Simi Posted 24 August 2008 Posted 24 August 2008 Interview today in the Telegraph with Gary Cook (Man City's new Exec Chairman) Some of the below comments really are shocking. By his own admission, Garry Cook has radical views on football that not everyone will agree with, not least his belief that there should be a new top division of 10-14 elite clubs with no promotion or relegation. 'The fans,' he says, 'would find a way to get passionate about it.' "China and India are gagging for football content to watch and we’re going to tell them that City is their content. We need a superstar to get through that door. Richard Dunne doesn’t roll off the tongue in Beijing. Ronaldinho brings access to major sponsors and financial reward. " “The market is worldwide. There’s something not right about sitting in a bar in Bangkok, Beijing or Tokyo and seeing 'Fred Smith’s Plumbing. Call 0161...’ I talk to [Premier League chief executive] Richard Scudamore about this all the time: 'Are we maximising the central entity of the Premier League?’ He rolls his eyes and says, 'If only we would.’ The club chairmen tend to think globalisation is about selling more shirts. It’s about strategic partners in other countries – Red Bull, Thai Airways.” Then, this. "If you could central-entity the top 10 teams to create a global empire called the Premier League, I would sacrifice my own club [birmingham City] into another division for that" What a ****. Link
Guest Posted 24 August 2008 Posted 24 August 2008 The football will burst one day, and when it does, these tossers will be left with nothing, and nowhere to go.
Mickey O'Neil Posted 24 August 2008 Posted 24 August 2008 I don't know why I am, & I know I shouldn't be, but I'm quite shocked at that. Cnut would sell his own Granny. If he really cared about football, his own team would come first. What. A. Cock Is it bad to hope that him and Dennis Wise have a head-on crash one day!?
Webbo Posted 24 August 2008 Posted 24 August 2008 Gary Cook?Gary Cock. Whoa there hotshot, there's no call for profanities.
Fez of Mahrez Posted 24 August 2008 Posted 24 August 2008 My favourite two are these; “Our merchandising values are a shock to me. There’s a Masters tournament three miles down the road with a team of ex-players wearing a uniform sponsored by a whole bunch of sponsors. They used our name! They used our badge! We were nothing to do with it and we actually went and congratulated them in our own programme [for beating United]." “Is he a nice guy? Yes. Is he a great guy to play golf with? Yes. Has he got the finances to run a club? Yes. I really care about those three things. I need a left-back who can win tackles, get the crosses in and Jo can bang them in. Whether he’s guilty of something over there, I can’t worry too much about." Hmm!
Lillehamring Posted 24 August 2008 Posted 24 August 2008 i'd like to stick a very large pitchfork right up his 'central entity'
Thracian Posted 24 August 2008 Posted 24 August 2008 i'd like to stick a very large pitchfork right up his 'central entity' Appropriate too for such an arsehole.
sdb Posted 24 August 2008 Posted 24 August 2008 he's a twat. was reading this article in the guardian yesterday. wasn't very positive about Hughes either. his league idea is disgusting. nob!
act smiley Posted 24 August 2008 Posted 24 August 2008 The guy should stop being an idiot and realise that even if they went to a private 14-club league, marketing would demand that they got improved coverage by bringing in sides like Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds to get improved national coverage at the expense of them - otherwise they'd not be making more than they'd have lost from domestic Sky revenue, which is still the biggest source of cash anyway. What. A Twat.
NorthernFox Posted 24 August 2008 Posted 24 August 2008 Slightly worrying all the same. Money talks. Just look at Amir Khan - now hes on Sky its pay per fooking view.
LeeCovFox Posted 24 August 2008 Posted 24 August 2008 People like him will get their comeuppance one day. They disregard the fans, and this is their mistake. Lisa is correct. The cash cow will dry up one day. Garry Cook and the like will scarper. And it will be the fans who remain. They can't take our game from us.
Daggers Posted 24 August 2008 Posted 24 August 2008 Here's me on my own then - I'd love it if they created a "Global Premier League", closed off to other teams and where they could get up to all the daft nonsense they wanted to. Get shot of the 10 richest clubs and BANG! football returns to a certain level of normality where everyone gets a shot at the big title, where relegation from the top flight doesn't mean impending financial collapse after two years. Let them go play game 42, 89 or 156 in Bangkok or Barbados - the country would be well shot of them. The cunts.
LeeCovFox Posted 24 August 2008 Posted 24 August 2008 Here's me on my own then - I'd love it if they created a "Global Premier League", closed off to other teams and where they could get up to all the daft nonsense they wanted to.Get shot of the 10 richest clubs and BANG! football returns to a certain level of normality where everyone gets a shot at the big title, where relegation from the top flight doesn't mean impending financial collapse after two years. Let them go play game 42, 89 or 156 in Bangkok or Barbados - the country would be well shot of them. The cunts. I agree in principle, but the issue with that is the possibility that many clubs will collapse without the kind of money which is being thrown at the game just now, which would cease to be available should the biggest clubs piss off. I hate the tawdry, money obssessed business that football has become, but unfortunately, we may now already be at a stage where we need the big clubs more than they need us.
Bellend Sebastian Posted 24 August 2008 Posted 24 August 2008 The scary thing is that I've heard fans (mainly plastic Mancs, Scousers, West and North Londoners admittedly) coming out with similar stuff - they want a league based on the 'size' of clubs
Spiritwalker Posted 24 August 2008 Posted 24 August 2008 If the big clubs thought they would be financially successful going down the euro or world elite league road then they would have done it years ago. They couldn't give a toss about English football or the clubs left behind, but they do know that after a couple of seasons there own fans would become bored of it and eventually the elite league would stagnate. This in turn would lead to a loss in revenue and so backfire on the greedy fookers who set it up.
Daggers Posted 24 August 2008 Posted 24 August 2008 I agree in principle, but the issue with that is the possibility that many clubs will collapse without the kind of money which is being thrown at the game just now, which would cease to be available should the biggest clubs piss off. I hate the tawdry, money obssessed business that football has become, but unfortunately, we may now already be at a stage where we need the big clubs more than they need us. It's an opinion, not one I share mind. I'd rather us resurrect something from the ashes of whatever would be left than to carry on like this. Currently, no team outside the Big 4 has any chance of picking up the top slot unless a multi-billionaire walks in through the doors. I'd opt for drastic surgery to remove this cancer from our game every time.
Ultra Posted 24 August 2008 Posted 24 August 2008 I agree in principle, but the issue with that is the possibility that many clubs will collapse without the kind of money which is being thrown at the game just now, which would cease to be available should the biggest clubs piss off. I hate the tawdry, money obssessed business that football has become, but unfortunately, we may now already be at a stage where we need the big clubs more than they need us. That's precisely what they would like us to believe. Doesn't mean it's true, though. Clubs are collapsing anyway because thanks to TV (Sky and ITV in particularly), the disparities of income in the game are becoming wider. If the big European clubs wanted to form a breakaway league they could have done so. Their reluctance suggests that they might not have quite the power they like to pretend they have.
Webbo Posted 25 August 2008 Posted 25 August 2008 In principle I agree with Daggers, let the big clubs form their own league in Europe and we can form our own league where 10 or 15 teams get a shot at the title. The players would probably have to manage on £20k a week instead of £50k but I'm sure they'd manage. And we'd have to accept that if a big club came knocking for one of our stars we'd have to let them go(no change there then). I'm not sure how much the big clubs would actually want this though. At the minute they're guaranteed trophies and finals every season, the huge sums of money they get from Sky means they dominate the Champions league. If a European superleague was formed the money would be shared out more evenly, no guaranteed success.
Flynny Posted 25 August 2008 Posted 25 August 2008 The football league would suffer if that happened, though, because deep in their hearts every fan of every club believes that somehow, however unlikely, they might one day make it to the Premiership, survive, consolidate, launch an assult on Europe, and push on from there. Without that motivation fans would peel off a bit, especially in the Championship I'd have thought. That guys a shit.
Father Ted Posted 25 August 2008 Posted 25 August 2008 What an absolute moron! He is a real big crook, a selfish and uncaring person!
Kilworthfox Posted 25 August 2008 Posted 25 August 2008 Here's me on my own then - I'd love it if they created a "Global Premier League", closed off to other teams and where they could get up to all the daft nonsense they wanted to.Get shot of the 10 richest clubs and BANG! football returns to a certain level of normality where everyone gets a shot at the big title, where relegation from the top flight doesn't mean impending financial collapse after two years. Let them go play game 42, 89 or 156 in Bangkok or Barbados - the country would be well shot of them. The cunts. Agree entirely. These people believe that The Premier League is Soooooo Sooooooo interesting to all fans. Hmmm. Manchester United failed to sell all their season tickets this year FACT. Football interest has in my opinion been eroded by such commercial minds as shown in the original post. With Sky continually bleating on about the "big 4" and this manager said this, and this tosspot said that..... I just don't give a damn, and YES I used to be interested in all football, but what is there for me anymore? They fail to cater for the standard fans needs! No standing Music Prices Kick off times H&S clipboard holding Stewards Anti Atmosphere nob jockeys OTT Policing Look at Wembley now, what is special about it? I have been and to me it was woeful! WOW 90,000 over priced seats, a high % of cooperate seats will not get people excited about Wembley! More and more of us will get fed up of this commercialism over the interests of football and its grass roots = The fans with the money which make football go round. Maybe Man U Arsenal Chelsea can change their name and go off to Hong Kong, China or Thailand, they have plenty of idiots left with open wallets and no opinions to be made up on their own, sounds perfect to me & this guy. I would love football to return to the mass, lets get shot of more commercial sides (which Mandy would have us join!) and win against those in the bottom half of the Prem and be Champions of England This is not me thinking of how we could be successful in winning a "lesser" competitive division, in fact I would like the even playing field to return, along with the interest!
Father Ted Posted 25 August 2008 Posted 25 August 2008 Look at Wembley now, what is special about it? I have been and to me it was woeful! WOW 90,000 over priced seats, a high % of cooperate seats will not get people excited about Wembley! I've been thinking and would it not have been worth not building Wembley and waiting to 2012 and use the olympic stadium?
davieG Posted 25 August 2008 Posted 25 August 2008 I've been thinking and would it not have been worth not building Wembley and waiting to 2012 and use the olympic stadium? Wembley was built before we knew we had the Olympics besides there's enough wrong with it with out having a running track pushing the fans further away from the pitch.
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