Below are notes from a meeting members of the Arsenal Supporters Trust board held with Arsenal's senior shareholder/director Danny Fizsman on 7th September 2007.
Danny Fiszman invited the Arsenal Supporter's Trust (AST) to meet with him before the Champions League match against Sparta Prague. The meeting took place in the Directors box and was attended by AST Board members Nigel Phillips, Glyn Taylor and Tim Payton.
This was the AST's first meeting with Danny, although we do keep in touch with the Arsenal Board through regular dialogue and meetings with Managing Director Keith Edelman and occasional meetings with other Directors including Ken Friar, Peter Hill-Wood and Sir Chips Keswick. We were pleased that Danny was aware of the work of the Trust, describing us as important stakeholders and contributors to the club. He also recalled the Board's award of the 'orphan share' to the Supporters' Trust.The main reason for the meeting was to discuss the current ownership issues at Arsenal.
Danny told us to ignore all the media speculation that he is about to sell his stake. In fact he said it was quite the contrary and that he was looking to spend more time on club issues as he gradually wound down his involvement in other companies.We pressed Danny on this, saying surely he had a price at which he would sell. The response was emphatic - no 'selling' price has been set. The analogy he used was to compare moving into the Emirates with moving into a dream home; 'you don't think about the value because you don't want to sell'. He also made it clear that the commitment he has previously made not to sell the club applies for much longer than next April.
The Trust follows closely the financial performance of the club. Our expectations are that with a full year at the Emirates behind us, the next set of results will be very impressive and demonstrate that there are funds available to the manager. Danny expressed his admiration for the work of Arsene and reassured us that quite rightly the Board leave all footballing decisions to him. It was encouraging to have it confirmed on the record that the Board would support the manager with any activity he wished to make in the transfer market.
Danny also confirmed that Arsene has been very happy working with Ken Friar to complete transfer dealings and it seems this arrangement will continue. The meeting concluded with Danny confirming that he would be at the club AGM in October and that he would maintain a dialogue with the Trust and all Arsenal supporters, who he cares passionately about 'doing the best for'.
The Arsenal Supports Trust response to the meeting: "The AST was delighted to meet with Danny, and even more delighted to hear him express his love for Arsenal and how committed he was to taking the club forward. Years of hard work by Danny, working together with Keith Edelman and Ken Friar have given us a stunning stadium that matches the attractive, entertaining football served up by Arsene Wenger.We have previously read Danny's words about his role as custodian of the club. Meeting him in person allowed us to see just how genuinely he takes this commitment. The AST looks forward to working with Danny for many years to come and will remain a constructive supporter of the Board's work."
Thanks to Barry for the AST notes.
