AST Meeting Highlights

The main thrust of the AST meeting was to discuss the results from its annual membership survey. There is more information on that on the AST website. These results will now be fed back to every man who sits on the board in order to influence their future decisions.

The floor was then taken up by Nigel Philips, the AST's finance guru, who made these key points to the meeting:

- We sell to buy in the next three years unless we pay more for our tickets and/or perform better in the league or Champions League (finish higher/go further) because of our commercial deals aren't of the level of MUFC.
- Failing to qualify for the group stages of the Champions League could cost the club £25m.
- The Transfer Proceeds Account has roughly £30m in it and this has to be spent on signing new players and uplifting the contracts of current members of the squad.
- If we sold some of the younger players who aren't going to make it at the club, we'd be able to spend our cash better.
- Arsenal's wages are spread throughout the squad and there aren't the incentives for younger players to try to get a higher wage through performance as there are at other clubs.
- Arsenal pay Aaron Ramsey three times as much MUFC offered him. They offered him a junior contract but AFC offered him a first team player's contract on day one.
- Season tickets for next season are sold out.
- Just year one in four people took up the option of a season ticket offered to them from the waiting list.
- Club Level sold out early June.
- Queensland Road property deal has been completed and will raise the club £25m.
- Red & White are 400 shares short of 30%. There are only 2,800 shares not owned by Kroenke or R&W.
- If R&W reach 30% they can have access to the books and can reveal details about player's contracts, wages, club cost etc.
- Arsenal no longer have a board. Members of the current board - apart from Kroenke - have no more share holdings than members of the AST and Fanshare.
- Current board are understood to have a committment from KSE to keep their positions for a year following the takeover.
- Gazidis was interviewed by Wenger for his job. Doesn't have the same dynamic as other PL CEOs with their manager.
- The threat from the American owners is to lose relegation.
- Emirates Cup is unsustainable and it will probably be the last one this season.
- Asia Tour will be making the club a small profit.

The board of Arsenal Fanshare stopped purchasing shares during the takeover period but now have found some supporters who are willing to see to Fanshare rather than take the cash of Usmanov or Kroenke.

If you're not already a member of Fanshare and live in the UK, it's well worth a look.

<source: Ashburton Groove>

^ Lots to talk over in there. Floor is yours now..

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO :O

Thanks for the info.

It's kind of strange that just yesterday we were told that the club had enough money to turn down Nasri bids, but now we're told that we can't really afford the Emirates Cup and if we don't have more success on the pitch ticket prices will need to be increased. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy we aren't selling Nasri, but it isn't all peachy I guess.

Eman wrote:Thanks for the info.

It's kind of strange that just yesterday we were told that the club had enough money to turn down Nasri bids, but now we're told that we can't really afford the Emirates Cup and if we don't have more success on the pitch ticket prices will need to be increased. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy we aren't selling Nasri, but it isn't all peachy I guess.

hmm...well it DOES cost a lot to get a cup running tbh

Yeah, but we did it before anyway. Are we in more need of cash now than we were the last few years? Or was it always the plan to just have the competition a few times and then call it off for a while?

Oh well, as long as we have preseason games I guess it doesn't matter what format they are in. And there are other tournaments out there.

not that we can't afford emirates cup, just that we;re losing money, and so theres no point continuing if it's a waste of time and money.

And there goes the ONE trophy we have been winning consistently. So not fair!