Ryan Manning and Michael Obafemi also on their way out of Swansea ?
Friday, 23rd Dec 2022 12:52 by Keith Haynes

It seems a certainty now that Ryan Manning has decided leave the swans having ‘refused’ to sign new contractual terms offered to him by the club. His salary demands are said to be way above that the club can offer and most certainly way in excess of the reported eleven thousand pounds a week his new deal offers. Michael Obafemi has also once again let his attitude and behaviour and commitment affect his game and future at the swans.

We first commented on Ryan Manning on here over a week ago. You can read that via this link –> Manning refuses to sign his new contract

Our view on Manning and indeed Joel Latibeaudiere is very clear, as it is on all players who have the pleasure of wearing our club shirt. Don’t like it ? Off you go. Having received this news Russell Martin has stated. “The feedback is at this minute, Ryan's agent is saying it's unlikely we are going to sign the current deal he's been offered and I'm not convinced we as a club can go any further," Martin said on Manning's situation. I think it’s a really good deal. It’s a good deal for us. We have three games and then the window will open, so there will be another discussion with Josh and Julian I am sure at some point about how we deal with that” Both Latibeaudiere and Manning are represented by the same agency.

Rumours of Manning wanting eighteen thousand pounds a week should not be dismissed out of hand as it’s the time of year when agents do their work behind the scenes to get the best for their players. The swans will not match those demands whatsoever. Both should be removed from squad selection as the whole ethos of this club is to improve the squad, not enable players who don’t see a future at Swansea a free shop window for their own ends. Harsh ? For us definitely not.

Michael Obafemi’s injury has also been put in to context by manger Russell Martin. And it seems there never was one. We reported this here some while ago –> Timely Obafemi injury

Martin has said today. "We got really praised with the way we dealt with him last season. It was about getting him to a point where he could trust himself, we could trust him to do a certain role in the team and we haven't quite seen that this season. Everyone expected him to pick up where he left off last year, but football is not linear. He's a young man living a long way from home with different things to deal with. Young men don't always get it right. We really love Mike as a character, a person, but all we can ask for from any of the lads is 100%, all in, a willingness to run for the team, and we've only seen that in glimpses." What a pity for the young man, younger men than looked after Michael Obafemi on basic wages have never come back from being away from home on many occasions in far more important occupations. That doesn’t rub with us.

Martin’s transparent managerial style has led to further discussions on Obafemi’s future at Swansea, a future the player puts in jeopardy every time he can’t get his own way. "Michael hasn't done well enough," said Martin. "He had a great end to last season. He's not given us anywhere near enough this season, he knows my thoughts on that. I think we'll have to wait and see. The August thing rocked him, for sure. Some players can cope better with that than others. It's very similar to last season's pattern really which is really frustrating for us. You take a step forward and then two steps back. He knows my thoughts on it. We've had really honest chats”

Both Manning and Obafemi could well be on the move, and to be honest their commitment to themselves is far more important to them than the club, and yes it’s an often repeated theme in football. But there’s ways about going about things and Obafemi is clueless as to the appropriate way to conduct himself. As for Manning, at least he is exercising his options more openly, but any player on the wage bill who isn’t totally committed should receive the same commitment back.