My take on it was that, as the most senior Midlands football reporter, Pat Murphy had had enough of colleagues being treated disgracefully by NP and so went into the press conference determined to stand up for them. Let's not forget that Pat Murphy is an excellent journalist who has conducted a most impressive array of interviews with Midlands based players and managers for more than two decades. Even prickly sods like Clough or O'Neill opened up to him.
I thought that Murphy decided that NP was getting away with treating people in his profession like scumbags to be abused and humiliated at will. I have no doubt that the talk of the tv, radio and press media in the Midlands is exactly as Murphy described. They think they're being fair and doing their jobs but NP is determined to use them as pawns in his absurd games. Murphy decided that, as the senior journo in the area, it was up to him to stand up for his colleagues and I thought he did this excellently.
The reaction of NP was the reaction of standing up to a bully in the playground. He was caught out for what he was. I've no idea if this behaviour is typical of NP with his employees at the football club or his private life. However, his way of dealing with the media has always been unacceptable. His ban on Stringer is pathetic. He alienated the equivalent journo's in Hull too. He's pissed off Sky reporters, national BBC reporters and national press. Frankly, the only media people he hasn't alienated are those that are gutless and too scared to challenge him. Exactly as it is with any bully. As well as all this of course, he's also been fined for verbally abusing a supporter this season.
It's about time someone told him that he was essentially being a twat to his face and I applaud Murphy for doing so.
Just because he is our football clubs manager, doesn't mean whatever he says or does goes with impunity. The fact that so many City fans constantly defend his absurd and pathetic behaviour is demeaning to them as individuals and us as a club. It's akin to a partner refusing to blame the perpetrator of domestic violence. I'm quite sure (as John Percy intimated yesterday), that Vichai won't be comfortable with the image his manager constantly restates. As with Billy Davies at Florist, the behaviour of the manager may be the thing that makes his position untenable.
Ultimately, it is completely unacceptable that just when we are at the most important time in our season with so much riding on the next match that our manager and club is dealing yet again with the consequences of his behaviour.
