Sousa

Go and ask Leon or Tate then, I spoke to them a number of times and they told me what he was like. Someone mentioned monk's book as well. They didn't like the guy and it's obvious that people wanted out from working with him.

You are very quick to defend Sousa and claim all fault lay at the boards door, but there is another side to the story on this one you are not even asking about.

 

valley i have very close links with the club, i worked there for years and i get to see things as they are and not the way fans think they are...sousa commanded respect and he got it. he would not be jinks puppet and when he let him down he said fcuk you im off....he was a well liked smart manager who knew his stuff and the players he could have got would have got us promoted....there is nothing anyone can tell me about the club as i got to see things at first hand.......i still visit the club and i can walk in anytime if i want to find the truth of certain things, a chat with a nice cup of tea with some old colleagues can produce a lot of truths that is going on.....Like i say if there is any substance in anything then i will say so and i will also say if fans are talking out of their arse....

 

Because everyone likes to say Sousa !

 

tatey ,leon.monk.trundle are all freinds of mine

 

Well go and ask them then

 

.....and suddenly Dai gets a chance to sharpen his anti-Jenkins claws once again. It must have been killing you this season, Dai, what with us doing so well. You haven't had any real chance to slander your ex-employer on these boards at all, have you, though why you decided to then focus your vitriol on DG10 instead is beyond me. What did he do to annoy you? Refuse to autograph your cleavage? I do not know of any Swans fan, who attended regular games that season, who was unhappy when Sousa left, whatever the actual catalyst for his exit. Turning this thread into an unsubstantiated anti-Jenkins rant is irrelevant to the OP, and offensive to the more level headed Swans fans among us.

HJ fired you. Get over it. Move on.

 

HJ fired him ?? Really ?

 

Both sides of this argument are correct if the truth be known! firstly Sousa did upset one or two players, and Beattie was one of them, FACT. Secondly contrary to some views, Sousa did not lose the dressing room, matter of fact, when he left there where concerns that some players would go to Leicester with him, one of those was Orlandi, FACT. To dispel this myth even further, that he lost the dressing room, Garry Monk came out in the press that season, complaining that we had not replaced the 40 goals of Scotland, and Gomez, FACT. Monks concerns where born of the poor support the board gave Sousa, he could see that the differences where affecting the club, and it did when we dropped out of the play-offs, Monk stated:

“We lost 40 goals from last season, in Jordi Gomez and Jason Scotland, and we haven’t replaced them properly." “The club must keep progressing if we are to keep pushing forward. “The players want it, the fans want it, everyone wants it." - Garry Monk

This comment of Monks was very timely and was speaking as the club geared themselves up for the results of their failure to make the Championship play offs, a failure which could so easily have been avoided had Huw Jenkins given Sousa the £300,000 he wanted for a Striker from Portugal for two months for our final push. Monk new that the board had blown it, especially when you consider we were just a couple of points of the second Auto promotion spot that season as well. What you have to remember is that there where failings on both sides, Sousa could be arrogant when he couldn't get his way, maybe something Huw Jenkins just couldn't deal with, but Sousa was no Innocent party here either, as some of you will remember I was the first to report on the old BBC 606 that Sousa had issues, matter of fact I had first hand experience of his arrogance, as I was privy to a conversation Sousa had with one of the clubs contractors, and it didn't make for good listening, but at the end of the day Sousa and Jenkins personalities just didn't hit it off, never the twain shall meet, so to speak, and there lay the problem all season, six of one and half a dozen of the other, but one thing I'm always grateful for from Sousa was the way he trained our back line to defend, because before Sousa we were hopeless!........................

 

I agree with the last 23 words.

 

Sousa upset more than one or two players, he upset just about every player there. Yes he's the boss and people should respect him, but that respect must be earned by not alienating the very people that the club rely on doing the business on field.

He was not backed that was obvious, but I don't think the board would give him money as he was acting the boyscout, he knew the restraints at the club. He I don't believe was given reassurances that he was to be given money in January , if he was show me one place that backs that story up.

 

Show me one place that backs that assertion up??.............

 

Well unlike some who go for the "I-know-a-guy-whose-a-friend-of-another-whose-brother-reads-the-meter" approach, I don't have an inside track and have never professed to. Dai claims he sits down and has a cup of tea with people there. If that's right why is he wrong about everything, from what we will be doing to what we should be doing?

My take (and it's only a feeling) is a bit like Phill's in that Sousa was probably giving it large after he had already been told that we're not the type of club that splashes cash. At the same time our style of play (despite the excellent league position) was infuriating some on the Board and were looking for an excuse to force him out. By playing up he gave it to them.

As Phill says we're a better team defensively now as a result of his tenure here, despite the down side of alienating some players, which he apparently did at times.

 

I simply spoke to more than one player, it's a time ago though. But you can tell by the actions

1) dobbie sent to Blackpool
2) Leon went to sheff utd
3) trundle benched (rightly or wrongly ?)
4) the reactions of the fans to the borefest
5) the board never backed him
6) he jumped at the first chance
7) he failed at the foxes as well

There are others that I can't think of right now

 

why dont you fans that know fcuk all listen to us fans who do. dragon is spot on as i was privy to the way the players responded to sousa. he was an honest man that was badly let down..FACT i was there end of story..

 

Not a bad argument, fair play.

 

sorry valley you dont have a clue what went on, I do..

 

Hmmmm.....

 

Badly let down ? I am not buying that at all, he came to the club knowing the score. You are just seeing it from one side, what about seeing it from the clubs point of view, or don't they deserve a view as you are so fixated by the club being this big nasty organisation.

He wasn't backed when asked, but as mentioned he lost the backing of the board, and as its their money it's their prerogative where their money is spent.

 

Sousa was a master of belittlement , hardly a trait to be respected . Any defense that Paulo created ( with all Martinez defenders from the previous season ) was at the expense of goals scored . To those who say " Sousa lost Scotland " ... who was Scotland before Roberto" built him up " . It's a popular misconception that Martinez team had no defense . Only 4 teams out of 23 let less goals in his season with us in the Championship , while scoring 63 in attach with a goal difference of +13 . Sousa's 2nd best defense his season was at the expense of a 40 goal attack for a +3 goal difference , I'd be guessing but probably the worst goals scored count for a team finishing 7th in tier 2 in history . Hell , worst goal total in any league for a 7th place finish for that matter .

 

I think other than Beattie and Britton, well maybe poor old Trundle as well, who surely must have been cheesed off with watching Pantstado strut his goalless wonders all season, I've not heard any other issues with players, Britton was the main issue though, if you remember, Sousa put his mate Lopez in front of Leon a few times, Britton was not used to being dropped, couple of months down the line Leon started to drag his feet over signing a contract, something that Sousa shouted out in the press, which Leon was furious with, but it was not Sousa fault in my view, as Britton was expecting to go to Wigan with his room mate Roberto, hence why he was dragging his feet over signing, but when Robert left him high and dry, Sheffield came in for him, other than this, there was the issue with Pratley, not getting a contract from HUW, and Sousa made representations to the board, in the hope that he would not lose Pratley, well we all know how things went with that one, but these player are the only issues that spilt out into the public domain that I'm aware of, anyway there was clearly friction that season, that hindered our advancement for sure, pleased though that we got Leon back, 'A Legend Returns', Can't remember who broke that one on the old 606, maybe Valley will tell us!..............