I think you do, traditionally most clubs have utilised former players. And Barce, Ajax, Bayern all still do. While Real and Man United have ex players as managers
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The fact that they get the jobs easier doesnât mean you need them.
Those three clubs are more exemption than rule anyway. Barcelona had their big resurgence under Laporta with the help of former players but not by former players. Van der Sar had a two year internship basically before he got the CEO role. I donât think itâs a bad thing to appoint former players, but there is a lot more involved than just that.
For coaching? I donât have an issue, many of the names ACM mentioned have been involved with the coaching ranks at Arsenal at one point
Senior management positions should strictly be appointed by merit rather than hopeful punts on ex players who otherwise wouldnât get close to the club without that connection
Even in senior management. Monchi, Zorc and Begiristain basically went from the pitch directly to management positions. Iâve said it before but there isnât really a profile to go on tbh.
Arsenal do not need to faff around like this. We have the resources and reputation to poach already known executives with a proven body of work.
If we swapped Edu for Campos or Rangnick tomorrow, it would be the most rational move we made in ages, no one would complain
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The goes for every big club. But even a club like Bayern hires Salihamidzic who has no prior experience. Why do clubs do that?
Henry when he wouldnât even watch the club with Xhaka as captain, sold me that he knows enough to help the club out. Bergkamp and Henry should definitely be involved instead of shit heads like Sir Chips Keswick and or whatever fucking forehead they have on the board thatâs never proven anything in the world of football.
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Apples to Oranges - Bayern enjoy a historic domination over German football and can afford to integrate former players into their senior management without the pressure of competition for playing or coaching talent. Plus the âvaluesâ of the club are alot more clearly defined to the point where it doesnât require individual talent to steer them in the right direction.
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They have always worked like that thoâŚits weird that none of the big clubs went out and got people like Campos or Rangnick in their set up. Maybe theyâll get their chance this summer. I donât expect us to make that move.
I assume itâs because those doods require a certain level of autonomy that these big club pricks donât allow for because of the power they have to give up and the decision makers wonât get any credit when things go right but all the blame if things go wrong. Itâs about politics for most of these doods, not really winning.
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:pepe1:
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See the argument @sevchenko et Al make is sound.
But also, I agree with this.
Also, I know with Henry, Vieira etc. There is a base fucking standard.
I know if they were in charge, Arteta wouldnât have job security after having us 11th, thatâs for sure.
As long as they arenât coaches, have roles like Valdano did for RM, The Bayern guys have for them, I wouldnât be repulsed by the idea.
I would like some fan ownership.
Ek should try involving the fans in any consortium, to then have them have shares as well, if thatâs whatâs needed to get him over the top to appease the Kroenkes.
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Everytime Iâve heard Vieira or Henry talk they come across like shallow idiots. Being a generational great means absolutely zero when it comes to running a football club. Wenger probably knows more about that side than both of those two put together and I donât want Wenger anywhere near the board.
This ploy by Ek is incredibly off putting, he comes across as someone who doesnât back himself to run the enterprise so heâs cashing in on names from the most recent era to gain traction and brownie points with the youngest generation of Arsenal fans.
Itâs all razzle dazzle to try and hide the fact he probably knows next to zero about how heâs going to take this club forward.
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Kroenke would never, ever, ever signal willingness to buy until they are pulling the trigger, so any public statements are pretty meaningless⌠my guess is that it would have to be a ridiculous offer to compel them, but this is the absolutely perfect time, just being rebuffed by ESL and watching the Glazers get trashedâŚ
For no good reason, I would love to see Ek come in and take over, but I would give it 10:1 at best.
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Yeah, I can understand these concerns.
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Iâm not so sure. He needs to convince Kroenke to sell, which is tricky, and rallying support behind his might help. Bringing Vieira and Henry on board in some symbolic role might be just a strategy to do that, without any intention of giving them any kind of major (ie, non-symbolic) role at the club afterward.
A common truism in the tech startup/venture capital world is that you invest in people, not in ideas: any asshole can have an idea, successful companies and startups are led by successful people who have a vision of how to beat their competition and a plan for executing that vision. My guess is that somebody who comes out of that world isnât planning to make Thierry Henry his Director of Football.
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How else would you describe the concepts of Arsenal âDNAâ and âidentityâ?
These are purely subjective terms based on fluff, whatâs more laughable is the likes of Henry and Vieira etc thinking theyâre some sort of gatekeepers of the Arsenal âwayâ. Infact these guys avoided the club when given chances to develop here
If Ek is really serious I want some hard questions asked about his plans.
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Agreed on your overall point but Henry was on staff here and as far as Iâm aware Vieira never got an offer from us but did from City group. Wouldnât hold that against them myself.
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Hiring former players gives fans a sense of belongings, a feeling of the past that connected to present⌠and of course when you talk about Henry, Bergkamp and Vieira, we are talking about winning, the invincible.
That were history and traditions that most fans want to get back to.
That kind of football was the reason why I paid attention to Arsenal, till Per and Poldi joining the club and as a fan.
What culture and process Arteta mentioned were just pure shit and empty promises.
Bayern also have absolutely zero âvaluesâ beyond being a total meat grinder and getting in bed with Qatar.