Alan Tate has spoken out regards his leaving of the club in the city he calls his adopted home. In an emotional personally written letter Tate has made it clear he would love to return to Swansea City one day. However, many questions are left unanswered.
Despite the way he left the club Alan Tate still holds extremely fond memories of the times he experienced at the swans describing them as ‘unbelievable’ However, his final messages were more about what he didn’t say, more than he did. He thanked the club especially Julian Winter and Mark Allen but at no point did he reference the new regime at Swansea City. No mention at all for Russell Martin or any of the new staff he has brought in with him. No mention of his last two months at the club where he ended up in charge of loan players, a role which to us seemed demeaning compared to the role he once had as first team coach prior to Martin’s arrival. Those words "Theres is much more I could write” in amongst his farewell message are telling. Yes he went on to talk about thanking people, and stating he had more things to say, but he wisely left those words hanging, for the appropriate time.
And no doubt there will be an appropriate time.
Swansea City gave Alan Tate a new lease of life back at a time as a twenty year old impressionable young man he met Roger Freestone, Rog had no teeth and was smiling at him, Tate then began wondering what he had got himself in to. From there Tate went on a remarkable Swansea journey playing his last game when the club were eighth in the Premier League. He played his first when the club were at the foot of the football league in ninety second place.We all know the story, it happens to no more than a handful of clubs in football history, and the swans have done it twice.
Alan Tate saw the worst and best of Swansea City over nearly twenty years
Tate made the best decision he could by leaving any issues he had on his swans departure to one side, and concentrated on the positive. It was clear to us from the off Tate wasn’t going to feature in Russell Martin’s match day plans, or in any way in a key role at Swansea City. Alan Tate is not the type of ex player or coach that fits the mould required. Whether it was good timing or not Steve Cooper offered him a more challenging and valued role at Nottingham Forest. He obviously took it.
Darren Fletcher who won five premier league championship medals with Manchester United remembers Tate fondly "Tatey was already there because he was the year above me. He was the captain of the youth team and he recognised that I was a young lad finding my way in a new city. Not only that, but I went to Manchester six months earlier than I should have done, so I was a lot younger than everyone else. Whenever the lads went out for a meal or went to the Trafford Centre to play pool, Tatey got me involved. He welcomed me into the group and that is something I have never forgotten. He didn’t have to do it. The fact that he did speaks volumes about the type of lad he is.”
Those words of top professionals should echo in the minds of all swans fans today, and the the words that Alan Tate wrote on his departure, "All I can say, and trust me when I tell you this, I love everything about our past, I love everything about our club, I love everything about our city, my adopted home. "This is NOT goodbye, this is THANK YOU, I LOVE YOU, I WILL MISS YOU and I WILL SEE YOU AGAIN.”
"He played football with his brain,” Brendan Rodgers says. That is the case with all the best players. They play with their brains. Their legs are just there to help them along. But you only get to see the true value of Tatey when you work with him every day. From a character perspective, he is everything you want as a manager.” That was the man Russell Martin had at his disposal. But for whatever reason he didn’t take that opportunity to nurture what Tate knows, or indeed involve him in his first team plans. Martin will have his own reasons for that we are sure.
Brendan Rodgers : Alan Tate played football with his brain
Tate’s heartfelt message, and far from the usual agent written nonsense we read so many times when a player leaves a club. This was from the heart and written by the person it mattered to. We too wish Alan Tate well in all that he does, and no doubt in time will hear from him on his final experiences at the swans. But not yet, it isn’t the right time, but most certainly as he says, ‘I will see you again’ we are pretty certain ‘We will hear from you again’ as well.
For some this will place another question mark over Russell Martin and the way he has operated at the swans since his arrival. For us for now it displays a single mindedness to get things right regardless. There was nothing from Alan Tate in his farewells for any member of the new regime, and on his leaving we heard nothing personable from them either. You would have thought something would have been better than the usual. Tate said all the right things on Russell Martin coming to the club, praising his ideology and vision. Unfortunately on his leaving nothing in response from the swans manager was forthcoming, literally nothing.
And that tells us all we need to know. In fact it confirms everything. This particular ending needs proper closure, and we haven’t heard the last of it, not by a long shot.