When Russell Martin resigned from Swansea City and wanted to join Southampton, the two clubs could not agree a compensation package, the dispute was fairly simple, the Swans claimed that Saints were still a Premier League club and we countered with the fact that we had already been relegated.
This dragged on till July 1st when Saints finally appointed Martin on the basis that this was the date when they officially ceased being a member of the Premier League and joined Swansea in the Championship.
The argument stemmed from Martin’s contract having a higher release clause for a Premier League team than for one in a lower division, as Swansea fan site Planet Swans have explained. They also assert that, five months into Martin’s tenure as manager at St Mary’s, the two clubs are still far apart on the amount of compensation.
Swansea is saying that the crucial factor is the timing of the offer—not when he was officially appointed—and that the approach was made while Saints were still playing in the top division.
Saints maintain that although they may have contacted him, they didn’t officially name him until after they had left the elite division.
With the transfer window now less than a month away, the Welsh club is reportedly fighting over a substantial sum of money—roughly £1 million.
In actuality, it was a little disagreement at the time, but in June Swansea paid his salary and Saints avoided having to pay him for around five weeks.
It has now been made public that neither team can agree on a middle-of-the-road price.
Although Swansea supporters may think this is insignificant to Southampton, Swansea will consider it a large quantity of money considering the team only spent about £4.5 million during the summer transfer window—exactly the same amount as they brought in—of that being the sale of ex Saints player Michael Obafemi to Burnley.
They need every dollar they can earn as they anxiously glance over their shoulders. Right now, they are comfortably positioned in the middle of the table, 8 points off the play-off spots but, more concerningly, the same number from the bottom 3.
From Southampton’s point of view, you would hope that we are at least attempting to find a middle ground, even though you naturally want to see the club avoid having to pay out money they don’t need to. You might also feel that we are not playing fair here, even though we may have been in compliance with the law on the day he was appointed.
From Southampton’s point of view, while it is understandable that you want to see the club avoid having to pay out money that it does not need to, you might also feel that we are not playing fair. While we may have been in compliance with the law on the day he was appointed, you would think that at least we are attempting to find a middle ground.
Reaching an agreement closer to our valuation with an add-on condition stating that we would pay the entire cost in the event of a promotion could be one way to resolve the issue.
Given that we play Swansea twice in a month in December and January, this could work to our advantage and deter Swansea from trying too hard in these games if they want to get top dollar in compensation, although I am sure that they have more ethics than that.
Leave a Reply