Media watch: Guardian’s Daniel Taylor targets Garry Cook again
Following City’s failure to sign Fernando Gago, Madrid’s Jorge Valdano and the player’s agent have sought to point the finger of blame in City’s direction. At no point do they mention Garry Cook directly, yet it’s interesting to note how Daniel Taylor has ran another piece targetting the City chief executive.
Readers of The Guardian may well remember the “Robinho to quit City for Chelsea” articles penned by Taylor in the months following the Brazilian’s signing. Regardless of a lack of named sources these tedious articles continued to appear unremittingly through early 2009.
With Robinho having gone, the new target appears to be Garry Cook. Last week saw Taylor publish a piece saying Cook’s future was in doubt, while The Independent had an article stating how he had the backing of Sheikh Mansour and Khaldoon al Mubarak.
Cook has his critics, but he remains central to driving City forward, regardless of the odd slip of the tongue (and any journalist who takes notice of a bravura comment made at a supporters club meeting has clearly never attended such events). Ditching Cook at this time would be playing into the hands of those who want to see City fail in our ambitions.
With regard to the comments from Madrid, it makes sense for them to put some blame on City as they seek to build
bridges with an upset player. City were looking to sign Gago, who was unhappy at his lack of first team action,
earlier in January but were put off by Madrid’s astronomical valuation. It’s no secret that they’re looking to recoup some money following last summer’s transfer splash and their eyes appear to have lit up when City enquired about the Argentine.
If they hadn’t have been so greedy in the first place, the deal would have gone through, but Valdano naturally fails to mention this. It was only after failing to obtain Mariga’s work permit that City went back to Gago prepared to pay serious money, but time ran out with the 5pm deadline, even for a loan deal (which wouldn’t have satisfied Madrid’s desire for cash).
Gago’s agent doesn’t seem happy about missing out on a payday, having turned from blaming Madrid’s intransigence to City “using us”. Again, this blaming of City sounds like an attempt to appease his client.
Deadline day may not have been Football Administrator, Brian Marwood’s finest hour. Yet Taylor failed to give context, instead choosing to twist a few frustrated comments from Madrid into a piece seeking to criticise Cook. This perhaps tells us more about Daniel Taylor and who the next attempts to denigrate City are being aimed at.
John
3 February 2010 - 9:50 pm
Valdano said it, as did Gago’s agent, so The Guardian has every right to publish the fact. It’s not as though Taylor is making it up, or maybe you know something I don’t?
Blue Days
3 February 2010 - 10:51 pm
Hi John, publishing the quotes is fine, but the they make no mention of Cook. It was Taylor’s choice to personalize it. Sky Sports, the Daily Mail and others are able to publish it straight, but not The Guardian.
Martin Grayfield
3 February 2010 - 10:33 pm
I am not so sure that this is some attack on Cook by Daniel Taylor. I read the article in the Guardian – online – and then re-read it after reading your piece. I have not read both the other articles you mention.
Taylor does mention all the points you make. The initial valuation being too much. The turning to the Kenyan lad, who i am amazed when he is playing in Europe that we couldn’t get a work permit for – though City tried very hard on that. Then going back to Gago’s club. I felt the club were not to blame and really my view was that the only odd thing about the article was the choice of Cook to attack if anyone at all deserved it at City. Cook is the Chief Exec and Marwood is in charge of football issues which to me is the signings.
I kind of agree that the article was critical in the way it was phrased etc but that in fact all the issues you mention were mentioned in the piece – so it was for you to draw your own conclusions.
I will be far more interested in what we do in the Summer assuming that Cook Mancini and Marwood are still the pivitol players in that arena.
jak
3 February 2010 - 10:57 pm
A none EU citizen will need a work permit for the UK. So this should be sorted first before having the player over for a medical. So you fail to land Bigmac, and then run back for an overpriced player that you had walked away from. This makes Marwood look like a boy scout negotiator to me.
So we get no new midfield players apart fom a very promising winger, I hope he is a star.
Boris
3 February 2010 - 11:02 pm
The Guardian was my paper of choice until the takeover, since then it’s printed a series of misleading aricles containing fabricated storys worthy of a red-top. I’ve changed to the Indy as it doesn’t seem to have a hidden agenda in regards to City.
Hieronymus
3 February 2010 - 11:56 pm
Everyone knows Daniel Taylor is the mouthpiece for, and staff eunuch of, Manchester United. Not a bad position for such a puerile 14-year old…..
Wilbo
4 February 2010 - 12:19 am
I have stopped taking the Guardian and switched to the Indepenadant due to the biased sports reporting and the anti Manchster City stance taken by their reporter Daniel Taylor. I can only belive he has an agenda but in doing this he shows that the editor of the Guardian has lost control and is running a propoganda tabloid in respect of his sports pages.
MOk
4 February 2010 - 1:30 am
Daniel Taylor has his own agenda, and places his blinkered bias towards his own club before any journalistic standards.
Like many football hacks, he shouldn’t be in the job.
bluwes
4 February 2010 - 10:06 am
Sorry but having read the article, I can’t really see anything wrong with it, other than naming Cook as the City staff member involved in the deal, when in my view it would have more likely been Marwood.
Boris
4 February 2010 - 11:08 am
There’s a much more balanced and probably accurate account of the deal in todays’ Independant.
Blue Days
4 February 2010 - 1:07 pm
Thanks Boris. The Independent provide a much better article. It’s lines in The Guardian like “Madrid have blamed City’s chief executive, Garry Cook, for not being fully prepared” which annoy as Madrid never mentioned Cook. It may appear trivial, but these things happen repeatedly. As others have said, The Independent has given better balanced coverage on City for a while now.
Culla
4 February 2010 - 1:32 pm
taylor is a forest fan whose only agenda is to write stories about city that attract the most readers. so of course he spins stuff out, finds an angle that may be stretching the truth. of course it’s easier for papers to make these stories because of our ambition and desire to reach the top. it’s hard to know who was involved most with the gago or mariga deals, but the pressure on cook is more to do with his gaffes and his shoddy handling of press matters. he has the choice to shut up and work solely behind the scenes or ship out. i notice he’s been quiet about the gago affair so maybe he’s learning
Mick B
4 February 2010 - 3:01 pm
The City website discusses’ an article in the Independent by Sam wallace it says that Cook himself decided not to approach and agree player terms for Gago until after the bid had been accepted by the club. Apparently this was to comply with FA/FIFA rules but in practice is often ignored. This is Cook’s first invovement in a running a football club and I am fed up with him continually bringing embarrassment to the club. I know the red press is looking to de-stabilise us but I really think we can do better.
Cypriot Blue
4 February 2010 - 3:06 pm
I have held the view all along that senior management were inept in this transfer window. The timing of the work permit application for Maringa was far too late. If 2 PM’s of Kenya and UK can agree it would not take long for the duo to reverse their decision. The move for Gago was left far too late because of the abortive late attempts to buy Maringa and was doomed to failure when Real refused a loan deal until the season’s end. Not as if they were desperate for the money more a lack of trust.
Blue Days
4 February 2010 - 5:09 pm
Hi Cypriot Blue, I wouldn’t go so far as to say our senior management were inept during the transfer window. Mistakes were clearly made as the BBC reported Mariga did get his work permit after the 5pm deadline. I think there were legitimate reasons as to why things were left late… Mancini had to first assess the squad, then they worked through a list of targets before getting to Mariga. As for Real not being desperate for the money, several reports from Spain say they are following last Summer’s transfer splurge.