So ‘proper football men’ just means ‘men who worked at football clubs’ then?… even if those clubs were charged with financial impropriety in some of the areas they worked?
Doesn’t seem airtight to me. He’s no more of a ‘football man’ than Ed Woodward could claim to be.
I’m happy to be proved wrong but the excitement seems wildly desperate
Well this is certainly a very pessimistic take! To compare him to Woodward is crazy too.
Our Ed worked for PWC and JPM. He is a banker. He excelled at the commercial aspect of his role, but was totally exposed on the footballing side and was too arrogant to admit his shortcomings and let someone with more relevant experience take the lead. He protected his position by sucking up to Joel and appointing his mates to key positions whether they were the best available or not. Famously he was more of a rugby fan than a football fan.
When you Google Richard Arnold his bio refers to him as a ‘British Accountant’. Another money man. Nuff said because he didn’t last long.
Berrada by contrast is well versed in football - he was headhunted by Barcelona in 2004, before joining City. He has worked hand in glove with Txiki on the football side playing key roles in the signings of players like Laporte, Dias and Haaland. He also refused to sign Maguire at the price we paid, and rejected Sanchez due to his wage demands. He’s also considered Sorianos right hand man, having a hand in the commercial growth of City and the City group. 20 years experience in the business of football is not to be sniffed at, especially with a track record of getting things right.
Furthermore he is well regarded by his peers at the summit of football which is why this has caused such a shock, and is seen as something of a coup.
If nothing else it is a very impressive first step on our road to a new structure, and given the rank incompetence we have endured since 2013 I think the fans can be forgiven for a bit of hope and excitement!