Source: FOOTYMAD
In The Clear?!? WTF?!!
What exactly does Gannon manage?! So, the so-called Vale "manager" Jim Gannon reckons he's innocent and in-the-clear. I say "so-called" because I do wonder what he thinks his duties really are. When a CEO appoints a manager, at a football club or wherever, he expects the guy to manage his staff & take on responsibility for his domain. What he doesn't expect is to get a phonecall on a Friday afternoon telling him that things have got way out of control, that lawyers are involved and that the footballing world is following the crazy antics of a staff coach to Aldershot. Any manager of mine - several weeks into their tenure or several years - would be dragged over the coals first thing Monday morning, I can tell you, with a clear reminder that I employed them to MANAGE, not to oversee a embarrassing media incident for the club/company. Now I've been a manager, overseeing multi-million pound projects, and also been a union shop-steward, sitting in on many a disciplinary hearing (it's been some life!). So, I have to say I'm bewildered that the senior person on the ground (not the football ground, I mean at-the-scene!) doesn't appear to accept ANY of the responsibility. What's the point of him being there if he doesn't take charge & instead merely jumps off the bus? However much he's earning, it's 100% too much. As for the story that he denied that he'd written a letter, before having to then admit that he had...I mean, do they teach them anything at these management training sessions? Assuming that this part is true, let me ask you this question: would you have any respect in a manager who had lied to his staff, and then had to back down to admit the truth? Yes, he may have been in a difficult situation, but THAT'S WHAT YOU PAY HIM ALL THAT MONEY FOR! The key part of this incident is that when Vale hired him they claimed that - unlike Sinnott - Gannon was "experienced". Gannon plays on this a lot, describing himself as "professional". I'm sorry, explain to me again how Gannon comes out of this looking "experienced" or "professional". The words "amateurish" and "rabbit in the headlights" spring to mind. The very least I would recommend for Gannon is a set of training courses on man-management. That way the club are covered in case he messes up again. And when (not if) he messes up again, Vale can legally press the eject button.
