Planet Swans ArchivesAnd also, a fair indication of why the next few weeks are very critical as to whether we have a football club to take us further into the 21st Century under local control.
Let’s get some things straight here. Matthew Bound is/was a decent third division defender. And as we mounted our championship campaign the voice to say that he deserved a new contract rang loud and clear. And so he got that contract, and we all know that it was a lucrative one. And many would say that he has not been the same player since then. But that’s opinion.
What is stupid is the amount of money that he is on. £10,000 per month and a £50,000 per annum signing on fee. A £150,000 per annum wage for a third divsion footballer – now the world really has gone mad. Swansea City cannot afford those wages – clear indication that previous owners and management worked hard to run this football club into the ground.
We all know the stories about Mike Lewis and his extortionate salary and Steve Hamer and his alleged expense claims and now we hear that Matthew Bound earns an annual signing on lump sum fee in excess of twice what most of the fans earn.
This is nothing against Boundy, I have met him, socialised with him and quite like him but who in their right mind offered this contract and how many people do we have, or have we had, earning the same stupid amounts of money.
This is a third division football club which survives on an average gate of, at best at this level, 4,500. That is around 3,000 paying customers per game, earning gate recepits of about £25,000. Or to put it another way, 6 of the 23 home games per season cover Boundy’s wages when he was here. Hmmmmm……
This is a lesson that I know the consortium have learned. They won’t be offering these kind of wages and I wouldn’t imagine there would be too many tears shed to see Matthew’s wages taken off the monthly wage bill – not at that level anyway.
Now we see the situation that the move to Oxford cannot go ahead until he gets his £50,000. Looks like a case of joining the queue as the consortium set about working at how they are going to clear some of the extravagances that have been left to them as a legacy.
Whoever, sanctioned this contract and also the outstanding one that John Hollins has needs to stand up and answer the question as to why. The question from me is “are they brave enough and if not, why not”
This is one decision that needs justifying, the silence I would imagine will be deafening.
