I’ve seen people say things like, “We have improved this year, but last year we finished 19 points behind the two Manchester teams; we can’t make that up in one season.” In response I give you the following facts: In 2010-2011, Newcastle managed 46 points, while last season they got 65 and finished fifth. Look…

You may be aware – because for one thing I’ve mentioned it several times – that Arsenal.com show the numbers of shares held by Arsenal’s two principle shareholders, Messrs Kroenke and Usmanov (and Moshiri technically, but frankly who’s interested in him?). Arsenal do this to satisfy Premier League rules that state that they: a) must…

Whether or not Alisher Usmanov has reached the 30 per cent shareholding of Arsenal he’s been after, the Premier League have made it clear in their new rulebook that it won’t entitle him to any privileged information. Their definitions of directors and control of clubs have not changed from last year, but they have inserted…

I’ve heard this evening from a normally very reliable source – if you’re on Twitter you’ll know who – that Alisher Usmanov now controls 30 per cent of Arsenal shares. They may not all be in his name yet, unless he has been doing a lot of paperwork over the last couple of days, but…

Already I’m bored by the stat that we are the only team who has not yet conceded a goal in all the four divisions of English football. For a start everyone below the Premier League has played four games, so they’ve had an extra chance to concede. I don’t know whether any hadn’t conceded after…

I’m not big on match reports, but a first win of the season with the transfer window only just slammed shut prompts a few thoughts. And 2-0 away at Liverpool always brings back a lot of happy memories. Firstly, two of the three new boys are now off the mark, and the whole performance at…

Stuff you don’t know about Premier League kit this season. These facts are from the new Premier League Handbook 2012-13. What was originally called ‘change strip’, then ‘away kit’ is now officially called ‘alternative kit’. Arsenal’s ‘Alternative kit 2’ (ie third kit) is listed as yellow with a yellow goalkeeper’s jersey. That will never happen.…

The new Premier League rule book is out, and can be viewed here. My main interest in it is to see what they’ve done to rules about ownership that will affect the Kroenke/Usmanov dynamic, but at first sight I can’t see what’s different in those sections. So while I check that in more detail, here’s…

Another day, another change to the information on Plus Markets. It turns out that there were two trades of 20 Arsenal shares each on August 28 – see my blogs from earlier this week here and here. To recap, two trades appeared like this on the 28th: Then on the 29th one was removed again.…

Official statement just released, so no need to worry.