Planet Swans ArchivesFirst off, I think that Tony Rees is letting us down. He has given Petty’s side but he is a journalist. There is nothing stopping him adding his comments at the end of the article on what petty has said.
Yet again, the target of some of his attacks is Roger Freestone. Why he keeps picking on Roger is anyone’s guess but it’s clear he does. My theory is that Roger worries him. He is Swansea City through and through and has had (very good) offers in the past to leave. But he is still here for that reason.
It’s strange that the two people Petty seemed to target to leave, Roger and Stu, are the two that are Swansea fans as well as players. That’s not having a go at anyone else playing for Swansea but these two are passionate. You can hear it in their voices.
Having spoken to Roger countless times in the past year, for his testimonial, book and other matters, I know 100% fact that he is not earning vast sums of money as Petty seems to claim. If Petty knows different then so be it. There are higher earners at the club, players and backroom staff (although in fairness most of the high earners behind the scenes have gone – Burgess, Hollins etc) but Roger earns a decent wage, but we must not forget that he is a Welsh International Footballer. He could easily be earning three or four times what he is on at the moment but he chooses not to. If that makes him greedy, then please explain the logic in that one to me as I can’t see it.
It doesn’t take a genius to realise that Petty wants to sell Roger. Big mistake number four hundred and twelve. Roger is different from Stuart, he has a contract, a contract that runs until the summer of 2003. He can sit here and not be forced out if he so chooses and if Petty wants to force him out then he is going to have to pay that contract up. Let’s not also forget his testimonial, which we hope will earn him some serious cash, does anyone deserve that just because someone states he is earning too much money?
I’m interested to hear what people think Roger is on and what they think the club should pay him. Post your thoughts on this figure on the Message Board. I can assure you it is less (well less) than the £2k per week banded around earlier in the week.
Roger is not happy. I spoke to him on the way back from Luton yesterday and he was gutted. Completely gutted. It hurts him as much as it hurts us to lose a game and especially the way we lost it. If he makes a mistake then he will hold his hands up and say “I made a mistake” Plain and Simple.
But to see Petty slam him when he hasn’t spoken to him since ‘Black Wednesday’ is ridiculous and it hurts him. He does not want to leave Swansea, he has said that countless times and if Petty wants to force him out then he better get the cheque book open as I cannot see Roger just saying “OK then I am off”.
We don’t just want our club back, we need it back or we won’t have one to support at this rate. I can believe that cuts need to be made but there are means and ways of doing it and all he has done at the moment is rub people up the wrong way. If that is his way of doing things then we don’t need him. If you’ve had the offer you claim you have then just walk away from it and let others worry about the £20k per week losses. It ain’t your problem then is it?
