When Arsenal hired manager Herbert Chapman in 1925, the job ad told big spenders not to apply.
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Angry fans who have seen the London soccer team overtaken by lavishly funded rivals are now screaming for the club's US owner to bury that tradition.
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The club's billionaire majority shareholder Stan Kroenke is one of a new generation of foreign owners who have bought into the game in Britain, but while some of them have spent with abandon to get results on the field, Kroenke expects the club to stay true to sound financial principles.
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The order to control the purse strings didn't stop Chapman entering club folklore, leading Arsenal to the first of 13 league titles, making it the most successful team in England after Manchester United and Liverpool, but the trophy cupboard has been bare for several years.
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Arsenal, nicknamed "The Gunners" after the munitions factory workers that founded the club in 1886, last won the English Premier League in 2004 and lifted the FA Cup in 2005. They have won nothing since, and supporters who pack the plush Emirates stadium, the club's home since 2006, want a better return on some of the highest ticket prices in English soccer.
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Even the annual consolation of a place in the European Champions League, worth around 30 million pounds ($45 million), could slip from its grasp. The top four from the Premier League qualify for the competition, and Arsenal is currently fifth behind local rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
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Frustrated fans say the club is the victim of a lack of drive and investment by Kroenke, who took control two years ago in a deal valuing the club at 731 million pounds.
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Those who work for the 65-year-old Kroenke, who owns sports teams on both sides of the Atlantic, dismiss claims he is out of touch with English soccer and its passionate fans.
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"He understands sports. He understands Arsenal," club Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis said in an interview.
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"The guy I know is phenomenally ambitious for this football club and has given it support at every possible level," he added, saying Kroenke comes to London every month.
For me, Arsenal's problem is Arsene Wenger. He is the man that is hindering Arsenal's success. The man is stingy