The Arsenal AGM
Myles Palmer looks on at seven trophies and eight men in a feel-good-festival as Hill-Wood details Wembley bid but says we want to stay at Highbury - there is no hidden agenda
FEATURES
THE ARSENAL AGM - FULL WRITE UP
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CARLTON AND ITV UPSET US AGAIN
JEKYLL AND HYDE PLAY THE NOU CAMP
Arsenal's 1998 AGM was a love-in starring Arsene Wenger and a spectacular collection of glittering silverware.
On display, set against against a wall of scarlet baize, were seven trophies. From around 11.10 a.m, as shareholders gathered for the usual-noon kick-off, they could see a huge haul of prizes won by the first team, the youth team and the woman's team. Seven, yes seven, trophies: the Premiership, the FA Cup, the Charity Shield, the FA Premiership Youth League, the Southern Junior Floodlit-Cup, the Womans' FA Challenge Cup and the Womans' League Cup.
Grinning shareholders posed in front of the cups while friends took-photographs. The way the event was stage-managed was very slick, very Nineties. Hundreds of gold-painted chairs were arranged in rows with a central aisle leading to the altar, to make it feel like a place of worship, a cathedral.
There were TV monitors every ten yards down the hall, and-audio-monitors, so everyone could see and hear clearly.
David Dein, one of football' s most energetic yuppies, was sending out all the right signals: success, prosperity, enjoyment, technology. And yet, alongside that, Arsenal still seems like the old gentlemans' club because it-is fronted by chairman Peter Hill-Wood. The best of both worlds?
Sometimes.
At 12 o'clock the directors walked in to loud applause and cheers. Amazingly, the board were cheered onto the stand for the formal, annual meeting by about 500 shareholders. What a buzz for the hero-executives! Astonishing stuff. AGM veterans said this had never happened before.
The eight men, mostly in black or navy suits, sat down. Danny Fiszman was on the left, Arsene Wenger, Ken Friar as usual at the chairman's right-hand, Hill-Wood, Dein, the Carr brothers, and David Miles.
When the directors came out in 1995, after George Graham had been-sacked five months before, they looked as if they were about to face a firing squad.
Hill Wood, fidgeting nervously, said the clubs lawyers had instructed him not to talk about George Graham because it was sub-judice. This caused great disgust and unrest in the room. People did not believe that the Graham sacking, which did not go to court, could be sub-judice at that stage.
At the 1996 AGM, when Bruce Rioch had been dumped on August 12th, four days before the first league game against West Ham, the flak started flying immediately. It was all aggro and controversy.
One shareholder, an accountant, said he had heard the Inland Revenue were investigating the Bergkamp and Platt transfers, and another claimed that the club could have signed Bergkamp for £5.5m, not £7.5m.
Today, backed by so many glittering baubles of last season, the directors knew that 1998 was as good as if gets. But they could not have expected to be cheered onto the platform.
Hill-Wood, standing while the others were seated, whizzed through the formal business in about five minutes: acceptance of the accounts, the re-appointment of auditors Kidsons Impey, the welcome of new Company Secretary David Miles, and the re-election of directors. It was, Carried unanimously, thank you! and Carried unanimously, thank you! and Carried unanimously, thank you!
Hill-Wood is likeable because he doesn't come over like a high-powered executive. He's old money, a banker who loves a gin and tonic, a-trustworthy custodian of a deeply loved sporting institution which was long regarded as the MCC of football.
He is not super articulate and doesn't pretend to have all the answers at his fingertips. That is part of his charm, and why he is such an ideal frontman for Dein and Fiszman.
When closely quizzed by shareholders on a particular point, Hill-Wood will often get the answer from Ken Friar. Or he will say, "We're doing our best." And you never doubt that he is.
He's a good chairman because he is sincere, a nice guy. On my way to the AGM, I wondered whether Mr Wenger had signed his new contract. If he had, it would be a coup for the board, and there would be no better moment to announce this news. It's a pleasure to be standing in front of the silver vaults, said Hill-Wood. I think its unlikely that any of us will see this again. So you'd better feast your eyes on it!
He then said that after the meeting a photographer was available so people could have their photos taken with the trophies, that free-refreshments would be available afterwards, and the improved museum was open.
After that Hill-Wood took questions from the floor. The shareholders who spoke were mostly educated middle class guys, forty/fifty-somethings, and they spoke well, almost like barristers, which some of them may have-been. But none gave their names.
FIRST SHAREHOLDER : "I'd like to know if the journalist from the Daily Mail, who made a report of this meeting last year, is amongst us?"
The offending hack was apparently absent.
Hill-Wood said : "I did actually write to the editor of the Mail after that meeting. I was as shocked as you were."
SECOND SHAREHOLDER : "When will the issue of which stadium we'll be playing in be resolved?
"I wish I knew, said the chairman. The preferred route, as I think you-all know, is to stay here.
"The question of the European Super League, we have been talking to Media Partners and we are still talking to them, but nothing has been finalised. We don't know what the format is likely to be. We are committed to the Premier League. And I think its inconceivable that we could leave the Premier League. Whatever we do will have the agreement of the Premier League and the Football Association. Nobody knows what the final proposal will be. There's been a lot of speculation, some of it from people who ought to know better."
[It was horrifying to be told that this grand old club would continue to talk to Media Partners, Italian opportiunists who seek to wreck football as we know it.]
NEXT SHAREHOLDER : "I may be old fashioned, but I'd like to say that the manager is the most important employee of any football club, and it does concern me when I read in the press that, at a number of clubs , players are actually paid more than the manager."
"I'm absolutely appalled by this. I wonder whether you can assure me that Mr Wenger is the-highest-paid employee of this football club? I certainly feel he ought to be. If hes not, why?"
Before Hill-Wood could reply to this, Wenger made a gracious, open-handed gesture towards the speaker, and said:" My agent!" People laughed loudly. Indeed, they laughed so loudly that the seriousness of the question, and the answer, became almost irrelevant.
Hill -Wood said, "From the board's point of view, we believe that Mr-Wenger is reasonably well-paid, and he has committed himself to us for a-further period of time. And I think he is satisfied with the salary. I agree with you. The most important task for the board of directors, in my view, is to appoint the best manager. I think we can genuinely say that we got something right."
There was then a question about the Ticket Registration Scheme from a man who was registered, got a ticket for the FA Cup Final, but didn't get one for the Manchester United game.
Ken Friar explained the arithmetic. Highbury holds 38,000, there are over 20,000 season tickets, and 6,000 tickets had to be given to Manchester United fans. That leaves only 12,000 seats. But there are 15,000 fans on the registration scheme. The ground is just not big enough.
Hill -Wood added, "We're doing our best. I'm sorry you're disappointed."
NEXT SHAREHOLDER : "I apreciate that confidentiality is important in-negotiations, but the silence from the board is sometimes criminal in my view when reports of these things are made, like moving the ground.
"There are strong emotions involved amongst the local population. Stories are allowed to hang out there, in the press, and even on Ceefax ,with no rebuttal, no reply, from the club.
"People who have gone to local residents meetings have encountered vociferous, well organised opposition, small number of people who are very determined to stop any expansion. And we are fighting with one arm tied behind our back, because of the lack of information from the board.
"I realise that these are delicate matters. But couldn't we have a more aggressive public relations campaign, both nationally and locally?
"A politician who lives not far from here, who has the wrong football allegiance, has shown that if you're gonna win a public relations battle you've got to stay on message and you've got to be persistent. You can fight on two fronts, against the council politically or in negotiations, and there has to be a public relations campaign that is much more aggressive and informative than hitherto. (LOUD APPLAUSE)
Hill-Wood : "I think we're trying to put our points across, I don't think-our public relations has been all that bad. As far as disclosing information that is often confidential, you'll have to leave it to us to decide when we are able to release the information and when we do release it will be at a time which is in the best interests of the club."
"I think some people would like us to be a bit more talkative
than we are for their own gain."
NEXT SHAREHOLDER: "Mr Chairman, I'm a local resident and season ticket holder and fan for 30 years. I've spoken to many many local-residents, I've walked the streets, I've gone into shops, I've stopped people in their cars.There's a great sense of frustration in what appears to be happening .
"The press and media seem to want us to go, we are told that the vast majority of residents want us to go. But in my experience this is absolutely NOT the case.The vast, very silent majority of residents do not want this club to go. We feel that this is-our spiritual home. We don't want to go to the M25 to some concrete-lump. We want to stay here in out beautiful stadium.
"I know I'm biased, but there is no other stand in the world that compares to the East Stand. In March this year I was working in-Copenhagen, and I was amazed that within ten minutes of being in the-film studio, the producer of the commercial came to me and had a very lucid conversation about how this club should not move, it is a fantastic club in a fantastic area in a fantastic stadium. They come here two or three times a year just to look at the building!
"I don't really think people realise how overwhelming the feeling is for us to stay here. I understand the capacity is a problem, but it can be got over.
"I believe a more positive approach towards the local people would help. I would personally be willing to get involved, but I won't spend my time and my positive energy working towards that end if I feel the club really has got a different agenda. I'm not entirely convinced that you do have one main agenda, to stay here. There may be many other agendas, like the European League. It always come down, unfortunately, to money. Most supporters feel that we have one of the best leagues in the world. We already have the European Cups. What we want to do on a weekly-basis is to talk to our friends who support Sheffied Wednesday, Coventry, whoever ( APPLAUSE).
"I personally am not interested in Bologna or AC Milan or Benfica unless it's in the European Cup. Then it's our best against them. As a family man, I can't possibly travel to away games in Europe. I'm not interested. I want to pay money to come here, or go to Coventry or Man U-or Liverpool. And I'm very worried that there are other agendas. I think there is a huge groundswell of people who want us to stay here, within this league, within this club, and carry on as we are. And I'm sure if we all work hard we can improve the capacity of the stadium. ( APPLAUSE )
Hill-Wood : "We do not have hidden agendas. What I said about the-European League was fairly clear , and I don't want to repeat that.We are doing a major environmental study on the effect of an increase in capacity here and until that is complete - and I can tell you it's extremely complicated and very lengthy - we aren't in a position to say anything further on it."
NEXT SHAREHOLDER : "I'm reminded, when I see a red line and the very still faces of the board, of the Kremlin (LAUGHTER). And I know the Kremlin are in great difficulty this week.
"I feel , as an ordinary shareholder, that we are not the press that you're talking to, or members of the public - we are are your partners. You gentleman sitting at the top-table, have, at today's prices, aproximately £90 million worth, and our-friends over here have Arsenal shares worth approximately £40 million. So I think its only right and reasonable that you are a little bit more frank and forthcoming about what is going on.
"Some of us have been coming here for literally a lifetime, in my case. We remember well the early Seventies and the early Nineties.What happened then was that we fell off a cliff, twice. We think and hope that we should be the Manchester United or Liverpool of London. We should be Number 1. The stadium is crucial. And we understand that there are things you can't tell us at the moment. But what we want to know is what your ambitions are, we want you to articulate where you want to see Arsenal in five or ten years time.
"We do not want to see Arsenal as another Spurs or Crystal Palace or West Ham, a mediocre side. In my 50 years of coming here I've seen Arsenal in that mediocre position for about 40 years. So we do not want to see that happen again.
"We think we've got - and I've seen them all , I looked at the photographs-earlier, from Tom Whittaker onwards - the most magnificent, intelligent-manager, and we must keep him. But you gentlemen have to show, that apart from huge amounts of money from your shares, that you want to go somewhere. We want to be a Manchester United. They don't have a a sugar daddy, like Blackburn Rovers, a man who puts tens of millions of pounds in personally. They just made a profitable business and I want to see you do the same. (APPLAUSE)
Hill Wood : "This is not as private a meeting as we might like it to be, so I have to be a little more guarded in what I say that I would be one-to-one-on a confidential basis. So that is why we don't maybe answer your questions quite as you would like.
"As far as our ambitions are concerned, I find it strange that you should think that we aren't ambitious. That you see behind me indicates that we have been ambitious and we will continue to be ambitious.
"We finished above everybody else last year, and I think everybody is looking up to us now, to see how they can topple us off our perch. Our ambition will continue.We're not particularly interested in the amount of money the directors have invested in the company, or the current share-price. We're interested in running a football club that is going to be more successful than any other. That, I think, has been evident from the money we've spent, and the freedom we've given our manager to bring to us a side that has been capable of winning the Double.
"I don't see how you can get more ambitious than that. But I would add that if we can do it again next year and win the European Cup (LAUGHTER ). We are ambitious and I know I speak for all my colleagues here when I say we have no intention of becoming a second Crystal Palace, Tottenham or anybody else.
The next speaker was worried about renewing his box, and whether prices would go up dramatically.
Hill-Wood reminded him that present box-holders have first option on a renewal. He added, I generally don't believe that we are renowned for trying to screw our fans, if that's not too rude a word. I think you'll find that the boxes will be competitively priced."
NEXT SHAREHOLDER : "Mr Chairman, there were reports that you made a bid for Wembley Stadium. Was that true? If it was made, can you give shareholders an indication of how it would have been financed? And are any plans for the club to be floated on the Stock Exchange?
Hill-Wood : "Yes, we did make a very genuine offer for Wembley. This was made up of a number of ingredients. There was a substantial cash payment that would have come from the bank. And through a method of securitisation, if you understand that term. Securitisation is where you sell up front a known stream of future income. So that was one method. We would have had to issue some more shares which we would have done. And the balance was made up of delayed payments which were guaranteed but which were paid over a period of three or four years.
SAME SHAREHOLDER : "And the question of flotation would have crossed your mind, shares would have been issued to part-finance it?"
Hill-Wood : "It would have been considered then. But the straight answer to your question now, on the 2nd September, is no. There are no plans to seek a quotation."
NEXT SHAREHOLDER : "I'd like to ask Mr Wenger a question if I may. One of the biggest financial gains in the last year was the way he acquired Nicolas Anelka from Paris St Germain to Arsenal for a minimal fee. He's obviously worth a lot more money now.
"We are now spending a lot of money on our youth team and our youth development system. How are we going to stop people doing to us what Mr Wenger did to Paris St-Germain? (LAUGHTER)-
"Secondly, I've read in the press over the summer, that we have tried to buy various strikers. Could he tell me which ones he tried to buy and which stories were rubbish? And are there any plans to buy a striker before Xmas, in time for the second half of the Champions League?
Hill-Wood (to Wenger) : "Would you like to answer that now, or later?" "Wenger : I can answer now.-( LOUD APPLAUSE)
WENGER : "You know that, concerning Nicolas Anelka, there is a European rule that stipulates that football is a job like anything else, and if you are at the end of a contract, whether you are 18 or 20 or 24, you can move to a different country. That's why Nicolas Anelka was free. It's exactly the same for players who are 18 and at the end of a contract. That-means they could move to France. So you just try to compete financially.
"At the time I was told Nicolas was unhappy. He wanted to leave Paris, he would have gone to Madrid or Barcelona, but not stay in Paris. That means they had lost their player. And maybe because I was French he came and became one of your players.We have no protection for our players going abroad if they are not under contract.
"Concerning the transfer market in the summer. Personally, when I arrived here two years ago we had a fairly good team, but they needed some younger players to rebuild the team.
"After four or five months of observation I came to the conclusion that it was not possible to improve the team by buying English players. Just because the best young players were at Man United or Liverpool, so we had to go abroad to buy the players.
"I think we did reasonably well getting the players at what I believe was a reasonable price last season. We won trophies and we went into the-market again.
"My first idea was to buy English because I still think it's very important for a club like Arsenal to have a British spirit, and to keep the basis of the English players and the spirit of the English players.And that's what we spoke about.
"It's always a bit of a struggle between tradition and innovation. Tradition is what I would like to keep here. The very strong spirit of the English-players.
"I would say that innovation is to bring in some players who can bring different qualities and that's why, maybe, we were successful last-season - because the mixture was right.
"My first target was stability. That means my first target, in the middle of-the season, was to keep the players we had. Because, like you said, Anelka, Overmars, Petit, Vieira, Christopher Wreh, they're all young, they're all between 20 and 25. And they only way to protect yourself from the Bosman rule is to get them on long contracts.
"And today I'm very happy because we have a good team, and we have all our young players on long term contracts, at least five to six years.That means we have good protection concerning the value of our team.
"Of course when I say stability I didn't imagine that Ian Wright would want to leave. But I knew he was close, one or two years away from his end, and that we had to buy a striker. And that it would be difficult for him to sit on the bench and not play.
"The second thing was that David Platt stopped and that was very late. It happened on the 7th July. So when he stopped his career we were in a situation on 8th July where we had to find some new players.
"Ian Wright, it happened just before the end of the World Cup, he signed for West Ham on the 12th or 13th of July. So it was late.We went for strikers, most of them were foreign strikers. None of them was for me at-the right value.
"The second problem we had was that I couldn't imagine that I had a team which did the Double, and bringing in a player who has achieved nothing, and he's better paid than the players who have achieved the Double. (VERY LOUD APPLAUSE )
"Unfortunately we didn't make some deals because of that. When you phone up and you're Arsenal, the price of course is very high. But mainly we didn't want to go over the wages we have at the moment.
"I didn't want to destroy the spirit. So at the moment we are still in the market. I still think we are short and that we need to buy two players. We need to buy one striker, it has to be the right one. And maybe one midfielder, a creative midfielder because we have so many games to play, and so many targets this season. We want to be the best . The competition is very hard but as long as we keep our quality we can do it.
SAME SHAREHOLDER : "Why did you sell Rankin? (A reserve striker who was sold to Bradford City. That deal, apparently, was £1.3m cash, not £500,000 now and the rest later depending on appearances.)
"Because he had in front of him too many players who were in a position to play in the top team. He was impatient. I thought that he wouldn't naturally make it this season, and he needed some first team games.
"He was one of the players where you say : "if you keep him he drops. If he drops, his value goes down and he isn't happy and he hasn't improved. If you are sure that he won't play for you this season, you give him a chance to make a career somewhere. If he makes a good career somewhere else, I'm very happy for him. (APPLAUSE)
SHAREHOLDER : "Mr Hill-Wood said ten minutes ago that you have committed yourself to the club."
HILL-WOOD : "Mr Wenger has committed himself to a further four-years." (DEAFENING APPLAUSE)
NEXT SHAREHOLDER : "Mr Chairman to adminster even the mildest of rebukes to a man who is responsible for the monumental achievement of winning a Double in his first full year as a manager would be churlish in the extreme. However...that said, might I respectfully remind those responsible for running the club that the almost equally great-achievements under George Graham, of winning the championship in 1989 and 1991, was followed by a year of under achievement, due in large part to a failure to strengthen the squad.
Hill-Wood ; "I hear what you're saying."
NEXT SHAREHOLDER : "Mr Chairman, coming along today, with my wife, she said, [What's it gonna be like today?] I said , it's gonna be wonderful, it's gonna be a party, we'll be rolling around in the aisles.
"I find it quite astonishing to hear some of the comments that have been made. Certainly on public relations.
"Two years ago I said we weren't managing the media very well. We've done something about it. Our media management is first class.
"Secondly, as far as talking about very delicate negotiations about whether we can stay here, or whether we want to or not we're gonna have to go somewhere else, those are very delicate-situations.
"And I understand perfectly why we cannot discuss them publicly.
"Then to ask, have you got any ambition, with all that silverware behind? I first supported Arsenal in 1941 and I've supported them ever since and I've never seen an array of silver like that. Why don't we have a dance in the aisles and celebrate? (CHEERS,APPLAUSE)
There were a couple more questions, and the AGM was over in an hour.
It was, basically, a feelgood day. The tribal elders had convened, heard words of wisdom from the big chiefs, and now they just wanted Mr Wenger's autograph.
Nobody was horrified that the board had admitted they were still talking to businessmen as disreputable as Media Partners, the Italian opportunists who want to challenge UEFA.
Nobody asked why one director's remuneration had jumped from £135,000 to an astonishing £525,000. Do we understand that Mr Dein has-given himself a pay rise? Or is this an early golden handshake for the long-serving MD and former Secretary Ken Friar, who retires in August?
Only two directors can be paid, so if the £525,000 was a one-off payment-to Mr Friar, and the total directors emoluments were £795,000, then Dein is on a mere £270,000.
Most people would say Dein is doing a good job and worth every penny.
He had, I believe, tried to persuade the-directors to employ his pal Wenger before they hired Bruce Rioch, but he-was originally outvoted.
Arsenal AGMs have a special character because the club is a private-company. They should never go down the PLC road because pleasing the-City always conflicts with pleasing the fans. As we have seen with Spurs and Newcastle, a PLC cannot concentrate on the club's core activity, which is winning football matches.
Peter Hill-Wood is a lovely bloke, but maybe he is a bit like King Canute, asking the tide politely to go back. It won't. Nothing is forever, even Highbury.
Hill-Wood now holds only 200 token shares, while Dein owns 11,912, Fiszman 15,429 and Richard Carr 14,735. Ken Friar, the No 2 post-war football administrator, after Peter Robinson of Liverpool , will retire next August.
What will happen when Hill-Wood and Friar have gone?
Directors who made a bid to buy Wembley are serious about moving.
As one shareholder had suggested, if they really want to develop Highbury, why have they not organised a more aggressive local PR-campaign by now?
I'll remember the 1998 AGM as a small triumph of magic theatre, a slick -conjuring trick by directors who came out and hid in front of a dazzling, blinding collection of trophies.
Most proud winners stand behind their trophies, but the Arsenal board have more imagination than that at the AGM . They sat in front of them and disappeared It was very clever. I don't suppose any of us will ever see eight men hiding in front of seven trophies again.
The entire proceedings were videotaped for in-house use only.
One of the technicians told me that the board wanted a record of what was said by the shareholders, to better to address their concerns.
September 6