Just 24 hours after the Trust STFC organisation’s letter was released online, the matter has taken some fascinating turns during the day, involving both the owner and ex-striker Charlie Austin.
Yesterday, Trust STFC uploaded a letter of “no confidence” in owner Clem Morfuni following a survey of over 2,000 Swindon Town supporters. 85% of supporters expressed dissatisfaction with the club’s current ownership and the direction in which it appears to be headed.
You can read our post about the reasons for the vote of no confidence here.
This morning, the club released a statement, as well as an excellent interview with recently departed captain Charlie Austin for The Swindon Advertiser, all of which made for fascinating reading. Owner Morfuni claimed to have read the letter and stated that he will put plans in place in the coming weeks to ensure that supporter groups agree with his leadership of the club:
“We attentively reviewed the Swindon Town Supporters Trust’s open letter issued yesterday and understand the concerns raised. Respecting all perspectives, we want to propose a meeting with supportive groups in the future weeks to discuss both the letter and
A recent fan-led survey.” However, it appeared that, although making it apparent to supporters that he would take some of their comments into account, the Australian billionaire refused to accept responsibility for all that was accused of in the letter.
“While we value the feedback from the Supporters Trust and the wider fan community, we would like to mention that we do not fully agree with all the points raised in the open letter.” Charlie Austin, who was at the team last season, provided additional insight into the situation. The former Premier League striker, who scored 12 league goals last season, had the following to say about the people engaged off the pitch at Swindon
“Clem is the owner, he’s not the ultimate football guy, and the people that are below him are not football people or not the right people, he needs football people to be running that club, it’s hard to run a club from the other side of the world especially when people aren’t telling you what you want to hear.”
But, look, he’s the owner, and he must accept some responsibility for what has occurred.
Austin’s statements appeared to be a very honest assessment of the club’s current predicament, and having narrowly survived relegation last year, was quick to point out that if summer business is not done correctly, The Robins might be in for a very difficult season – both.
“I think that at the moment Swindon is on a knife edge and this coming summer will be massive for the club.”
“If they don’t get this window right and put the correct management structure in place, it may be a big problem.
The discoveries made today show that Morfuni is still in contact with the club and appears to want to make a good change, which would be a huge step forward for Swindon Town. But, as fan favorite Charlie Austin pointed out, it will not be an easy feat.
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