Arrogant

[WTF11]

It was never my intention to start a war of words, just the observation that when arsenal don?t get the results they want they kick off blaming all and sundry, I look at our humble manager who is gracious in defeat, I agree arsenal are a very good side but like mr Ferguson at Man Utd was they want it all their own way.

Perhaps being gracious in defeat comes with practice?😉

[spaldy]

Remind me how many times you've shopped at walmart? How many employees or city officials you've talked to here in the US. You really have no ****ing clue what goes on here in the US other than your limited visits here interacting with people that make well above average wages, live in urban areas and have pensions and health insurance. Something most of us don't have. It's kind of like making judgements about the UK using the prism of London as the basis of the whole UK acts and thinks.

Of course, no one here stateside wants to go to walmart but when they've bought or run everyone out of town at some point you don't really have a choice in a lot of areas. They use government welfare programs to give benefits to Walmart employees in these areas to fund the destruction of the local retail and wholesale operations that actually pay good enough that they can't qualify for welfare.

And no Walmart wasn't the same as every other western world store when Sam was alive. I understand that all of us die so he wasn't going to be able to run it his way forever but this loathsome form or reptilian humanity sped up the degeneration much quicker than it likely would have happened. Other companies followed suit and the rest is history.

And no... nobody here other than rams fans think anything of the rams or this asshat. Second largest city in the US and they don't even sell out all of their games. They are plastic fan mecca of pro sports in the US

If it makes you feel better I retract my prayer for your wife and your pain at your loss and reflect on the shame of wishing a fellow human beings support on his loss.

[WTF11]

Remind me how many times you've shopped at walmart? How many employees or city officials you've talked to here in the US. You really have no ****ing clue what goes on here in the US other than your limited visits here interacting with people that make well above average wages, live in urban areas and have pensions and health insurance. Something most of us don't have. It's kind of like making judgements about the UK using the prism of London as the basis of the whole UK acts and thinks.

Of course, no one here stateside wants to go to walmart but when they've bought or run everyone out of town at some point you don't really have a choice in a lot of areas. They use government welfare programs to give benefits to Walmart employees in these areas to fund the destruction of the local retail and wholesale operations that actually pay good enough that they can't qualify for welfare.

And no Walmart wasn't the same as every other western world store when Sam was alive. I understand that all of us die so he wasn't going to be able to run it his way forever but this loathsome form or reptilian humanity sped up the degeneration much quicker than it likely would have happened. Other companies followed suit and the rest is history.

And no... nobody here other than rams fans think anything of the rams or this asshat. Second largest city in the US and they don't even sell out all of their games. They are plastic fan mecca of pro sports in the US

If it makes you feel better I retract my prayer for your wife and your pain at your loss and reflect on the shame of wishing a fellow human beings support on his loss.

Answer to your questions;

During the several YEARS I spent LIVING in (not “visiting”) the USA, I suspect I have shopped at Walmart dozens of times, in various locations on the north east coast (New York), west coast (Sacramento mainly), and southern east coast (various locations in Florida), although I’m not sure how that is relevant, other than that it allows me to compare that experience with shopping at ASDA here in the UK, which was owned by Walmart up to 2021 and from memory would appear to work along similar lines when you refer to employees and the working environment.

I had a great deal of liaison with US city officials whilst living in the USA, particularly when the new ticketing systems for the Florida scheme were introduced. Again I fail to see what the relevance of the query is, other than it being driven by your continued incapacity to accept that I wasn’t “visiting” the USA.

As for not having a clue, I suggest you look in the mirror. Have you ever worked on railroad systems and services? Some of the poorest paid in the US do, and I have had the pleasure, and I use that word advisedly, of working alongside the staff who regularly had to face irate commuters who hadn’t bothered to make sure they had a valid ticket, or who felt that they weren’t being “adequately treated” by station staff simply trying to keep the railroad functioning. I suggest it is you have no clue, particularly as to my working experience and those I have worked with, in the US and elsewhere.

As for Walmarts “tactics”, who allowed those tactics to be employed? State and Federal laws would have to facilitate such actions, and who voted for the legislators, YOU and your fellow Americans. If you want change to that environment then campaign, do something about it instead of venting your spleen with no result whatsoever

I say again, Kroenke and others in positions of power in just about any sphere of business activity will do what the laws of the land allow (and sometimes more than that), and if you think Trump is some kind of consumer champion then you are more deluded than I thought. He will do whatever he likes, irrespective of the consequences, to anyone and everyone, as long as he thinks it will be advantageous to Donald J Trump.

And the Rams? I don’t care much about them either, but the evidence (and I mean EVIDENCE) of what preceded his takeover of the franchise would suggest they are in a better place than they would have been had they stayed in St Louis, and they have after all won a Super Bowl since he relocated them.

And your retraction? Doesn’t affect me one way or another. Your debased remarks about the Kroenkes marriage illustrate just how degraded your thinking is, so how could an expression of sympathy from such a person be of any worth?

[spaldy]

I"ll be direct in my answer since that seems to be one of your sticking points.

My uncle worked 33 years for the IL central railroad and retired. I insure railroads.

11% of private sector workers in the US have a pension. A chunk of Trumps employees have pensions. 0% of walmart employees have pensions. Of course, I'm sure that the municipal employees you interacted with had nothing but good to say about what Walmart did to their community. Take Walmart to court for an issue and you are legally destroyed.

Of course, don't worry. 90%+ of federal employees have pensions. All are fully funded by the serfs that don't have a pension.

You've convinced me. Kroenke is a great guy and one that everyone wishes they could work for or have their favorite team owned by him. He represents the best of the work ethic and capitalism that the US offers.

[whitestomper45]

Hey Spaldy, dont let that jerk work you up? Kroenke ? isn?t he the guy who wanted a sports channel that included shooting/killing Elephants? And as you mention at the heart of breakaway league.. MOT

[WTF11]

I"ll be direct in my answer since that seems to be one of your sticking points.

My uncle worked 33 years for the IL central railroad and retired. I insure railroads.

11% of private sector workers in the US have a pension. A chunk of Trumps employees have pensions. 0% of walmart employees have pensions. Of course, I'm sure that the municipal employees you interacted with had nothing but good to say about what Walmart did to their community. Take Walmart to court for an issue and you are legally destroyed.

Of course, don't worry. 90%+ of federal employees have pensions. All are fully funded by the serfs that don't have a pension.

You've convinced me. Kroenke is a great guy and one that everyone wishes they could work for or have their favorite team owned by him. He represents the best of the work ethic and capitalism that the US offers.

I’m glad you have some blue-collar heritage, but puzzled why you should think I don’t? My grandfather was a toolmaker in a textile mill in Yorkshire, my dad was an engineer in a similar factory, rising to Chief Engineer for a well-known knitting yarn manufacturer, I started work is a wool worsted spinning mill that made the cloth that Roger Moore had made up for his suits (he happened to own half the mill so that was kind of inevitable).

I still not sure what point you are trying to make. That Kroenke is, as you put it, an arch-capitalist? I suspect he isn’t alone. That he exploits the workforce of the companies he owns? Ditto. That he sees making money as his main driver when he acquires and/or makes further investments in business, including sports franchises? Again, ditto. This was one of the reasons I went to the trouble of identifying each and every owner/consortium related to PL clubs. THEY ARE ALL THE SAME, just that Kroenke, for one reason or another, seems better at it than most, and is in the habit of creating successful sports teams to boot.

Contrary to WS’s assertion, I AM NOT trying to wind anyone up, just keen to understand why Arsenal, and by association at least, Kroenke, should be targeted for such ire, when ALL the other PL clubs owners have the same ambition, to make money, one way or another, and will trample underfoot those who stand in their way.

And I'm most certainly NOT trying to convince you that Kroenke is anything other than the arch-capitalist you describe him as

The above having been said, your comments regarding the Kroenkes marriage remain indefensible. We may cross metaphorical swords now and then, but those comments really are beneath you.

[spaldy]

My uncle worked on some of the famous 4-8-2's. The IL central was a great railroad and the first last grant railroad in the country. It's a huge reason why Chicago grew the way it did. The rest of that side of the family was coal miners. The antipathy toward people like Kroenke is real and deep. His type have been the bane of our country.

I know it's difficult to process but the difference of someone Like Trump versus this parasite. Trump lives for deals and winning but the difference is that he shares the spoils of victory with his employees or the country. He takes more than his equal share but he also risks so much more than a line employee. Some of the best US companies/industries were created by people like him.

The other side of the coin is people like Kroenke. A classic "carpetbagger" in every sense. He takes something previously built and loots everything he can out of it. He's the type that loots pension funds, employee stock ownership programs and earnings. He eliminates or reduces health insurance, raises and bonus. Most importantly, he adds no real long term value.

There is a big difference. The former adds value that can benefit the masses. These create companies that enrich and add value to the whole. The latter is a parasite that loots and destroys and then blames it on the workers. The end result is lower living standard for all.

I have little doubt that my assessment of his marriage is spot on. It's not like someone that screws masses of employees, many long term loyal, for his personal benefit has the ability to love. However, they do understand fear. The loss of his billions of dollars of walmart income eliminates his ablity to make more money and power.

[WTF11]

My uncle worked on some of the famous 4-8-2's. The IL central was a great railroad and the first last grant railroad in the country. It's a huge reason why Chicago grew the way it did. The rest of that side of the family was coal miners. The antipathy toward people like Kroenke is real and deep. His type have been the bane of our country.

I know it's difficult to process but the difference of someone Like Trump versus this parasite. Trump lives for deals and winning but the difference is that he shares the spoils of victory with his employees or the country. He takes more than his equal share but he also risks so much more than a line employee. Some of the best US companies/industries were created by people like him.

The other side of the coin is people like Kroenke. A classic "carpetbagger" in every sense. He takes something previously built and loots everything he can out of it. He's the type that loots pension funds, employee stock ownership programs and earnings. He eliminates or reduces health insurance, raises and bonus. Most importantly, he adds no real long term value.

There is a big difference. The former adds value that can benefit the masses. These create companies that enrich and add value to the whole. The latter is a parasite that loots and destroys and then blames it on the workers. The end result is lower living standard for all.

I have little doubt that my assessment of his marriage is spot on. It's not like someone that screws masses of employees, many long term loyal, for his personal benefit has the ability to love. However, they do understand fear. The loss of his billions of dollars of walmart income eliminates his ablity to make more money and power.

I was hoping for......I don't really know, some semblance of reason and humanity, being better than those you hold in such low regard and perhaps a little less self-righteous indignation when you're so far divorced from their world that you really can't claim to know anything "real" about them. None of that unfortunately

We have similar (albeit smaller-scale) this side of the pond. Time spent on even thinking about them is time wasted. Time is easily wasted, never to be regained. If my situation was different i dont think I would have posted on the thread, better things to do then.

I genuinely wanted to know what you (and others) felt distinguishes this particular sports franchise owner from all the rest.

Answer came there none.