Exeter City: Gary Caldwell right to call Swansea City transfer saga a “disgrace” – View | OneFootball

Josh Key moved to Swansea City over 400 days ago, but Exeter City are still waiting to see a penny and Gary Caldwell is right to call it a disgrace.

Everyone at Exeter City was disappointed when Josh Key decided to turn down a new contract and head to Swansea City.

Of course, it was an understandable move and he’s well within his rights to take the opportunity. He’s made a success of it too, as we all knew he would.

As always with the ones that head upward in the pyramid there’s enormous pride in their success.

The disappointment came as another ‘one of our own’ flew the nest after growing into being one of City’s best players.

The pain was doubled as fellow academy graduate Archie Collins headed to Peterborough United in the same window, though his move at the end of his contract was subject to an undisclosed fee to avoid a tribunal.

*As of 14.08.24

As both had come through the Exeter youth system, were under 24 at the start of the season, and had been offered fresh terms, City would have been due compensation via the dreaded tribunal.

Now, with the Collins fee, his matter was open and shut. With Key, it’s turning into something of a joke as the Grecians continue to wait for the verdict on compensation for the right-back’s move to Swansea.

The League One club will obviously not get anywhere near his value, but as Key technically left at the end of his contract, it’s good to get something so the whole situation is somewhat of a double-edged sword.

Everyone accepts he’s gone and that's how the game goes. The big issue is the length of the wait over compensation for eight years of training and development.

Wait for Josh Key cash a 'disgrace'

This has now affected two summers' worth of business and budgets and City boss Caldwell hit out at the whole process.

"I have to say it's a disgrace the way we've been treated in this situation, and any other club that faces a tribunal in this situation," he told BBC Sport before the weekend’s fantastic victory over Rotherham.

"The fact that we sold a player over a year ago now and still haven't had money for that I think is a disgrace, and I think something needs to done about that in the future - not just for ourselves but other clubs that develop their own players and sell them on.”

The former Wigan and Celtic player was also keen to rightly emphasis the wider impact this has on clubs lower down the pecking order.

"They need to find a solution to this much, much quicker,” he continued.

"If we were in a situation where we badly needed this money this could have affected our recruitment last year, it could have affected our performance last year.

Exeter City were desperate for Key to stay

City were understandably desperate to keep Key and he ended up playing in some funky roles as Caldwell and co pulled out all the stops, most notably when he played up front with Josh Coley at Sheffield Wednesday.

On his departure, the Scot said: "Naturally, we are sad to see Josh leave and our offer to him showed how much we valued him as a player and wanted to keep him at the football club.

"We are proud of what Josh has achieved and he is a fine representative of the academy, but we understood his desire to play at a higher level. Josh is not only a great footballer, but also a fantastic person, and we all wish him the very best."

City have often riled against the fees these tribunals decide on and have, like in the Collins case, opted to agree transfer fees that they believe to be insufficient rather than roll the dice in front of an independent panel.

Club president Julain Tagg has hit out in the past and, while the fees awarded are another issue, being forced to wait over 400 days (and counting) to even receive a penny sums up the systematic neglect and disdain towards the smaller clubs in England who actually try and produce players capable of playing in the top tiers of the game. It’s no wonder so many have given up trying.