And a sair one they are distinctly unchuffed about. The Motherwell official statement wishes Brown and Archie Knox well. But.
“Separately we do wish to make clear that as a Board we believe that the conduct of the Board of Aberdeen in this matter has been wholly inappropriate and in clear breach of SPL rules as well as basic courtesy. At no point did they inform us or seek our permission to speak to critical employees of our Club and to seek to entice them to leave our employment.
“We realise the desperation they are feeling and the pressure they are under from their fans for their own performance as a Board but to go about their business in this way is a matter of gross discourtesy. It is also conduct which is beneath the integrity we would expect of a Club of Aberdeen’s stature. We hope Aberdeen’s fans will reflect on that and understand our need to do something about it. We have raised this matter with the SPL and will pursue the matter vigorously and by all means.
“To all Motherwell fans everywhere we ask for you to rally round the Club as you always do and we will work together to keep punching above our weight and obtaining the success we all seek. This Club is bigger than any manager and for that matter any Board. As fans we will always be the people who care most about this club for the long term. Loyalty is clearly all too rare in football but we know we have it in ourselves for the club we love. Motherwell is a special club from a special place as anyone touched by us knows well."
We've not heard the end of this one. Grumblings elsewhere about Brown's U-turn over the course of the week. Hard to disagree that an old pro has handled this one badly.
Got to like the "the desperation they are feeling" line in Motherwell's statement though. Touché.
But Motherwell's fans would be best served if this doesn't become a lengthy slanging match. The club need to concentrate on replacing Brown. Follow up any legitimate complaint but don't get bogged down, there's a strong start to the season to be built on.
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This from the team that sacked players, fobbed off creditors, and then have continued with the same owner.
ReplyDeleteThey should have been thrown out of the league.
Brown and Knox could have handled things better (going at first request), but Motherwell jumped the gun on issuing the "they're staying" statement - and for a team that sacked staff that had contracts those years ago, they should have at least had their management on a contract.
@Glenn, all valid points.
ReplyDeleteFor Aberdeeen though, this is a good move, one I'm very happy about. Brown is a steady hand - solid if not spectacular - who will stabilise the club and hopefully bring out the best in the squad. Archie Knox likewise, an experienced assistant with ties to the club.
At 70 though, he's not their for the long haul but if he can at least stop the rot and build for the future, I'll be happy.