Having not read his book, that's a really interesting post mate. Cheers for the insight.
All I can say is that the original information will have been 100% accurate. However, I've heard it 3rd hand, so you might be correct about more of a partnership than an ownership. Chinese whispers and all that. I'm sure we'll find out soon enough.
Seeing as we've not bought a SE Asia club yet, but have bought an Australian club, was anything written about Australian football and any potential for growth there?
Also, do you think that with the finance behind CFG being on a completely different planet to the money behind Barca, that the plans Sorriano has for CFG are on a different level to his previous plans? Ie South America is now a completely viable option?
You know what mate, it's a really interesting read, I'd recommend it if you're interested in City's business strategy or management in general.
He talks about the kind of personality needed to manage certain groups. He says when you have had a manager who is too strict and morale is down, if you have a talented workforce, they need a manager who is amiable and easy going and will let them get on with it. He clearly followed this theory to a T when he appointed Pellegrini.
He also said the reverse was true that when you have had an amiable manager, standards can drop and players / staff can become complacent. He says in this instance if you have a highly talented group of players you need an inspirational leader with exacting standards who is an expert in their field to re-invigorate the group. He used this example as why they appointed Guardiola after the laid back style of Rijkaard, and he's followed the exact same path when appointing Guardiola after Pellegrini.
Going off Sorriano's theory, I would expect someone like Anchelotti to be our next manager, as opposed to someone like Pochetino. After 3 or 4 years intensive work under Pep, the group will probably need a break and the time will be right for for a more laid back, easy going leader.
Sorry, I've gone off track a bit there. I can't remember him mentioning Australia in the book, maybe he did but I can't quite remember.
Regarding the finance behind CFG, you're quite right in that CFG have access to huge capital that wasn't available to Barca, so we are in a position where we can fund the launch of these new clubs. However, his two main points about South America - that there is a pretty small middle class with not much disposable income, and they have a very mature football market with deep-rooted loyalty to teams, still remains.
Even if we can write off the expense of launching a new club in South America, it would not be a commercially viable enterprise and it might actually do damage to our reputation in the region if we are seen to be re-branding an established club.
The other thing of note he said was that he would only be interested in getting involved in well run leagues with excellent administration and little chance of corruption. That's why MLS was the perfect league, the A-League is similar but on a smaller scale and the J-League is pretty well established now. The Chinese Super-League is still in the early stages of development and has been noted for corruption so I assume we are going to keep a close eye on how it develops.
From reading his book my personal view is that we will never see a "City" branded club in South America or another one in Europe. China is the most likely next destination and possibly longer term maybe one in South Africa.
