This saga just refuses to die...
Look I don't think the basic facts are really in dispute , are they ? Details apart , it was clear for a long time that KP was his own man - to put it kindly - which is not to say he wasn't a great asset to his team. Much as Boycott's self centered approach , while it sometimes caused trouble for his captains (didn't Willis once have to urge Botham to run him out for the sake of the game plan ? ) , generally meant vital runs for England , so too KP's ambition paid huge dividends for the team - not to mention enthralling the spectators.
No exaggeration to say he was one of the major factors in England's rise from mediocrity to the top. And in many ways he was actually a good influence (I am here disregarding what he may have said to/about Taylor , as it seems a little out of character) for his younger teammates.
However , as is nearly always the case , a plunge in a team's fortunes puts huge pressure on hitherto dormant fault lines in that elusive entity known as team spirit. It is in adversity that players tend to start looking at each other with a more critical eye - and one who seems to disregard the team interest and rather waste his talents while others are really struggling to compete is always likely to cause some resentment. No surprise Gooch was angry. Or that others subsequently concluded that the rebuilding probably wasn't best served by continuing with Pietersen as a key member of the team.
It is definitely a sad thing that the eventual parting of the ways came about in such an awkward and publicly charged manner. At the same time it is hard to think of a way in which it could have been handled which would have satisfied all parties. ( For England , anyway ....the more hard headed Australians would have simply left him out of the next team without comment - and , when questioned further , said they felt it was time to bring fresh blood into the squad and KP's fitness issues made him the logical candidate to be moved on... They do these hatchet jobs much better.)
Suppose Gooch , like others , will be constantly prodded for comment on this issue ; so it is going to keep getting attention. A pity , as surely most people want to move on ?
Or maybe not : perhaps this could be good for another 22 pages