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Far Cough 11:50 Fri May 19
Alisher Usmanov anyone?

Richard Conway, BBC Radio 5 live sports news correspondent

Alisher Usmanov has wanted control of Arsenal for some time.

A long-standing critic of the current board, he has attempted to curry favour with fans by calling for greater investment by Stan Kroenke. He believes the team should be performing at a much higher level.

Now, with questions swirling over Arsene Wenger's future and with a lack of Champions League football next season looking inevitable, he has made his move.

However, he has been rebuffed.

The big question is whether this was a final throw of the dice by Usmanov? And, with seemingly no prospect of Kroenke selling, will he turn his purchasing power towards another Premier League club?

Johnson 1:48 Sun May 21
Re: Alisher Usmanov anyone?

My gripe is not with football, Snide it is with the lying board of our once proud club.

Football has gone a way away from what anyone under the age of 16 grew up with, but we up until this season were "keeping it real" as the kids say.

And we did well at it with a great season at our shit ground that was apparently holding us back.

Remember that no one wanted to leave UP to go to a vacuous, soulless, full of false promise but empty delivery Athletics arena.

That wasn't on offer by the liars.

People were behind the move because they saw this as our chance not to be the antithesis of modern football that we hitherto were but to jump right in to the big time.

They lapped up bullshit like the board proclaiming a kit deal with Adidas put us up there with the elite, they made up stories of untold riches through naming rights that outweighed even the biggest ones that existed for the top four, they parrotted that it guaranteed progress, that it was the only way to survive, they lied our peers were doing the same and selling their grounds.

And for what?

Same shit, different bigger more empty soulless bowl.

None of that has ANYTHING to do with modern football and EVERYTHING to do with a lying board and a greedy, jealous fanbase desperate for a slice of the big time.

Had this happened 10/15 years ago there would have been sit ins the works, but everyone has been "Sky'd" and wanted a slice.

The only thing modern football did was dangle the modern football carrot, the West Ham board were never after that carrot, they had their own agenda, the fans were though unfortunately.

Still, we get the club we deserve.

Zavon Heinz 1:11 Sun May 21
Re: Alisher Usmanov anyone?

Usmanov was close to David Dein who is an excellent operator - this would be fantastic

RBshorty 4:49 Sat May 20
Re: Alisher Usmanov anyone?

RM7. The Everton investment line. Has been talked about since that takeover. (A lot of hot air. No evidence.) However. Eastern money. The amount of wedge Usmanov likes to throw around, seems to gravitate toward the bright lights of London.





Remember. Location. Location. Location.!

RM7 4:25 Sat May 20
Re: Alisher Usmanov anyone?

Usmanov is involved with the new major shareholder of Everton. Chances are he will be looking to sell his shares in Arsenal if Kroenke wont sell to him which is very likely. He will then invest in Everton.

Hammer and Pickle 4:16 Sat May 20
Re: Alisher Usmanov anyone?

I'd pick him up at the airport and drive him all the way to the stadium in my Golf GTI.

GreenStreetPlayer 4:12 Sat May 20
Re: Alisher Usmanov anyone?

Johnson 11:49 Sat May 20
Quite right.
There are no half measures. G&S CANNOT take us to that next level.
What was the point in moving and trading in our home. If G&S want to stay we might as well have stayed at UP.
To make it work it needs investment on an unprecedented scale for West Ham United, and the current owners make this unachievable.

bankerboy 3:50 Sat May 20
Re: Alisher Usmanov anyone?

Ideally we all want an English East end boy come good owner, but there literally isn't one. One does not exist. The porn Barron's saved us from Oblivion at roughly the same cost of selling to a foreign owner..... which incidentally we had already done.
Usmanov is richer than Kroenke, the Glazers or Abramovich. If he bought West Ham, we would have the 2nd most financial power in the league after Citeh.
While he may buy us for his ego, that same ego would see us compete with Chelsea and I'm sure Usmanov would do everything to usurp Arsenal.
He would also have the power to get the stadium done right, perhaps buy it and convert it to football only with no track.
I think there is a better Chance we get back closer to the Academy of Football under Usmanov than under the West Ham a London trio.

J.Riddle 3:21 Sat May 20
Re: Alisher Usmanov anyone?

Let's face it the 2bob merchants have cleared out the sideboard and sold off the last of the family silver, may as well go the whole hog and sell our souls to the devil now.

J.Riddle 3:16 Sat May 20
Re: Alisher Usmanov anyone?

Full claret jacket, The likes of Usmanov don't care about the club and supporters - only their own egos and the pecking order in the billionaires club.

In the real world, our owners are no different MONEY IS MORE IMPORTANT TO THEM THAN THE CLUB despite them saying or being fans Sullivan has now also joined the billionaires club on the back of West Ham and Gold will probably join too when they finally cash in.

Why stick with the 2bobs who will only do the bare minimum to keep us in the Premier each season and collect the easy TV money while increasing the clubs worth ready for when they cash in their kids inheritance V someone who will put their own huge investment money in, because they have SEVERAL billion (not just 1 billion), and can afford to take us to the next level to compete with the top 4?

Side of Ham 2:35 Sat May 20
Re: Alisher Usmanov anyone?

Cornish, our investment into player acquisition compared to those we want to catch up with is lame.They've moved us into a stadium that puts us into direct competition with the top clubs and the top clubs is all the PL is bothered about, as they have the players to be fawned over.

Big names = big interest.

El Scorchio 1:23 Sat May 20
Re: Alisher Usmanov anyone?

I think Sullivan and Gold will sell for the right price.

However, the right price is likely to be very, very inflated. Especially considering they have to give a percentage to the government if it's within a certain timeframe (10 years?)

I can see them hatching a deal where they would remain technically in charge but Usmanov is running the show, and then the ownership officially passes over for a pre-agreed price when the payment timeframe expires. Not sure Usmanov would go for it though. But if he wants a club to rival Chelsea's success, then we are really the next best option if he can't do anything more at Arsenal.

cornish 1:21 Sat May 20
Re: Alisher Usmanov anyone?

Side of Ham it's only this season that the player investment was wrong,investment in the club has been good and saved us from the hole of darkness.

Vexed 1:19 Sat May 20
Re: Alisher Usmanov anyone?

Club is already dead. Might as well have some success if we can. Gotta get the embarrassing cunts to sell though. Little chance in the next few years.

Side of Ham 1:14 Sat May 20
Re: Alisher Usmanov anyone?

As per usual grassy Johnson, your gripe is with football itself, what West Ham have done is try to move with how the game is going, trouble is the owners do a lame job when it comes to player/squad investment which is where club status is really achieved.

If we stayed where we were we'd have to hope to do a Leicester miracle which is exactly that.People like you don't have to do the localised flak from other London clubs supporters because you are in butt fuck knowhere most the time away from West Ham's catchment area.

Best thing you've done for yourself is walk away because a West Ham can only be a weekend thing for you.

RBshorty 1:08 Sat May 20
Re: Alisher Usmanov anyone?

Why would Usmanov want to buy into us.? He would be in the same position he currently in at Arsenal. Instead of dealing with a Yank parasite.(Kroenke.) He got a British pair. (2bob's.) Diddy Dave has said on numerous occasions he is willing to sell part of the club. But NOT his overall control. So this one is a non starter.

BTW. Yank owners are the cancer of the league. Because the league rewards clubs with finishing 4th. The yank owners won't ever feel the need to chase the likes of Man City or the Chelsea's of this world.

Darby_ 12:51 Sat May 20
Re: Alisher Usmanov anyone?

Knowing our luck, he'll probably buy Charlton.

Iron2010 12:22 Sat May 20
Re: Alisher Usmanov anyone?

Private Dancer 11:36 Sat May 20

Stan Kroenke would buy that 30% in a heartbeat.

Charoo 12:15 Sat May 20
Re: Alisher Usmanov anyone?

Can he play up front?

Sven Roeder 11:49 Sat May 20
Re: Alisher Usmanov anyone?

Kroenke has said he is going nowhere

Usmanov is a mate of Abramovich and imagine its all about bragging rights so he is getting the hump.
Up to him whether he wants to hang in there or sell HIS shares and walk away.
Roman probably sympathises that its not like the old country where if someone else owned a company you wanted and there were METHODS to change their minds so that they sell to you. Or even give you the shares.

Johnson 11:49 Sat May 20
Re: Alisher Usmanov anyone?

Given the way as a fanbase we completely sold our souls to go along with the lying BERKS cunts killing the club as we know it, I don't think anyone is in a position to be now saying they don't want us to turn into Chelsea.

We sold out to become exactly the sort of club we hate, don't think this is West Ham United on a bigger scale this is now West Ham London - we might as well get someone in who can make us actually good as that is what this whole disastrous project was for wasn't it?

If they'd told the truth and said sell our home, move but we'll still undeliver and ultimately it just saves us a few bob on our bottom line, more people might have challenged them.

This fella isn't Gold and Sullivan so I'm all for him coming in and them fucking off.

Side of Ham 11:44 Sat May 20
Re: Alisher Usmanov anyone?

So far old school Chelsea i know have seen them lift a good few PL titles FA Cup's and even the ultimate CL.

Yet some of us think that we should do it the Spurs way of raping lower leagues of their talent to sell on for extreme money for them to spend it all on top players.

Neither is right but the former actually gets you to places we can only dream of which is what football is really about.

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