By Cleff Go To PostBild plsfake news
By Cleff Go To PostBild pls#FortyEight
By inky Go To Postyou are the mod
By Hixx Go To PostNew Fontaines album is a banger. BANGER. Disclosure in 3 weeks too. Oh baby.They're posers. Phonies.
By Laboured Go To PostMaybe now they'll have money to buy Smalling.
Here, The Athletic explains what has unfolded at Arsenal in the last 24 hours.
What’s happened?
Arsenal have announced 55 redundancies. With 590 current permanent and full-time contracted staff, that represents almost 10 per cent of personnel.
Some individuals received calls on Wednesday morning to explain they would be let go. The majority of Arsenal staff were part of a conference call in the afternoon, in which the head of football Raul Sanllehi and the managing director Vinai Venkatesham explained both the decision and the process. The players were informed separately, as were Mikel Arteta and his coaching staff.
More individuals will be notified of their redundancy in the coming days. As of last night, several Arsenal employees told The Athletic they were still in the dark as to whether their department would be affected.
The redundancies are part of a wider strategy of financial streamlining. On the conference call, it was explained that certain staff benefits such as private health cover would remain, others would be changing. Previously, depending on the level of employment, some staff received complimentary season tickets or could choose to opt out and receive money to the value of the tickets. That was suspended during the COVID-19 shutdown and is now stopping completely.
Similarly, those whose contract entitled them to a pension contribution of 10 per cent from the club will see that reduced to 7.5 per cent and if you are a new joiner, that contribution from the club will now only be 5 per cent.
Who are the key staff that have been let go by the club — and how significant an impact will their exits have?
While the majority of the redundancies will be in commercial and administrative departments, some staff are being let go from football roles.
The scouting department has been dramatically affected. Head of international scouting Francis Cagigao is to leave the club, as are Peter Clark (head of UK scouting) and Brian McDermott. They are the three most senior figures in Arsenal’s first-team scouting department.
Cagigao, who is credited with spotting the likes of Cesc Fabregas and Hector Bellerin, has been with the club for 24 years. His departure comes at the end of the season in which several players identified by his department have impressed. Gabriel Martinelli’s signing was the consequence of a prolonged scouting operation while Kieran Tierney was watched for five years at Celtic. Emi Martinez, another signed under Cagigao’s jurisdiction, has also come good.
Clark was appointed as head of UK scouting two years ago, having previously been Cagigao’s scout in Germany. It was during that period he was credited with identifying the young Serge Gnabry. McDermott was a trusted lieutenant of the department and has a long association with the club dating back to his own playing days.
It remains to be seen how these personnel will be replaced, although some sources have suggested the club intend to make internal appointments. Other members of the scouting department await their fate, with another round of calls scheduled for Thursday morning.
Losing senior scouts in the early stages of a crucial transfer window appears far from ideal. However, Arsenal believe their transfer activity in the current window will be largely unaffected as plans are already in place.
The Athletic also understands that first-team rehabilitation coordinator Tim Parham is to leave the club. Parham had followed fellow Australian Darren Burgess from Port Adelaide to Arsenal in 2018.
How have Arsenal found themselves in a financial position where they need to make redundancies?
Like many businesses across all industries, Arsenal are suffering the economic impact of COVID-19. It has become clear those repercussions will affect the club in the long-term. Arsenal are more reliant on match-day revenue than some of their competitors.
In 2018-19, Arsenal’s match-day revenue was £96.4 million — 24.33 per cent of overall revenue, the highest percentage in the Premier League. Consequently, the fact that there will be no fans in stadiums until at least October is a major concern. There are also fears that more rebates may be due to broadcasters and that the commercial market is unlikely to substantially improve.
Consequently, Arsenal feel they need to cut costs and ensure the organisation is operating efficiently in the new financial reality. All departments are being assessed. An Arsenal statement explained: “It is now clear that we must reduce our costs further to ensure we are operating in a sustainable and responsible way, and to enable us to continue to invest in the team.”
Owner Stan Kroenke has a vast personal fortune, so inevitably, the question is raised as to whether he could simply cover Arsenal’s costs. Kroenke has however just helped refinance a £200 million debt on Arsenal’s stadium move, reducing the payment terms, so has already made moves to alleviate the financial pressure on this club through this difficult period. Arsenal also want the club to be self-sustainable, to ensure they are compliant with whatever form of Financial Fair Play emerges from the current crisis.
Is it as simple as blaming COVID-19 for the redundancies or are other issues brewing behind the scenes?
The changes on the scouting side are indicative of a shift in Arsenal’s approach to recruitment. Since the start of last year, former head of recruitment Sven Mislintat, StatDNA founder Jaeson Rosenfeld now Cagigao have all left the club. Head of football Sanllehi and technical director Edu have a more contact-led approach to transfer business.
Over the past year, members of the analytics team and the scouting department have both felt sidelined from the recruitment process — and some sources felt that these changes were inevitable. They follow significant cuts to academy scouting, which has undergone a major audit by Edu and the academy head Per Mertesacker.
The facts that these cuts are happening is undoubtedly a consequence of COVID-19. The identity of some of the individuals involved is indicative of a strategic shift.
How long have these redundancies been planned? And did the decision happen at Kroenke Sports & Entertainment or in north London?
When Arsenal asked their players to take a 12.5 per cent pay cut in April — which has since reduced to 7.5 per cent in light of qualification for the Europa League — they did so hoping it would spare all jobs. However, there was also an acceptance that the fall out of COVID-19 was likely to be long-term and unpredictable. Unfortunately, Arsenal’s forecasts have convinced them this step is necessary. The decision was a recommendation made by the UK executive team, led by Venkatesham and Sanllehi.
The LA Rams, the NFL team the Kroenkes own in America, have not yet made any cutbacks.
Would Arsenal have been able to avoid this if Mesut Ozil had taken a cut to his £350,000-a-week wages?
The redundancies are expected to save Arsenal several million pounds and a contribution from Ozil would doubtless have gone some way towards covering that amount. However, The Athletic understands that the reason Ozil and others were sceptical of the pay cut is that they felt more detail was required on the conditions and repercussions of such a decision.
Sources close to some of Arsenal’s players indicated that they would likely be feeling “betrayed” by yesterday’s announcement.
For the club’s part, they believe these changes are needed to take place irrespective of any salary cut to playing staff. They regard it as ensuring the club is in the best possible position to cope with the new economic landscape.
Will this stop Arsenal from pushing through their planned move for Willian?
No. The Brazilian is expected to join and the fact he is out of contract is seen as a way of adding an experienced quality player to the squad without parting with a transfer fee. Other clubs made better financial offers to Willian and Arsenal’s is likely to be heavily based around performance and success-related incentives.
Beyond Willian, how will other transfer plans be altered by this decision?
Arsenal’s plans for the window were set when they qualified for the Europa League by winning the FA Cup. The strategy that was in place on Sunday morning remains in place now. These redundancies are not expected to alter things: the targets have been identified and in some instances, negotiations have been under way for some time. They are primarily looking to strengthen in central midfield and central defence.
How will it impact the negotiations with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang over a contract extension?
Talks with Aubameyang are ongoing. The club’s focus is on diverting as much resource as possible to the first team in order to fund success on the field.
Arsenal need to be back in the Champions League — for sporting reasons but also for financial ones. They regard recruiting and keeping top talent as integral to getting back there.
Could Arsenal not just have sold one surplus player to cover the difference?
Perhaps but again, Arsenal’s position is that these changes needed to be made to safeguard the future of the club and ensure maximum efficiency in all departments. There has also been a decision to prioritise fulfilling the sporting ambition of the club.
Will other Premier League sides have to take similar steps in the future? If not, why Arsenal?
It remains to be seen whether other clubs will take similar action. As yet, no club has followed Arsenal in taking a definitive wage cut.
The club has dealt with considerable financial strain of late. Josh Kroenke has described the club as having a “Champions League wage bill on a Europa League budget” and the salary cut was an attempt to bring that problem under some measure of control. Arsenal are also losing a large proportion of their revenue due to playing behind closed doors. If the situation were to persist until December, Vysyble estimate it could end up costing the club as much as £59.57 million.
Since the start of last year, former head of recruitment Sven Mislintat, StatDNA founder Jaeson Rosenfeld now Cagigao have all left the club. Head of football Sanllehi and technical director Edu have a more contact-led approach to transfer business.
Over the past year, members of the analytics team and the scouting department have both felt sidelined from the recruitment process
This should cause concern.
I think I get it, effectively if it's not obviously offside to the eye, they shouldn't be giving it. The millimetre decisions feel against the spirit of the rule
By JesalR Go To PostI think I get it, effectively if it's not obviously offside to the eye, they shouldn't be giving it. The millimetre decisions feel against the spirit of the ruleI agree with this
Nah you're either offside or you're not, wether it's a millimetre or ten foot it's no goal. If you change the rule to obvious then what's 'obvious' to one person isn't 'obvious' to somebody else.
Do think it's abit silly to bring in video technology to look at offsides but then not use the technology to its capacity.
The article is scant on details but I assumed they are still using the lines to judge offside, just that we won't see them.
Also:
Also:
The Premier League are set to remove the lies drawn when the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) checks for offside from next season to help fans understand the process more clearly, according to The Mirror.
I just don't like VAR in it's current implementation. The technology is fine, how it's being used isn't.
While I still don't like the reviews system (ala cricket), I think it would be an improvement on what we have now. I also think timeboxing decisions would be a better idea than what we have now, give the VAR officials 10-15 seconds to make a ruling, the default position should be the ref's decision would be correct, and they'd have a short time to overturn that. The short time would go some way to ensure the mistake is obvious and would reduce the insane wait time we've seen this season which completely kills the atmosphere.
While I still don't like the reviews system (ala cricket), I think it would be an improvement on what we have now. I also think timeboxing decisions would be a better idea than what we have now, give the VAR officials 10-15 seconds to make a ruling, the default position should be the ref's decision would be correct, and they'd have a short time to overturn that. The short time would go some way to ensure the mistake is obvious and would reduce the insane wait time we've seen this season which completely kills the atmosphere.
Except it's pretty much never the correct decision. The millimetre lines rely on the frames being perfectly accurate to the point that a pass is played, but they never are. In a single frame a fast player can travel a huge distance, over 10cm. The idea of being offside in a single frame by millimetres is facile
That's no reason to make it less accurate. But as Yen says it seems like they're just not broadcasting the lines for viewers but are using them internally still?
By Doicare Go To PostAgain i've got to disagree, most people don't want a quick decision they want the correct decision.
Do most people even want VAR at this point?
By Laboured Go To PostThat's no reason to make it less accurate. But as Yen says it seems like they're just not broadcasting the lines for viewers but are using them internally still?Lines don't make it more accurate though, it's a crapshoot. Motion matters so much for offside calls, that it's not considered at all is weird.
By Cleff Go To PostBoooooo
By Flutter Go To PostMy squad
By Cleff Go To PostCan he do training sessions?
By Punished* Go To PostThink it's a good move, despite what the games theorists say.yeah 5 was terrible.
maybe introduce forced injury subs or something, but I suppose they can fake those.
By Punished* Go To PostCan he do training sessions?Not with only one knee
