You are here: Home / News / Where do we go from here – Part 2 Where do we go from here – Part 2 January 23, 2016 144Share Tweet Back in November we wrote on these pages about the precarious finances that affect Premier League clubs in trying to balance the books. The sums of money mentioned in the media are incredible amounts, but with the very large lion’s share going out in wages, is it really as simple as it sounds to keep things on an even keel? please log in to view this image Over the past ten years or so we have prided ourselves on our ability to make the right decisions at the right times, and come out with the great player purchases that have served us so well for such moderate outlay. This season has been the biggest challenge that the club has faced since the 2002/3 season when we almost lost our Football League status. Things have clearly not worked as we have wanted them to, and it is apparent that the recruitment that was undertaken last summer has not had the desired effect that the club believed that it would when the purchases were made. The decision to sack Garry Monk looked an inevitable one when it was made and whilst many have commented that it should have been done earlier, his performance last season had probably earned him the time until the decision was finally taken. As a Trust we were informed by our Supporter Director of what was happening at the club, and we were aware that the decision was being taken and fully supported it. Garry’s time at the club should never be forgotten, but results and performances had deteriorated to an unacceptable level and the right decision was made. The search for a new manager was underway and, as you know, we have always tried to plan for these situations in advance. This time was no different and we were informed by our Supporter Director of a list of potential candidates that we would be interested in bringing to Swansea. It was at this point that we started to learn new lessons that had not become apparent to us previously. Every time we have changed manager before (with the exception of Nick Cusack) we have been towards mid table or in a close season. The only other exception to that would be Michael Laudrup’s departure when he was replaced internally, thus not exposing us to the position we now find ourselves in. Managers have been interested but wanted long term deals on Premier League wages or, even worse, guarantees that we would retain the squad through the January transfer window or even upon relegation, as well as recruiting additional players. These are things that we cannot guarantee at Swansea without taking risks with our finances that could go horrendously wrong. Dropping into the Championship with a Premier League squad is a non-sustainable model that would risk the longer term future of the club. Similarly, offering longer term deals on Premier League wages with no relegation clauses is something that we should not be prepared to accept even if other clubs are. please log in to view this image Francesco Guidolin As this situation developed there was increasing uncertainty within the media and fanbase that was unacceptable, so the decision was taken to confirm that Alan Curtis and David Adams were appointed on a more long term deal. That is not to say that we were not still looking at options, and the recent good news is that the Club have now identified a person who meets all the criteria, and the Supporters Trust offers our best wishes to Francesco Guidolin as he seeks to move us up the table and away from the relegation zone. Most frustratingly at the moment is the search for new players that continues and will continue until the transfer window shuts at the beginning of February. Sadly though, as with managers there are stumbling blocks with players, which require careful consideration as to how we overcome them. As an example we looked at one player who would have entailed us spending a significant amount of the Shelvey fee proceeds, a fee that the club was prepared to meet together with the relative wage demands. A relegation clause was requested by the player, the relegation clause being a free transfer. This is a gamble that we cannot afford to take. We would hope that the signing would ensure Premier League survival, however if it does not then we have to be protected by the right clauses, which would mean a fee coming back into the club on departure, we simply cannot afford to give away multi million pound assets for nothing. The Supporters Trust board recently met with Huw Jenkins to discuss the current situation, raise many of our concerns and those raised by our members, and hear the plans to ensure we have the best management structure and squad of players in place to meet the challenges of the coming months and beyond. Huw was very candid in his views on where problems have arisen and the challenges the club currently faces in terms of bringing new people in and, while much of what was said has to remain confidential, it was good to hear first-hand that the club are working as hard as possible to address these issues and give us the best chance of Premier League survival whilst still working to the same ideals that have served us so well over the last decade. It has long been accepted that relegation will mean that some players need to leave to further their careers, however we have to try to ensure that such departures are on terms that contribute to securing our future. Over the past three and a half years the club have a net deficit on transfers of in excess of £40m when you factor in signing on fees and agent fees, and in the last 18 months alone (highlighting just how much we backed Garry Monk) we have spent in excess of £50m on these deals. Frightening amounts of money and we know we have not had the value for money from them that we would have expected. It is doubly frustrating when we watch our rivals making signings, but we know that the terms of some of them are along the lines we mention above, and whilst that is their call to do so, they could be decisions that come back to financially haunt them in the future. As we have seen, transfers do not guarantee success, so we have to remain prudent in what we do. The other challenge at the moment remains that should we make signings now and it does work and we retain our PL status, then we are effectively spending next year’s budget. In much the same way as individuals that live off credit cards are living off money they have not yet earned, this is the same for the Football Club and against all that we have fought for over the past 14 years. I am sure many of us remember the financial mismanagement of previous regimes entrusted with our football club. You can go back to our previous time at the highest level when gambling on staying in the top flight and stadium expansion without balancing the books almost resulted in the extinction of our club a few years later. Even more recently we saw similar mismanagement by Silver Shield and then Mike Lewis, which ultimately led to the club being placed in administration in order to secure the club’s future when the current owners came into power. As custodians of this club for future generations, we must not allow either situation to arise again. Success this season (staying up) will not mean we have won, it will mean that the battle continues next season and will continue ongoing as it does with most sides at this level with a few exceptions. What it highlights is that we have very little scope for making purchases that do not work and that is where we have not got things right over the last 18 months, but as the figures above show it is not for the want of trying. All we can do at the moment is continue to look under every stone to see if we can find what we need on terms that are right for the football club. On top of that, as fans, we need to remain united behind the team and work together to get the points needed to ensure we dine at the top table next season. And if that does not work, then we have to look back and know that we did everything right, including being together.
A great read. Good to see the club won't agree to absurd demands such as a free transfer should we go down.
I think any transfers we do from here should be straight transfers without clauses .Clauses always seem to benefit the players , agents and previous teams and are the root of a lot of problems. Also , free transfers are anything but sometimes and should be under extra scrutiny because of what valley has posted and locked wages for duds should we go down.Straight transfers or we look elsewhere , especially in the winter window .Clubs are desperate at times and held for blackmail by players and agents .
Always knew this was why we weren't signing anyone at the moment (managers or players). It's never been a case of us not being pro-active or not having the desire to sign anyone or, even worse, being completely happy with what we have. Say what you want about the current chairman and board, but one thing is for sure, the long term future of the football club (whichever league that might be in) will not be at stake as long as they are in charge. Quite simply, we don't have the money to make willy-nilly signings like some of our fans expect. Our books were balanced because of the Bony money last year - without that sale, we were making a significant loss. We can't afford that. If we go down without clauses in our players' contracts, we're on a one-way ticket back into administration should we not get re-promoted before our parachute payments run out. I want us to stay up just as much as everyone else, but we will continue to do it the right way. We're a business and we can't spend money we don't have and get bent over the barrell by money-hungry footballers looking for easy ways out when the sh*t hits the fan. We'll spend the money we have and find the players and coaches who agree to the way we do things - it's the only way to do things. Look at Portsmouth. Look at Charlton. Look at Leeds. Look at Blackburn. Look at Barnsley. Look at Bolton. Look at Fulham. It isn't easy to bounce back when you find yourself in the Championship on Premier League wages. One thing is for sure, we could certainly use an investor as well. A new director who could boost our marketing and global presence to generate funds, and also someone who could put some money upfront for either player development or infrastructure. Not talking billions or even hundreds of millions, but someone trustworthy and someone who believes in the way we do things with a bit of money to invest. Those people are few and far between, but if our board can find that person, we'd certainly be heading in the right direction. So much of our money goes on wages at the moment, it's no wonder we barely have any money to spend on players unless we sell someone first. One out, one in.
I don't mind having our clauses in contracts , just not players having theirs . It cost us 1,000,000 pounds to remove Bony's 17 million pound trigger clause when he extended his contract in a November , 2 months later we made a bundle on him . These are the kind of deals I want the board making .
Great read, and it's clear that under Monk some of our signings have cost us, but I'm sure the Board will balance the books on those players that did not live up to their value, Shelvey's deal has helped, just need to offload Gomis in like manner if at all possible.........
What a relief, this press release. Thought the club management had lost their minds over the past months. Information always helps understanding motivations for actions (or lack of the same). Maybe this statement, or a similar one, could have been issued by the board a long time ago and kept the fans from wondering what was going on; recreated trust and stopped speculation. A fine victory today BTW, when did Swansea beat Everton the last time, it's been a while?
Wau, historical. I'm a fan of the new manager already! Finally you got somebody who speaks English with an understandable accent...
I for one have always been behind the board 100% without them I can honestly say we would not have achieved what we have so far. It pisses me off when I read comments on facebook from "fans" demanding huws resignation. I remember the bad days, biting my nails on the northbank, now look at where we are. In huw we trust!
Huw WAS great till he started sticking his nose into things within the team he shouldn't .Thats my opinion , maybe now that he's hired someone who won't take his sh:t he'll go back to being old Huw .
Manufactured statement after the fact, probably as much as we can expect. Key point for me, is the extent at which they backed Monk... But I guess once you give him the job, you have no other choice. Glad they are being cautious in this difficult period, but hope they reflect on decisions over past couple of seasons. Clearly dismantling a squad and rebuilding has been expensive and has not worked out. Interesting that after all these seasons of "progression" many of our best players are those that came up with us or joined in the first season. Testament to them but poor reflection on our recruitment and difficulties in the mercenary priemiership. Chico, Hernandez, Michu, Canas, De Guzman don't look so bad now. Looking at our fixtures we need to secure points as soon as possible, our run in looks awful. Bit lucky today but I think we were unlucky not to get 5 or more additional points with Curtis.
