They need to be forward thinking as the owners want to take the club to places football hasn't been before. In this respect I don't think Bernstein would be the right man. And it's the reason why Cook, despite his gaff prone nature was considered to be doing an excellent job. he has built a fantastic team that exudes excellence in almost all of its output.
CitySquare, premiere Umbro/EA partners, state of the art performance analysis, Family Stand, Sierra Leone, CiTC, CSR, NextGen, Vieiras role (everything from training with the academy to launching the Campus) - we've pushed boundaries during Cooks tenure. I can't quite imagine these kind of initiatives under Bernstein, as high a regard as I hold him in.
So whoever is the next CEO for me needs to have a real hunger to try new things. I think that's why this guy from Tesco is being bandied about - a City fan yes, but young and not a "football guy". I think Mansour and Khaldoon see that trait as an advantage... and rightly so given the rather old boys club feel of football these days. So many idiots and dinosaurs around. How often do you hear about clubs mimicking ideas the NFL had 10 years ago? From the fan experience and commercialisation to training techniques and post match analysis.