'Killing The Game' new book

It comes out as a hardback on October 15th, so I think I’ll wait till then, as I can’t get on with kindle.
One extract I did read, which suggests it’ll be a decent read, was:
Then came the influx of new players but not everybody was impressed, as then football administrator Brian Marwood recalls.

'I remember picking up Gareth Barry and we were in the car,' he explains. 'talkSPORT was on and the story had broken that we were signing him.

'They were absolutely caning him, saying things like, "He won't win anything at Man City, he's only going there for the money, plastic club, seen all this before, foreign owners coming in, killing the game, these guys are mercenaries".

'That was the narrative, and I said to him, "Do you want me to turn this off?" and he went "No, I want to listen to it". He said: "I'm not bothered. I'm just going to remember this, because I want to show these people they are wrong".

'That's when you know you're getting the right people, and people like Gareth were so important to where we are now.'
 
Saw the title of the thread and assumed it was a book about PEG and the absolute dross the Rags currently serve up in the name of football.
 


I've only seen one review (link above), which gives it an absolute slating. It's from a source likely to be hostile to City anyway so little surprise there, but even allowing for that fact, it does sound as though it's been produced by someone who makes a living from purveying the kind of vapid PR bullshit I usually loathe.

I'm waiting for other City fans to read it and say whether, nonetheless, they gleaned information of interest from it. Also, I'm abroad and buy most of my books in Kindle format for convenience rather than entrusting them to the Russian postal service; I'm therefore waiting for the price to drop. I think a tenner is overpriced for a book in that format.
 


I've only seen one review (link above), which gives it an absolute slating. It's from a source likely to be hostile to City anyway so little surprise there, but even allowing for that fact, it does sound as though it's been produced by someone who makes a living from purveying the kind of vapid PR bullshit I usually loathe.

I'm waiting for other City fans to read it and say whether, nonetheless, they gleaned information of interest from it. Also, I'm abroad and buy most of my books in Kindle format for convenience rather than entrusting them to the Russian postal service; I'm therefore waiting for the price to drop. I think a tenner is overpriced for a book in that format.


I see the author of that review pulls no punches. He seems to delight in ridiculing or insulting. This is what he says about me (all taken out of context in his review): Elsewhere, a club historian – who is apparently a grown man and not an affection-starved puppy – is quoted as saying that, “When I sat down I just knew that what Khaldoon was going to say was right. I just knew it. I just got this warm feeling, which I probably hadn’t had with any other owner of City, ever.”

Straight shooting of which William Tell would be proud.

People like that can scoff but unless they've actually been in a room and interviewed the likes of Khaldoon (which I have numerous times) I don't think they can say how anyone else felt.

EDIT: The reviewer has been selective and edited my quote. This is what I am quoted as saying in the book:

"That’s not normal for the owner or Chairman of a club to want to hear the truth. Quite often it’s just, ‘Tell us the good stuff.’” Soon enough, James was face-to-face with Al Mubarak. “So, I sit down with Khaldoon,” says James, “and I’m good at judging people. I’ve always felt like I can sort of sense something in the first few minutes, and when I sat down I just knew that what Khaldoon was going to say was right. I just knew

I just got this warm feeling, which I probably hadn’t had with any other owner of City, ever.” James speaks from experience. “I’ve interviewed every Chairman of City since ‘72,” he says, “and the very first question Khaldoon asked me, not one of the other owners of the Club, or managing directors, or anybody, had ever asked, and that was, ‘How, and why, does this football club exist? What happened?’” The question caught him off guard. “I thought, ‘Right, this isn’t some wealthy owner buying any football club and just thinking they can buy a few players and win the League. This is different.’” Al Mubarak also enquired about some of the key figures in the Club’s history, and James told him the story of Bert Trautmann, who would pass away five years later in July 2013.


EDIT OVER

Personally, I suggest fans read the book and make their own judgements. It's a record of a decade when MCFC were accused of ruining football and while it is impossible for it to cover every angle and every moment it provides some information and angles not covered before.

On reviews - those on amazon seem positive
 
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Elsewhere, a club historian – who is apparently a grown man and not an affection-starved puppy – is quoted as saying that, “When I sat down I just knew that what Khaldoon was going to say was right. I just knew it. I just got this warm feeling, which I probably hadn’t had with any other owner of City, ever.”

"An affection starved puppy" That's a terrible thing to say about you Gary.

Hope you're not too upset about that but if you are have a biscuit, play with your squeaky toy for a while and I'll take you for a walk later. Get down - Later I said!
 

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