by Football, especially in the championship of joy and crazy, is used to making very little sense very quickly. How can a club change its football director and head coach days after closing the January transfer window? How can this same club sell his captain, a midfielder’s pillar, late in the window and not replace him? Swansea fans have arisen these questions.
The swans were immersed in crisis, with the dismissal of head coach Luke Williams on Monday after a race containing seven defeats in nine championship games. These results, which included alarming defeats from Portsmouth, Norwich and, most painfully, their rivals in the south of Wales, Cardiff, meant that they had dropped from the edge of the 17th -17th elimination series, with a possible relegation fight.
In relation: Swansea City Sack Luke Williams head coach after a lamentable glow
The formal nosedive encouraged President Andy Coleman – who directs a consortium which acquired most of the property in November – to act decisively. “It was a difficult decision that was not taken lightly,” said Coleman, who less than a week earlier, announced the arrival of Richard Montague as director of football.
Montague had been a close ally of Williams in the county of Notts, the couple supervising the promotion of the football league in 2023 and defends an approach based on recruitment data. Williams was in favor of appointment. However, their meeting in Swansea lasted six days. It is fair to say that it was not the plan.
The departure of Captain Matt Grimes either on the last day of January in Coventry, a sale that left a bitter taste in the mouth of the supporters, especially since the club has not signed many of their desired targets.
“We have a contingency,” said Williams while Grimes joined the hopes of Frank Lampard’s qualifying series after a decade of service. However, it turned out to be a late and largely desperate wheelbarrow for reinforcements, and Lewis O’Brien – not a similar replacement – was inaugurated on loan from Nottingham Forest on the day of the deadline. Without Grimes’ ability to fall deeply and dictate the game, Williams has grown up the tactical solutions and the results have suffered.
That the window was supervised without director of football, Coleman taking the lead on the negotiations, rushed with the fans. The predecessor of Montague, Paul Watson, left in October, but finding a replacement has become an elaborate saga. Swansea says that “the in -depth understanding of Montague of data analysis and its first -hand knowledge of industry and football operations make him the exceptional candidate”. But he was not there to help in January because he was serving his notice period.
It was not only the transfer window that derailed Williams. Other problems were on its own manufacture. The way he managed media ties with West Brom’s work during the holiday season created a schism with fans and Coleman referred to “useless” speculation. “I have created a lot of noise without its meaning,” said Williams. “It was poorly managed by myself.”
The coming months will illustrate the next club management. The most pressing is a home clash with the other club without manager of the championship, Blackburn, on Saturday, when Alan Sheehan is in the Pirogue of Swansea. Sheehan is well considered at the club and entered his second fate as a guardian after a period of responsibility after the dismissal of Michael Duff in December 2023. Work is underway to find the long -term successor of Williams, Coleman and Montague leading This research. This is not an appointment that they can afford to be wrong.
Supporters will have the chance to broadcast grievances during a fans forum on March 3, with Coleman – who brought the weight of supporters – to be present. The forum was initially to take place this Tuesday with Williams who should attend, before he was resolved.
The names of the work manager include the former director of Oxford of the Buckingham, but the research should take some time. What is clear is that whoever plays the role will have a great task in their hands. Avoiding relegation will be their first objective and the results must prioritize the style, in the departure of the “Swansea Way” which was once sacrospected.
It is almost out of the way to recall that a decade ago, Swansea finished eighth in the Premier League. Friday 10 years anniversary of a famous 2-1 victory against Manchester United will not be toasted with great nostalgia given the events of the last days.
Since the relegation in 2018, Swansea has been approaching the promotion twice, losing clashes in the playoffs with Brentford in the successive years. They showed promise and had fascinating young managers (Graham Potter, Steve Cooper and Russell Martin) pointed out by larger and richer clubs. But in the years after the years after being, the participations have dropped, the money was tight and the stagnation settled. The swans must keep the head out of the water.
