Fizsman-Arsenal Director

Fiszman - We will fully support Arsène's transfer plans
Danny Fiszman spoke exclusively to Arsenal.com last week.

In a candid interview the Arsenal director discussed a number of hot topics including the departure of Keith Edelman, how he will be replaced, Arsène Wenger's transfer budget, the Club's wage structure, the Board's 'lock-down agreement' on shares and how the 'credit crunch' affects Arsenal. Read the full Q&A now.

How do you assess the season both on and off the pitch?

On the pitch it was disappointing the way we finished, obviously, but I think it has to be seen as a successful season even though we didn’t win any trophies. I think if you had asked any fans at the start of the season if they would have been happy to finish fourth, qualify for Champions League football and finish within 15 points of Manchester United, they would have taken it. The football we played through the year created expectations, and the fact we had a five-point lead created even greater expectations so I think everybody is sad and deflated. But I think we need to balance that and remember where we were the previous year so as long as we are seeing continuous improvement we have to be satisfied. We don’t want to be a flash in the pan.

Are you pleased with the progress the team has made this season?

Yes, I am pleased. If we look back where we were last year and what the fans would have settled for we have taken great strides. The critics wrote us off and gave us no chance of qualifying for the Champions League but the team proved itself competitive. Four points is a lot but in the context of the season we came very close and we are disappointed we didn’t win it but we have made a constant improvement and that is what we seek always.

Are you disappointed that we did not win any silverware?

In the end that is what we all strive for. We can’t win every year and hopefully it will be our turn next year and for many years to come.

There have been a number of matches where the team have played beautifully, is there a particular highlight for you this season?

The big highlight was beating Milan. It is one game that got our players to believe they were a team to be proud of, a team who could beat anybody and I was sure, having beaten Milan, that would see us through to beat Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool to win the Premier League. I think, very much in the way we beat Real Madrid, it reinforced the belief the youngsters had in themselves.

Are you confident for next season? What are your hopes?

To win four competitions, for the Ladies to win four and for the youth team to win too. We have great belief in our manager and his methods. There is great belief in the boys that we have. No doubt the manager will strengthen the team and we will improve again.

Now we are in the close season, there is much speculation about player signings. Has the manager sufficient funds to bring in the players he requires to enable us to challenge for trophies next season?

We have never said no to Arsène so I am sure that, whoever he wishes to bring in, he will be fully supported.

Does the manager have a specific budget available? Is there a set amount?

There is no set amount. But as I said we have always supported Arsène, we have never said no to him and have no intention of saying no to him.

Do you think that we need to sign 'big name' players to take us to the next level?

I think Arsène answered that question when he said it is not a big name, it is a big talent we are after. I think it is about big talents and committed
players.

Equally, do you think we should have increased the offer to Flamini in order for him to stay?

We made a substantial offer to Mathieu. It was considerable and in line with our wage structure but he chose to go elsewhere. We wish him luck, thank him for what he has done for the club and wish him all the best.

There are continual references in the media about the Club’s 'wage structure’ and the Club not paying the same wages as the other top four sides. Can you explain the 'wage structure’ and also how we compare with the other top four sides?

Well let’s just go back. You say 'we don’t pay the wages that other teams do’. If you look at our total wage costs you will see they are virtually the same as Manchester United and substantially more than Liverpool. Of course we are all a little less than Chelsea who are in a world of their own. But compared to Man United and Liverpool we are good payers. We believe it is a team sport and we do well but we don’t want the disparity between the top and bottom earner being too big. It takes 11 people on the pitch to deliver.

Keith Edelman left the Club a few weeks ago. To clear something up, there have been suggestions his departure was linked with disagreements with the manager over players’ wages, transfer budgets and the like. Was this the case?

Absolutely not. Keith was not involved with Arsène in any way. As I have said before we supported Arsène with everything he wanted. Keith Edelman was in no way involved with the discussions with Flamini or Arsène. That was Ken Friar’s responsibility. So the speculation is absolutely incorrect.

How would you rate his contribution to our success over the last eight years?

I think Keith Edelman was absolutely fundamental to the change that Arsenal have undergone in the last eight years. The process started a little before that but nonetheless he was absolutely fundamental from the infrastructure point of view. Not the football side, but the stadium, training ground and all the developments around. While Ken Friar and I took the lead in site acquisition, planning etc, it was Keith who kept the ship going and made sure the financing was there to keep us going.

Keith was responsible for a number of key decisions at the club during his time as managing director. What will his legacy be?

If I have to pick one specific thing I think it is the re-financing of Emirates Stadium. What that gave us was 25 years to repay the loan totally protected from the point of view of interest rates - what we pay out every year, what is going on outside, the credit crunch or any changes in the views of banks on financing. So I think that has given us the safety to work comfortably. Remember the increase in gate income over Highbury is in excess of three times our repayments. So for that we have to be eternally grateful to Keith.

Ken Friar is Acting Managing Director at the moment with a wealth of experience but are you taking a more hands-on approach whilst we search for a new managing director?

My role continues very much as it has. I am always available, always on-hand. Ken is managing well, obviously it is greater responsibility for him but he has broad shoulders and is carrying it well. There is also a very good team around that will continue to do the job as Keith had hoped.

We have appointed head-hunters to identify possible candidates for the role of Managing Director. How does this process work and what criteria must a successful candidate meet?

The head-hunters are presently interviewing people within the Club, the Board and others, to get each person’s view on what it is we need exactly. Keith’s role will probably be split in that we will be looking for a CFO to look after all the financial aspects of the club to allow the CEO to include within his role the footballing side. That was not part of Keith’s remit and I am sure we will be looking for somebody who can work well with the manager, be able to negotiate at times in difficult situations, player purchases, player sales and wage contracts. That will be a big part of the CEO’s responsibilities as well as managing the business of course.

Ken Friar is also responsible for player contracts and transfer negotiations. In the long term, will the new appointment also fulfil the role of Director of Football?

I think it will but 'Director of Football’ is not the term we look at. That looks to require knowledge of players, a scouting role and that is not at all the role we envisage. So no, there won’t be a 'Director of Football’ as such but the CEO will take over from Ken in due course all of the player negotiations.

Can you update the supporters on where we are with any ownership issues? Are you and the Board fully committed to the lock-down agreement?

Yes we are. It was a five-year agreement when we signed it and obviously there are various phases of it. We are fully committed. There are no changes as far as we are concerned. The ship is steady and we will carry on.

I know that our stance is to work within our natural resources, are those resources sufficient to fund a trophy-winning side or do we need a 'benefactor’ to inject some cash?

We don’t believe in the benefactor model. It is not a question of a one-time infusion of cash to buy player x or player y. You actually then have salaries that are connected to the players. What if they don’t work out? Do you go and buy another two or three players? Is there any end to it? So I think everybody, including Chelsea, knows there are limits. Chelsea were not big spenders last summer certainly - they got our old player Steven Sidwell on a free transfer. We believe in the end the self-sustaining model is the right one, the one we have adopted and will continue adopting.

Given the 'credit crunch’ climate, what impact does this have on repaying our current debt? Have costs increased as a result?

As I said this is something Keith got through for us. We are at fixed interest rates which happened to be very low interest rates and it is a fixed repayment schedule over the 25 years of the loan.

Looking forward, now that the Emirates has been successfully operating for the last two seasons, what new revenue-making projects is the Club involved with at present?

I think our expansion abroad is where we’ll see the main increase. That is with sponsorships, affiliations that we have made in Thailand and Vietnam. We are looking for a variety of sponsors in the Far East that want to align themselves with Arsenal.

How is the Highbury Square development shaping up?

It is going well and as you know has sold exceedingly well. Sir Robert McAlpine who built Emirates Stadium on time and on budget are doing it again. They are on two to four weeks early and on budget so I think it is going exceedingly well.

And what about Queensland Road?

We have just gone into planning on that for a mixed-use residential area. There will be cinemas, a lot of restaurants, a mix of affordable and private housing. We have a design that fits well with the stadium and will finish off the setting for the stadium.

We now have the International fixtures, the Emirates Cup and events such as Bruce Springsteen's concerts being hosted at Emirates. Are these fruitful and are there any plans for other non-football activities?

They are fruitful. The Emirates Cup we intend to have as an annual event and we intend to bring in some top teams as we are this year and last year. The Springsteen concerts are our first concerts and it will be interesting to see just how well that goes. It certainly sold very well. Within a few days all the tickets were gone. But we will see how we handle a concert and how it sits within the environment. If that works we intend to have a few more in the years to come.

[ Tuesday, May 27, 2008]

renungilah petikan ini..pilih mana yg baik.

PKPIM cadang kerajaan rombak sistem pemakaian pelajar perempuan

Nyza Ayob
Thu | May 22, 08 | 2:18:43 pm MYT

KUALA LUMPUR, 22 Mei (Hrkh) - Persatuan Kebangsaan Pelajar Islam Malaysia (PKPIM) mencadangkan kepada Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia agar merombak semula sistem pemakaian pelajar perempuan di sekolah rendah dan menengah.

Menurut Naib Presiden HEWI, PKPIM, Munirah Bahari cadangan agar Kementerian Pelajaran membuat rombakan ke atas pakaian seragam sekolah pelajar perempuan yang berwarna putih itu demi memenuhi syariat dan tuntutan agama Islam.

Jelasnya penukaran warna baju tersebut nampak sesuai dan tidak jarang untuk dipakai oleh pelajar perempuan.

Katanyanya, PKPIM melihat konsep menutup aurat itu penting dan perlu didedahkan kepada masyarakat Islam terutama yang melibatkan muslimah. Tambahan pula pakaian yang sopan dan menutup aurat boleh mencegah dan melindungi wanita daripada berlaku sebarang perkara yang tidak diingini.

"Akhir-akhir ini kita sering disajikan dengan kes sosial, rogol, gangguan seksual mahupun hubungan seks sebelum perkahwinan yang melibatkan remaja wanita belasan tahun. Kebanyakan mereka terdiri daripada pelajar-pelajar sekolah.

"Implikasi daripada kejadian ini maka berlakulah kelahiran bayi luar nikah, pembuangan bayi mahupun pelacuran. Isu yang melibatkan keselamatan diri remaja merupakan isu yang perlu diberikan perhatian oleh semua pihak," katanya, dalam satu kenyataan kepada Harakahdaily.

Bagaimanapun katanya, masih terdapat pihak yang memandang sambil lewa hal ini. Jelasnya, pemakaian baju sekolah berwarna putih itu sendiri mempunyai daya tarikan supaya lelaki mendekatinya.

"Pakaian merupakan cerminan akhlak seseorang muslim dan Islam sangat menitik beratkan perihal pakaian menurut Islam. Baju berwarna putih tersebut sangat jarang untuk dipakai oleh pelajar perempuan menyebabkan ada daya tarikan di situ. Lebih-lebih lagi ia akan mengganggu mata lelaki, sama ada suka melihatnya atau pun tidak.

"Di sinilah punca yang boleh kita saksikan terjadinya perkara-perkara seperti pencabulan, penzinaan dan sebagainya. Hakikatnya, kita tidak mahu perkara sebegini berlaku di negara kita," katanya.

Beliau menegaskan seharusnya remaja perempuan perlu bersifat 'assertif' terhadap sesuatu perbuatan yang mencabuli kehormatan mereka. Katanya, apa yang terjadi sekarang ialah mereka tidak tegas dan membiarkan diri mereka diperlakukan apa sahaja oleh sesiapa.

Sehubungan itu beliau mengharapkan penilaian terhadap baju sekolah pelajar perempuan perlu dilakukan oleh Kementerian Pelajaran secepat mungkin.

"Jika Kementerian Pelajaran ingin mengekalkan warna putih tersebut, PKPIM mencadangkan agar pelajar perempuan diwajibkan untuk memakai singlet dalam ataupun tudung labuh kerana ia tampak lebih kemas, selesa dan selamat. Kami mengharapkan agar Kementerian Pelajaran bertindak tegas dalam menangani isu ini," katanya. - mns




DUA PETIKAN AKHBAR, YG ATAS HARAKAHDAILY DAN BAWAH THE STAR





Islamic group’s uniform comment slammed
By LISA GOH


PETALING JAYA: Something must be seriously wrong with local men if the sight of girls in their school uniform turns them on, says Sisters in Islam.

Programme manager, Norhayati Kaprawi, describes claims made by National Islamic Students Association of Malaysia that the school uniform worn by girls at government schools “encouraged rape and pre-marital sex” as baseless.

“I totally disagree with the statement. What? Even wearing baju kurung is still not enough?” she asked.

“As for the white blouse being too transparent, Malay women who are in mourning wear white baju kurung. Even Umno women wear white baju kurung. So what is the issue?” she said when contacted yesterday.


Dress code debacle: An Islamic group condemned girls’ school uniform, saying it encouraged rape and pre-marital sex.

The student association’s vice-president Munirah Bahari had stated that “the white blouse is too transparent for girls and it becomes a source of attraction to men, who are drawn to it, whether or not they like looking at it.”

She also called for a review of the uniform policy so that it did not violate Islamic ideals.

Women’s Aid Organisation executive director Ivy Josiah said what was needed was ”a review of misguided beliefs about women's attire,” not a review of the uniform policy.

“Statistics and research has shown that all women – young, old, women clad in tudung (headscarf), miniskirts, even babies in diapers – have been victims of rape and sexual assault.

“It is entirely irresponsible for anyone to suggest the idea that rape is a result of attire. Rape is not about attire, it’s about power that perpetrators feel they have over their victims,” she pointed out.

Even men spoke out against Munirah's logic.

Men’s Action Network Against Violence (man.v) member David Anthony said such statements stereotyped men as people who don’t see women as anything other than sex objects.

“It’s the wrong attitude ... it’s perversion,” he said.

Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen declined comment.

P/s: fikirkanlah cara untuk membendung, bukan membantah tanpa cadangan..lebih baik mencegah dari merawat..

Berakhir la sudah musim bolasepak eropah..walaupun ada la tinggal satu atau dua game lagi nk abes..tp most country, dh ada pemenang. Kita tinjau sapakah juara2 bg tahun 2007/2008:

English Premier League : Manchester United
Spanish La Liga : Real Madrid
Serie A Italy : Inter Milan
Bundesliga Germany : Bayern Munich

Uefa Champion League : Manchester United (England)
Uefa Cup : Zenit Petersburg (Russia)

*Ni la antara result2 semasa..rata2 team elit la menang, kecuali Zenit Petersburg tu..team aku, kantoi awal2 lagi…huhu..terceruk no.3 kat EPL, quarter final kat UCL..nice try..nk tau my dream team??meh aku calonkan 11 players termasuk 7 subs (UCL format, kalau EPL 5 je Subs):


Golkeeper : Edwin Van Der Sar (Man Utd)

Defenders : Gael Clicy –Left Full Back (Arsenal)
Bakary Sagna-Right Full Back (Arsenal)
Rio Ferdinand-Centre Back (Man Utd)
Diego Milito-Center Back (Barcelona)

Midfielders : Robinho-Left Winger (Real Madrid)
Lionel Messi-Right Winger (Barcelona)
Fabregas- Centre Midfielder (Arsenal)
Samir Nasri-Attacking Midfielder (Marseille)

Strikers : Corlos Teves-Forward (Manchester Utd)
Karim Benzama-Forward (Lyon)

Subs : Peter Chech (Chelsea)
Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)
Kolo Toure (Arsenal)
Theo Walcott (Arsenal)
Bojan (Barcelona)
Kaka’ (Ac Milan)
Eduardo (Arsenal)

Kalau aku jd manager la, semua ni aku beli, champion league tu confirm dpt..haha..

our laws II

Seperti yg dijanjikan, aku akan bukak cerita pasal undang2 m’sia.isu adalah, mengapa ada org kata undang2 m’sia tak boleh diubah?utk apa diubah?ada golongan2 ilmuan Islam mahukan undang2 m’sia diubah menggunakan Al-Quran & As-Sunnah sebagai tunjang kepada undang2.so, persoalannya adalah, bolehkah ianya diubah?bg golongan yg kata tak boleh, ada hujah mereka.bg yg kata boleh, ada bukti2 mereka.i will stand in the middle..bukak kepada komen.aku taknak menghakimi, aku nk memberi apa yg ada.tajuk ni dh beberapa kali aku buat assignment masa belaja dulu..pasalnya, subjek agak bersangkut paut, tu yg jd berulang-ulang.copy n paste la, apa lagi..

Aku yakin semua tahu bhw undang2 m’sia ni adalah undang2 yg diimplimentasikan di England.kebykn negara2 yg pernah di jajah oleh British akan meninggalkan undang2 mereka untuk digunapakai oleh penduduk tempatan..walhal, sebelum kedatangan mereka, kita sudah mempunyai undang2 kita sendiri..kebanyakan sultan2 dahulu menggunakan Syariah law dalam mentadbir negeri, kesan akibat agama Islam yg mereka anuti.tp lepas british jajah, mandai2 jer diorg bawak undang2 diorg..yg dh tentu konsep mereka berbeza dgn kita.antara yg terpakai adalah common law, undang2 adat..adat diorg dh tentu buta2 berbeza dgn adapt kita di m’sia..tak ke sengal??tu baru pasal adapt, pasal agama lagi, jauh la berbeza..sblm Artikel 11 (1A) dimasukkan ke dalam Perlembagaan Persekutuan (FC), lagi dasat keadaannya.time tu takde mahkamah syariah.org Islam yg nk bercerai atau apa2 tuntutan syariah kena ngadap hakim2 org puith..ni story dulu2 la, b4 ramai org melayu jd judge kat m’sia..agak2 diorg tau tak undang2 syariah??lain la diorg ada blaja kat law skool dulu..

Tu sejarah la..lama2, undang2 m’sia berkembang dgn sendirinya..tp still lagi undang2 kita yg tertinggi adalah Perlembagaan Persekutuan..adalah dalam artikel, bhw mana2 undang2 yg inconsistent dgn perlembagaan, ianya tak sah..so, kira pangkat tertinggi la ni..so, isunya, ada tak mana2 undang2 syariah kat m’sia ni inconsistent dgn perlembagaan??sudah tentu ada..byk isu sebelum ni…cthnya, kes Lina Joy..takper, nnt aku kupas lagi..kena tungguuuuuuu…….:)

13th May...pendapat aku jer..

Hari ini adalah 13.5.2008..bagi yg concern dgn tarikh 13th May pasti tau sejerah yg ada.pada yg tak minat pada sejarah,mesti buat tak amik port..penting sangat ke tarikh tersebut?bagi aku dan sapa2 yang baca tentu tak penah alami keadaan mcm tu..

Tahun 1969, pada tanggal 13 mei, berlaku peristiwa berdarah di Malaysia.pada tahun tu dh ada nama malaysia..boleh dikatakan rusuhan antara kaum..skrg ni, seperti rusuhan2 @ pergaduhan2 antara kaum yg berlaku di negara2 Afrika, negara2 Arab..puncanya, may be sama je, memerlukan hak dan kuasa mutlak ke atas sesuatu negara..cth senang, dlm negara P, ada berbilang kaum terdiri daripada kaum Q,R dan S..masing2 tak bleh tolak ansur dgn pendirian dan pegangan masing2..maka, satu cara yg ada adalah melalui pertumpahan darah..kan zaman dulu2, sapa yg kuat dia la yg berkuasa..itu aku punya presumption..

Aku bkn nk singkap sejarah lama ataupun membuka api perkauman (kalau ada, mampus aku kena tahan)..tp kita ambik apa hikmah disebalik apa yg terjadi..well, mcm lagu New Boyz, sejarah mungkin berulang..kita bkn mintak, tp berhati2..

Lately ni, selepas kekalahan besar kerajaan yg telah memerintah selama 50 tahun, mcm2 bunyi yg ada...ketuanan melayu, hak org melayu, dan sampaikan raja2 melayu pun terkena tempias..ish..ish..fyi, aku ni bkn pro kerajaan..hehe..tapi aku tgk dari sudut tgh2..not very pada opposition..bunyi2 mcm ni la yg boleh membakar api perkauman..pada aku, ni pendapat aku, bila aku tgk tv, aku sbg org melayu pun marah bile ada coverage pasal benda ni..rasa mcm terlebih2 pulak..tu blm lg kaum2 yg lain..aku bkn apa, nnt ckp aku ni tak kuat melayu..hehe..member2 pon sama, ckp itu ini la..kita kena ingat, dok dalam malaysia ni, bkn melayu jer..cina, india, kaum2 lain kat sabah sarawak tu pun ada...jgn la kita pinggirkan kaum2 yg lain..klu dlm berita tu, berpada2 la..bkn Ali jer yg nk tgk berita, Ah Chong, Muthu, Jason pun nk tgk..meluat la kalau lebih2..mcm before general election..

So, antara moral yg bleh kita share, hidup la dalam keadaan bersatu padu, saling tolong menolong...mcm dulu2..

mmg susah nk hidup dalam negera pelbagai kaum..even sesama kaum pun tak bleh bersatu..kena la bertolak ansur dan bekerjasama, cewahh...hehe..

Ok la, aku dh mula melalut ni..see u again..chow sin chii..

mama...

Peace…assalamualaikum semua..aku nk k.i.v dulu story pasal undang2 m’sia..aku nk bawa topic sempena hari ibu..jeng…jeng..before that, selamat hari ibu pada mak aku..khadijah bte hassan..Al-fatihah buat arwah mak kandung aku, rokiah bte hassan yg telah lama kembali ke Rahmatullah…fyi, mak kandung aku dh lama meninggal dunia, sejak aku kecik lagi..tak la kecik sgt, sedang2 nakal, yg aku ingat sebelum aku sekolah lagi..pastu, abah aku kawen dgn adik arwah mak aku..pasal aku dan beberapa abang2 masih lg kecik waktu tu..

Nk story pasal hari ibu, last sabtu, member aku hantar mesej kat kwn2, pasal dia terserempak dgn satu keadaan yg agak derhaka..cerita dia mcm ni, ada seorg bdk perempuan, aku agak sekolah rendah pergi shopping ngan ibu dan ayahnya..pastu, dia minta ibunya membeli sehelai seluar slack paras lutut..diulang, bdk ni perempuan..mak dia tak kasi beli..korg tau apa si anak tu ckp, dgn nada yg agak kuat sampaikan member aku pon bleh dgr..”beli la mak, ayah dh bagi, bkn duit DIA pun…”

Well, itu la nilai moral@akhlak anak2 zaman skrg..mak sendiri pun tak hormat..agak2nya, apa mak dia akan buat??lempang?pukul?huh, aku rasa mak zaman skrg, nk jentik anak pun rasa sayang. Cikgu rotan anak pun dh pegi turun naik mahkamah.punya la sayang pada anak..tp anak2 yg tak tau nk balas jasa mak.bila mak dh tak ada, tgk la sendiri betapa susahnya mcm dalam rancangan “Bersamamu”. Selagi ada insan bernama mak, jangan la diabaikan..make her happy selalu, syurga la tempat org yg menyenangkan hati ibu..

Take care n peace..no war against your mother..SELAMAT HARI IBU…

our laws...

hahaha...aku nk gelak pada sistem undang2 ciptaan barat..yg kita adaptasi skrg nie..untuk makluman semua, kita ambik undang2 barat (British) sbg undang2 negara kita (dh tentu bkn semua)..but, bentuk dan isinya adalah merupakan celupan dari sistem british..nk wat mcm mana??kita pon diperintah oleh diorg dahulu..Tapi...boleh ke undang2 ni digantikan???

soalan ni ada mcm2 jwpn...bg yg nk ubah, diorg bg hujah2, kata boleh...bg yg taknak, ada la pulak alasan diorg kata tak boleh..hakikatnya, terletak pada kita sendiri(kerajaan la)..

atas sebab2 tertentu, kita masih lagi mengekalkan apa yg di bawa oleh British ke Tanah Melayu..

nanti aku kupas apa alasan2 diorg taknak ubah undang2 malaysia..tungguuuuuuu.......