Matthews slams South after sackings
By Donald Sutherland & Tom Pollock July 6, 2013   

Former South Melbourne player Tom Matthews has described his and Joe Keenan’s release from the four-time National League champion as the most unprofessional experience of his career.
Speaking exclusively to MFootball, Matthews explained that his former employers gave him no reason as to why he was released and said he was baffled at subsequent, unsubstantiated rumours of intoxication being linked to his release.
“I was at work on Monday morning when I got a phone call from members of the board and was told that my contract would be terminated with immediate effect,” Matthews explained.
“I said, ‘oh, okay, no worries, on-field or off-field, can I have the reasoning?’” [The South Melbourne official] said it’s not to do with off-field at all because I don’t know what you do in your own time.
“I said ‘oh, okay, so is it on-field [related]?’ He went, ‘look, I can’t give you a reason, it’s been terminated, you’re going to have to accept it’, and that was the end of that.
“Later on in the night, they held a meeting with the players who had not been sacked in the changing rooms to tell them I’d been sacked for off-field reasons. So they were either lying to me or lying to the current playing staff.”
“The fact that rumours then accused me of turning up to training intoxicated is quite low as far as I’m concerned. Fair enough, tear up my contract but don’t go start spreading lies about the reasons that I’ve been sacked. Give the staff, give myself the real reason.”
“It is laughable to be honest, I’m over here on a working holiday visa where I’m required to work five days a week. On the Friday I was at work, I can prove that to anyone with my work schedule so where they’ve got that [the rumour] from, I don’t actually know.”
Matthews also revealed that former Melbourne Victory and Chelsea midfielder Joe Keenan was notified of his release by his teammates first, and not the club board.
“Joey Keenan didn’t actually realise he’d been sacked until the boys rang up and let him know… [he] found out he’d been sacked after they told the playing staff on the night. It was the most unprofessional thing I’ve witnessed in football.”
“[He] was at work so he got a call after the current players had been told. So for all he knew, he could have turned up to training being a past player. Which for a boy that has played at Chelsea and Champions League and has had a great career … how do you do that to someone like that?”
Matthews, who has since moved back to former club Bentleigh Greens, said he understood Peter Tsolakis’ resignation, saying the former South Melbourne coach had no choice after the club hierarchy had sacking his players without consultation.
“I’ve never witnessed anything like it to be honest, the fact they went behind Gus’ (Tsolakis) back to notify the players without him knowing. He even admitted he was too embarrassed to ring me after what had gone on,”Matthews said.
“I don’t think he really had a choice, how can you manage to be successful on the pitch when the board has gone behind your back and sacked the captain without giving him an option? How can you trust the board and your employers when they have no regard for the team?
“He went in to the game against Port Melbourne, when we was beaten at home, without two starting players out of his back four, which was out of his hands.
“I can understand where Gus is coming from, he built a great playing squad at South Melbourne – the boys there made it one of the best changing rooms I’ve been in.”
South Melbourne declined to comment when contacted about Matthews’ comments.