As many of you will have heard, Dein dealt with all the transfers and contracts at the club. Now he's gone, the Board are considering appointing a Director of Football to replace him. Strange seeing as that's the role Wenger will take when he retires. Anywho, here's my suggestion:

Promote David Court from Head of Youth Development to Director of Football. He has the knowledge of the existing youth setup to combine with the reports from who will be his new assistant, Chief Scout Steve Rowley. Court's previous role will be taken by his assistant, Liam Brady. Court will be assisted in negotiations when necessary by Keith Edleman, the Managing Director, who has been battling for a bigger role and greater influence in the club.

Alternatively, Rowley could take up a full assistant role and we bring in a new Chief Scout. Personally, I prefer the first option I've outlined.

Vice-captain Gilberto Silva has added his thoughts to the Lehmann contract situation. This is what he told Arsenal.com:

  "Of course we want Jens to stay at the club.

"You never know what the situation is of others, but it is important to have good players.

"Jens is a very good goalkeeper and a very good professional. It is important to have these things at the club."

 I'm a bit worried by this. If Mad Jens is our model professional then it doesn't bode well for our club. I don't want my kids, should I ever have any, looking at Jens arguing the toss about everything and throwing his weight around and wanting to go through life with the same approach. There has to be separation between dedication in training and professionalism, surely?

Next news is Baptista is in his own little world. No, this isn't a criticism about his performances on the pitch, it's about what he's said about the weather:

 “The weather over here is killing me. We get one day of sunshine for every 30 days of rain.

 Let's just remind him that Easter in London was hotter than Easter on the Costa del Sol! Apparently he is now unsettled. I'm not reading anything into these quotes, I think they are either misquotes or make-believe. My reasoning, he wanted to stay back in the doldrums of Autumn and Winter when he was out injured. Now he's playing in the first team he's complaining about the weather? Still at least he knows about English football:

 “The teams from the north of England are terrible. When we play them I have counted their centre-backs booting up to 30 long balls upfield per game.

The moment you stop to think, someone has taken the ball off you and knocked you to the ground.

Over here they value a corner kick more than a fancy flick. I am lucky to be with Arsenal, as they are a team that likes to play proper football.”

 Can't complain about that, it's true, it's sad, but with the likes of Chelsea, Blackburn and Bolton not to mention the Spuds and Everton around it's time to let total football rule again!!!!!!

As it stands, we can buy Baptista for £12m and Real can buy Reyes for £16m. That is what is in the terms of the loan deal, yet Real are only interested in Reyes if they can have him for under £10m or in a straight swap for Baptista - Arsenal are not convinced by this.

Finally, Henry has again been linked away with moves to Barcelona and Inter Milan being touted in the Daily Mail. Every time something big happens, Henry is linked somewhere. Paddy goes, Henry will follow; Dein's gone, oh well Henry must be off too! It might fool the readers of trash like The Sun, or Man U/Chelsea/Spurs fans, but we are infinitely more intelligent and don't believe one iota of it!

Ok a quick roundup of this morning's news.

Peter Hill-Wood has said that Wenger does have money to spend this summer:

"We've always made funds available to Arsene, he attends the board meetings, he understands the financial position. I can assure supporters that we will continue to provide funds when Arsene requires them.

"We have a very good squad - young, maybe, but developing well and if Arsene wants to strengthen it we have the money to provide him with any reasonable purchases he wants to make."

 We know there is around £36-40m in cash reserves available for transfers and that the board has never said "No" to Wenger. With Dein gone, however, will this change? My feeling is probably. Wenger's lost his biggest ally.

 "He is on contract with us until 2008 and we very much hope that he will extend his contract beyond that, but we haven't got into talking details on that yet." 

"We have a number of senior executives at the club. We haven't formalised the arrangement yet but I'm certain that one or more of them will handle the matter of transfers in David Dein's absence,"

I find myself wondering if/when Kroenke will join the board. We know from his roles at his American teams that he likes a hands-off approach so he won't be a like-for-like replacement for Dein. Whatever happens, Wenger must stay and he must be supported by the board, whomever that may be!

I have however warmed slightly to Mr Kroenke after reading these comments in a letter to the Arsenal Supporters' Trust (AST), published in the Daily Mail:

 "I see long-term value in football," 

"I recognise and appreciate the AST's role and contribution to the club and the valuable perspective you provide to shareholders, board and management.

"Over the next month I look forward to learning more about the club through a dialogue with you. We much admire the values of the club."

Kroenke is set to meet with the Supporters Trust in the next month to discuss the issues surrounding his involvement. However, he admits he will have to launch a hostile takeover if the board remain opposed to him. My feeling is that the owners of 26% of the shares not owned by the board or Kroenke are set for a windfall as the two parties bid for control of the Club.

Well I wasn't going to post again today but seeing as the resignation of a vice-chairman is somewhat big news I thought I would. The following statement was released on the PLUS Market Group website:

  Arsenal Holdings plc - Directorate change

Arsenal Holdings plc (the "Company") 
announces that David Dein has left 
Arsenal Football Club and has ceased 
to be a director of the Company.

Peter Hill-Wood, Chairman of the Company, 
would like to express his gratitude for the 
many years of loyal service given by David 
Dein to Arsenal Football Club and regrets 
that irreconcilable differences between Mr. 
Dein and the rest of the board have 
necessitated a parting of the ways.

In light of recent speculation as to the 
ownership of the Company, the remaining 
Board members (together, the owners of 
45.45% of the issued share capital of the 
Company) would like to reassure the 
shareholders, employees and fans of Arsenal 
Football Club that they remain long-term 
holders of their interests in the Company.  

To this effect, they have entered into an 
agreement not to dispose of their interests 
in the Company for at least one year and 
have confirmed that they intend to retain 
their interests on the expiration of this period.


Arsenal Holdings Plc.
18 April 2007                                                                               

 Big news I'm sure you agree. This is the man that empowered Wenger in the Marble Halls, he wouldn't let them say "no" again back in 1996. The Club released the following statement:

"On behalf of the Board I would like to express our gratitude to David Dein for the many years of loyal service he has given to the club.

"We sincerely regret that irreconcilable differences between Mr Dein and the rest of the board have necessitated a parting of the ways." 

 The irreconcilable difference being that Dein wanted to sell to Kroenke, the others didn't. The club continued by pledging their future to the success of the club in British hands:

"In light of recent speculation with regards to the ownership of the club, the remaining board members, who together own 45.45 per cent of the issued share capital of the company, would like to reassure the supporters, shareholders and employees of Arsenal Football Club that they remain long-term holders of their interests in the club,"

"To this effect, they have entered into an agreement not to dispose of their shares for at least one year and have confirmed that they intend to retain their interests on the expiration of this period

Reports have suggested that this is legally binding according to company law, so the current board will be in place until April 2008 at the earliest - two months before the end of Wenger's contract. This will cause concern amongst the Arsenal faithful.

I have a feeling Dein will be back in 2008 if/when Kroenke finally takes over. But will Wenger still be there? If not expect Scolari to take over as we know how highly Dein rates him after the England management fiasco. I shall leave you with the words of George Graham:

 "I'm amazed - I can't believe he would resign his position on the board.

"You wonder if he's been pushed.

"He's been a great lover of the club for years - I'm feeling a bit of shock about it."

"He was a bit of a traditionalist so it must be something pretty serious for him to resign his post - there's no question of that.

"David was instrumental in bringing Arsene Wenger to the club and that's one of the main reasons they've done so well in the last 10 years.

"He was friendly with Arsene when he (Wenger) was at Monaco.

"He was always a great believer in who he could get in to bring Arsenal the success they've always craved.

"I think the whole board at Arsenal are all allies to Arsene Wenger but his friendship with David Dein has always been very strong.

"I'm sure Arsene will be disappointed his friend's leaving."

Over the next however long (I don't want to overload by posting 5 a day) I am going to assess the squad position by position. I will look at existing options and potential transfers in the summer. I will begin with the goalkeepers.

Current Options

Jens Lehmann - Europe's best goalkeeper at the start of the season. Last year he was supreme. However, he never seems to perform the year after a major international championship. His performances of late have been suspect and who knows how long he can last at the top.

Manuel Almunia - Capable deputy, has been able to hand the pressure of the Cup competition. Long-term, I am doubtful whether he has the ability to be number one.

Mart Poom - Excellent as third choice, not complaining about not getting games. Working on getting coaching experience. Not going to challenge Jens.

Vito Mannone - fourth choice, gained experience at Barnsley this season. Has long term potential but will not be challenging for a few years.

Transfer Gossip

Gianluigi Buffon - World's best goalkeeper, not turned 30 yet. Linked with a £12m swoop (Juventus still owe £7m from the Vieira sale). Would be the best signing. I actually believe the rumours surrounding a deal.

Artur Boruc - Celtic's Polish goalie has been on top form for a few seasons, being part of a team that is improving in Europe. At £5m he would be good value and I think he can do a job for us.

Igor Akinfeev - 20 years old and a full international. So he's young and has the inexperience of youth, yet he's got the experience of 15 games for Russia. He's won the UEFA Cup and was runner-up in the UEFA Super Cup. If we were playing Football Manager then I'd sign him just like that, but we aren't so I don't know what to say.

Craig Gordon - British, one of Europe's top goalies, mid-20s. Would be cheap at around £5m, would also be willing to move.

Conclusion

I don't know why, but I believe the Buffon link. Certainly he would be the best signing, although I wouldn't mind Craig Gordon

The biggest news story of today is that Hill-Wood has come out and dismissed talk of a takeover. Below are some quotes from an interview with The Guardian, they make interesting reading!

"The shareholders would prefer to stay in control than sell out to some stranger.

"We would be horrified to see ownership of the club go across the Atlantic.

"These people [major shareholders Fiszman, Lady Nina and the Carrs] love Arsenal, they are independently wealthy and do not need the money. Having a few extra million pounds in the bank is of no interest to them.

"We're here for Arsenal football club, not to make a few bob. The club has been run for the benefit of supporters, staff and players."

One important note is that the is no mention of David Dein. I remember reading another post which claimed he was allied with Kroenke to win power in the board room. If they are allied, the they control over 25% of the club, which is large enough to cause problems. I wish I could find the link so you could have a read, but unfortunately I can't.

The other news is Neil Banfield claiming that the club highly rate Jay Simpson. The reserves coach had this to say on Arsenal.com

"Jay's a young centre forward; he's strong and can play out wide as well. He's had a difficult season up front on his own but he's given everything and coming into the back end of the season he's showing a good line of form. His strength is his power and running with the ball.

"We'd perhaps like to see him score a few more goals for the Reserves but he's scored a lot of goals for the youth team and I think that will come at this level next season. We may look at him more as a wide player too because he's got good stamina, a good engine, gets good crosses in and always works hard for the team. He's got a lot of plusses. We've got high hopes for him."

This is the guy that scored the first hattrick in the Emirates! Highly rated or not, I doubt he will be at the Emirates in five years time.

Well this is my first blog. I've been reading other people's blogs for some time and the range between good and bad opinions seems huge. I thought I'd add my tuppence to the mix.

It has been a tough season for us so far. We've been without our three best strikers; Henry, van Persie and Adebayor, for large parts of the season. That means that Baptista has had to settle in double quick time, which is a tough ask for anyone, and he is being criticised for his performances because of it. I think this is unfair. I quite like the Beast. I feel the best way forward for this situation is to extend the Reyes/Baptista loans for a further season, as this will allow both players to fully settle as Reyes doesn't want Arsenal, Arsenal don't want him, and the same goes for Baptista and Real. We have also been without Gallas for most of the season and Rosicky picks up a knock or a niggle as soon as he gets a run in the team. Only Newcastle have a worse injury crisis. We are still challenging for third, and with better luck next year we will do even better.

I posted on many Arsenal forums that I expected Adebayor to score 10-15 goals this season and van Persie to get 15+. To be frank, I was ridiculed. So, as things stand, Adebayor is on 10 goals for the season and van Persie on 13 for half a seasons work. I don't think anyone will doubt van Persie would be approaching 20 goals minimum had he not been injured.

There has been much talk of lack of goals from midfield. Now Rosicky and Fabregas have done what they can to shut up the detractors with two goals in two games. TOO LITTLE TOO LATE. We needed you to score against Liverpool, West Ham, Newcastle. Fabregas has the "excuse" of youth, he will improve. Rosicky, what is your excuse? Both of them have missed open goals from two yards. Just so you're not put off, I am not an Arseblogger, I won't criticise everything just for the sake of it. I believe firmly in balanced arguments. But before Bolton our attacking midfielder had less than five goals between them.

Main news today, Wenger has been forced to pay £2,500 to spend the second half of the Pompey game in the stands - one of the more affordable seats in the Emirates! His crime? Asking a the ref a question.