Paul Cook - Sligo Rovers.

[reder]

Paul Cook the new Sligo Rovers manager has made one of his first bits of business to ban the s*n from his press conferences and will not speak to them!

The scouser and former Southport manager has said he will never forget the lies they told and as a Liverpudlian who lost friends at Hillsborough, he said it's impossible to speak to the rag!

Fair play to him for having the balls to tell them how it is!

I now have a reason to support an EL club. I wish Paul Cook, Sligo Rovers and all its supporters all the best in this and future season. Anytime you are in my local vacinity my red mates and I will most definitely come along and lend you a supporting hand.

[Only1Rovers]

Rovers need all the exposure they can get don't know how good an idea that is. Why would he immediatly try to get the wrong side of the media. I don't think the Sun are gonna give a **** if Paul Cook doesn't speak to them.

I understand why he is doing it just don't know if he should be doing it. Maybe he just shouldn't buy the rag. The club is bigger than the manager.

[dcfcsteve]

I can understand why you take this view Reder, but to be honest with you I can't agree.

Cook is the manager of Sligo Rovers in Ireland - not Liverpool in England. His responsibility and duty is towards Sligo, and it is his job to do what is best for that club.

His arguement re The Sun is his/Liverpool's issue. He has no right to make it Sligo's - particularly if it denies that club much-needed exposure.

We can't have Managers moving around Europe putting their own personal 'political' views ahead of those of the clubs they work for. If they don't want to deal with The Sun, they shouldn't be in football outside of Liverpool.....

[Only1Rovers]

The Sun, front page.

"PAUL SAYS NO''

Sligo Rovers supremo has turned his back on the Sun newspaper. A Sun spokesperson for the Sun has said "we are doing all we can to rectify the situation" "Sligo is such a huge market for us, the implecations of this are massive", "If no breakthough can be made we are going to have to rethink how the whole newspaper is fianced and marketed". It is thought Mr Cook is going to communicate all his media dealings with Liam Moloney of the Sligo Weekender.

[sligoman]

I'm already disliking this managers connection to Liverpool, I know he's from there so obviously he'll have a connection. Sure it was in one of the national papers the other week saying one of the conditions of him taking the job was that he could have time off to travel to Athens for the Champions League final as he is a big Liverpool fan. Priorities Paul, priorities! Liverpool FC don't pay your wages.

[MyTown]

Hold on for a second lads, Reder source please ?


This story is covered in the sports pages of today's Irish Independent.

On the point generally, I think Fair Play to your manager for honouring the memory of those who tragically and needlessly died at a football match and whose memory has been dishonoured with some of the post-Hillsborough inquiries.

The Sun is a despicible rag and those who buy it believing they are buying an "Irish" newspaper are sadly deluded. Anyone remember the General Belgrano?

The Sligo supporter who feels your boss is burning his bridges with the media is wrong in my view. Watch the column inches generated by his stance.


Newspapers are generally in decline, the web has taken over. You can access most of them on-line and sites such as RTE.ie and the BBC have all but signalled the end of the newspaper indusrty.

While I hope our native titles survive this trend, I'd be delighted to see The Sun sink.

[Only1Rovers]

The Sligo supporter who feels your boss is burning his bridges with the media is wrong in my view. Watch the column inches generated by his stance.

Newspapers are generally in decline, the web has taken over. You can access most of them on-line and sites such as RTE.ie and the BBC have all but signalled the end of the newspaper indusrty.


You could be right but every newspaper has a Web-site. Rupert Murdoch isn't gonna let one of the most influential papers in the world just dissapear. More money is spent on the Suns web-site than the paper. The Sun is a brand which is not only a newpaper. The brand is being grown to cover their web-site.

[Only1Rovers]

Very Good Only1Rovers (By the way you going Out to Bray ?)

Gonna do my best to get their, may have to work on that night but gonna try and sort somthing.

[reder]

Here is the complete article from unison.ie
################################

Scouser Cook gives S*n red card as he plots Sligo revival

FOOTBALL managers seldom take long to fall out with journalists but few make a point of refusing to speak to a newspaper before they even take the job.

New Sligo Rovers boss Paul Cook must have set some sort of record when he refused to do any interviews with The Irish S*n before it had even written about him.

The 40-year-old Scouser insists it is nothing personal against the journalists in question, but a matter of principle. As a died-in-the-wool Liverpool supporter, Cook simply can't contemplate co-operating with any arm of The S*n.

Most Liverpool fans would not even eat their chips from The S*n due to its coverage of the Hillsborough tragedy in 1989 and Cook will not be deviating from that principle.

"I've been a Liverpool fan all my life and have watched them play many times over the years," he explained. "I knew people who died at Hillsborough and the comments that newspaper made at the time of the tragedy makes it impossible for me to have anything to do with it.

"I'm not trying to be a smart-arse and it is nothing personal with the people who write for the paper in Ireland now, but in my life I'll always side with Liverpool fans."

Cook was a surprise appointment to the Sligo hotseat after the club's protracted search to find a successor to Rob McDonald, who departed the Showgrounds on the eve of the opening game of the season.

His only managerial stint so far would not offer an enormous endorsement of his qualities as he was sacked by English Conference side Southport earlier this season.

"I've no issue with the fact that I was sacked due to the results we had, but I do have an issue with the things I was promised when I took the job that failed to materialise," he said.

"In hindsight taking the Southport job was the worst decision I've made in football.

"I had been player-coach for three years at Accrington Stanley and that culminated with us winning the Conference and earning our League place last year.

"The manager there gave me the freedom to do things as I saw fit there and we had a successful time. However, I'm a great believer that if you want to be a manager then you have to go out on your own eventually and that's why I went to Southport when the opportunity was presented to me."

Cook has not taken long to make his mark at the Showgrounds, with an emphatic 4-1 home win over Cork City last Saturday providing the Bit O'Red fans with plenty to get excited about.

After a playing career spanning more than 700 top-class matches, Cook has been around the block long enough not to get carried away by one good result.

"I may be new to Irish football and I know that Cork are one of the best teams here but I know enough about the game to know that we caught them on a good day for us and a bad one for them," he said.

"I've seen Cork, Bohemians, Longford, Shamrock Rovers and St Patrick's Athletic in the three weeks I've been in the job so I'm starting to find out more about the standard.

"Having played in all four divisions in England, as well as non-league football, I'm still working out what level the game here is at.

"I've been impressed with many things I've seen since I came to Sligo and I think it's a lovely part of the world to be in.

"I've signed for two and a half years and I want to produce a team that is competitive.

"If we're producing positive results, then people will come through the turnstiles.

"Hard work is the first requirement. You may not be the most talented player in the world but, if you are prepared to work for your team, you can be an asset. That's what I want my team to be about."

Stephen Finn

[Jeebus]

Gonna do my best to get their, may have to work on that night but gonna try and sort somthing.

We'll have to find some spot in Bray thats doing karaoke so and get you up to sing again!!

By the way, if anyone spots londonred making a beeline for the microphone can someone please stop him this time.:D (only kidding LR ;) )

[neutrino]

I can understand why you take this view Reder, but to be honest with you I can't agree.

Cook is the manager of Sligo Rovers in Ireland - not Liverpool in England. His responsibility and duty is towards Sligo, and it is his job to do what is best for that club.

His arguement re The Sun is his/Liverpool's issue. He has no right to make it Sligo's - particularly if it denies that club much-needed exposure.

We can't have Managers moving around Europe putting their own personal 'political' views ahead of those of the clubs they work for. If they don't want to deal with The Sun, they shouldn't be in football outside of Liverpool.....

this is exactly right. EL needs all the exposure they can get. Not a very smart move at all by Cook.



The Sun is a despicible rag and those who buy it believing they are buying an "Irish" newspaper are sadly deluded. Anyone remember the General Belgrano?
.

I dont buy them but is any tabloid actuallyl 'Irish' ???

[Royal rover]

Fair play to him- lived in the uk for a number of years- the scousers hate it, i think it's more of a liverpudlian thing really than liverpool FC - the paper branded them thieves etc, and issued no apology to my knowledge, likewise everton fans would not dare to buy it- shops in general don't sell it, rooney gave them an exclusive a few years back- he got awful abuse

[reder]

The XXX, front page.

"PAUL SAYS NO''

Sligo Rovers supremo has turned his back on the XXX newspaper. A XXX spokesperson for the XXX has said "we are doing all we can to rectify the situation" "Sligo is such a huge market for us, the implecations of this are massive", "If no breakthough can be made we are going to have to rethink how the whole newspaper is fianced and marketed". It is thought Mr Cook is going to communicate all his media dealings with Liam Moloney of the Sligo Weekender.

He is going to keep things local by the looks of that. Nothing wrong with that. In truth this is likely to attract quit a bit of media attention of Sligo Rovers as a club. Naturally, I am nothing but the upmost respect for the man.

[sligoman]

He is going to keep things local by the looks of that. Nothing wrong with that.Presumably you realise that quote from Only1Rovers was actually made up? That is not actually on the front page of Today's Sun.

[reder]

Presumably you realise that quote from Only1Rovers was actually made up? That is not actually on the front page of Today's Sun.

Yes, I included the quote by accident.

[hoops1]

If all you lads were at a Sligo match and say there was an accident and your mates died and the next day a paper said you were all drunk,that you robbed your mates corpses and some ****ed on the dead.There is no job on earth that would make you go against your principle that you would never buy that rag again. No offence but definitely not the Sligo job. Good man Paul.

[showgies]

Paul Cook has the right to refuse to talk to whatever newspaper he wishes. All Rovers need to do is ask Gerry Carr to speak to the Sun, if quotes are required

Anybody watching Match of the Day would notice that quite a few Managers refuse to do post match interviews - Ferguson, Allderdyce, Redknapp

[reder]

Anybody watching Match of the Day would notice that quite a few Managers refuse to do post match interviews - Ferguson, Allderdyce, Redknapp

Thats due to the piece that the beeb did on corruption in football.

[avvenalaf]

I can see the headline in The Star...............

SUN SINKS IN THE WEST !!!

Howzat, Roversforever?

[dublinred]

Reckon he looking for a ticket for athens next week and that bit of publicity might help him.

[roversforever]

I can see the headline in The Star...............

SUN SINKS IN THE WEST !!!

Howzat, Roversforever?

Love it!!!!:D

[Sligobhoy]

A lot of people on here are too young to remember the horror of Hillsborough and then in it's aftermath the Sun's sickening lies.

I would say fair play to Paul Cook for taking a principled stand on this.

[Rovers1]

how exactly did the sun lie about it?

[gustavo]

how exactly did the sun lie about it?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillsborough_disaster#The_Sun_newspaper_controvers y

[red bellied]

Remember watching the match on tv as RTE had it live. Liverpool were just after hiting the crossbar, this travelled to the outside putting more pressure on the packed pens from those trying to get in.

Liverpool played Forest in the previous cup semi final at Hillsborough (1988) and there was complaints afterwards from fans of overcrowding and crushing at the Leppings Lane end. Liverpool wanted the Kop end at Hillsborough for the '89 semi final but were refused by the police. The police excuse travel arrangements suited the Forest supporters for that end. The Kop end housed about 20,000 terraced at the time with more turnstiles and space to cope with the demand.

[Da Real Rover]

Even though this decision by Cook will have an adverse affect on the club i still support him, some principles are worth keeping.