So Stan won the Super Bowl.
Well he didn’t, but his LA Rams did.
American sport is all very strange where the owner goes to pick up the trophy. Not a fan of that.
The Ram’s victory led to a lot of Arsenal fans saying “I wish Stan would bank roll us to success like he did the Rams”. It highlights peoples lack of understanding of how American sport is set up.
Stan did not bank roll the club to success.
Yes, his family (IE him and his wife Anne Walton) contributed a lot of money to the new stadium rebuild; but he does not bank roll the club in the same way Roman Abramovich or Sheikh Mansour do Chelsea or Manchester City.
The American system is set up to limit what owners can spend on their clubs. To try and create a platform of fairness where there is a salary cap in place. This stops one entity coming in, outspending the rest and dominating for decades to come.
Whilst Stan did not bankroll the club, he should look at why LA Rams were a success and Arsenal have struggled in recent years.
Due to the salary cap, clubs have to work smarter rather than just “spend more”. This is the philosophy Kroenke needs to install on Arsenal.
Get the scouting system working smarter to find those gems. Get the coaching system working smarter to improve players beyond their level, and to develop tactics and systems that beat opponents. Get the players working smarter by ensuring they are at peak fitness.
It does actually feel like this is what Arsenal are doing at the moment.
We know financially we can not compete with Manchester City and Chelsea. And perhaps Newcastle in the future.
If Kroenke threw £100m at us to buy players (and cover wages), they would just spend £200m. If we spent £200m, they would just spend £400m. We are never going to beat them by outspending.
We outperform these teams by being a better run club. Taking inspiration from Liverpool.
Liverpool can not outspend Chelsea, Manchester United and City. They reportedly have the 4th highest wage bill in the league. Yet they currently sit second in the league and compete year in, year out.
They do this by being smarter than their opponents. As Team Sky would call it, focusing on the marginal gains.
F1 is another good example.
In 2019, Red Bull’s budget was $310M, Ferrari $410M, and Mercedes $400M. Yet Red Bull were Mercedes number one contender during the period and in 2021 Max Verstappen (controversially) won the drivers championship.
This is basically what happens in the NFL.
It is hard for a team to outspend an opponent, so teams need to be smarter.
And this is what Kroenke needs to continue installing onto the Arsenal management.
We need to be smarter than the rest. Spending “more” money can not be the first solution.
Be better run, better coached, and spend the money we have more efficiently.
A slimmer squad, with less senior players earning huge wages whilst underperforming.
We are on the right track and the transfer business (both ins and outs) over the last 18 months highlights this.
Arteta is building a young, hungry squad filled with players that will only get better. This is how we compete with those ahead of us.
So well done to the LA Rams for winning the Super Bowl. Now we want to see Arsenal win the Premier League.
Keenos
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 