Bob Bradley isn't solely to blame for Swansea's demise Although Bob Bradley is responsible for the team's on-field performances, chairman Huw Jenkins is up to more than you think in the Swansea boardroom. When Francesco Guidolin secured Swansea’s Premier League future on May 1st of last season with a 3-1 victory over Liverpool at the Liberty Stadium, the Swans went unbeaten for the remainder of the season and finished in 12th place, ten points above the drop. Shortly after, Guidolin was handed a new two-year contract for his impressive work in the second half of last season. When the club sold two of their most important players, Andre Ayew to West Ham and Ashely Williams to Everton over the summer, few predicted Swansea to begin the season in the manner that they did. I think chairman Huw Jenkins underestimated the gravity of his actions. By the beginning of October, Guidolin had been sacked. It was unwelcome news on the day of his 61st birthday, but was no less than he deserved after leading the Swans to one win and two draws in seven games. They sat in 19th place and they haven’t left the relegation zone since. In came the straight-talking American Bob Bradley. However, one fluke of a victory later, the 5-4 win over Crystal Palace, Swansea are bottom of the table with nine points and they look destined for relegation. It’s going to take a miracle to save them from the drop and Bradley is no miracle-worker. It’s no surprise, therefore, that during the Swans’ recent defeats to Tottenham and Manchester United, supporters began directing their fury at Jenkins and other members of the board, but can he really be blamed? Or is it purely the fault of the manager, Bob Bradley? We look at both sides of the story. Bradley’s lost in the Premier League wilderness At the end of the day, when all is said and done, there’s only one man responsible for Swansea’s woeful Premier League form, and that’s the manager, Bob Bradley. When Bradley was announced as the Swans’ new boss, there was little excitement, rather bewilderment at the decision. Bradley was an unknown quantity in England, having spent most of his managerial career in the States and this type of appointment was always going to be a gamble. Either he’d hit the ground running, proving his doubters wrong, or hugely struggle. In truth, Bradley has performed exactly as was expected of him. One win in seven games, an absolute freak victory over Crystal Palace, courtesy of some questionable set-piece defending, is his only high point. Even in that game, Swansea conceded four and were, themselves, defensively abysmal. The story has been the same in other matches. They’ve conceded three or more goals in five of those seven games and it’s clear that the Swans lack any real sort of direction. Swansea, actually, have conceded 19 goals since Bradley took over, seven more than under Guidolin. They’re defensively disjointed having failed to replace their leader and linchpin, Ashley Williams, and Fernando Llorente hasn’t had the desired effect up front. Bradley’s resorted to deploying Gylfi Sigurdsson as a false-nine of sorts, which has worked to some extent, scoring three times, but the Icelandic midfielder is no Alexis Sanchez and there’s only so far he can carry the team. Bradley was given a task and, at present, he’s failing quite spectacularly. There’s still over half the season left to go and plenty of time to turn things around, but I have my reservations about Bradley and I don’t think he’s the man to provide the impetus for a resurrection. In truth, if their form continues in this vein, I don’t expect Bradley to last beyond the turn of the year. Jenkins acting out of greed Moving away from the pitch, however, the blame lies away from Bob Bradley. He’s not there on his own accord, someone had to bring him to the club in the first place, but is the blame for this something that can be attributed to Huw Jenkins? Jenkins was appointed chairman of Swansea in January 2002 and has since presided over the club’s rise from League Two to the Premier League, winning the League Cup along the way in 2013. He is largely credited as the figurehead behind the club’s impressive rise and was a prominent member of the consortium that saved the club from financial ruin and the perils of administration in 2002, with the club posting a record profit of £14.6m in their first season in the Premier League. Jenkins now faces the wrath of the loyal Swansea supporters, those who have stuck with the club as they beat Hull City on the final day of the 2002-3 season to stay in the Football League, for his role in the club’s demise. Over the summer, Jenkins sold 68% of the club to Americans Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan and they’ve had a torrid start to their tenure as owners. Fans are sceptical, however, scrutinising Jenkins, claiming he was acting out of self-interest and greed; Jenkins made over £8m by selling 8.2% of his 13.2% stake in the club. With the takeover came promises of a transfer bounty, but there has, thus far, been little evidence to suggest that this was imminent. Ayew left for £20m and Williams for £12m, but in came Leroy For, Borja Boston, Fernando Llorente and Mike van Der Hoorn. Inexperience replaced experience. It was Levien and Kaplan, the Americans, who opted for fellow countrymen Bob Bradley when Guidolin was sacked. I think it was categorically the wrong choice as the American had zero Premier League experience and only very limited experience at high-level football, spending a majority of his managerial career in the MLS. In the midst of an ensuing relegation struggle and with the master of survival, Sam Allardyce, available, the new owners made a huge mistake. I think they’re only now realising the consequences of their actions. Earlier today, Jenkins faced up to the accusations from his loyal supporters and accepted full responsibility. “When things don’t go well, somebody has to take the blame and I fully accept the responsibility,” the Welshman said. He’s not making the key decisions anymore as he relinquished a controlling stake of the club, but that in itself is the root cause of the problem. “There might have been one or two decisions we could have taken in the summer that may have changed the feel around the club,” said Jenkins. Who’s really to blame? Answer: it's complicated, but in reality Huw Jenkins. Bradley is guilty of being unable to spur Swansea into a good run of form and failing to provide direction, tactical instruction and, ultimately, results. Levien and Kaplan, the new American owners, are responsible for bringing Bradley to the club. That leaves Jenkins. The Americans only purchased of a controlling stake in the club because of Jenkins’ desire to sell. Its clear, therefore, that Jenkins is the crux of the problem. A position of responsibility within a football club dictates that more has to be considered than just your personal wealth. If Jenkins had thought of the club, not himself, when he was approached by Levien and Kaplan, perhaps Swansea wouldn’t be in this mess. - By Oli Stein Thought this was a good read!..................
Those sorts of blogs will become the norm , a poor reflection on us and the Club , he can go and hide in Spain with his millions and we'll be left to pick up the pieces , who'd have ever thought we'd have enemies within who's greed outweighed any love for the Club.
Those of us on here and other forum sites know, or believe we know, what is wrong with our club, but we are just a very small minority of those that attend matches. The majority of supporters don`t know, or have very little reality of what`s gone on behind the scenes, even we don`t know the full story. Perhaps it might be a good idea for the trust to do a leaflet and distribute it at games to everyone, just so that all the spectators can vent their anger at the sell-out kants and make them even more uncomfortable. Yes, I know that`s not going to happen, it`s just a thought on my part. Give them a good kicking I say. please log in to view this image
Get rid of Jenkins NOW from having any involvement with anything to do with staffing and playing side of things....I would love to kick him out of the club altogether but sadly we cant as he is a minor share holder......He will never convince me and many others that he never acted on his and the Morgan's behalf of making a killing for themselves by not only selling the club but selling on all our best players and then replacing them with cheap imports that were not wanted by their clubs. He never made any sort of effort to bring Bony or Joe back when they were handed on a plate in the early stages. You never hear him like we use to that we should stay with our philosophy of playing the Swansea way any more, That has gone way out of the window that has made us a very poor side with no shape or leadership on the pitch whatsoever or off it it seems......I dont want to listen to Jenkins trying to justify anything and want him gone.....We all know that Bob is not the right manager for us but the way things are he is just a small part of things that is making our club play alien football that we all dont recognize one bit and yet we have some Coaches and players still at the club who knows the Swansea way and can play it well....Why are not these coaches and players not coming forward and speaking out? Has Jenkins who is still the chairman banning them from saying anything as the situation will make it even worse for him.....
Pearlman is largely in charge behind the scenes - he is the Yanks' eyes and ears. I suspect that Huw has an employment contract - that could be terminated at a price.....
I find Huw Jenkins to be a contemptible figure now, and agree Dai that I would love to see him kicked out of the club also.............
