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Mancini unleashes wrath on City's PR guru Vicky Kloss
12 May 2013 22:30
Following City’s distrastrous defeat to Wigan in the FA Cup final, Roberto Mancini launched into a withering attack on club chiefs - read a full transcript of the manager's comments here.

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Roberto Mancini
Following City’s distrastrous defeat to Wigan in the FA Cup final, Roberto Mancini launched into a withering attack on club chiefs who he believes should have stopped press reports that he is on the verge of being sacked.

Cramped in a small side room at Wembley late on Saturday night, the Blues boss hit out at the Etihad Stadium press team, including chief communications officer Vicky Kloss – who was standing in the room – for refusing to rubbish reports Malaga coach Manuel Pellegrini is set to take over.

MEN Sport’s Rob Dawson was there to witness it...

You said you don’t understand why the club haven’t stopped the reports?

Vicky, or the other people who work for the press, don’t stop this rubbish. You have written this for six months and in the last two weeks, it’s been too much. I don’t understand why. For football, I answer. For the press, you should talk to Vicky and the other people. If it’s true, it will be true. But for me, no. I’m happy to work for Manchester City. I’m happy with my job, about what we did in three years. I’m disappointed now because we lost this game.

Would you be happy to go to New York without knowing if you will keep your job?

No, I’m not happy. I’m not happy because the championship is very strong and the players need to recover. But if we need to go, I will go. We don’t have any problem. I work for the club.

Do you think the club should tell you if you have a future at City?

They don’t need to talk to me about the future. When you have a four-year contract, it’s true that every contract can be broken. But I don’t think they need to talk to me.

But it would be ridiculous to sack you, wouldn’t it?

In football, everything can happen. I was sacked after seven trophies with Inter.

There were the same reports at Inter, weren’t there?

Football is easy for the people who stay outside. It’s easy to talk on the outside. Now, we are talking about one situation, which for me is not true.

Why haven’t you asked anyone at City to stop these stories?

Because it’s not my job. I’m used to seeing these things in football.

These stories don’t help though, do they?

But I’m strong enough. I don’t need anyone to help me.

Were the players you signed last summer your players or did someone buy them for you?

We did a market in the last week. We didn’t have any other players. We chose these players because we didn’t move very quickly last year. We moved in the last week of August. We didn’t have these players in pre-season.

Did you sign those players because they were the only ones left?

The players that we took, I decided to take these players. But you need to move in February, March, April, May. August is difficult because you don’t have these players in pre-season.

Why did that happen?

Why? I don’t know why. Because the people that work for us didn’t do this well.

Does that include you?

We have a sporting director and a CEO. But now it’s in the past. We can do nothing. We didn’t win, we are disappointed and next year we start again.

Do you think City are a better club than Chelsea when it comes to sticking with a manager?

City, for me, is a serious club. The people that are in charge at Manchester City, like Khaldoon, are fantastic men. But this problem has come out because we didn’t stop all these things that you wrote for six months.

You said Vicky should stop these rumours but she can only do that if someone on the board tells her to?

Vicky is in charge, ask her. It’s difficult for me to say. I say to you one thing. When I worked for Inter Milan, for a month the newspapers wrote the same as you. I thought always, it’s not true, it’s not true, because we are winning. But after the Italian Cup final, I read a newspaper which is very close with Inter. One journalist wrote that Inter probably would sack me. In that moment I realised maybe it was true. I don’t know whether it’s true or not.

Do you get the same sense reading the English newspapers?

No, because it’s different. In Italy, sometimes, the newspapers are very close to the club.

But Inter sacked you and two years later they won the European Cup. They didn’t get the decision wrong, did they?

I built that team for four years. After two years, they won a Champions League.

With Sir Alex Ferguson retiring, is this an important time for City to have stability?

I don’t know. I can say what I think. For me, what you wrote for six months, in the last two weeks, it’s too much. Wait only one week and after, you will know if it’s true or not.

Arsene Wenger hasn’t won a trophy for eight years, David Moyes has never won a trophy. Why are you in this situation?

I don’t know. We need to work hard as a squad because when you start to win trophies, maybe you can think ‘we are the best team’. But it’s not true because you need to work harder and harder. If the people who work with us around the team are not strong enough for this job, they should improve. I’m strong. But together, I think we should improve.

Who are these people who aren’t stong enough?

The people, Vicky, the people that.. (cut off)

But you can’t blame Vicky?

I can’t stop the things that you write every day in the newspaper. For me, I don’t read the newspapers. But people say to me ‘are they sacking you?’ I don’t know if it’s true.

You say you don’t think it’s true but no-one has stopped it?

I think that you have written a lot of stupid things for six months. This is my opinion.

There are Spanish papers writing the same things?

Yes, also the Italian newspapers write what you write in England. This is normal, it’s your job. But, I repeat, I’m not a magician, I don’t know what can happen tomorrow, in one week or in two weeks.

Do you think a new manager will have to deal with the same things?

I don’t have any problem. I am very proud of my job in three years, very proud. We have always had support from the chairman, who I consider a top man. Tomorrow, anything can happen.

You’re still popular with the fans, do you think that will help you keep your job?

This is normal because we won. I don’t think there will ever be another manager who will win 6-1 at Old Trafford against Ferguson. I was the first manager who, after 30 years, took the banner from Old Trafford. We won one Premier League, we won one FA Cup, one Charity Shield. For this reason, I am very popular with the supporters. I love them, they love me. I am very happy for this. If I leave the club, I will be the first supporter of Manchester City in the future. Now, I can say nothing. I don’t know whether it’s true or not.

Would you be happy with your legacy if you did leave?

We can’t say this because I don’t think I will leave this squad. I think that we built a good team. This team need more players. We can’t think that in three years we built the best team in the world. You need time for this. We are not like United who did this for 50 years, or Milan or Barcelona. We need time to work. If for one year we don’t win, the work is not finished.

interesting.
it sounds like there's something cooking in the back, and in the same time Roberto sounds like he'd be really thankful for another year at this project, another chance.

I think he deserves another year. He makes mistakes, still I kinda like him.

Reporter was a bit of a prick with the way he asked the questions.

Lee_R wrote:Reporter was a bit of a prick with the way he asked the questions.

The thing is, he's having a go at Kloss and her team for incompetence, and they are simultaneously sat in the room allowing this reporter to ask these incendiary questions and Mancini to answer them.

Peter Doherty (AGAIG) wrote:

Lee_R wrote:Reporter was a bit of a prick with the way he asked the questions.

The thing is, he's having a go at Kloss and her team for incompetence, and they are simultaneously sat in the room allowing this reporter to ask these incendiary questions and Mancini to answer them.

Yep. Shambles.

BUT is she going to be the one to say.. 'We dont deny it because its true?'. Mancini is right, theyre not strong enough.

He is gone IMO and despite if I think he should be replaced or not we really are showing him a terrible lack of respect and that makes me ashamed of City right now.

Lee_R wrote:

Peter Doherty (AGAIG) wrote:

Lee_R wrote:Reporter was a bit of a prick with the way he asked the questions.

The thing is, he's having a go at Kloss and her team for incompetence, and they are simultaneously sat in the room allowing this reporter to ask these incendiary questions and Mancini to answer them.

Yep. Shambles.

BUT is she going to be the one to say.. 'We dont deny it because its true?'. Mancini is right, theyre not strong enough.

He is gone IMO and despite if I think he should be replaced or not we really are showing him a terrible lack of respect and that makes me ashamed of City right now.

You are right mate something here is seriously fucked up.

Clearly it's all wrong but I can't exactly see what could be done. First it sounded like the massive bets laid on Pelligrini made it sound like a cert he was coming in,the press get hold of it and we have a headline.City have 3 choices and chose to say nothing at all.

Should they have either flatly denied it's true or come out and said it's not true? Sounds like a lose lose situation. And it all feels really weird to have just blown up before the final when I had heard he was a gonner weeks ago.And that's from mere rumours within fans but also one or two very very close to the club.

Let's say there have been talks with Pelligrini and he is likely to come even if it's not a done deal yet, what should City have done that they haven't done.And don't just say they shouldn't have had talks with him in the first place.

gillie wrote:

Lee_R wrote:

Peter Doherty (AGAIG) wrote:

Lee_R wrote:Reporter was a bit of a prick with the way he asked the questions.

The thing is, he's having a go at Kloss and her team for incompetence, and they are simultaneously sat in the room allowing this reporter to ask these incendiary questions and Mancini to answer them.

Yep. Shambles.

BUT is she going to be the one to say.. 'We dont deny it because its true?'. Mancini is right, theyre not strong enough.

He is gone IMO and despite if I think he should be replaced or not we really are showing him a terrible lack of respect and that makes me ashamed of City right now.

You are right mate something here is seriously fucked up.

It's sad, there's no other word for it.

I'd say Kloss has done a pretty good job - no one's talking about the defeat to Wigan anymore, so she's buried that bad news brilliantly.

Douglas Higginbottom wrote:Clearly it's all wrong but I can't exactly see what could be done. First it sounded like the massive bets laid on Pelligrini made it sound like a cert he was coming in,the press get hold of it and we have a headline.City have 3 choices and chose to say nothing at all.

Should they have either flatly denied it's true or come out and said it's not true? Sounds like a lose lose situation. And it all feels really weird to have just blown up before the final when I had heard he was a gonner weeks ago.And that's from mere rumours within fans but also one or two very very close to the club.

Let's say there have been talks with Pelligrini and he is likely to come even if it's not a done deal yet, what should City have done that they haven't done.And don't just say they shouldn't have had talks with him in the first place.

You're right. Clearly the intention wasn't to release it yet, but once it's out, what do we do?

If City had denied it, it was a media problem waiting to happen - we saw what the press did after they were lied to over Hughes. But they couldn't say it was true with the cup final a few hours away.

I think they just tried to ignore as they would with any other speculation and hope it went away, lost in discussions about the cup final, relegation issues and Taggart's last match. But it's not gone away.

Lunchtime today, there was clearly a briefing for chief football writers, as suddenly they all had the same information.

Problem is, what now? Do you sack him tomorrow on the anniversary of the league win? Can't do it on Tuesday with a game that night, but surely you can't make him manage the team. It's now a compete mess.

If Mancini was going to be sacked anyway, it wouldn't matter if Pelligrini was coming or not, someone else would and they have some time to sort that out...no one could tell me that unless Pelligrini came, Mancini would be staying and they wouldn't get rid!
It's either a case of Mancini stays or goes, surely, it's not on condition that Mr A or B is available, is it?

JonnyAsh wrote:If Mancini was going to be sacked anyway, it wouldn't matter if Pelligrini was coming or not, someone else would and they have some time to sort that out...no one could tell me that unless Pelligrini came, Mancini would be staying and they wouldn't get rid!
It's either a case of Mancini stays or goes, surely, it's not on condition that Mr A or B is available, is it?

Why sack him if there's no alternative? I suspect the plan was to get Pellegrini to sign at the end of the season and then sack Mancini. Pellegrini has stated tonight that he hasn't got an agreement with anyone yet, so there is a risk he could decide on PSG etc.

Hope we've got a plan B. Martinez anyone?

Blue Since 76 wrote:

JonnyAsh wrote:If Mancini was going to be sacked anyway, it wouldn't matter if Pelligrini was coming or not, someone else would and they have some time to sort that out...no one could tell me that unless Pelligrini came, Mancini would be staying and they wouldn't get rid!
It's either a case of Mancini stays or goes, surely, it's not on condition that Mr A or B is available, is it?

Why sack him if there's no alternative? I suspect the plan was to get Pellegrini to sign at the end of the season and then sack Mancini. Pellegrini has stated tonight that he hasn't got an agreement with anyone yet, so there is a risk he could decide on PSG etc.

Hope we've got a plan B. Martinez anyone?

I'm not sure if we have a choice now? Yes we could deny that we were ever going to, but surely if that was the case, we would have done that days ago, and certainly before the final..
It looks like a case of us. 'showing all the cards in our hand' and anyway, where is Pelligrini going? I thought he said his goodbyes to his Malaga team??

Douglas Higginbottom wrote:Clearly it's all wrong but I can't exactly see what could be done. First it sounded like the massive bets laid on Pelligrini made it sound like a cert he was coming in,the press get hold of it and we have a headline.City have 3 choices and chose to say nothing at all.

Should they have either flatly denied it's true or come out and said it's not true? Sounds like a lose lose situation. And it all feels really weird to have just blown up before the final when I had heard he was a gonner weeks ago.And that's from mere rumours within fans but also one or two very very close to the club.

Let's say there have been talks with Pelligrini and he is likely to come even if it's not a done deal yet, what should City have done that they haven't done.And don't just say they shouldn't have had talks with him in the first place.

Agreed on the last bit. Nothing good can come from undermining your current manager when there is a trophy still to be won.

I've been thinking about the betting on Friday. I understand that if bookmakers take a big bet on who is going to be a new manager they close betting because someone on the inside can make a fortune from insider knowledge.

Given the way the the modern social media works with ad driven revenue. What is to stop a journo putting £500 on Manager A becoming our new manager? The bookies close the book which and the journo knows about it first since they put the bet on and then they have a massive story which they can break first and get a shit load of website hits on a story which looks very credible and gives them days possibly weeks of a story in the end of a rather dull season with the summer looming.

I'm not suggesting this is 100% the case in this instance but it is eye opening how easy it is for the press to dictate the pace of a story.

I can understand Bob's sentiments from a human point of view, particularly in the heat of bitterly disappointing defeat, and as result of a long fight he had to sustain to have things put right at the Club and professionally undertaken by professionals of proven seniority.

But, as I said many times, the even idea that a leading company - particularly when not listed on stock exchanges - should waste time and energies on running about and hit back to any improbable gossip is ludicrous.

Interesting though, as it may prove that he perceives the measure of the backing received by the Club's hierarchy as almost empty, and a resignation might be around the corner should the summer ends up with another massive failure, whose result he has to shoulder in front of the public opinion.
I think that only a very limited amount of haters are still to understand that he cares of City's success.

Blue Since 76 wrote:

JonnyAsh wrote:If Mancini was going to be sacked anyway, it wouldn't matter if Pelligrini was coming or not, someone else would and they have some time to sort that out...no one could tell me that unless Pelligrini came, Mancini would be staying and they wouldn't get rid!
It's either a case of Mancini stays or goes, surely, it's not on condition that Mr A or B is available, is it?

Why sack him if there's no alternative? I suspect the plan was to get Pellegrini to sign at the end of the season and then sack Mancini. Pellegrini has stated tonight that he hasn't got an agreement with anyone yet, so there is a risk he could decide on PSG etc.

Hope we've got a plan B. Martinez anyone?

Antonio Conte

It seems to me that the rags are very good at spin. The way they've engineered the Rooney move is very clever.

We need to up our game because lets face it. The past few days have been truly amateur hour.

I think Mancini is right, however, no one asked him about Monaco or that Russian deal so quite frankly he's as bad as the club. I cannot see him being here next season (even if that chance existed), you don't go around slagging off Marwood and now Kloss without your senior bosses eventually getting pissed off with you. If (and it's a big if) he stayed we'd have the press all over us from now until he left, dragging out stories of staff & player mutinies - for the best interests of the club I think we now need to move on despite that going against what my belief is - however, what worries me in all of this is that we don't seem to have Pelligrini signed sealed & delivered & unless its Maureen we maybe in danger of a lesser manager (that's not to say I think Pelligrini is greater than Mancini, it's just that's where we seem to be headed)

dazby wrote:It seems to me that the rags are very good at spin. The way they've engineered the Rooney move is very clever.

We need to up our game because lets face it. The past few days have been truly amateur hour.

True dat.

And this is exactly how Mancini handles amateurs. Remember when there were reports that Mancini and Platt were actually the people leaking info on certain players and Cook? He's no chump. And Platt is not only there for his tactical knowledge.

Dunnylad wrote:I think Mancini is right, however, no one asked him about Monaco or that Russian deal so quite frankly he's as bad as the club. I cannot see him being here next season (even if that chance existed), you don't go around slagging off Marwood and now Kloss without your senior bosses eventually getting pissed off with you. If (and it's a big if) he stayed we'd have the press all over us from now until he left, dragging out stories of staff & player mutinies - for the best interests of the club I think we now need to move on despite that going against what my belief is - however, what worries me in all of this is that we don't seem to have Pelligrini signed sealed & delivered & unless its Maureen we maybe in danger of a lesser manager (that's not to say I think Pelligrini is greater than Mancini, it's just that's where we seem to be headed)

Why not slag off Marwood and Kloss? are they more important to the club than the Manager ?

I don't think so at all. they should be behind the manager. Vicky Kloss hasn't won a thing in football. There are probably dozens of people out there capable of doing her job.The same goes for Marwood.

There is only a handful of experienced Managers that can bring the success City are aiming for and Roberto is one of them .