Dein forced out as Arsenal board flexes its muscle
David Dein, a director and major shareholder of Arsenal for 24
years and a wielder of influence in the corridors of football
politics, left the club yesterday with immediate effect. A brief
statement from the club announcing his shock departure did not,
significantly, say that he had chosen to resign. Instead the
Arsenal chairman, Peter Hill-Wood, said there were "irreconcilable
differences between Mr Dein and the rest of the board" that
"necessitated a parting of the ways".
The statement did not elaborate further on those differences but
there is no question they relate to Dein's position over the recent
moves by the US billionaire Stan Kroenke to buy 11.26% of the
shares in the club. That led to widespread speculation that Kroenke
would make Arsenal the next Premiership club to be owned by a US
investor.
Hill-Wood did not say he had talked to Dein. In fact, it is
believed Dein had met Kroenke and was more sympathetic to a sale
and potential investment by the American in the club. Hill-Wood was
also known to be furious that Kroenke bought ITV's 9.9% stake in
Arsenal a fortnight ago and further shares in the club without
formally talking to the board first. According to club sources, the
other directors felt the resulting instability caused by
speculation about a Kroenke takeover was "not Arsenal's way of
doing things".
Announcing that Dein, the club's vice-chairman, had "left" Arsenal
and "ceases to be a director of the club with immediate effect",
Hill-Wood said in his 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."
Dein has had his differences with the rest of the board before - he
was not initially a supporter of building the new stadium - but the
fact that the latest row has led to his departure illustrates the
strength of feeling among the other directors. He had held a
position on the Arsenal board since buying 16% of the club for
£292,000 in 1983.
Hill-Wood famously described Dein as "crazy" at the time, saying:
"To all intents and purposes it's dead money." But Dein went on to
make a fortune from selling chunks of his Arsenal shares to Fiszman
and from the handsome salaries paid to directors since football's
fortunes have boomed. Last year he was paid a £250,000 wage and a
£250,000 bonus. Now, after the apparent discussions with Kroenke,
he has gone. With no position at Arsenal he will lose his
chairmanship of the G14 group of major clubs too, his most recent
step in a remarkable climb up football's political ladder.
The other directors, including Fiszman, Bracewell-Smith and Carr,
took the opportunity yesterday to restate their opposition to a
takeover of the club. "The remaining board members," the club's
statement said, "who together own 45.45% of the issued share
capital of the company, would like to reassure their 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."