Fred mate I'm sure that's a great read but you need to employ use of the enter key:
Ok guys your probably bored of this subject : ) I was having dinner on the shore with my family when the last Waitakere Coach sat down next to us with his wife. Did not know it was him till we got talking and of course soccer came up. It was Brian Shelley with a strong Irish accent I might add. Anyway this could be a one sided story so if anyone knows different let me know but was pretty shocked with how he was treated and what has happened since.
In a nut shell he came across very honest and said he completely understood his responsibility was to win more games than he did and if you dont you will pay the price. However what he was spun by the chairman Williamson I think he said his name is was very different. Williamson had said there would be transitional period at the club as they were looking to move away from Fred Taylor to Naghue which did not happen and that is a whole other story !.
Anyway 3 games in to the season he was sacked, he was summonsed to a meeting in a busy hotel in the city with no idea why he was going as it was the day before they had an away game. Once there anyway he was sacked in the main lobby of the hotel with heaps of people around. He understands coaches get sacked all the time but most you never hear much about after as they are compensated for being sacked.
Anyway Shelley said the misleading unprofessional manner in how this was done he could not accept. Also they appointed the current coach the night before while Shelley took training. He seeked some legal advice and was told it was completely unacceptable how they went about terminating his contract as it was his main stream of income for him and his family. Shelley said he had built up relationships with people at the club so he wanted to let them know he was very unhappy and was going to take this further. A guy called Peter and Bill said they would meet Shelly to try work out something.
Anyway by the end of that meeting Shelley had agreed on payment of only 5k and an apology so the mater could be closed. However a few hours later he was called to say Williamson said no to what was agreed and he was willing to go to court and would bring a top barrister. Williamson said Shelley would end up paying the legal fees etc in a bid to intimidate him. Shelley said he would not accept that so contacted the employment tribunal and was told he could represent himself at the hearing. Shelley said the last thing he wanted to do was go down that legal road but would not be intimated by someone with money.
So here is where Williamson gets nasty ! There was a pre hearing in where both parties try to resolve the issue . There is a mediator apparently that goes between the rooms with each party to try resolve the issue. Williamson's first offer was that he would let immigration know that they would not be supporting Shelley and his family anymore with his visa if he did not drop this immediately and they would be deported !
Now when Shelley told me this i thought wow that is a bully ! Williamson was so un-informed Shelley said that him and his family now had their own visa so did not need support from Waitakere in any way for this but can you imagine how annoyed that would make you ! Anyway he went onto represent him self in a hearing that went from 8am to 5pm and he said he was scared sharkless as he was sitting across from Williamson and a very expensive legal team. However the truth came out and the court gave a verdict in Shelleys favor.
Shelley said it was 10k which was to be paid 2k a month for 5 months. He only ever received the first month and pennies here and there since so now has to try get him back to court to pay the rest. Said he just exhausted with it all ............Apparently 90% of the players from last season are owed money also