It would “be crazy” to ignore Arsene Wenger’s suspicions that doping exists in football, as the lucrative prizes on offer mean there is an “incentive to cheat,” according to Tony Scholes, the CEO of Premier League side Stoke City.
Scholes said that Wenger’s standing in the game meant it was “impossible” to ignore his comments, in which the Arsenal manager told L’Equipe magazine that he had “never injected my players to make them better” but there had been a team he had faced not “in that frame of mind.”
Wenger made his comments after a Dynamo Zagreb player, Arijan Ademi, failed a drug test following its Champions League victory over Arsenal in September last year.
Scholes, who has been CEO of Stoke City since '01, said, “When someone like that [Wenger] makes a comment as he did on drug taking then it would be crazy to ignore it. It was an alarming comment to make. All sport, especially football, where the prizes are so great, there is an incentive for people to cheat. I have got absolutely no knowledge, experience, never heard a rumor, no, not at all [of doping in football]. But that doesn’t mean you can be complacent.”
Scholes was responding to a question about doping during an interview with SBD Global, in which he talked about Stoke’s global ambitions; his admiration for Leicester City’s achievements this season in the Premier League; concern about the plethora of foreign owners in the top flight, and his expectation that the Premier League juggernaut will not come off the rails.
SOLID RESULTS: Stoke has established itself as a fixture in the Premier League since it was promoted in '08.
Currently positioned ninth, ahead of Everton and Chelsea, Stoke is seen as having a strong season so far, and also reached the semifinal of the League Cup.
In the past, critics -- including Wenger -- have blasted Stoke for its combative and tough-tackling style of play.
However, this season, under the guidance of Manager Mark Hughes, the team is playing a more expansive style of play, helped by a clutch of overseas stars such as Spanish playmaker Bojan and Austrian winger Marko Arnautovic.
Despite a number of impressive overseas signings, Scholes said, “Normally we prefer to take an English player because the further away from Stoke you take the player, the higher risk he won’t settle in.”
The more attractive style of play is helping woo more fans to Stoke, both locally and globally, according to Scholes.
“On a global scale, we’re up against the giants of Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, and it’s very difficult to compete globally for fans of clubs of that size. That said, we played away at Leicester City and we sold out, we played at Anfield on Tuesday and sold out, we play Everton here and we have sold out. All our social media scores are rocketing. Achieving some success and doing it in an attractive manner will attract more fans, and we'll do that on a global scale.”
WORLD TOUR: While a team the size of Stoke, whose average home attendance is 27,000, can’t compete domestically and internationally for support against the Premier League giants, expanding its global fan base has been on the radar for some time.
Currently, the club has just a few thousand supporters in the U.S., but it is looking to tour the country again, complementing a move to building its brand in other territories, such as Singapore, where it toured last year when competing in the Asia Cup, and where star names like Peter Crouch help raised the club’s profile.
Stoke also has a relationship -- understood to run across scouting and commercial -- with Major League Socer side Orlando City, which was founded by former Stoke Dir Phil Rawlins.
U.S. national team player Geoff Cameron has made more than 100 appearances for Stoke, and other U.S. players such as Maurice Edu have played for the club, too.
“It’s clear from the viewing figures from NBC that Stoke City is very popular in the U.S. We will be doing more going forward. We will be continuing to market ourselves and probably increase that in the future," said Scholes, who also pointed to the improved strength of players coming out of the MLS, which could help with recruitment going forward.
Stoke has taken some big scalps this season, beating Man City and ManU.
But much of the talk has been about another smaller team, Leicester City, which is currently top of the table.
“I think it’s fantastic [what has happened at Leicester]. Every credit to them,” Scholes said.
"I think it’s fantastic that in the Premier League, unlike some of the other major leagues in Europe, there are a number of teams who can win it. There are a number of teams who can break into the top four, and there are a group of teams, and Leicester have clearly shown themselves to be one of them -- I hope we are also one of them -- who are outside of the traditional top five and have the ability to do very well.”
DEEP ROOTS: Stoke is owned by the betting giant Bet365, which was founded by Stoke-born Chair Peter Coates.
Coates and Scholes pride themselves on the work the club does with the local community.
Bet365, for example, employs around 2,500 people in Stoke and the club offers its fans free coach travel to away games.
With so many foreign owners in today’s Premier League, fixated on share price and global sponsorship deals, Stoke’s umbilical cord is connected firmly to the community.
Scholes is ambivalent on whether the wave of foreign owners has proved a positive influence, admitting that he is not a fan of some imported practices, but would not be drawn on which ones.
“To be a good owner, they have got to understand the challenge, the opportunities,” Scholes said.
“And actually on the opportunities is where foreign owners can really add something to the Premier League because they will sometimes be seeing things from different perspectives based on their own domestic environment.”
It seems unlikely that as long as Scholes and Coates remain in place, Stoke will be sold to a foreign owner.
But with so much money now percolating in the Premier League through TV deals, clubs like Stoke can compete more evenly against the giants of the game.
The last round of U.K. TV rights went for £5.1B ($7.3B), a 71% uplift on last time.
Will it be a bigger jump next time? “I wouldn’t bet against it,” Scholes said.
