Russell Martin’s appointment as Southampton manager has felt inevitable for more than a month.
For many at St Mary’s and Swansea City (the club he’s leaving), it was a case of unpredictability.
After his appointment was finally confirmed on Wednesday, the two teams in the championship have been at odds over money and principles, with neither side showing any signs of yielding. The dispute shows no signs of resolving, and the possibility of a legal battle is real.
Swansea’s 104-word statement confirming Martin’s departure suggests the 37-year-old has left the club of his own accord after two seasons in charge, with both clubs likely to dispute the amount of his compensation in court. and doubled down on their longstanding views. They insisted that they still owe “full reparations.”
“Swansea City can confirm that head coach Russell Martin has left the club to join Southampton,” the statement read. “Martin had just over 12 months remaining on the three-year deal he signed when he arrived at Swansea.com Stadium in August 2021.
“The club also remains steadfast in its belief that it owes Russell full compensation and will continue to work diligently and strategically to protect the club’s best interests.” Swansea City would like to thank Russell for his accomplishments during his time at SA1. The club will soon provide supporters with an update regarding the new first team coaching staff.”
Southampton’s own statement caused a stir on social media for not mentioning Swansea by name, instead referring to them as a ‘Welsh club’. However, they argue that it was a typo in the copy that omitted “Swansea City”.
The fuss centers around differences between what the clubs believe is fair pay.
Martin’s contract at Swansea included a fixed buyout clause that allowed him to be pulled out of his South Wales contract, depending on which club he belonged to. Swansea feel they are entitled to a stipulated fee from a Premier League team, which Southampton made last season £1.25m ($158m).
Southampton’s counter-argument is that they were relegated after a 2-0 defeat to Fulham with two games left of the season and should theoretically have been considered a championship club. This means they only have to pay £750,000. An additional £400,000 had to be paid due to other parallel negotiations to allow Martin’s backseat from Swansea to travel with him to Southampton.
The managerial appointment, led by majority stakeholder Sports Republic and incoming football director Jason Wilcox, who joined from Manchester City, was agreed to by Southampton in early May with Martin.
Martin is seen as an up-and-coming and tactically sophisticated manager whose football philosophy is consistent with Southampton’s intentions to move to a possession-based style and has been under manager Ralph Hasenhuttl since December. It suggests a dramatic gear change from the emphasis on high press that has been trained with. From 2018 to November of last year.
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Sport Republic have faith in Martin – his appointment should work for Southampton
Martin, 37, was not Southampton’s first choice. It was Manchester City assistant Enzo Maresca. The Italian was offered the job in part because Wilcox had a deep knowledge of his leadership acumen and personality through their shared background at City.
But when Maresca decided to stay at City to help win the treble and join fellow relegated side Leicester, Martin was clearly the favorite to win. On 19 May, Southampton were already relegated with just two games remaining in a tough season. The Athletic It was reported that he was scheduled to be appointed as the next director.
Earlier this month, Martin was scheduled to fly to Washington, D.C. to meet Swansea majority owners Steve Kaplan, Jason Levien and Jake Silverstein after the championship season. Discussions were expected to center on outlining plans for 2023-2024 and clarifying his future as Martin enters the final 12 months of his contract.
By that stage, Martin was considering vacancies at both Southampton and Leicester City. He never flew out to the US capital. Despite no formal approach from Southampton, interest in him was accelerating.
Inside Southampton, it’s common sense that a dismal late-season performance (finishing bottom of the table, six points behind second-placed Leeds United) meant the strange luxury of depriving Premier League opponents of a march. There was recognition. Two other casualties will also be known.
With Southampton continuing to sleepwalk toward relegation, the Sporting Republic were in a position to begin preparations for a return to the Championship after eleven consecutive seasons of top-flight football. Inquiring about Martin’s availability showed that mindset.
This was further evidenced by changes in the hierarchy, with the addition of Darren Mowbray from Scottish Premiership Aberdeen as Head of Recruitment and the departure of Chief Executive Martin Semens. Other appointments, including an Academy Director, are expected to be confirmed in the coming weeks and will be in line with Southampton’s new ball-dominance approach.
As The Athletic According to reports, Martin verbally agreed to join Southampton on May 21, two days after this article was published. But tensions were building in the two boardrooms.
It is not a rule to have informal discussions with coaches or players without permission, but it is common in football.
Swansea’s American owners were unprepared to accept the unwritten status quo of informal negotiations and believed they had approached Martin without permission while Southampton were still a Premier League club.
Goalkeeping coach Andrew Sparks is expected to step down after Southampton’s final game of the season against Liverpool on 28 May and will be replaced by Dean Thornton, who has held the same job as Martin’s backroom staff. Was. For much of the negotiations, Swansea’s assistant coaches were kept secret about the progress of the deal and when the transfer would be approved.
Discussions to remove Martin from his contract were between Sports Republic co-founder Rasmus Ankersen and Paul Watson. Watson is on a gardening leave from his job as Chief Operating Officer of Luton Town until July 1, but has been approved to work behind the scenes and lead negotiations with Swansea. Lawyers were also involved to help the two sides explore an agreement.
The difference between the amount paid to Martin between the Premier League and the Championship is negligible compared to the typical spending on Southampton players during his time in the top league, but Southampton, for example, paid winger Kamaldine in January. Paid Slemana a club-record £22m – negotiations with Swansea have increasingly worked on principle. And neither owner group refused to concede.
But behind all of this was the looming deadline for Martin’s appointment.
Some Southampton players are considering leaving after being relegated, and with the EFL season starting the first weekend in August, Martin was due to return for pre-season at the end of the month. and the coaching staff still remained with the team. Even though agents of transferees and players already at the club had no doubt that he would be the next manager, he could not officially begin his work.
When Southampton officially lost their status as a Premier League club on 14 June, they returned to Swansea and offered to negotiate the championship compensation stipulated in Martin’s contract. Swansea turned this down, but this time Southampton said they had invoked a clause in their contract as they were now a championship team.
Apparently, Wednesday’s announcement of Martin’s arrival came without assurances for his backing team as negotiations continued.
Another factor is that Swansea, who have fulfilled Michael Duff’s release clause (he led Barnsley to the League One play-off final last season) and appointed him as their new head coach, are ready to bring the player to Southampton in 2019. I don’t know yet if I will approve the sale. current atmosphere.
Joel Pillow, for example, has 12 months left on his contract and is expected to leave Swansea this summer after scoring 20 goals in two consecutive seasons. Captain Matt Grimes was seen as an option for Southampton, having played a key role in Martin’s ability to stick to his own philosophy at the Welsh club. He described the midfielder as an “incredible” footballer.
Martin’s move may finally have happened, but love is not yet lost between the two clubs that could face each other on the court.
(Top photo: Athena Pictures/Getty Images)
