Former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein don't want to
see them left behind.
Former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein believes the
Gunners may have to accept a billionaire foreign owner if they are
to keep pace with their rivals. Dein sold his Arsenal shares to
Alisher Usmanov, currently the largest shareholder, and is now
chairman of the Uzbekistan-born Russian billionaire's company Red
and White Holdings. Arsenal's directors have banded together to
prevent a takeover bid but Dein said that the club should be
open-minded about foreign owners.
Asked whether Arsenal needed a mega-rich investor, Dein told the
new issue of World Soccer: "That is a sensitive question. As a
devoted Arsenal fan I don't want to see them left behind. "The fact
that they have now got effectively two billionaires [Usmanov and
Stan Kroenke] as shareholders puts them in good stead for the
future, no matter what might happen.
"We are in a different game here. Nothing lasts for ever;
football must move with the times. "For example, the Arsenal team
Arsene Wenger inherited was all-English. Changes on the pitch,
changes in the boardroom. You always have to be open-minded.
"Anyway, if you have foreign players on the pitch it is
hypocritical to say you can't have foreign ownership or overseas
directors."
He insisted most foreign owners are not just in it for the
money. "All the very wealthy football investors I've met are in it
for the sport," said Dein. "They want some fun out of it. They're
not looking for a return on their investment. "OK, they don't want
to lose anything, they have put in good money, but, invariably, it
represents only a very small part of their overall wealth. It is a
passion investment. They could put the money in the bank but that
would be boring.
"For the Glazers at Manchester United, Thaksin Shinawatra at
Manchester City and Roman Abramovich at Chelsea the reward and the
dividend will be when their team win a trophy. Football clubs are
not an investment." Dein, also formerly vice-chairman of the
Football Association and president of the clubs' group G14 until he
was ousted in an internal power struggle at Arsenal, said he was
keen to return to football but the only club he would go to was the
Gunners. Their may be other avenues however.
"I'd like to get back into the politics of the game," he said.
"I'd like to think that with 25 years' experience I have something
to contribute." Dein also said the Premier League's controversial
plan for overseas matches should not be ruled out. "I think it
needs more consideration. Certainly, managers, players and fans
need to be included in the process," said Dein.
"It's revolutionary, taking games out of England, and what would
that mean if it promised to be successful? But we can't stand
still. "In 1983, I went to the Football League annual meeting
representing Arsenal and proposed having two substitutes at a time
when there was only one allowed. It was turned down. I remember one
chairman complaining that it would mean another hotel room, another
bonus. But we got there in the end.
"Maybe it will be the same with the 39th round. It's too radical
for many people now. But when it's been refined, then who
knows?"