CrossGun
07-14-2014, 02:04 PM
Sanchez deal may have been clinched by Ivan's special fund
By Myles Palmer
From Rory Dennis: Sanchez and Gazidis input
Hi Myles,
I was intrigued to see the recent tweet from the club, telling everyone that Ivan Gazidis was the man central to signing Sanchez.
This feels like the kind of comment that is made when someone is trying to justify their existence and proving to the fans their worthiness for the role.
I'd be interested in your thoughts about the input that Gazidis has had since he arrived.
Myles says:
Wenger won the FA Cup and then announced he was signing a three-year contract.
It seems that Wenger delayed signing because of one clause.
Ivan Gazidis, playing a long game as any corporate lawyer would, has clawed back some power.
The contract wrangling happened because of Wenger’s bungled summer of 2013.
He wanted Jovetic, a highly technical player who would give him aesthetically pleasing mornings.
The Jovetic deal was done but Wenger changed his mind and Jovetic went to Man City. The deal for Higuain was also done but then Wenger decided not to sign him.
Higuain went to Napoli and Wenger signed the clumsy Sanogo, who was considering a career as a postman because no French club would give him a contract.
Why did Wenger not sign Higuain?
Because he thought he could get Suarez?
Yes. But I reckon Wenger wanted to develop Giroud for this World Cup.
If so, that didn’t work. Giroud was rubbish in this tournament
He wanted Di Maria, but he didn’t want to join Arsenal.
Needing cash for Gareth Bale, Real Madrid offered Ozil, the catapult who fired Cristiano Ronaldo towards the penalty area of their opponents.
Ozil needs power sprinters and also a coach who will let him hit early crossfield balls to launch counter-attacks.
Wenger’s summer dithering had two components last year.
First, apparently, he kept procrastinating.
He dithered before making a decision and then…… he dithered after making a decision.
Insiders say he kept kept changing his mind.
The Arsenal recruitment team were dismayed and angered by all this.
I think Gazidis saw an opportunity because Wenger’s contract was running out.
So Gazidis made sure that Wenger new contract requires him to provide targets and an estimated price for each player he wants.
For the first time, the players will be acquired by a team not reporting to Wenger.
In addition, a new Special Fund has been set up for high value targets, and that fund is controlled by Gazidis, so that cash cannot be used by Wenger to increase wages to his existing squad.
As you all know, he likes to maintain stability and harmony by keeping most of his squad in a salary trap, so they won’t leave him.
If one of Wenger’s targets is available at a price higher than the manager’s estimate, Ivan Gazidis can top up Arsenal’s bid from his Special Fund.
I think that’s a valuable mechanism.
Ivan’s the CEO and he knows what the club’s debts are.
He also knows their projected income for next year and the year after that.
Only Ivan knows if AW insisted on a third year if he agreed to cede control of the Special Fund.
For a long time we all expected a two-year extension.
14th July 2014
By Myles Palmer
From Rory Dennis: Sanchez and Gazidis input
Hi Myles,
I was intrigued to see the recent tweet from the club, telling everyone that Ivan Gazidis was the man central to signing Sanchez.
This feels like the kind of comment that is made when someone is trying to justify their existence and proving to the fans their worthiness for the role.
I'd be interested in your thoughts about the input that Gazidis has had since he arrived.
Myles says:
Wenger won the FA Cup and then announced he was signing a three-year contract.
It seems that Wenger delayed signing because of one clause.
Ivan Gazidis, playing a long game as any corporate lawyer would, has clawed back some power.
The contract wrangling happened because of Wenger’s bungled summer of 2013.
He wanted Jovetic, a highly technical player who would give him aesthetically pleasing mornings.
The Jovetic deal was done but Wenger changed his mind and Jovetic went to Man City. The deal for Higuain was also done but then Wenger decided not to sign him.
Higuain went to Napoli and Wenger signed the clumsy Sanogo, who was considering a career as a postman because no French club would give him a contract.
Why did Wenger not sign Higuain?
Because he thought he could get Suarez?
Yes. But I reckon Wenger wanted to develop Giroud for this World Cup.
If so, that didn’t work. Giroud was rubbish in this tournament
He wanted Di Maria, but he didn’t want to join Arsenal.
Needing cash for Gareth Bale, Real Madrid offered Ozil, the catapult who fired Cristiano Ronaldo towards the penalty area of their opponents.
Ozil needs power sprinters and also a coach who will let him hit early crossfield balls to launch counter-attacks.
Wenger’s summer dithering had two components last year.
First, apparently, he kept procrastinating.
He dithered before making a decision and then…… he dithered after making a decision.
Insiders say he kept kept changing his mind.
The Arsenal recruitment team were dismayed and angered by all this.
I think Gazidis saw an opportunity because Wenger’s contract was running out.
So Gazidis made sure that Wenger new contract requires him to provide targets and an estimated price for each player he wants.
For the first time, the players will be acquired by a team not reporting to Wenger.
In addition, a new Special Fund has been set up for high value targets, and that fund is controlled by Gazidis, so that cash cannot be used by Wenger to increase wages to his existing squad.
As you all know, he likes to maintain stability and harmony by keeping most of his squad in a salary trap, so they won’t leave him.
If one of Wenger’s targets is available at a price higher than the manager’s estimate, Ivan Gazidis can top up Arsenal’s bid from his Special Fund.
I think that’s a valuable mechanism.
Ivan’s the CEO and he knows what the club’s debts are.
He also knows their projected income for next year and the year after that.
Only Ivan knows if AW insisted on a third year if he agreed to cede control of the Special Fund.
For a long time we all expected a two-year extension.
14th July 2014