Source: Daily_Mail
What a Cook-up! Bumbling City chief Garry fluffs his lines again
He made his grand entrance. Hair swept elegantly to one side, stylishly dressed, ready to announce his arrival as the new manager of Manchester City. Little did Roberto Mancini realise he was about to be upstaged by the latest floundering performance from the man sat to his left. [LNB]Garry Cook, City's chief executive, intended to use Mancini's unveiling as a chance to defend himself and the club's Arab owners against accusations they dealt with Mark Hughes's dismissal in the most shabby fashion imaginable.[LNB]Instead he dug himself a big, new hole and then invited his new manager to fall into it. [LNB] Feeling the heat: Chief executive Garry Cook (right) with Roberto Mancini [LNB]He had made such a good start as well. Reading from a statement and drawing on his experience in marketing, Cook spoke with conviction to explain that the board did not think Hughes would have achieved his revised target of 70 points. [LNB]They had backed their manager to the hilt in the transfer market and the chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, was so caring he had even hopped on a plane to Manchester rather than tell Hughes over the phone that he was history. [LNB] HAVE YOUR SAY... Are Manchester City right to replace Mark Hughes with Roberto Mancini? What do you make of the goings on at Manchester City? Were the ambitious club right to axe manager Mark Hughes? And is Roberto Mancini the right man to take the Eastlands hot seat? TELL US WHAT YOU THINK And then the wheels began to fall off. Fixing his audience with astare, Cook made sure he was being very specific about this: althoughthe decision to explore the possibility of replacing Hughes had beentaken three weeks ago, 'Roberto was only offered the job after the Spurs game. We negotiated on Thursday and finalised his agreement on Friday.' [LNB]Mancini gazed at the ceiling, perhaps casting his mind back to a meeting with Khaldoon and Sheik Mansour in London a fortnight ago. A meeting which, of course, did not involve a conversation with the out-of-work manager over the upcoming managerial vacancy at Eastlands. God forbid. [LNB]As Cook finished, the questions started. Questions we had been told he would not answer. [LNB]Why had City humiliated a decent man by allowing him to stand on the touchline while others pored over his last moments in charge? [LNB]Had Cook 'bottled it', just as he so famously accused AC Milan of doing over the bungled deal for Kaka? Was his position untenable? [LNB]Icy welcome: Craig Bellamy[LNB]Cook refused to answer. 'I'd like to draw a line there,' he said. 'Today's press conference is about Roberto Mancini becoming the new manager.' [LNB]Arms folded, chin jutting out defiantly, his lips were sealed. Maybe he thought Khaldoon should be there to do his own dirty work. One problem. By taking a vow of silence, he was inviting the awkward questions on to the new manager. [LNB]Very quickly, Mancini revealed details of the meeting in London. The Italian struggled on for another 13 minutes before Cook felt compelled to intervene, desperate to get back on message. [LNB]'Two weeks ago Roberto met with Khaldoon,' he confirmed. 'The manager's job was discussed in general terms. We were considering our options at that time. After the Spurs game, there were further discussions on a more serious level.' [LNB]So was his conversation with Guus Hiddink's agent about the Dutchman's availability just an informal chat as well? 'I'm going to say something here,' Cook said. 'It seems to me there's an overwhelming theory that there is a conspiracy. That's not what was happening.'[LNB] Dressed to impress: Joleon Lescott arrives for Mancini's first training session[LNB] He was banging on the desk to emphasise his point. 'The owner, the board, the management team made a decision. We moved quickly, as was expected. Any business would have a plan and we moved to work on that plan. [LNB]'A decision was made on Thursday but the chairman had to jump on a plane. He was adamant not to do it by telephone, call, fax, email. He wanted to do it in person. [LNB] Well wrapped up: Emmanuel Adebayor arrives at City's training ground[LNB]'Everybody is committed to making this club one of the greatest clubs in the world. There is no conspiracy theory. We are working hard every day to make this a successful football club. We need to draw a line and move on.' [LNB]And so we did. But ending Hughes's reign like this has hardly given Mancini the most auspicious of starts.[LNB] The man who would be king: I want top four this season and the title next, says Manchester City boss Roberto ManciniInter Milan warn ex-boss Mancini not to try taking 'Super Mario' to EastlandsVIDEO: Manchester City chief Garry Cook goes on defensive at Roberto Mancini's unveiling as Mark Hughes' successorVIDEO: Roberto Mancini's first press conference as Manchester City managerFurious Craig Bellamy threatens to follow Mark Hughes out of Manchester City - putting Tottenham on alert [LNB]
