Jack Butty is fast on the tails of his last success on these very pages last week. This time he blows the dust off his scrolls and searches back in time when piracy was accepted off the South American coastline. When a fierce captain was revered and not frowned upon. When these leaders made their navigational decisions nobody frowned or blamed them. Nowadays it’s the normal thing to do, Because blame is allowed when it suits an agenda.

2018 : Marcelo Bielsa wanted to know how long an average supporter had to work to pay for a ticket to watch Leeds. He estimated that for a supporter, on average pay, this would equate to 3 hours. In order to better appreciate what it took for supporters to watch their team he called his players together and told them that for the next 3 hours they would be litter picking the Thorp Arch training ground.

Classic Bielsa. Empathy for working people, recognising how important fans are, building discipline and team spirit. Relevance? It was a story that came back to me with the recent, sorry saga with Michael Obafemi and Jamie Paterson. I’ve always enjoyed watching Obafemi. He played with a smile on his face, worked hard, had pace that terrified opponents and scored some great goals for us. Or to qualify this he did last season, after a tricky start, with 12 goals and 3 assists. It could have been more but, it looked promising and worth building on for this season.

What happened ? We know the bones of the story. Burnley were interested last summer but their bid of around £5m was less than the £7m the Swans wanted. No sale was agreed and it appeared we were left with a disgruntled player who, according to Russell Martin and the stats, was not doing enough. The post-Watford comment by Martin seemed to be referring to Obafemi and Paterson. “We give the players everything we possibly can... But energy is not limitless, it is not boundless. At some point it needs to be reciprocal and at some point it’s better investing it in people who really want it.”

Fans opinions ranged on the causes for the downturn in performance. But what seems unarguable is that the timing of the downturn occurred with the Burnley summer bid. A young and ambitious 22-year-old player, probably impatient to get back to the Premier league, appeared to have his head turned. Was anyone to blame for this? It is difficult to know. Was it the player’s agent, was it the player, was it Martin and Swansea, friends and family ? Or a bit of all of them ?

None of these reasons really matter though. The key point is that professional football players are contracted to play for their club. This involves following: the club rules; being professional and disciplined; following the manager’s game plans and playing styles, strategies and tactics and understanding the responsibility of being a member of the team. At the same time the club has a duty to look after its players, often very young men growing up in public, and to support their playing development.

We don’t want players kissing the club badge and professing undying loyalty — that is an outdated sentiment. Neither do should we regard players as well-paid indentured servants. What we do want is that players give their all and recognise the importance of the club to its fans. That is why former players like Lee Trundle and Leon Britton are adored — they loved our club; they loved the Swansea area and they gave their all on the pitch. It is this that Obafemi failed to do. He failed to give his all and to maintain a professional standard expected of everyone else. In doing this he not only let himself down but also our fans.

Which brings us back to Bielsa. Bielsa would not have put up with this attitude. No-one expects Kompany to put up with it at Burnley. Odds are, that as a new manager learning on his feet, that Martin won’t put up with this in future either. As to what happens to Paterson that is anyone’s guess? At the moment I’m not sure too many people care either. Now that’s a waste.

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Artwork by Swansea Independent

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