Garry Cook. Talksport guest of Keys & Gray.

[Tim of the Oak]

Good interview. He was ideal for helping to put us back in the football big league but Cook's time had run out at City.

We now have Ferran, Txiki and Viera to take us on further - who have the benefit of being seen as "real" football people.

 

[GazM]

Just listened for a few mins. Comes across as level-headed & intelligent. Finding it hard to reconcile this with his apparent persona whilst at City. Still, interesting to hear about the Abu deal & what it involved.

 

[RVZ Urmston]

He said a 110 years of history, surely it's 119 years of history, 1894?

 

[I'm no cynic but...]

He was a vast improvement on that plonker with Brazil this morning.

 

[AustinBlue]

He seemed a decent bloke but spent most of his time embarassing us. We are much better off without him. I wouldn't want him anywhere near the club.

This

The opposite of "this." We wouldn't have been bought by our current owners and would probably have gone under if we hadn't had Garry as CEO. He pushed the need to accelerate the Abu Dhabi plan and get us to Champions League ahead of FFP. He pushed the Hughes cabal out for a manager who could win. He effectively stood in the gap between the ego of Mancini and the pride of Abu Dhabi and allowed us to buy the players we did and negotiate very successful transfer windows. He pushed buying Yaya at a price higher than the owners wanted to pay so that we could sign Silva et al with ease afterwards. Yes, he was always friendly with fans at a bar, but there was some substance behind Garry. He enabled City to move more aggressively and successfully than a less charismatic CEO could manage. Just look at the contrast with the last transfer window when we had a very professional and diplomatic interim CEO - we couldn't get a deal closed either buying or selling as we were caught with Mancini isolated from the ownership and no-one able to balance the egos with the need to progress the team. For me, he will always be welcomed back as one of the good guys.

 

[mikeyk07]

a resounding this.

 

[I'm no cynic but...]

He seemed a decent bloke but spent most of his time embarassing us. We are much better off without him. I wouldn't want him anywhere near the club.

This

The opposite of "this." We wouldn't have been bought by our current owners and would probably have gone under if we hadn't had Garry as CEO. He pushed the need to accelerate the Abu Dhabi plan and get us to Champions League ahead of FFP. He pushed the Hughes cabal out for a manager who could win. He effectively stood in the gap between the ego of Mancini and the pride of Abu Dhabi and allowed us to buy the players we did and negotiate very successful transfer windows. He pushed buying Yaya at a price higher than the owners wanted to pay so that we could sign Silva et al with ease afterwards. Yes, he was always friendly with fans at a bar, but there was some substance behind Garry. He enabled City to move more aggressively and successfully than a less charismatic CEO could manage. Just look at the contrast with the last transfer window when we had a very professional and diplomatic interim CEO - we couldn't get a deal closed either buying or selling as we were caught with Mancini isolated from the ownership and no-one able to balance the egos with the need to progress the team. For me, he will always be welcomed back as one of the good guys.

Good post. He did stress the point that success was the only option for the club as our long record of failure had cost the club a generation of fans who had instead drifted over to the other side. None of this airy fairy stuff that we read on these forums about getting rid of a proven manager and be, potentially, trophyless for a few years as we aim to restructure the club in an attempt to be a British Barcelona.

 

[TimmyP]

A thoroughly enjoyable and down to earth interview which I'd encourage every blue to have a listen to when they get the chance.

Our board, and Khaldoon in particular, were heavily praised and despite his misdemeanors at times, Garry himself, came across very well.

I'd certainly have him back at City if the opportunity arose.

 

[Lythamblue]

At the end of the interview Keys & Gray asked him what is it like not to be in the spot light any more? His response was " You two should know, you tell me"

 

[BorisTheBlue]

A thoroughly enjoyable and down to earth interview which I'd encourage every blue to have a listen to when they get the chance.

Our board, and Khaldoon in particular, were heavily praised and despite his misdemeanors at times, Garry himself, came across very well.

I'd certainly have him back at City if the opportunity arose.

Garry was a top man at City, did a superb job, he was still working for City long after he resigned. He was and still is held in the highest esteem by Khaldon and HRH Sheik Mansour.