Garry Cook [merged]

[BlueSince72]

Cook was an embarrassment today and I'm sure it will not go unnoticed in the middle east. He turned the whole thing into an excuse along the lines "it wasn't me who acted unprofessionally in sacking Hughsie before/during/after a match...."

The whole thing should have been separated, the press conference should have been a welcome to Mancini.....it would have been better to answer questions on Hughes, get it all out of the way and then bring Mancini to the table for a big positive "here's our new manager....the poor bloke must wonder what he's come to. Also to leave Mancini to answer some of the more venomous questions was in the least ungentlemanly and at most downright unprofessional....get the muppet out ASAP!!

[Ted Hughes]

Cook is obviously an arse but tbf, if it's true that the whole thing was delayed so that Khaldoon could fly over to sack MH personally then the whole proceedure shows a deep misunderstanding of PR, decency, common sense etc. The idea that Hughes would prefer to be told personally of his fate by Khaldoon in some misguided sense of honour AFTER the game rather than just sacked by Cook two days earlier shows a remarkable level of self importance/arrogance by Khaldoon that beggars belief & bodes ill for the future. If it's not true then Cook should be sacked immediately for saying it's what happened.

I wanted Hughes to stay & have grown to like him but I would be disappointed if Frank Clark had been treated the same. It's just not right & it doesn't just reflect badly on Cook. It's giving everyone an excuse to hate us.

[mcfc1632]

Are you guys starting on Cook because it is too early to start on Mancini

'Our prime target is dead (Hughes) long live out next prime target..."

Cook is judged on business deals - in the area Cook is employed he has clearly demonstrated his business acumen is way beyon the next best in the PL - and that muppet Kenyon is an amateur by comparison - yes - a bit of a gaffe merchant and I wish he was more polished- but are you only able to judge by superficial things

BTW - re the gaffes - Milan bottled and tried to make our club look bad / small - I would rather have an exec with the balls to say it as it is rather than kow tow to these established clubs

Re the press conference - I have not seen it yet - but I hope he gave those journos what for - bunch of back-stabbing / two-faced vultures - been trying to bring Hughes down for ages and now trying to look as if they are offended on his behalf - some on this site could be journos

And re all this Hughes was treated bad because Mancini was set up 1st etc......

Anyone with this view is simply ignorant

It is a strangely 'football thing' that managers are sacked and then you search for a replacement leaving some assistant in charge and having a vacuum

If you are going to sack someone - do it professionally and that (in most walks of life) means that you identify the successor and support staff to put it in place immediately - I have had to sack / replace senior people many times in my life and of course I would prefer to have things all lined up - why on earth do people think otherwise.

The issue here was with the leak - 1)It was right that Mancini get sorted 1st, 2) It was respect that Khaldoon do the face to face - just whoever leaked it should be sacked on the spot

[Ted Hughes]

Are you guys starting on Cook because it is too early to start on Mancini

'Our prime target is dead (Hughes) long live out next prime target..."

Cook is judged on business deals - in the area Cook is employed he has clearly demonstrated his business acumen is way beyon the next best in the PL - and that muppet Kenyon is an amateur by comparison - yes - a bit of a gaffe merchant and I wish he was more polished- but are you only able to judge by superficial things

BTW - re the gaffes - Milan bottled and tried to make our club look bad / small - I would rather have an exec with the balls to say it as it is rather than kow tow to these established clubs

Re the press conference - I have not seen it yet - but I hope he gave those journos what for - bunch of back-stabbing / two-faced vultures - been trying to bring Hughes down for ages and now trying to look as if they are offended on his behalf - some on this site could be journos

Well he didn't give them what for, he just bumbled along & made a twat of himself. If he had made a decent job of defending his/our actions, it wouldn't be so bad but he was shite & we should have someone who performs better, even if they're bullshitting.

[john68]

Therin lies the problem mate. I don't know enough about Cook's day to day job but his record would seem to show that he is very good at it.
What we do know, is that he is not very skillful on the public stage and is prone to cock ups.
The simple answer is to put forward a personality who is good on the public stage, who understands how the British press works and has an ability to relate to them. If our owners are interested in building us up to be a Worldclass brand, Image is ALL omportant.

The radio reportage tonight mentioned Mancini where necessary but focussed on Cook's reaction, instead of the other way round. Cook is clearly out of his depth when dealing with the media.

[mcfc1632]

Therin lies the problem mate. I don't know enough about Cook's day to day job but his record would seem to show that he is very good at it.
What we do know, is that he is not very skillful on the public stage and is prone to cock ups.
The simple answer is to put forward a personality who is good on the public stage, who understands how the British press works and has an ability to relate to them. If our owners are interested in building us up to be a Worldclass brand, Image is ALL omportant.

The radio reportage tonight mentioned Mancini where necessary but focussed on Cook's reaction, instead of the other way round. Cook is clearly out of his depth when dealing with the media.

You are right - get a 'front of house' person - press office should do most stuff - probably Cook felt the need to be there this time to avoid accusations of 'hiding'

But there is a 'baby and bath water' attitude with some of the comments from fans who seem to only comment on visual / shallow stuff - we need to get our business in good shape - major sponsorships - major strategic alliances - major promotion overseas - this Cook has been delivering big time.

You do not get rid of someone doing all the important things well because of fancy dancing stuff - you make sure the press officer deals with the press

[john68]

The club has problems with the press that go back many years. In 1970 Eric Thornton who had been a well respected City journalist, wrote that the City directors as far back as the 30s were questioning what they had to do to get press coverage as good as the rags.

It has been an ongoing problem that City never learned to deal with and still haven't.

In this time of the "SOUNDBITE" and "IMAGE"...It is crucial that we employ someone who is adept in this department.

[Kiss_The_Goat]

Watching it again just now, I just wish he'd chill out. He seems like he's totally on the edge. This isn't a man at ease with this sort of situation, which as a CEO of a top football club, he needs to be. He needs to look calm and in control, and not rise to the gutter press' bait. If he had stayed relaxed and collected and answered questions with confidence and purpose all would be fine. Its not like he was thrown a curve ball. He surely knew what was going to be asked and had plenty of time to prepare his answers? I found his display bizarre, more than anything today.
There is clearly mounting pressure on him from the owners. As replacing Hughes shows, they are not happy with how this season has started.

[john68]

For all the judgments about Cook in the public arean, what we don't know, is just how good/bad he is when privatelt getting on with job. For all we know (and we don't know) he may be fuckin brilliant.
I know plenty of people who are great at what they do and very talented, but they would fall to pieces if they had to go under the public spotlight.
Remove him from these situations and insert someone who thrives on it, feels comfortable and looks and plays the part with ease....and a touch of charisma.

My suit has been cleaned, tie pressed, my shoes polished....and am sat by the phone.

[Slim]

Read what everyone who has met him thinks, that should give you a clue to the sort of person he is, and as for his job...well I can't imagine he is some sort of buffoon as we know they sack buffoons, as recently as Saturday.

[Chopper]

For all the judgments about Cook in the public arean, what we don't know, is just how good/bad he is when privatelt getting on with job. For all we know (and we don't know) he may be fuckin brilliant.
I know plenty of people who are great at what they do and very talented, but they would fall to pieces if they had to go under the public spotlight.
Remove him from these situations and insert someone who thrives on it, feels comfortable and looks and plays the part with ease....and a touch of charisma.

My suit has been cleaned, tie pressed, my shoes polished....and am sat by the phone.

I know someone......

He looks like Montgomery Burns

[Kiss_The_Goat]

For all the judgments about Cook in the public arean, what we don't know, is just how good/bad he is when privatelt getting on with job. For all we know (and we don't know) he may be fuckin brilliant.
I know plenty of people who are great at what they do and very talented, but they would fall to pieces if they had to go under the public spotlight.
Remove him from these situations and insert someone who thrives on it, feels comfortable and looks and plays the part with ease....and a touch of charisma.

My suit has been cleaned, tie pressed, my shoes polished....and am sat by the phone.

He may be brilliant behind the scenes but that is only half of his job and doesn't account for his blatant dishonesty and displays of disrespect to a manager and his team, that he help appoint. As CEO of a top Premiership football club he has to be able to deal with the press and press conferences in a more accomplished and professional manner and needs to stop bullshitting the press to their face if he wants to get them on his side. This is twice his lack of PR savvy has made us a laughing stock in the papers.

Cook has been murdered in the press today after that conference and all it does is reflect badly on the club, piss the players off further and piss of the journos who know the smell of bullshit when they smell it. What a mess he's created for himself by taking people for mugs and lying to their faces. I don't feel sorry for him at all. This isn't the way you do business if you want people to work with you and take you seriously.

[OliverHardy]

Its his job to be hated by everyone else, apart from us fans, he is the guy paid to do the dirty work, to do the will of the chairman. He acts dumb but didnt get to this position, or his former role within Nike by being dumb, he is a clever guy. Yes he may have said that Hughes' job was safe, but once the call came in from the boss everything changed, that doesnt make Cook two faced or sneeky.Lets not forget, it was him who played a HUGE role in presenting the proposition of City to the new owners. We owe Gary quite a lot more than people think. People say "he is making us a laughing stock" I say that he has made us one of the most high profile clubs around, its not just the money, its the things like "Welcome to Manchester" that has created this. And lets not forget how much 'closer' to us fans the club feels these days, the working on fans feedback, who do you think is ultimately responsible for this? Everyone hated (hates) Peter Kenyon, but at the end of the day these guys were put there to do a job, and Cook for one I feel is doing a great job! Yes he makes the odd public mistake, but that's the City way ;-)


thats just my view, what does anyone esle think?

[edge275]

Its his job to be hated by everyone else, apart from us fans, he is the guy paid to do the dirty work, to do the will of the chairman. He acts dumb but didnt get to this position, or his former role within Nike by being dumb, he is a clever guy. Yes he may have said that Hughes' job was safe, but once the call came in from the boss everything changed, that doesnt make Cook two faced or sneeky.Lets not forget, it was him who played a HUGE role in presenting the proposition of City to the new owners. We owe Gary quite a lot more than people think. People say "he is making us a laughing stock" I say that he has made us one of the most high profile clubs around, its not just the money, its the things like "Welcome to Manchester" that has created this. And lets not forget how much 'closer' to us fans the club feels these days, the working on fans feedback, who do you think is ultimately responsible for this? Everyone hated (hates) Peter Kenyon, but at the end of the day these guys were put there to do a job, and Cook for one I feel is doing a great job! Yes he makes the odd public mistake, but that's the City way ;-)


thats just my view, what does anyone esle think?

Great post and I very much agree. I thought he represented the club well last night, he has made the odd blunder in the past but he fought like tooth and nail for us last night.

[Rag_hater]

Its his job to be hated by everyone else, apart from us fans, he is the guy paid to do the dirty work, to do the will of the chairman. He acts dumb but didnt get to this position, or his former role within Nike by being dumb, he is a clever guy. Yes he may have said that Hughes' job was safe, but once the call came in from the boss everything changed, that doesnt make Cook two faced or sneeky.Lets not forget, it was him who played a HUGE role in presenting the proposition of City to the new owners. We owe Gary quite a lot more than people think. People say "he is making us a laughing stock" I say that he has made us one of the most high profile clubs around, its not just the money, its the things like "Welcome to Manchester" that has created this. And lets not forget how much 'closer' to us fans the club feels these days, the working on fans feedback, who do you think is ultimately responsible for this? Everyone hated (hates) Peter Kenyon, but at the end of the day these guys were put there to do a job, and Cook for one I feel is doing a great job! Yes he makes the odd public mistake, but that's the City way ;-)


thats just my view, what does anyone esle think?

Uptil now he has done a few things I've not been to impressed with but over the past couple of days he has redeemed himself for me and now I'm quite begining to like him.
Getting rid of clueless was a step in the right direction for me.

[carl_feedthegoat]

I DONT LIKE HIM.
HE,S A BUMBLING IDIOT WHEN HE IS UNDER PRESSURE.
HE CALLED US UNITED.
HE IS SNEAKY AND SPINELESS.
APART FROM THAT HE,S PERFECT.

BTW - IT,S HIS FUCKING JOB TO DEFEND MAN CITY F.C. SO HE GET,S NO CREDITS FROM ME FOR DOING WHAT HE GET,S PAID TO DO.

[s1ty m]

I am not sure what he has done wrong in the past couple of days. Hughes had to go. Cook got a new man in sharpish and the club has improved. If the press want to just hurl shit around, that's their problem.

[Chinners]

I liked him to begin with and now he's beginning to grate on me. Self obsessed two faced knob, he's now giving Kunton a run for his money

[OliverHardy]

the point is, he is not there to be liked, he is there to do the dirty work mainly. Ok, so some of us hate hime, some dont, BUT, do those who hate him not want him to be around or just think he is doing his job, but hate him anyway?

[MARKMAKAVELI]

I've been impressed with everything he has done. I'm not that bitter that I hate him for calling us United.

I don't know him personally so I can't say what he is like, although thats not stoppin you lot.

He is part of what has made our club seem professional and I'm happy with that contribution.