Garry's Cooking Up A Recipe For Disaster

Despite being by far the world's richest football club, Manchester City have managed to do what they do best, and again make things hard for themselves.

City's problems lie much deeper than just who they can spend £50m plus on in the forthcoming transfer window, or whether they will be playing Champions League football next season, but more the fact that just when they seemed to have found something that vaguely resembled stability at the club in Mark Hughes, he was shown the door.

The reason behind the recent problems at the club? Hughes? Robinho? More money than sense? No, the main reason behind the circus that is Manchester City is none other than its own bumbling ring-leader, Garry Cook.

The man trusted with the everyday running of the football club seems to have been intent on putting himself in the spotlight since his arrival at the club in 2008.

For the record, this is the same man who recently was booed by his own fans after welcoming Uwe Rosler into the Manchester UNITED Hall of Fame... Shall I go on?

As the richest club in the world, Manchester City have every right to expect fame, fortune and most importantly of all, success.

However, this is not something which would take place overnight. And after going through various managers over the last few years, City seemed like they may have finally found the stability they craved in Mark Hughes.

Granted, they may not have been winning as many games as they would have liked this season, however they have only as far lost 2 games this season in the Premiership, 3 less than their Manchester rivals.

But with Garry Cook at the helm, he would never let potential success get in the way of making a name for himself. Since arriving from Nike in 2008, the man has been content on putting his name in the spotlight, with the only obvious reason, being that he can soak up all the plaudits when something finally does go right.

However, as the old saying goes, 'With great power, comes great responsibility.' Something he has yet to come to terms with. After failing to land Kaka as promised last January, Cook was quick to blame anybody else but himself.

However, more amazingly for the man can normally be seen hugging his latest signings, or paying thousands of pounds on advertising campaigns to try to wind up Man Utd fans, was his final treatment of Mark Hughes.

It is still unclear as to whether Hughes had learned his fate before his final game, a 4-3 victory over Sunderland, but one thing that is clear is that Cook was not the one who was man enough to lay the cards on the table.

Later that night, City announced that Roberto Mancini would take over from Hughes, meaning a press conference, and for Cook, a new opportunity to take centre stage, and that he would do on this occassion.

Cook announced at the unveiling that Mancini had not been contacted until after the 3-0 loss against Tottenham just days before, a notion which Mancini later contradicted, stating that he had spoken with City executives two and a half weeks before.

Since then, Cook has received large amounts of criticism for the treatment of Mark Hughes, so much so that he tried to take pressure off himself, first by attempting to ban certain questions from the press conference, and next, by banning the media from City's Carrington training ground.

The appointment of Mancini brings about question marks in itself. Does he posess the managerial quality City are looking for? Will he be able to improve on Mark Hughes' Eastlands tenure? Or was Cook just intent on bringing in a well known, European name?

I would suggest the latter.



Cook has later admitted that the club were looking for potential successors to Hughes in the summer, with many big European names thrown into the mix as potential replacements, including the fan's number one choice, Jose Mourinho.

Instead, Cook could not wait until the summer to put his name in the spotlight again, and appoint another big name at the club.

The club moved to appoint Mancini, who tasted success in Serie A with Inter, clinching three consecutive Scudetto titles.

However, this may not be as attractive as it may seem for City fans. Not only was he gifted a team that was clearly stronger than the other teams in the league, but he was given one title due to the Italian match fixing scandal, after Juventus were stripped, and another title was made much easier given the fact that Juve had been relegated and other teams docked points for their involvement.

It remains to be seen whether Cook's latest signing will be a success or not, but one thing that is for certain is that Hughes' tenure came to an unfair and abrupt end, and while Cook is given the power to have control at Eastlands, Manchester City Football Club will be in danger.

The bottom line: The wrong man was shown the door at Man City.

Boxing's Coming Home...WBA's Still Gleaming

November 7th, 2009 - The day Heavyweight boxing came back to Britain after a six year absence, following David Haye's majority decision victory over Russian Nikolai Valuev.

The Hayemaker fought a tactical fight, earning himself a deserved majority victory over the 7ft Russian known as 'The Beast From The East'.

Haye had been Britain's first real chance in years to spark some life into an otherwise dull and withering Heavyweight division.

In recent years, Boxing's most glamorous fights could be found in the Welterweight and Middleweight divisions, with the sport's most famous division being surrendered to Eastern Europe, and most notably, the Klitschko brothers.

The former Undisputed Cruiserweight Champion maintained his confidence and belief in himself going into the fight, which would at times would be hard to maintain given the sheer size and stature of the man mountain, Valuev, who he would be facing.

Haye fought a tactical fight from the off and it was Valuev who came out looking to control the fight.

The Londoner was able to use his size and athleticism to his advantage as he ducked and dived away from Valuev's swinging fists, and landing some heavy shots of his own.

Valuev was rocked in the 2nd round of the fight after Haye landed a beautifully timed left hook.

The Brit suffered a suspected broken hand early on in the fight, landing a fierce right to Valuev's head, which could have done more damage to the thrower, rather than the recipient.

Haye continued to control an otherwise dull fight, and the punch stats will show that Haye fought a technical fight, avoiding many of the Russian's shots, and was never particularly in trouble throughout the 12 rounds.

Haye shocked Valuev again in the 9th round, landing a strong straight right hand, before sending the defending champion into a daze in the 12th round.

Valuev held on until the end of the fight, and looked tense in the corner as he awaited the decision.

Despite the fact that to most it may have already been apparent that Haye had won the fight, nothing could be left to chance.

A decision from the judges in Germany was not something many had banked on for Haye in this fight, believing that he would have to floor the giant russian, in order to win.

It was not until Michael Buffer's distinctive voice uttered the words, "From London, England" that a huge weight was lifted and the cloud disappeared from British Boxing, and Haye's dream realised.

Heavyweight Boxing slipped from Great Britain's grasp, 6 years earlier, to be taken over by a sudden dominance from Eastern Europe.

Despite earning a 6th round TKO victory this night against Ukrainian Vitali Klitschko, this was the last fight fans saw of Lennox Lewis in the squared circle, leaving Britain without a champion, or any real hope in the Heavyweight division.

The fight proved to be one that Lewis was lucky to win, after being awarded the stoppage due to a nasty cut over Klitschko's eye.

At the time of the stoppage however, Lewis was down on all three judge's scorecards, with the Ukrainian looking very much in control of the fight.

Lewis turned down the opportunity of a rematch, and retired from the sport to pursue other interests. Possibly the Klitschko fight had been a reality check for the former Undisputed Heavyweight Champion, as it appeared as though he could no longer dominate the division as he had done so in his prime.

Since this point, the Klitschko brothers', Vitali and Wladimir have dominated the Heavyweight division and until now British fans have had to rely on success in other divisions, with Ricky Hatton and Joe Calzaghe proving successful at Welterweight and Light Heavyweight respectively.

Despite this success, Britain has still longed for a challenger in Boxing's most glamorous and famous division of all...Heavyweight.

Since Lewis retired, others have tried, and others have failed in their attempt to storm the Heavyweight decision and steal the crown.

Fighters such as Danny Williams have fallen well short of the mark in their efforts.

After a victory against a 'hasbeen' Mike Tyson, Williams was handed a World Title opportunity against Lewis' heir, Vitali Klitschko, who disposed of Williams in the 8th round.

British fans never really got behind recent Heavyweight hopefuls, such as Williams or Audley Harrison, maybe due to a lack of faith, or a lack of charisma in the division.

Step forward... David Haye.

Haye had dominated the Cruiserweight division and after stepping up, managed an easy 5th round KO of Monty Barrett before seeking a title opportunity.

Having riled the Klistchko brothers already with his cocky and brash attitude, Haye has stated that he will be chasing the two again after defeating mandatory challenger, John Ruiz.

"I said I want to be unified champion and the Klitschkos are definitely in my sights. I am not fussed which one it is."

At 29 years of age, The Hayemaker has made no secret of the fact that he intends to end his career, which currently stands at a mere 23 fights, at the age of 31, leaving Haye 2-3 more years to truly dominate the division.

Having now proved himself at this level, the next challenge for Haye will be to prove that he can not only fight a tactical fight, but aim to fight more aggressively, like he has been known to at Cruiserweight.

Inevitably, we would see more of this from Haye were he to fight Ruiz, or the Klitschko's given more of a similarity in size.

With potentially 2-3 more years for Haye (given no abrupt upset to his career) Britain must now be on the lookout for more Heavyweight talent.

Hopefully Haye will look to inspire a new generation, with many looking to his success and looking to emulate it.

As it stands, Tyson Fury remains the only real British Heavyweight prospect, but at such an early stage in his career, it remains to be seen how the future looks for British Heavyweight Boxing.

Michael Owen - On the plane, or down the drain?

Ahead of next summer's World Cup in South Africa, England Coach, Fabio Capello has some huge decisions to make. He already faces the daunting task of cutting down a squad which would normally contain 26 players, to just a squad of 23 for the finals.

The Italian has already used 31 different players throughout the qualification stages for the World Cup, one of which is not Michael Owen.

There has been much made in recent weeks on the Michael Owen debate, whether he should be taken to the World Cup or not, but neither the player nor the manager seem too daunted by the speculation.

Owen himself has admitted his desire to again represent his country, but for the moment is happy to concentrate on his club form in order to gain recognition from Capello.

The former European player of the year shocked his former club Liverpool, and their once adoring supporters, by signing for arch rivals Manchester United on a free transfer in the summer, bringing to an end an unhappy spell up North at Newcastle United.

Despite the fact that he may be playing second fiddle to both Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov at Man United, Owen must be grateful for the lifeline offered to him, and try to make the most of any opportunity that comes his way. (For instance the Manchester derby)

Whether Owen remains first choice or not for club or country, he is impossible to overlook, if just for his reputation and past career alone. At Liverpool, Owen established himself as one of the finest strikers in Europe, earning himself a move to the Bernebeau in 2004.

With a strike rate of almost a goal every 2 games, Owen boasts a goal return that almost any striker would be proud of, and although injuries may have restricted him being able to reciprocate his once glittering form at Anfield, the fact is, Michael Owen still remains a proven goalscorer.

As it stands, England look to have particular strength upfront, with Rooney, Heskey and Defoe, all looking certain to board the plane to South Africa, with the likes of Peter Crouch, Carlton Cole, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Darren Bent and Theo Walcott all gunning for places, and maybe ahead of Owen in the pecking order.

However, what many of these strikers do not have, besides Wayne Rooney and Peter Crouch, is an impressive goalscoring record at international level, one thing about Michael Owen which can not be debated, with 40 goals in 89 appearances for his country.

Capello obviously prefers the option of Rooney and Heskey up top for England which throughout qualification has proved successful for England, with Rooney being the main source of goals, while Heskey takes the role of "the battering ram."

Sceptics will doubt that Owen still has the credentials to perform at this level and he has suffered too many injuries, and is not as clinical as he once was. Although to an extent this may be true (or the opinions of many bitter Liverpool fans), you could argue that his finishing is still up there amongst the best in the country, and he has the ability to make and take chances that other England players may not able to.

Whichever way you look at things, England will be looking to progress as far as possible in next year's competition and although based on qualification Owen may not have earned his place in the squad, it would make very good sense to include him.

Time will tell whether Owen earns his place in the squad next summer, but if he can remain injury free and score the 15-20 goals this season which Sir Alex Ferguson has banked on, (he doesn't often get it wrong) then it would make a very nice selection headache for Fabio Capello.

Even if his only impact in the games would be to come off the bench, by then he should have built up a rapport with Wayne Rooney, and surely you would bank on him to score ahead of Heskey...

Wouldn't you?