Why we thrive

A lot has been made of our 'meteoric rise' through the leagues. There have been countless articles and drooling journalists, documentaries and even a movie feature on the big screen. But throughout this decade - even after 3 promotions, 2 cup wins (not counting the FAW cup) and a European tour - we have only really dominated for 1 season, when we lifted the League 1 title with an impressive 92 points. So how then have we managed to climb so high?

Lets start from the beginning. We finished 3rd in league two... 3rd! Not storming it by any means. In fact we were 4th going into the final game and it took a goal from Adrian Forbes away to Bury to overtake Southend and secure that oh so sweet automatic spot.
Yet the following season where we were expected to struggle, we reached the play off final of League 1 (finishing 6th) and battled our way through to lift the Football League trophy.

2 years later and we were celebrating a league 1 title. I don't think anyone could really have anticipated what we were in for coming into the championship. It was a league littered with ex premiership teams and very large transfer fees. Clubs like Wolves were spending 8.5m on players while we were used to paying sums like 30k for Rangel, 55k for Bodde and 25k for Scotland. Although we did break our transfer record with 400k for Ash Williams.
Yet, again, we finished a very respectable 8th.
The next season was to be our biggest challenge to date. We lost 40 goals in the form of Jason Scotland and Jordi Gomez, lost our manager to Wigan and our star midfielder Ferrie Bodde was out for the season.
Say what you like about Sousa, but he managed to actually finish higher than our free scoring selves the season before and very nearly made the play offs with a 7th place finish.
Fast forward 1 year and history appeared to be repeating itself. We were heading into the final match sitting in 4th place. Then after beating Sheffield Utd 4-0 we leapfrogged a stuttering Cardiff to finish the season in 3rd. This time there were to be no automatic promotion spots... and we all know how the playoffs went!

I can't think of a single poster on this site who thought we would go our entire maiden season in the Premier League without once being involved in a relegation battle. If I remember correctly, we were all here to just 'enjoy the ride'. Again the club exceeded our expectations and came away with an 11th place finish.
More respectable finishes followed, we went on to win the league cup and then fought hard to scrape through the group stages in our European adventure. Beating Valencia away 3-0 and eventually going down valiantly to Napoli.

We have gone into the unknown countless times over the last decade. New leagues, new managers, cup finals, foreign soil, competed in the richest game in football... and have come out with our heads held high every single time. We have done this because we are a club that thrives on its ability to adapt to new surroundings. It has been ingrained into the clubs DNA over the last 10 years. So with a relegation battle looming, and as we head into the unknown once more, we can all be confident that come May it will once again be Swansea City that will finish on top.

 

I'm not knocking you at all Swans-m as this reminds us of how far we've come but we know this story. Most of us rode the ride. I'm actually tired of looking back because it's an argument that's always put forward by the likes of Lawrenson - 'Look how far they've come; they need to remember who they are; they aren't a big club; they have no right to beat bigger teams; they are lucky to have x or y in their team; they should be grateful they're even in this league, etc etc'. It's also a policy that doesn't help us right now.

I'm sorry but we are an established Premiership side and have been for a while. We should be striving to be better and better each season and yes we should be pissed off if we're in the bottom half, let alone the bottom three.

The fact we've had a fabulous journey doesn't mean we'll get out of this mess. Remember Hull? Bournemouth have had a similar stratospheric rise but are still in trouble. Yes, our journey has been amazing and the stuff of Hollywood, but we are still in the **** and it'll take effort, skill and maybe a bit of luck to get us out of it, not sentiment. I hope you don't take offence. None was intended.

 

NIce little write up there Swans-M. Although we can be viewed as an established Premier league team down to the time spent here, the fact is with the size of our club and budget to only be in a relegation fight for 2 seasons speaks volumes of how we have over achieved. The reality is the longer we stay, the more money we will have to spend and unless we grow as a club financially through bigger gates, commercially etc. We, on paper, will always struggle.I can see us flirting with relegation more often than not and am pleasantly surprised that this hasn't been case. I am not intending to sound all doom and gloom as I am still enjoying the ride although it has been more bumpy this season than last.

 

None taken friend. However the point I was trying to make wasn't about us being proud of where we are or anything to do with sentiment, t is about us as a club being well equipped to get ourselves out of this mess due to our past experiences. I'm just as pissed off as the next person at the position we are currently in, but I'm also very confident that we have it in us to pull ourselves out of it.

 

A great thread and well put together. However, I can see the truth in Bap's commentary. The Premiership is populated by sugar daddy teams that have huge income to support the huge spending needed to stay in some sort of safety. Otherwise, teams live hand to mouth and can quickly rise/fall from top to bottom. Arsenal seem to live within their means more or less but they are the exception rather than the rule.
It otherwise seems to rely on canny buying and selling that will inevitably have the odd failure mixed in that can be disastrous.

 

I understand the reasons behind the post but I'm not sure that I agree with the conclusion. The fact that we as a Club have been through tough times previously doesn't mean a lot now in the context of how we get out of the trouble we're in. Yes, we have people at the Club who've been through it like Curtis and that can only be a good thing, but the vast majority of staff and almost all of the players have only known increasing levels of success and as others have pointed out, some would say over-achievement.

I'm not trying to put a damp squib on anything or stir up trouble, it's just that I firmly believe that whereas we should be not only proud of our past and how we go about our business at the top level it's only with grit, determination, skill and some luck we'll get out of it. Saying that 'we've always done it' doesn't mean a lot. The people there at the moment have to do it right now - that's what matters.

 

You have got to realize that there will come a time when we will reach our limit and will need more in the way of financial backers than what we currently have, For every season we are here will get harder and harder and we don't have enough backing to give us the edge. You can see the situation we are in when the chairman and members of the board start to bring players in off their own backs without involving the manager and they end up not suited. Unfortunately without proper financial backing we will not be good enough and will have to fight hard with some others who are in the same boat but eventually (may be this season) we will be relegated and we must face this fact. Football today is all about how much money you got and can attract and make at the club. we are the poor relation of that and until that changes we will just have to do our best and hope we can be better than 3 teams each season and that's a big ask to do every year. Money is the catalyst of how well anyone does today and that is a shame..

 

For once I agree with you Dai!! Now where are my tablets!!

 

Now go and lie down....

 

Now go and lie down....

 

Not all the players have been there no, but over the last 10 years our board have. They are the ones that have shown how well they can adapt to a certain situation.
Kenny Jackett walks, Martinez takes us up.
Martinez leaves and takes 40 goals, we bring in a defence minded coach and finish higher.
Sousa leaves, Rodgers takes us up.
Rodgers leaves, ML wins us our first ever major cup.
ML is sacked, Monk takes us to our highest ever finish.

I refuse to believe that it is luck or coincidence that every manager has been able to improve on the last. The board identified what was needed and have made appointments based on that.
I also think that we brought in guidolin because he is also a defensive minded coach and that is where we have been shocking all season. And yes we have been worse up front but that is due to lack of talent. We know our back line can defend, they just haven't been performing.

So saying they have to do it now, I would argue that they already have in binging in our current manager. And 8 points from 12, unbeaten in 4, would indicate that once again they have shown their capabilities.

 

Did you watch today's game? Amply illustrates my point.

 

Agree with all this, and it's why I said when Franco was appointed that we can expect a Sousa style approach, when you have little threat up front, then you have to strengthen your defensive game, which lets be honest has been awful all season, so I'm not surprised at the tactics, we just need to hold our nerve, I'm still confident we will stay up..............

 

Goal Difference League:

Newcastle -22

Aston Villa -20

Norwich -20

Sunderland -18

Bournemouth -14

Swansea -10

WBA -8


Gives you a perspective of teams defensive abilities...................

 

True. But we are piss poor Phil. Other teams seem to be improving with the odd hiccup. Saints weren't great today but we lost. At home. Again. For the first time this season I am really worried about our chances after watching that lot today.

 

Yes we were very poor, and so were Southampton, it is a concern that we cannot build some consistency this season, you do wonder what the hell is going on in the dressing room, we need to give Franco a few more games, before he weeds out the dross.......

 

I will be honest with you I dont think Mr G is a good enough manager or is on the same wave length to keep the club up on his own. He is a panic appointment after everyone else turned us down. He has the enthusiasm alright but That wont be good enough if he don't understand what the difference between how the premiership works and the league he came from, When ash came out and said that the players had to google him to find out who he was sent alarm bells ringing that Jenkins is panic appointing and don't know what the hell he is doing like he has all season.

 

I will be honest with you I dont think Mr G is a good enough manager or is on the same wave length to keep the club up on his own. He is a panic appointment after everyone else turned us down. He has the enthusiasm alright but That wont be good enough if he don't understand what the difference between how the premiership works and the league he came from, When ash came out and said that the players had to google him to find out who he was sent alarm bells ringing that Jenkins is panic appointing and don't know what the hell he is doing like he has all season.

 

The fact that the players and probably most fans didnt know who he was is more indicative of the way we appoint managers rather than anything else i.e we look for coaches that fit the way we play not who thet are. Lets be honest most didnt know who the **** Rogers was prior to him coming here. As for the other appointments prior and since him, we only knew them as players. Martinez, Sousa, Laudrup and Monk.
Every managerial appointment we have made always raises eyebrows and gasps of Who or Why.

 

Was in awe not only what we did , but how we did it .
Focusing on our landing in the Premier with Rodgers , from the first moment I thought we would be relegated .
Teams were spending like crazy , we weren't .But by mid January it was clear we were going to have no probs staying up .
Watching us make 20 million off of Allen and Rodgers I was pretty up beat about season 2 if we could get another , in a series , good manager .
Ivor mentioned Laudrup and I thought if he was half the manager as he was a player were on to something good .
Then with guys like Chico , Michu and Poz coming in on the cheap and what was accomplished I was in disbelief.
As far as I'm concerned this was our greatest season with our greatest manager . Less than 5 million for Michu , Chico , and Poz .... Guys like Routs and Davies inspired to greatness by a great manager and man .
Winning the League Cup and gathering 40 points with 10 games remaining was incredible.
For Laudrup ' s 2nd season , with Europa involved , Laudrup deserved a big signing after all his penny pinching to get us great results .
When Jenkins couldn't land anyone Laudrup wanted , Laudrup demanded Bony and Jenkins gave in relectantly.
It's at this point that Huw short circuited .
Between spending huge on Bony "Not the Swansea Way " and Huw bellyaching about it and someone finally calling Williams out for his usual transfer window rumours of leaving , Huw fired Laudrup agent .
The writing was on the wall from that moment , that Laudrup was going to be set up and Jenkins was going to do things "Different ".
Up till the day Laudrup was axed I had no worry of relegation , the first day Jenkins put Monk in charge I did worry .
But we managed to make it through with 3 wins from the last 4 games to get us to 42 points
Our transfers , money matters and general decisions from there has brought us to where we are now , an overspending, careless team that can't be trusted trading players , being ran by a overbearing Chairman that thought he knew best and didn't know sh:t except how to pick good managers .
Jenkins dropped the ball this season and really showed how stupid he is about running everything .I think he may have finally turned the corner .......but is it to late .

 

Hell that was a mouthful Breezy!.......