Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood Slams 'Greedy' Players

Hill-Wood is all too aware that times have changed since he first took charge of the Gunners’ board 26 years ago.

The 72-year-old fondly remembers the days when players would go about their business without so much a whisper about wage demands; when their focus was purely on the performing for the team rather than fattening their wallets.

“They played for the love of the game and the love of the club,” he said.

“Nowadays, a lot of people sign four-year contracts and you heave a sigh of relief. Six months later they come marching in saying they want double the wages.

“The only answer is to tell them they are on that contract and that’s it. Unless you do that, the game will become chaotic and descend into anarchy.

“I think there are very few people who have really got the tradition of the club at heart. You can name them on one hand. Actually I can’t name them on one hand and that’s a great pity.”


This is not to say Hill-Wood does not appreciate the importance of money in modern football – in fact, quite the contrary.

The former vice-chairman of Hambros Bank is largely responsible for Arsenal’s financial success over the last couple of decades, teaming with manager Arsene Wenger (pictured) to build top teams without mass expenditure.

But the Old Etonian insisted there has been shift in focus during that time, claiming money has become the lead rather than the supporting act it used to be.

“In the old days money was not the big driving force,” said Hill-Wood. “Nobody was greedy. People didn’t come marching in for pay rises, be they executives, senior managers, players, whatever.

“People weren’t motivated by the money. They liked the job, they liked the club and they wanted to go to work in the morning. Everyone has become much more materialistic.

“I think that is one of the reasons why Arsene signs younger players. OK, they will probably walk out in five years but at least he has the opportunity to mould them.

“But some of the so-called stars have got their own ideas about what should happen and don’t always agree with what we think.”

But Arsenal, like all big clubs, have had to move with the times. While they may not be paying their players Chelsea-like figures, their wage structure is far from minimalist.

Spanish star Cesc Fabregas is set to become the latest Gunner to receive a pay rise, as the 21-year-old prepares to pen a new ₤90,000-per-week deal.

And Hill-Wood believes the biggest obstacles in keeping the wage bill down are the players’ egos.

“If you pay a player a salary, you must assume the rest of the team know within five minutes of him walking out of the door what he has got,” he said.

“And they quite often exaggerate. It happens when they go away to play for their country. They talk up their own salaries, but you’ve just got to keep firm and sensible and if people go and leave you, well, tough.

“But I don’t think you can keep putting the wages up and the price of tickets up. You have got to somehow balance the books.”


Arsenal are renowned for their refusal to indulge in mega-money transfers, a philosophy which has earned praise from many purists and scorn from many disgruntled fans.

The club is yet to top their club-record ₤13million transfer fee, which they paid for French forward Sylvain Wiltord in 2000, and are unlikely to do so this summer while Wenger remains in charge.

“Arsene said to me a long, long time ago there was no point in him spending a lot of silly money and bankrupting the club because he’d be out of a job,” said Hill-Wood.

“We are going to go on this way. We are not going to be diverted. We are not going to spend £100m.”