With no mention of the alleged "rift" in the Swans camp for days, speculation surrounding the Dane's future seems to have died down
Right, I'm aware that this article is possibly both premature and a little foolhardy, but I'm in a good mood and feeling positive so let's be having you.
As I've stated in previous blogs, I'm not convinced there was ever any serious issue between the manager himself and the board. Laudrup went on holiday when the season ended, and the Swans had a list of targets to work on which I've no doubt they did to the best of their ability. If we didn't/couldn't sign any of the players on that list, it's because we can't afford to. Simple as. Laudrup has, in his defence, always seemed to understand this, and when he's spoken about the transfer market he's always been very careful to end his comments with something akin to "...within the financial boundaries of the club" - indicating he's very much aware of how we do things in SA1.
Tutumlu, however, clearly had a harder time getting used to this. The Evening Post have reported that as early as the Wigan game he'd been spotted remonstrating passionately to Laudrup on the field in the warm up - what the content of that discussion was is anyone's guess but the Post seem to think it was related to the subsequent set-to over the transfer budget, and in fairness it is hard to fault that logic. The former car salesman seemed very intent on making a point in the press throughout, but once the Swans had severed ties with him it all came to a close so quickly it's left me wondering whether something was said to make him, essentially, shut up.
Any time he'd spoken to the press over the preceding few weeks, he'd clearly had some kind of agenda, and wasn't afraid to throw in some spicy comments. Ok, journalists have a way of goading people into giving juicy answers, but he's been a football agent for a long time and he knows what he's doing. Once the Swans announced they would no longer deal with him (and he'd thrown in a token indignant outburst for good measure) however, the issue disappeared. He came out saying:
"There is no problem with Michael Laudrup and Swansea City. He is staying. It is my problem, my problem with Huw Jenkins.
"I spoke about it yesterday and I don't want to speak about it again. The issue is now finished. I don't want to speak about it anymore." Bayram Tutumlu
To me, when you compare that statement to any that went before it it's clear that either he's been told to leave it alone, or he's decided to "be the bigger man" and not cause any more trouble. I know which one I think it is. He was very careful with his wording to point out that it was his problem, not Laudrup's, which reinforces my belief that this was all just a storm in a teacup, where Tutumlu thought by throwing his toys out of the pram he might get a few more million to help spend in the transfer market. He picked the wrong sparring partner in Huw!
Of course, we can't completely rule out the possibility that there is some kind of problem between Laudrup and the board, but I'm yet to see anything which makes me think that's the case. There are still articles appearing on a daily basis with various hypotheses about the situation (mostly including PSG - the latest few seem to think they want/would have to pay £10mil to acquire the Swans' manager), but they're now appearing in dribs and drabs as opposed to the flood that we saw a week or two ago.
I won't be alone in hoping that we've already heard the last on this issue, and with talk now turning to transfer targets it seems that all is once again well (if ever it wasn't) at the Liberty.
Fingers crossed...