fernandopartridge
Well-Known Member
I read it in about 2 hours yesterday. 5/10
I was hoping for some insight into why things happened, I didn't get it. The book starts out reasonably well but steadily goes downhill, the last few chapters are pointless fill. Timings of events are not described at all which then doesn't help map cause and effect.
Looks as if the depth of the research was picking up quotes from the Telegraph back catalogue of stories. Very little analysis of why the Arena was seen as the only option post 2001. No analysis of CCFC debt and why the arbitrary takeover deadline was set in 2007.
The book does make some crude attempts at balancing the blame at times but as I've said, lacks any real scrutiny of why CCFC / the Council made decisions they did. Why the council had veto over the club's new owners is not explained.
The second half of the book brings out the narcissist in Gilbert. There chapter about the return to the Ricoh is named after the Telegraph's hashtag campaign!
Talking of narcissists; PWKH is given a lot of airtime. There are no views put forward by just about any of the other major players post 2007 apart from him.
The club's current and previous boards don't come out of it with any credit, neither do the council. To a certain extent PWKH and the AEHT don't either especially with the way they dealt with Wasps.
Overall, the timeline of events published on this forum a few years ago provides more specific detail in a succinct matter.
I think the book is a bit of an opportunity lost for Simon, then again in fairness to him, the litigation happy council would have been all over him if he had dared to question their decision making, tellingly the criticism of the council is made through quotes by others.
I was hoping for some insight into why things happened, I didn't get it. The book starts out reasonably well but steadily goes downhill, the last few chapters are pointless fill. Timings of events are not described at all which then doesn't help map cause and effect.
Looks as if the depth of the research was picking up quotes from the Telegraph back catalogue of stories. Very little analysis of why the Arena was seen as the only option post 2001. No analysis of CCFC debt and why the arbitrary takeover deadline was set in 2007.
The book does make some crude attempts at balancing the blame at times but as I've said, lacks any real scrutiny of why CCFC / the Council made decisions they did. Why the council had veto over the club's new owners is not explained.
The second half of the book brings out the narcissist in Gilbert. There chapter about the return to the Ricoh is named after the Telegraph's hashtag campaign!
Talking of narcissists; PWKH is given a lot of airtime. There are no views put forward by just about any of the other major players post 2007 apart from him.
The club's current and previous boards don't come out of it with any credit, neither do the council. To a certain extent PWKH and the AEHT don't either especially with the way they dealt with Wasps.
Overall, the timeline of events published on this forum a few years ago provides more specific detail in a succinct matter.
I think the book is a bit of an opportunity lost for Simon, then again in fairness to him, the litigation happy council would have been all over him if he had dared to question their decision making, tellingly the criticism of the council is made through quotes by others.
