Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
PLAYERS AND AGENTS WILL SEE TOON AS A CHANCE TO GET RICH QUICK
Garry Cook, City’s CEO during the £210m Abu Dhabi takeover, warns Newcastle...
GARRY COOK’S first act when Manchester City were taken over by the Abu Dhabi United Group was to sanction a £32million move for Robinho.
A few days earlier, when the City chief executive’s negotiations with Sheikh Mansour were still being conducted in total secrecy, he had spent less than half of that sum to buy both Vincent Kompany and Pablo Zabaleta.
It’s an illustration of how City’s fortunes – literally – were transformed by a stroke of a pen in August 2008.
And so Cook will be watching events at Newcastle United with interest after the Toon usurped City to become the richest club in the world when they were taken over by a Saudi Arabian consortium.
Robinho became a mere footnote in City’s story. But Kompany now has a statue outside the Etihad Stadium, while Zabaleta is held in such high esteem that fans still sing his name at every game.
Cook warned how some mercenary players will view the new regime at St James’ Park as a way of lining their
pockets and that illustrates how tough it will be to plot a path through the transfer window and give Eddie Howe a fighting chance to keep the Tyneside club in the Premier League.
“Some players and agents will look at Newcastle and see a golden opportunity to increase their own personal wealth,” said Cook.
“That was the most difficult issue to deal with in football – especially during the January transfer window.
“Newcastle will be striving to improve their squad to keep the club in the Premier League, but there’ll be people motivated by the opportunity to take full advantage of the situation.
“The challenge always is to identify the right skills set, mentality and commitment.
“You do your due diligence to identify which players want to be part of the club’s future success – and those who are simply offering themselves to you because they see a chance to make more money.
“I empathise with the management and leadership at Newcastle because they will be confronted by these issues. People look at you and say, ‘Oh, it’s so, so easy when you’ve got all that money’.
“But that isn’t true at all – it’s actually much harder.”
Cook was appointed CEO at City by Thaksin Shinawatra when the disgraced former Thai prime minister was trying to find a buyer for the Blues.
He convinced ADUG to invest £210million in a club that had failed to lift a trophy for 32 years. The subsequent 13 seasons have seen City win five Premier League titles, two FA Cups and six League Cups.
“I played a small part in City’s journey at a specific point in their history,” said Cook, who last week led the consortium that pulled out of a deal to buy bankrupt Derby County.
“I’m proud of what the club has gone on to achieve, but I must say the club has moved on spectacularly since I left. In chief executive Ferran Soriano, they have a very fine strategist and chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarek is one of the world’s great industrialists.”
During his three years at the Etihad helm, working alongside Khaldoon Al Mubarek and football administrator Brian Marwood, Cook recruited stellar talents such as Kompany, Zabaleta, Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Yaya
Toure and Carlos Tevez. The cash spent on Robinho did not prove successful, and the signings of Emmanuel Adebayor, Jo and Roque Santa Cruz also failed to work.
Newcastle chiefs Mehrdad Ghodoussi and Amanda Staveley now face similar issues trying to remain in the Premier League.
Cook said: “The biggest challenge at City was to convince players to come to a club that didn’t have a team already winning trophies. We weren’t at the bottom of the table like Newcastle are. But it was still a tough ask getting players to think of what we could achieve. No one knows what will occur at Newcastle and players don’t like jumping into the unknown.
“I see similarities between City and Newcastle – massive clubs with a huge fan base.
“But a top football club isn’t just about the performances of the team on the pitch.
“It must also be built on the infrastructure, on its youth development, on commitment to the wider community.
“Newcastle have the capabilities to become a brand beacon for their city, but only if all those aspects come together.
“Relegation would be a huge blow to the ambitions of their new owners.”