Yesterday was a dark day for Swansea City and will be remembered by most of us that lived through it. It was bizarre to hear that the players we had watched just 12 hours earlier were being dismissed from the club without a moments thought and that other players were being offered half wages or even less.
Very few of the squad got through the day unscathed and even those that did showed their unity for their team mates by being there to support them. And then the fans turned up. Wednesday 10 October was certainly the day that the proverbial hit the fan.
And then came the official statement from the club. Long after closing time for most people, maybe to attract as little attention as possible? Who knows. But the statement read ” No player has been sacked or their contract terminated. However, it is apparent that the Club will not stand in their way should they be able to find an alternative Club.”
But surely we were told that they were sacked? Was the communication that bad? They were given the news in writing was it really that unclear from the letter what they were trying to say? We caught up with one of the unlucky seven and asked just what was in the letter.
The wording “I have to tell you that we cannot afford to meet your contractual obligations” and “you will get paid up to today” tends to suggest to me a sacking. If my boss said you will only be paid up until today then I would assume that I had been sacked. You are free to look for new employment and we will help you to do so or words to that effect mean sacked surely?
So Why the U-Turn. Compensation tends to be the wording that I will suggest. You sack the players, they sue for unfair dismissal and the club is finished as from what we are told he wouldn’t be able to meet the claims. So possibly that is where the U-Turn came from.
It’s just another sorry part of the way this football club has been run for so long. We have grown almost used to the lies and this is another one in an ever growing list. Oh for the days when we have fans running the show. Be it via the trust, a consortium or a lottery win. Fans who care and do not want to see this football club die.
To me they were sackings – you can make your own minds up