The security guard was a City fan — he clocked me straight away and took me to Noel Gallagher. The concert was supposed to start at 3pm, but we spent two hours talking to each other, reminiscing. Kinkladze departed City in the summer of , with the team two divisions lower than when he arrived. But he has no regrets about staying for the full three years, rather than taking up one of the big offers he received after falling out of the Premier League.
For an English fan, who you are is as important as your skill on the pitch. Embed from Getty Images. Since retiring from playing he has been involved in a variety of business activities including working as a football agent in Russia specialising in players from the English Premier League. Keeping tabs on Kinkladze became a difficult job. One week he was to be found in Athens, training with Panathinaikos, the next it was Russia, with provincial outfit Shinnik.
Each time, though, the verdict appeared to be the same: too fat and too unfit. The former Newcastle United and Wolves man is now a player-coach at Cypriot club Anorthosis Famagusta, where he has assembled a colony of Georgians. For Kinkladze it might have been a big step-down, but at least he was back among friends. However, within weeks, he was involved in a training-ground bust-up with Ketsbaia, after the latter apparently gave his new charge a stern dressing down for his lack of discipline, and was sent him home.
Sadly, it may not be long before Kinkladze is packing his bags again. It was enough for victory that afternoon, putting City up in a game they would end up winning by two goals to one, but Kinkladze and his team-mates ultimately fell agonisingly short. An end total of 38 points from as many games is no mean feat after opening the campaign with two from 11, but when push came to shove it turned out 39 would have been enough to keep them in the league but 38 would not. Kinkladze stuck around for two more years but failed to lift City back to the promised land.
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