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Wales Online
Wales Online
Sport
Ian Mitchelmore

Swansea City fans fume at Supporters' Trust amid calls for resignations and renewed anger at owners

Swansea City supporters have been no strangers to adversity.

From the embarrassment of having to apply to be re-elected into the league in 1975 to seeing their beloved side preserve its Football League status by the skin of their teeth in 2003 and watching a gut-wrenching relegation from the Premier League in 2018, following the club has had its tough days.

But key elements surrounding the 2016 sale of the club to Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan have long contributed to the overwhelming feelings of disappointment and anger among a significant proportion of the Jack Army.

This week's announcement that the Supporters' Trust had struck an agreement with the club's former and current shareholders to bring an end to their legal dispute was, on the face of it, positive news - with the court action that the Trust always stated would be a "last resort" no longer required.

In a joint-statement issued with the club, Dave Dalton, chair of the Supporters’ Trust, said: “The Trust is pleased to have reached a resolution that is in the best interests of the Trust and football club and looks forward to a new chapter built on mutual support and co-operation.

"The Trust will shortly provide further clarifications about the agreement reached in a separate statement to its members.”

But a gentle scratch of the surface swiftly ensured huge frustration, disappointment and even anger rose to the surface, with large numbers of Trust members citing the lack of a vote on whether or not to accept the fresh deal as the key reason behind their perplexed and disheartened mood.

In an article published on his fan's website, Phil Sumbler stated he would be turning in his Trust membership as a result of the latest developments.

He went on to say: "It is difficult to see where the organisation will go from here.

"Many long-standing members will not be renewing their membership and the board is left with their meetings with the club, their discussions over coffee and their seats in the box on matchdays.

"But any meaningful input into club affairs is over no matter what the promises are – the talk in the club statement of the Americans being grateful to the Trust for a way forward was nothing more than a thank you for giving in so easily, and on the back of them not having to answer some of the key questions beyond a deal that was sealed for all the wrong reasons."

You can read Phil's article in full on his fans' website

READ MORE: Letter reveals how Swansea City and Supporters' Trust agreement was struck and why members were kept in dark

Nigel Davies, editor of the A Touch Far Vetched fanzine, urged the Trust board to resign immediately following the latest revelations.

"Whilst the Trust board had the legal right to agree a deal without consultation with its membership, it certainly didn't have any such moral authority to do so," he said.

"Remember, that membership had overwhelmingly given a clear mandate for legal action through a robust democratic vote."

The news has dominated the social media feeds of Jacks across the country and will no doubt continue to do so in the build-up to and in the aftermath of Thursday night's virtual meeting between the Trust board and its members.

Crucially, plenty of questions are still to be answered as supporters seek the clarity deserved and needed on a range of outcomes to emerge from the settlement.

Adrian Durran commented: "I thought the result of the ballot was to go for court action? That's what was voted on.

"So now somehow they have wormed their way out of it. That can't be right."

Jason Rees said: "Why were no Trust members told this was going on when the majority voted to take legal action? Fuming."

And Tony Davies stated: "They had a mandate from their members to take legal action, they have ignored it, therefore the Trust is no longer a voice."

As a result of Tuesday's news, a petition - which has just shy of 2,500 signatures - calling for Levien and Kaplan to resign resurfaced on social media.

A segment of the petition, created by Harrison Evans, reads: "The running of the club over the last five years has been unacceptable and we cannot tolerate it anymore.

"The lack of ambition and investment has been evident for some time now and no real changes seem to be happening any time soon."

Not all viewed the decision negatively.

Discussing the revelations, Twitter user MarkWelshyeds simply said: "Good, not fighting in the courts has to be good for the playing squad - move past this and move on from the toxicity of the last five/six years.

"We have not got owners who will invest millions but they are running us on a steady balance sheet, after 46 years supporting I'll take that."

Russell Martin's primary focus is no doubt to deliver results on the pitch while improving the performance levels of his side ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

But those who have backed the head coach so vociferously during the course of the 36-year-old's debut campaign in south Wales to date can be forgiven for using their voices to address off-the-pitch matters at a time where the club itself stated all parties were now on a "unified path to support the football club moving forward".

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