Early December 2019.
A previous post revealed that, back in the summer of 2019, Ukrainian second tier club MFC Mykolaiv decided to sign Volodymar Kornutyak.
Scene: the Kornutyak household in their rented accommodation in Mykolaiv. Personae dramatis: Volodymar Kornutyak; Mrs Kornutyak
KORNUTYAK: Well, perhaps it’s just as well that we haven’t quite sold our house in Minaj.
MRS K.: Why, whatever’s happened?
KORNUTYAK: The club has proposed that we agree to terminate my contract.
MRS K.: But you’ve only just joined.
KORNUTYAK: I know, but the Gaffer’s decided I’m no longer up to it.
MRS K.: Yes, well, there’s no denying you’re slowing up. So what do you think we should do?
KORNUTYAK: Accept the proposal. The Gaffer gave me a run of games at the start of the season, but recently I’ve only been able to get on as a sub.
And my declining speed — and, who knows, strength too — means that he’s playing me out of position, as an anchorman rather than a center-back.
And if I go now, we’ll get a pay-off equivalent to half the value of the remaining contract.
And I’ll have time to search for a new club.
MRS K.: But who will take you?
KORNUTYAK: I reckon I can find a third-tier club. I hear that Tavria-Simferopol might be interested. That would mean we could stay down south. In fact, the weather’s even better there.
MRS K.: I remember that a large part of the attraction of the Mykolaiv package was the clean sheet bonus, equivalent to 3% of your annual wage. Well, there have been precious few of those!
And I do like the sound of better weather.
