' THE DEMISE OF SWANSEA CITY EXPLAINED '

' THE DEMISE OF SWANSEA CITY EXPLAINED '

By Andrew Gwilym

Wednesday 21st December 2016

Little more than 18 months ago, Swansea City were celebrating finishing eighth in the Premier League under the vibrant leadership of a bright young manger who had long before established himself as a club legend.

The name of Swansea City was synonymous with all that could be good about football. Here was a tight-knit, well-run football club whose fans were at the heart of a truly remarkable success story.

Indeed, the story of the Swans is so good they made a film about it.

Today, the picture is one of near turmoil on the field amid a backdrop of division and recrimination in the boardroom and stands.








So what exactly has gone wrong, and why?

Here, football correspondent Andrew Gwilym charts the demise of the Swans and the key decisions that have led them down a path of self-implosion.





The sale of Wilfried Bony and a poor summer of recruitment.


Bony’s departure to Manchester City may have preceded Monk’s exit, but in many ways it served as a tipping point of sorts.

The Ivorian had excelled for the Swans since becoming their club-record signing in 2013 and his on-field understanding with Gylfi Sigurdsson was key in a good start to Monk’s first full season at the helm.

Swansea had always acknowledged they would not be able to turn down huge offers for their players, and the £25million paid for the striker was the most the Welsh club had received for any player.

But for many it smacked of a lack of ambition and the failure to replace Bony and build on an excellent season was the theme of the following summer window.

Of all the players signed, only Andre Ayew made any sort of impact as the likes of Franck Tabanou and Eder flopped, while Bafetimbi Gomis – who came close to a departure to Al Ahli - never threatened to supply the sort of goal threat Bony had and often seemed disinterested.

It may not have been obvious at the time but the recruitment rot had already set in.





The sacking of Garry Monk and the search for his replacement

Despite the underwhelming summer, Swansea opened the season by drawing at champions Chelsea and beating Manchester United. There was little sign of what was to come.

But, when Swansea lost for the first time that season at Watford, speculation quickly emerged that Monk’s position was under threat.

Senior figures at Swansea did little to repudiate such stories and they soon spread as a dismal run of results followed.




There were suggestions the players felt overloaded by the level of detail in Monk’s preparation methods, that he had annoyed some of his squad by not congratulating them on qualifying for Euro 2016, and that he had not wanted several of Swansea’s new signings.

Whatever the reasons, morale plummeted and results with them, with a home hiding at the hands of eventual champions Leicester proving the end of Monk’s 12-year association with the club.

The sight of chairman Huw Jenkins receiving his OBE and telling reporters “something needs to change” while Monk took training while waiting to discover his fate was an ignominious end for a proud servant of Swansea City.

Worse followed, Swansea had not planned for parting with Monk and the search for his successor was muddled. Marcelo Bielsa, Brendan Rodgers, Jorge Sampaoli and Frank de Boer were all considered but a deal could not be done, despite Jenkins heading to South America at one stage in an effort to land Bielsa.

Alan Curtis was appointed caretaker boss but, just 10 days after being confirmed until the end of the season, Francesco Guidolin was installed. It summed up a chaotic process.







Another bad summer

Having recovered to finish 12th under Guidolin, who missed two games through illness as Curtis oversaw big wins over Arsenal and Norwich, a major squad overhaul should have lain ahead for Swansea.

Instead, Ashley Williams and Ayew were sold and neither was replaced. The loss of Williams has been particularly keenly felt – Swansea have the worst defensive record in the Premier League after shipping 37 goals since he left for Everton.

It has also left a leadership void and, while no-one expected the season to be as bad as it has been, the failings of the summer window have been laid bare for all to see.

Joe Allen, keen to return to Swansea, was offered for sale by Liverpool at £8million. Swansea waited and by the time he returned from a stellar Euros the asking price had gone up and the Welsh club would not match it.

Joe Allen ended up in Stoke


Similarly, deals for Nacer Chadli, James Chester, Bony and Leonardo Ulloa failed to materialise.

In addition, doubts about Guidolin’s training methods and man-management did not prevent the Italian being handed a two-year contract. It was a show of faith for his work in securing safety, but it would have a significant knock-on effect the following season.

As things stand it would appear significant investment in January is the only hope of turning the season around.

Takeover tensions

A bad summer was made worse by the fall-out in the wake of an American consortium led by Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan purchasing a majority shareholding in the club.

The Swansea City Supporters’ Trust felt they had been “bypassed” in the process and were particularly angry that their fellow shareholders had made no mention of the deal until it was all but complete.

The Swansea takeover has split the club
The Swansea takeover has split the club (Photo: Robert Melen)
It caused huge bitterness and discontent between parties who had done so much to get Swansea to the top flight, and supporters made their feelings clear on the matter during the home defeat against Manchester United.

The Trust have held productive talks with the Americans over their involvement in the day-to-day running of the club, but there is no doubt the disappointment and hurt felt at the manner of the takeover deal will linger for some time and it has only added to the sense of gloom brought about by on-field struggles.

Sacking Guidolin, appointing Bradley

Having made the decision to stick with Guidolin, the Italian barely had two months of the new season before being given the chop on his 61st birthday.

There had been some woeful early season performances at Leicester and Southampton – where Swansea were fortunate not to be hammered – mixed with better showings against Manchester City and Liverpool.

Swansea were in trouble but matters have not improved under Bradley and many could argue with some justification things have in fact got worse.

Swansea City boss Bob Bradley (Photo: Huw Evans Picture Agency)
No-one doubts the American’s hard work and commitment, but heavy defeats have happened with alarming regularity, while players have looked bereft of confidence and belief, particularly away from home.

A lot of Swansea’s problems may pre-date his arrival but Bradley’s position is already under scrutiny ahead of home meetings with West Ham and Bournemouth.

It says an awful lot about Swansea’s current predicament that the majority of fans responding to a recent poll would like to see a third manager of the season at the helm before 2017 is rung in.

They say a week is a long time in football, the last 18 months has felt like a lifetime for Swansea fans.

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It pains me to say it but the JB's punched above their weight for 5 years which is quite astonishing TBH.

However, there was always a glass ceiling. 20000 capacity ground owned by the local council was always going to undermine them eventually. Huw Jenkins ran with his luck but could see what was ahead and sold out for personal gain which he no doubt thought he deserved.

I read somewhere that their wage bill was 90% of turnover and that tells you all you want to know about why they were forced to sell without recruiting well enough with quality replacements.

They will be relegated this season and if old Huw was still in charge I could see them mounting a decent challenge next year in the Championship.

However, the American owners will probably panic do a fire sale and see them struggle big time next year and for years to come. Lovely

They might still yet survive as there are a few teams in the Premier League who aren't much better than Swansea. But selling Ashley Williams with no immediate replacement as either centre back or club captain looked like a major mistake at the time, and results since have confirmed this.

I'm not one to wish relegation on teams, but I really hope we get a South Wales Derby again next season.

It pains me to say it but the JB's punched above their weight for 5 years which is quite astonishing TBH.

However, there was always a glass ceiling. 20000 capacity ground owned by the local council was always going to undermine them eventually. Huw Jenkins ran with his luck but could see what was ahead and sold out for personal gain which he no doubt thought he deserved.

I read somewhere that their wage bill was 90% of turnover and that tells you all you want to know about why they were forced to sell without recruiting well enough with quality replacements.

They will be relegated this season and if old Huw was still in charge I could see them mounting a decent challenge next year in the Championship.

However, the American owners will probably panic do a fire sale and see them struggle big time next year and for years to come. Lovely

I can see rhem getting relegated but it is going to be close thing. They need to win their next 2 homes games to give themselves a chance. I think they will. So yes it is goin to be a close race.

If they do go down I think it they will struggle in this league. It is OK having premier quality in the Championship but those type of players struggle with the endurance of the league. I can see the Jacks losing a few of their best players for that reason alone.

Of course they will have the parachute payments to help them rebuild and I have seen some posts saying the Yanks are already preparing for the drop by off loading now their top players. Will Siggy be there end of January? If they do drop they will need the likes of Jenkins to handle the transition. ithout him the Yanks will fail.

Quite an enjoyable read that

f**k them.

They showed no sympathy and have consistently wound us up for the mockery our club became. Now the shoe is on the other foot and I'm hearing Cardiff City fans saying they hope Swansea stay up?

I for one hope they rot to the ground. f*cking inbreds!

Weirdly I'd prefer to see them struggling for a few more seasons in the Prem rather than being a top 10 Championship team.



Ideally they go down as we go up to the Prem.

Ideally they go down...and down...and down once more!!:-)

Ideally they go down...and down...and down once more!!:-)

Agree with this

Ideally they go down...and down...and down once more!!:-)

Ideally they go down...and down...and down once more!!:-)

Agree with this

And the yanks sell and they go bust