In it for the long haul...

I have a few mates who are Chelsea fans - so they won’t like me using their unfortunate result over the weekend as the seed of this blog.  And I am not picking on Chelsea because they have loads of money and a CHairman who is addicted to immediate success (well at least he was - let’s see how AVP goes before we make rash judgements on Roman now).

No - the reason I wanted to highlight that result was because it merely highlights Arsenal’s resurgence - a win at Stamford Bridge is a rare win indeed.

And for me it highlights what is a core part of delivering success to a SPorts franchise.

You always got to plan for the long term.  Longevity rules.

For sure there are other factors that help teams become winning - and Man City’s cash-splash has certainly short circuited the process - though all the work they are doing certainly smacks of building a legacy / growing a team / planning for the long haul.

When Arsenal started the season so poorly - many were saying that Arsene’s time was over - that his reign has run its course.  What these punters were missing was that in all likelihood (and based on evidence of the past 10+ years) - the poor start was a blip.  And Arsenal’s win at Chelsea at the weekend would seem to indicate that the blip is over.

Arsenal’s business model is one that screams stability, all the messages they put out - from the top down - are that they are focused on long term development.  Arsene has been there for eons, Ivan talks candidly about building for the future, their young players are committed to the long haul (or so their Twitter feeds indicate) - and Arsenal want to be a powerhouse for years to come.

So do many others - but some of these feel that the best way to achieve this success is using the “Get Rich Quick” methodology that is hit or miss at best.

Arsenal are competing against Clubs with better resources - though they do very well commercially - and it is going to be hard to finish in front of United, City, Chelsea.  Spurs, Liverpool seem to have started to work towards a long term plan - so they are likely to be more competitive than in years gone by - but Arsenal have had a long term vision for some time now - so they should be able to stay in front of their competitors (for now).

As you plan for success - look long into the future - and make sure you plan accordingly.