Taxi for Cook–Imprudent Hart Deal Could Cost City Dear

Guess what, everybody! City CEO Garry Cook screwed up again!

Okay, in fairness we do not know who was responsible for deciding that no, inserting a recall clause in Joe Hart’s season-long loan to Birmingham wasn’t really necessary, thereby in the same breath saying “oh yeah, Shay Given will never get injured over the course of a 40-odd match season.” But Cook is the CEO so he had to sign off on it.

And after Tuesday’s ruling that City could not broker an ad hoc deal with (long safe from relegation) Birmingham to allow the spectacularly in-form Hart to play while Given is out the rest of the year, that oversight could cost City a berth in the Champions League. City will have to go with either Gunnar Nielsen, who looked okay in his cameo against Arsenal but has literally no experience at this level, or Sunderland third choice Marton Fulop in the three most important matches of the club’s recent past.

We don’t expect CEOs to win football matches. But we do expect them not to screw things up for the people who do win football matches. There was no reason not to insert a recall clause in Hart’s deal–even if Birmingham had insisted on a lower loan fee in exchange for such a clause. Money is not supposed to be an issue at City these days.

But incompetence combined with bluster is–not on the pitch, but in the boardroom. Hopefully City can overcome this latest front office blunder and win the last three matches anyway, and Nielsen and/or Fulop can seize the day and make themselves into instant City legends. But if goalkeeping inexperience costs City fourth place, don’t blame the waiter, blame the Cook.

Category: Team News