THREAD!!!

Okay, we've done a thread on the Kroenkes. It's not short but its well worth a read. If you enjoy it please give it a RT or follow us!

Here we go...

When the Kroenkes took over Arsenal nearly 10 years ago, they invested in a stability that was underpinned by Arsene Wenger. Since his exit they've failed to build a new structure to fill the void he left. So does Raul’s Sanllehi’s exit tell us anything new about their thinking?

Sanllehi’s exit last week could have been a sign that the Kroenkes were taking a more active role at Arsenal. After years of taking a backseat, perhaps they were becoming concerned that their asset was in danger of losing significant value?

The Kroenkes, in a way, are a family of entrepreneurs. They may be billionaires, but this is a father and son team that can’t stop growing and expanding their empire. Stan Kroenke founded his first commercial real estate company in 1984 but that was just the start.

Since then he’s founded a residential real estate company, bought the NFL’s LA Rams, the NBA’s Denver Nuggets, the NHL’s Colorado Avalanches, MLS’s Colorado Rapids and even a professional Lacrosse franchise; the Colorado Mammoths. It doesn’t stop there though.

In the last three years the Kroenkes have made a move into the growing world of esports with the purchase of two franchise slots in the Call of Duty and Overwatch Leagues. Their teams both feature professional players and one slot was thought to have cost them $25million.

Here’s the LA Gladiators and LA Guerrillas:

All of this sits alongside their media group which focusses on American outdoor sports like fishing, hunting and shooting. It includes 4 TV channels, 4 radio stations and 19 magazines. They even own a theme park: Elitch Gardens Theme & Water Park in Denver, Colorado.

It’s fair to say then, that the Kroenkes are busy men and Arsenal might not always be top of their priority list. Perhaps that’s why they have a reputation for taking a backseat and letting their individual businesses run themselves then.

The problem for the Kroenkes though is that Arsenal don’t play by the rules of their other US sporting franchises. In the US, the major sports all have a business model that shares the individual teams’ revenues much more equally than the Premier League.

Add to that, the fact that no league operates a relegation system and the lack of competitions, such as the CL, EL or FA Cup in English football, means that the opportunity for one team to earn significantly more than another becomes limited.

US sports’ operating models are designed to protect the interests of their teams like no other game in the world. No wonder then the Kroenkes hands-off approach, perfectly suitable for its other sporting assets, is so lacking when it comes to managing Arsenal.

In the Premier League, the business model is much more based on rewarding on field success. Hence why qualifying for the Champions League or even the Europa League becomes so important.

Here’s a great video showing the utter confusion English football’s way of working can cause an American more familiar with the NFL, NBA etc

But if the Kroenkes are so detached from Arsenal, then how did Raul Sanllehi’s exit come about? As we know, newly appointed board member, Tim Lewis, was thought to have been pivotal. The Kroenkes deserve credit then for initiating his review into the club’s performance.

This was the Arsenal owners acknowledging the side’s performance was unacceptable, appointing an outside expert to analysis the issues and then taking swift action following his recommendations. Sounds good right?

On second glance though, it seems like a decision that was the result of a slow accumulation of unrelated factors rather than a cohesive strategic decision. Sanllehi’s salary of £1million would also have been a tempting way to cut costs, no matter how he was performing.

The decision to remove the role of Head of Football also leaves some major gaps in the club’s structure and asks Vinnai Venkatesham, Edu and Mikel Arteta to take on more responsibility. Vinnai’s role will be an unforgiving one and he will be judged swiftly.

And how will Edu perform in his new role? It’s clear that asking others to fill Sanllehi’s numerous task is a huge risk and not the outcome you would expect from any in-depth and comprehensive review of the club’s processes.

How long this new structure lasts though is an open question, but many will not be surprised if this isn’t the last stop in Arsenal’s management merry-go-round. With the Kroenkes in charge, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

You can read more on this subject in our latest blog here https://brushyourteeth.home.blog/2020/08/24/kroenkes/

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P.S One of the Kroenke’s real estate companies is called THF Realty. The THF stands for “To Have Fun”. Who said this guy doesn’t know how to have a good time?