Not particularly inspiring but he knows the Club well and I'm sure will do a good job. As Jenkins says, you need people with commitment to the Swans and he'll certainly have that. Can't believe Laudrup knows much about him though. Some will no doubt see this as a curious choice.
wasn't that the main reason he went to Neath, to develop, finish off his badges and return to the coaching set up.. And as it is a development role to guide Swansea's young professionals i do not see anything wrong with the appointment. Trundle wont be far behind either....
He will certainly be loyal and he will learn a lot working under Laudrup. A lot of great managers were never great players themselves. Look at Mourinho. Good luck to him.
I think its a superb appointment and I applaud HJ for showing his loyalty to those who've been loyal to us in the past. Kris was a stalwart of our club for years. With the likes of Britton, Tate and Monk, he helped us get through dark times and helped lay the foundations of our rise to the Premiership. We need to judge Kris on his coaching abilities now. According to my sons friend, who is in the mix with the Swansea youth system, Kris is well known and respected by all in the youth system. I applaud HJ for this. We winge and moan about the lack of loyalty in the game but here is an inspiring example of HJ showing us what he's made of by showing his loyalty to those who deserve it. Nice on HJ Congratulations Kris, welcome home
when he kissed the badge you knew he meant it ,his son's with the under 10's ? so hopefully another O'leary will don the senior kit one day
It said that Curt is taking on a new position in Laudrups back room staff. I wonder what that is? Last season was he assistant manager or was that Pascoe?
Laudrup needed someone close to him that has his finger on the pulse of the Swans , sound thinking really .
I'm sure Laudrup will bring in a 'trusted advisor' as his right hand man if he hasn't already, but it seems a good move to bring in someone with history of the club to act as a sounding board and bring some local knowledge. Good that the Swans are focussing someone on the U21s with the new U21 tournament starting this season. It allows some meaningful game time for the youngsters who often sit on the bench. Kevin Cooper re-joined us a couple of weeks ago in the same capacity. He doesn't have the length of service that O'Leary had with you, but he's been on the fringes of our set up for a couple years and has just come back after a year setting up the Malaysian accademy. It'll be interesting to see how the 21s set up works over the next few years and how much benefit it will be to both our clubs and to Wales.
' Malaysian Academy ' Huh, appararently we've got first choice at Barca ! ( In my dreams ) Nope remote it's good to see both teams evolving for the better and looking to the future !
I think the Malaysian accademy (1MalaysiaCardiffCity) is more for Tan's qudos than anything, if we find a player that will be a bonus. I'm sure Barca have a few younsters they don't need and would be useful aditions. Accadamies and U21 teams can only be of benefit and the 21s will help retain youngsters who want game time. We formed our 21s last season in preparation for this years leage and they had quite a few games against League of Wales sides. I think that as well as the league they will continue to play league of Wales sides to get them used to the physical side of the game. Hopefully we'll see more home grown talent staying with our clubs over the coming years.
Yankee..... the local paper said that Curt was going to take a back room role in the club, the exact nature of which hasn't been made clear. I heard a radio interview with him a few weeks ago, where he said that he is happy to perform any role asked of him. He also said that some sort of ambassadorial role would be suitable and he envisaged that is what he might end up doing. Personally I'd like to see him more hands on with the playing side of things. There again, a once great player might not have the coaching ability required at this level. It is one thing being able to do it, quite another to teach someone else to do it. Guess we'll find that out with Laudrup.
Ivor ... as a coach with Flynn at the Wales U-21, Curt would have a UEFA coaching license wouldn't he.
Did somebody give Laudrup the old videos of the swans by mistake?? he realised KOL had no touch so brought him in early to teach him how to trap a bag of cement !! he aint the coach he is surely the "how not to do it" guy in training!! All jokes aside, Kris is by all accounts a promising young coach, im glad to see him on board, the jobs for the boys are getting thinner on the ground now, i bet tatey,trundle and monk are starting to worry !!