Swansea City eye indoor training centre as next step towards top academy status By South Wales Evening Post | Posted: September 10, 2014 SWANSEA City are looking to build an indoor training arena at Landore as they bid to take another step towards securing category one status for their academy. Swansea boss Garry Monk reckons a youth system which delivers more rising stars like Ben Davies and Joe Allen can be a "massive" boost for the club as a whole. And Swansea's owners are determined to press on with making improvements so that their academy can eventually stand alongside the best in the country. Having previously been a million miles behind the top clubs, Swansea secured category two status for their academy in the summer of 2013. And they are now keen to take the next step as quickly as possible. Swansea had hoped they might be granted category one status by the spring, but the rules state their youth set-up cannot be reviewed again until next September. But that will not stop the club attempting to make the progress off the pitch which should see them hit the category one target. If Swansea get there, their young players will be competing on a regular basis with the best youngsters in the country. On top of that, the Liberty club will be able to recruit players from anywhere. As a category two academy, they are only allowed to sign boys who live within 90 minutes' travel time of SA1. "We are working towards category one status because we see being able to compete with academy teams from the top clubs in the country as a vital part of our club's growth," a Swans spokesman explained. "We are continuing to improve facilities. For example, we are looking to build an indoor training area and also increase the number of classrooms and educational facilities for our 16 to 18-year-old players." Having promoted Pep Clotet to work alongside Monk at first-team level, Swansea appointed David Adams as their new head of coaching at academy level. The former Football Association of Wales consultant has pledged to use the Dutch and Spanish models as inspiration as he attempts to lead Swansea to category one level. And while some managers pay little attention to a club's youth ranks, Monk feels it is vital that Swansea can breed young players who are capable of stepping into the first team. Monk has already shown his willingness to give inexperienced players a chance by promoting Jay Fulton from Swansea's development squad just weeks after taking charge. He said: "We are not a club who can spend £2 million on a teenager, but it's important that we try to get as much quality as we can at academy level. "I brought Jay Fulton into the first-team squad to make up the numbers initially, but he adapted straightaway. "He got the respect of the senior professionals instantly. Not every young player is going to work out like that, but one player out of 50 in the academy can be massive for us in terms of revenue and what they can bring to the team."
A new barn to replace our current use of Llandarcy and association with the Ospreys .Maybe it will be designed better than the existing facilities to enable a better viewing experience and will stop the present rush for the best seats near the window
