted November 30 2008 at 11:33 AM.
If Dein had the power he wanted at Arsenal we would be ground-sharing at Wembley instead of in the Emirates.
That was a move which would have been disastrous given the many over-runs in that project and would have torn the heart out of the club.
Once he didn't get his own way on that he set about attempting to sell the club out from under the board to Kroenke then Usmanov.
Dein is a master politician but he is also not to be trusted and not always right in his decision-making.
Dein has his vision for the club, the plaything of a foreign Billionaire. If that is the price of having him on-board there aren't many true Arsenal fans prepared to pay it.
By Pete. Posted November 30 2008 at 10:49 AM.
Bergkamp's The Man-
Your deluded young man, 'Arsenal still in the EPL' what a joke. Arsenal will not win the CL or the Prem because they have no consistency in their performances. They have a chance of winning the FA Cup but only because they play their best team in that comp. And as for the Carling Cup well your kids are clearly not going to win that because Spurs are still in it.
It's about time Arsenal fans started being far more realistic, they are clearly not Championship contenders and maybe the big four is actually a big three. Surely you have to win something to be considered a 'big' club, not just finish in the champions league places.
By Sam. Posted November 30 2008 at 10:17 AM.
Dein was a big big loss. Wenger talks garbage. How is 1 year of recession going to affect a billionaire like Abramovic or Man City's sheik? Not at all. He makes out as if all the other teams are about to go bust while Arsenal will win everything.
The fact is, Wenger took his eye off the ball and cocked up in the transfer market. He didn't even have to buy big, just buy replacements for the ones that left. Instead he wasted half his budget on Nasri (£12m) and £5m on a 17-year-old midfielder who cant get near a team already packed to the rafters with central midfielders.
Besides, half these kids are crap and time does not necessarily equate to success. Will Song be Roy Keane in 3 years? He won't even be Ray Parlour.
By James. Posted November 30 2008 at 9:01 AM.
Pure piffle! What descent? Where's the chaos? Arsene was unlucky not to get the only man he really wanted last summer, Inler from Udinese. Dien wouldn't have made it happen. He's too busy icing his personal cake.
Despite that, Arsenal has a superb young squad. The envy of the football world at large. He's right too about the clubs finances. You don't sound like you know what you're talking about. How are your Citibank shares faring?
So, we've qualified for the Champions League knock out with a game in hand. Our young Carling Cup team is every other managers wet dream. We're "still in it" as far as the EPL is concerned and place your bet now on Arsenal to win the FA Cup this year.
Next year, watch the youngsters blossom. Yeah, a really chaotic situation.
By Bergkamp's The Man. Posted November 30 2008 at 1:42 AM.