Daniel Levy - Former Chairman

[DubaiSpur]

I think we’ll be ok. The annoying thing about our CEO is that he used to run Arsenal. But for the purposes of this conversation, the good thing is that he used to run Arsenal. He isn’t coming fresh off a club with PSR breaches, he’s not joining from a place that took crazy risks for short term gain. He seems to have a sound head around how to act like a top club, and trust in a strategy over the mid term to ultimately lead to some success.

Besides. Look at something like the Sissoko deal. Who’s to say that he was worth that money at the time? Because Levy said so? What about all the players whose values we let plummet because we didn’t sell them at just past their peak? Was it the most financially prudent way to operate? Or had Levy’s MO of always wanting to be seen to ‘win’ every deal just outlived its usefulness, as the league had moved on and was playing a different game around him?

True, but with a caveat imo. Him running Arsenal is absolutely irrelevant to me. Kane was in their youth program for a wee bit as a kid, Gallagher's a Chelsea lad, and so on. As long as you're professional and keep your Goon connections to yourself when you're on the clock (and represent the club well when off it), it makes little difference these days.

What bothers me more is his reluctance, or inability, to read the room when things are going badly wrong. Keeping Frank for as long as he did because it worked with Arteta ignores the many environmental differences between the two situations. Trusting Lange as anything more than a glorified scout, even more so. Couple that with the unforced errors, like promising more communication, and then disappearing for months when the team was in the murk - or agreeing to do that tech conference talk about being CEO at Spurs when the team was desperately fighting against relegation. Hiring Tudor as an interim because he was on Paratici's 'break glass in case of emergency' sticky note, and then getting desperate and giving de Zerbi total control and a fat wage to join just a month later.

If it's true that Nick Beucher was the one who stepped in to get Frank sacked, it doesn't speak well of Vinai's ability to read the room - which should be one of the main survival traits for any leader.

I frankly think we're in a bit of an odd situation at the moment where it seems like the Lewis kids (or at least, Vivienne Lewis) genuinely want the club to act differently to how their dad let Levy run it (and by some accounts, Vivienne didn't like Levy, so it checks out). But they've put trust in Vinai and Lange to run that rebuild (and Charrington to hang around as their eye on things). And I'm not sure that will work out the way the Lewis kids think it will.

 

[K.D.D.D.D.Soc]

I think it's just one of those things you think or say after recently leaving or retiring from a job you've done for years.
When I retired I felt I'd done a good job and felt satisfied with what I'd achieved but as time went on I reflected on what I could have done better and the mistakes I'd made, you're so close to the job you don't always see the wood for the trees.

 

[glasgowspur]

I was asked to name clubs that have managed their finances responsibly while achieving greater success on the pitch, or those that have struck a better balance than us. Arsenal are a clear example. They haven’t always got everything right—ironically, they went through a similar phase to us now, with poor recruitment and an acceptance of top-four finishes rather than consistently pushing for the game’s biggest honours.

Yes phases, every club goes through them and they are also relative to what goes on around them.
Would arsenal have won the PL if city weren't rebuilding and Liverpool collapsed, Chelsea weren't a total basket case. Personally I can't see it.
Arsenal positioned themselves to take advantage, it's what we should be doing.
I can't think of a club that has managed thier resources more responsibly, and yes we have had success, not the level of success that we want but success in relation to our finances.
Chelsea were losing money at a rate that is just obscene.
City could buy our club lock, stock and barrel, close it down, pay out every contract we have and not miss the money.
You can't compete with that.