What's next for Town's Clem Morfuni after his annus horribilis?
The weekly Ink Sports Focus with STFC writer Sam Morshead
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“The club is going in the right direction, we’ve put more investment in the playing budget, we’ve got a new manager, we’re getting better players, we’re getting senior players”
By STFC writer Sam Morshead
It has not been a comfortable year for Clem Morfuni.
A rotten season on the pitch at Swindon Town has been accompanied by publicity for all the wrong reasons: from EFL penalties to question marks over his businesses and a loss of trust from supporters.
With that in mind, and given he is not the most natural interviewee, it is not so surprising that he has shied away from the media.
Last week, however, on a seven-day visit to the UK, the Town majority shareholder gave his first set of media interviews for five months. And he set about addressing the same old questions with familiar answers.
The playing budget? Competitive, and – apparently – increased from last season. When pushed to put a percentage figure on that rise, no hard number was given. “Healthy” was the buzzword Morfuni chose to describe Mark Kennedy’s recruitment purse.
“We are looking for more senior players. We want fewer loanee players. We want a nucleus of the team so it doesn’t chop and change in January.”
The objective? Promotion.
The discontent lingering around the fanbase? Understandable in part, though it still appears Morfuni feels slighted by some of the complaints raised against him.
“I don’t have an issue with them writing what they need to write, but we need to work better as a collective,” he said. “We’ve made mistakes and we acknowledge that, now we’ve got to make sure we improve.”
The Ink asked Morfuni whether the criticism he has faced is fair.
“Listen, there are certain parts that are, and there are certain parts that aren’t. There are a couple of personal attacks on me which I don’t really appreciate. It affects the staff here too when everyone gets attacked, and we’re all trying our best to get this club sustainable, and make sure they are proud to be Swindon fans.”
There is at least an appetite to better understand why supporters are unhappy, and how the club is perceived in the community.
Communication? Morfuni and his chief executive Anthony Hall both admitted there is a way to go to get a significant chunk of fans back onside. The recruitment of a marketing manager will help to an extent, and a formally appointed fan engagement officer is not a backwards step, but when I asked Morfuni to give a good reason why I should renew my season ticket, the automatic response hinged on fans backing the club.
“To support your club,” he said. “The club needs guys like you that support the club. The club is going in the right direction, we’ve put more investment in the playing budget, we’ve got a new manager, we’re getting better players, we’re getting senior players, and we need people like you to actually renew their season ticket.”