The owner and former striker Charlie Austin have both had interesting developments in the matter in the short 24 hours since the Trust STFC organization’s letter was made public online.
Trust STFC published a letter expressing “no confidence” in owner Clem Morfuni yesterday, following the completion of a survey by more than 2,000 supporters of Swindon Town. According to this survey, 85% of fans were unhappy with the club’s current ownership and the way it appears to be going.
You may read our post here that explains the rationale behind the no-confidence vote.
Both the club’s statement and The Swindon Advertiser’s fascinating interview with Charlie Austin, the recently-departed captain, were issued this morning. Both made for very intriguing reading.
Owner Morfuni asserted that he had read the letter and promised to implement initiatives in the upcoming weeks to ensure that fan bases support his direction for the team:
“We acknowledge the concerns raised in the open letter released yesterday by the Swindon Town Supporters Trust, and we have carefully studied it. In the upcoming weeks, we hope to meet with supporter organisations to talk about the letter and the most recent fan-led survey, while respecting all points of view.
But even while the Australian billionaire assured supporters that he would consider some of their critiques, it appeared that he was unable to accept responsibility for all of the accusations made against him in the letter:
“We would like to clarify that we do not entirely agree with all of the points raised in the open letter, even though we value the feedback from the Supporters Trust and the larger fan community.”
In a further twist to the story, Charlie Austin shared his opinions on the circumstances after attending the team the previous season. Regarding the individuals engaged off the pitch at Swindon, the former Premier League striker, who scored 12 goals in the league last season, had the following to say:
It’s difficult to operate a team from the other side. Clem is the owner, but he’s not the ultimate football guy, and the people underneath him are either not football people or the wrong people. He needs football people to be running that club side of the globe, particularly when others don’t say what you want to hear.
However, since he is the owner, he must accept some of the blame for what has occurred.
Austin was keen to emphasise that The Robins might be in for a very difficult season if summer business is not done correctly, both on and off the pitch. His comments appeared to be a very honest assessment of the current circumstances at the club, particularly after narrowly avoiding a relegation struggle last year.
“I believe that Swindon is currently in a precarious situation, and the upcoming summer will be extremely important for the team.”
There might be a serious issue if they don’t set up the proper management structure and if they don’t get this window properly.
It’s evident from today’s developments that Morfuni is still in contact with the team and appears to want to make a favourable shift that would represent a significant improvement for Swindon Town. However, as Charlie Austin, a fan favourite, pointed out, it won’t be simple.
