A small number, yet faithful Arsenal fans around England are gathering outside the Emirates before the Swansea game to stage a protest pointing out their frustrations against the board. Better known as BSM (Black Scarf Movement), the protest will start around 2 pm outside Cannons public house on Blackstock Road (opposite The Gunners pub), walking past Highbury and down to Emirates Stadium.
BSM walk to start at 2 pm before the Swansea gameThe objectives of the walk, according to BSM members:
-We want Stan Kroenke’s commitment not to take money from the club.
– We want Peter Hill-Wood off the Board. He has become an embarrassment to the club and its supporters.
– We want Red & White Holdings to be offered a seat on the Board. Ivan Gazidis called for us to all come together and work in the same direction but how does this work when a 30% shareholder in the club doesn’t get to have a say? In what other large business would this blocking of a major shareholder happen?
– We want action from the club to stop poor allocation of our money. From wasting money on players we have to write off a year later, to handing out huge contracts to players who we can’t then sell on because nobody will match what we pay. It’s mismanagement and it’s the fans who get hit in the pocket because the club fails in other revenue generating areas such as commercial deals.
-A ‘lite’ version of a season ticket with no cup credits.
– A short-term staged repayment scheme for season ticket renewals.
– The ability for season ticket holders to downgrade to Silver membership.
– Move away fans to the upper tier, thereby providing cheaper seats for Arsenal fans.
– Introduce season tickets in the Clock End at the Emirates; recreate the atmosphere of the famous old stand at Highbury and improve the Emirates atmosphere on matchdays.
– Introduce safe standing. This continues to be investigated by more and more clubs across the country but continues to be ignored by Arsenal.
– Cheaper tickets at Emirates Stadium. If you can afford to sit on £70m of cash in the bank, you don’t need to charge fans the highest ticket prices in football.
Objectives Courtesy – BSM official website
The demands kept forward by the protesters are quite simple, they are content with the manager and only want the board out of it’s place.
It would take a huge, well-organised and drilled demonstration to just start the ball rolling towards the eventual removal of an entire board of Directors from any business, and even then, it would probably not come off.
Some of the fans outside England would not be knowing the entire frustrations that a fan in England would feel, it is entirely up-to the Gunner’s fans to decide if they are supporting the cause or not.
What do you guys think about the protest ? Post your opinions below
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