Now I normally do the match write-ups but the events that have unravelled over the past few days have me somewhat riled and a little bit bitter.
We all know now that our somewhat gaffe prone CEO Garry Cook has been forced into a position where he finds himself no other recourse but to resign. The board accepted this tendered resignation “with regret.”
We now have to say goodbye to a man who has changed the face of the club beyond the imagination of any fans. He has developed sound and cutting edge infrastructure, overseen the signings of some of the best players in the world, set out plans to develop the club far beyond the current position. He has in my opinion, been key to the development and growth of City and other than the new owners has been the most important figure in turning us from a destabilised club living in the shadows of our unfriendly neighbours, into Champions League contenders with probably the strongest squad in Europe.
Now don’t get me wrong, Garry Cook is truly gaffe prone, although the press, who seem to jump on anything in an effort to destabilise City, have magnified every gaffe to disproportionate levels. But everyone makes gaffes and that doesn’t make you a bad CEO. Cook was liked around the club and has made huge efforts to make the “fan experience” a memorable and enjoyable one.
Should Cook have resigned? In my opinion yes. He made an incorrect judgement call when denying that he was responsible for sending the email. It was a crass and hurtful email, indeed it had stupidity written all over it. Cook should have apologised, admitted his gross stupidity and made a generous donation to Christie’s on behalf of Dr Onuoha. He may have been reprimanded but losing his job would not have been an option. Unfortunately Cook appeared to attempt to mislead people over how the email was sent. This puts him in an untenable position as trust has been lost.
What has me riled though is the timing of events and the way it has been portrayed in the press. As I understand it (and I may be incorrect and if I am I apologise and admit my mistake) the email was written a long time ago. I also understand there were issues between the tripartite of Messrs Onuoha, Manchester City and the FA over representation (the details of which can be found in various reported news articles). Following on from this I also understand (and once again I may be incorrect) that Nedum Onuoha was poised to sign for Everton on loan but due to issues surrounding wages, the deal failed to materialise on transfer deadline day. After this as I understand it “Emailgate” occurred.
City are going places and it seems to me there are people in and around the game that don’t like this. The way certain journalists portray the club and events surrounding it seem vehemently anti-City and clearly are written with pre-judgement and a negative twist.
I don’t want to judge any of the key characters in this sorry tale. I love Nedum Onuoha and have watched his career since he was playing for the youth and reserves. I truly liked Garry Cook and have a great deal of respect for the man and his achievements. I am of the opinion that he should have resigned due to his poor initial response to the allegations. But I am becoming more and more cheesed off with certain journalists and the seeming vindictiveness in the way this series of events has resulted in the loss of a great contributor to the Blue Revolution.
Both the Club and the Fans deserve better treatment. We have gone from ‘ickle City’ to a genuine power in European Football with a squad that only Barcelona can match for depth and talent. What is clear to me is that there are almost certainly people that don’t like this and will do and write anything in a sad attempt to destabilise the Club.
UPCOMING FIXTURES:
all times GMT+1
Sa 10 Sep 15:00 Wigan, The Etihad, PL
We 14 September 19:45 Napoli, The Etihad, CLGS1
*Su 18 Sep 15:00 Fulham, Craven Cottage, PL
We 21 Sep 19:45 Birmingham, The Etihad, LC3
Sa 24 Sep 12:45 Everton, The Etihad, PL
Tu 27 September 19:45 Bayern Munich, Allianz Arena,
CLGS2
* Date Change
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