Michael Laudrup Breaks Silence On His Swansea Sacking And Reveals He’s Taking Legal Advice: Nightly Soccer Report

Michael Laudrup has broken the silence on his Swansea City sacking and reveals he plans on seeking legal advice regarding his departure from the club.

The League Managers Association published a letter from Laudrup where he explained his side to the story. Some of the key parts of the letter include:

“I am deeply disappointed to have been dismissed as manager of Swansea City.  In particular, the manner in which it happened and the actions the club has taken since notifying me in the briefest of letters which gave no reasons why such hasty and final action was deemed necessary.  I am, of course taking legal advice and the LMA have already written to the club asking for a proper explanation as to why I was summarily dismissed. Until we receive the response I am unable to say any more about the termination but I do want to take this early opportunity to thank the Swansea City fans for their continued support and say it has been an honour to manage this great football club.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed my time managing in the Barclays Premier League which I consider to be the one of the best leagues in world football. I leave the club proud of our collective achievements over the past 20 months and I believe we have continued the club’s progression in the manner of my predecessors including Roberto Martinez and Brendan Rodgers.

“This season we have all enjoyed the memorable journey in the Europa League where the team will soon to face Napoli in the last 32 of the competition. The club has informed me that I cannot visit the training ground to say my farewells to the players so I do that now through this statement.  The players have been fantastic and their contribution under the very professional guidance of my coaching staff has been absolutely fundamental to the club’s recent successes. Three members of my staff have also been dismissed.

‘Whilst league results have been disappointing of late, we are still 12th in the table and it is there for all to see the fine margins in the league this season in terms of points that separate 11 clubs. Although we have been unfortunate with injuries, I believe our league form would have improved and that we would have benefited from the forthcoming Europa League and FA Cup matches.”

In the letter, Laudrup doesn’t address why he took a two day break to go to Paris after losing last weekend’s match against West Ham United, nor why he gave his players a two-day break either. Reports in the British tabloids inferred that Laudrup had lost control of the dressing room, and that players were given a long leash and there was little discipline and not much focus on training.

Swansea’s next match is this Saturday against Cardiff in the South Wales derby with Garry Monk in charge as the head coach for the Swans.

Here are tonight’s world soccer news headlines:

Premier League

• Michael Laudrup breaks silence on his Swansea City sacking and reveals he’s taking legal advice — Wales Online
• Michael Laudrup reveals the club won’t let him visit training ground to say goodbye to players — Independent
• Brendan Rodgers surrenders title chances as Liverpool boss targets top-four finish — The Mail
• Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke ‘to create American sister team called LA Gunners’ — Metro
• Michael Laudrup taking legal advice after Swansea City sacking — Evening Post
• Hillsborough police chiefs to raise fans’ drinking at inquest — The Guardian
• Swansea City assistant Morten Wieghorst dismissed — BBC Sport
• Sunderland manager Gus Poyet debates timing of Steven Fletcher surgery — The Guardian
• Phil Rawlins resigns from the Board of Directors — Stoke City
• A short documentary on the issue of bankrupt ex-footballers in England — 101GG
• Cardiff City sign pre-contract agreement with Javi Guerra — The Mail
• Brighton manager Oscar Garcia tops Swansea City’s wish list to replace Michael Laudrup — Independent
• Stevan Jovetic set to start at Norwich after Sergio Aguero and Alvaro Negredo injuries — The Mirror
• West Ham may take legal action against FA after Andy Carroll’s appeal fails — The Guardian
• On-loan Swansea City star Ki Sung-Yueng to decide upon his future at the end of the season — Evening Post
• Viewers cry foul over Adrian Chiles’ FA Cup commentary — The Guardian
• Graeme Jones will not be going back to Swansea City, says Roberto Martinez — Evening Post
• PES year-on-year sales down by 1.8 million units — Winning Eleven Blog
• Arsenal have no regrets not signing Luis Suárez, says Arsène Wenger — The Guardian

Championship

• Leeds in chaos after local consortium pulls out of takeover bid — The Guardian
• Leeds United could face bankruptcy after main sponsor issues winding-up petition over an alleged unpaid debt — Telegraph
• Brighton record £14.7m loss as reality of chasing Premier League hits home — The Guardian

International soccer

• Adam Johnson in line for England recall — The Guardian

MLS

• DC United to be sold for Inter? — Football Italia
• Who’s left? With Miami confirmed, MLS down to two expansion slots — Pro Soccer Talk

Scottish soccer

• St Mirren sign former Manchester United footballer Eric Djemba-Djemba — Saint Mirren

The Nightly Soccer Report is tomorrow’s news today. It’s often tomorrow morning’s worldwide newspaper headlines that are published the night before. We do all the work for you, combing the Internet and aggregating the news for you. Read The Nightly Soccer Report on World Soccer Talk every night before bed, so you can stay on top of all the news that matters.