Were Swansea City right to sack Michael Laudrup?

Danish legend Michael Laudrup has been sacked by Swansea City

Swansea City have parted-company with boss Michael Laudrup.

The Swans were on a bad run of form which saw them drop to just two points above the relegation zone, albeit it in 12^th place in the congested Premier League table.

Confirmation

The Welsh club released a statement which read: “Swansea City and manager Michael Laudrup have tonight parted company.

“(Defender and captain) Garry Monk will take up the reins as head coach alongside current first team coach Alan Curtis for the foreseeable future.

“The club will be making no further comment at this stage, but will endeavour to keep our supporters updated with any future development.”

Poor run

Swansea are in the midst of a terrible run of results, which has saw the Welsh side pick up just one win in their last ten Premier League games. The Swans have endured a number of injury problems to key players that really has not helped their cause.

Small squad

Swansea have a small squad by Premier League standards and the amount of injuries they gained this season has saw the team struggle. It has not just been the amount of injuries though, but also the fact that the injuries have been to key players at times.

The biggest injury of them all has been to last season’s star player Michu. The Spaniard has struggled to reach the heights of last season, but has been carrying an ankle injury for much of the campaign. The former-Rayo Vallecano star is currently on the sidelines, but expected to return to action shortly.

Wingers Wayne Routledge, Nathan Dyer and Pablo Hernandez have also had to endure time on the sidelines with injury and fitness problems. The wing positions are vital to the way that the Swans play and a lack of continuity in those positions has hindered the Swans form this season.

With the team suffering so many injuries throughout the season, the Swans have found it difficult to cope with the demands of Europa League football, as well as the domestic competitions. No doubt the clubs playing resources have been stretched to the limit this season.

Successful

Football is a very fickle game. Michael Laudrup guided Swansea to their first ever piece of silverware last season, winning the league cup. The Dane carried on the good work of the likes of Roberto Martinez and Brendan Rodgers and looked to be moving the team forward.

Swansea’s football philosophy was very much the same as the Dane’s, with attacking, passing football the order of the day at the Liberty Stadium. The two seemed like a perfect fit, but only in the short-term.

Laudrup has never been able to really put down managerial roots at any club. At times it has been his fault, but other times it has not. Michael Laudrup never gave the impression that he was fully committed to Swansea in the long-term, a subject that Swans chairman Huw Jenkins has broached after Laudrup’s sacking.

The Dane had been linked with summer moves elsewhere, but decided to stay in Wales and attempt to move the club forward. However, it had been speculated that Laudrup was looking for a big move this summer.

Speculation linking him with the likes of PSG, Chelsea and Manchester United must have unsettled the 49-year-old. It now seems that Laudrup was distracted by the speculation.

Ambition

Michael Laudrup is believed to be fiercely ambitious and wants to be at a club that can match his ambitions. The Dane was never going to be happy at Swansea in the long-term. The Welsh club is one of the best run in the Premier League.

They do not spend beyond their means on transfers or wages and that is how the club have stayed in good financial shape. Any manager coming in will know that they have to do things on a relatively small budget compared to some of the Swans rivals.

The clubs budget seemed to have irked Laudrup. It also seemed that he knew what players he wanted to bring in at the Liberty, but was frustrated by the fact that he was not allowed to spend enough money to bring those players to the club.

It was a simple tale of Swansea not wanting to put the clubs finances in peril for the sake of the team being moved forward, which is the Swans boards priority.

Back in football

Michael Laudrup does have managerial talent and I am sure that he will be back in football very soon. However, he needs to join a club that are willing to spend big money in the pursuit of success, that club was never going to be Swansea.

It was good while it lasted, but Swansea now needs to bring in a boss that is capable of keeping the team playing decent football within their budget. It is going to be hard, but the Swans board have a habit of coming up trumps with bosses.

The last three Swans bosses have played their part in moving the club forward in different ways. The next Swansea boss just needs to move the team away from danger this season and then attempt to move the team forward next season.

Were Swansea right to sack Michael Laudrup?