Swansea City Thread

[davidge]

Swansea City can confirm the club’s retained list ahead of the 2022-23 season.

Korey Smith, Ben Hamer and Yan Dhanda will depart the Swansea.com Stadium when their contracts expire this summer.

Midfielder Smith made 77 appearances across two seasons with the Swans, and helped the club reach the 2021 play-off final.

Goalkeeper Hamer made 23 appearances following his move from Huddersfield in January 2021, while Dhanda made 63 appearances and scored five goals across his four years in Swansea colours.

Goalkeepers Jamie Searle, Nico Defreitas-Hansen and Josh Gould will also leave the club at the conclusion of their deals.

Meanwhile, academy players Josh Thomas, Kai Ludvigsen, Kian Jenkins and Ruben Davies have been offered new terms.

Also in the academy ranks, Scott Butler, Rio Campbell, Ben Erickson, Cameron Evans, Jaden Forrester, Jacob Jones, Dylan Morgan, Ryan Bassett, Joshua Edwards, Aaron Hillier, Dylan Perkins and Tyler Evans will all leave Swansea City this summer.

Everyone at Swansea City wishes all departing players every success in their future careers.

Retained list: Azeem Abdulai, Steven Benda, Ryan Bennett, Geoff Bony, Ben Cabango, Josh Carey, Cameron Congreve, Brandon Cooper, Ollie Cooper, Joel Cotterill, Liam Cullen, Flynn Downes, Richard Faakye, Andy Fisher, Jay Fulton, Jordon Garrick, Matt Grimes, Ben Hughes, Corey Hurford, Harry Jones, Kyle Joseph, Joel Latibeaudiere, Sam Leverett, Filip Lissah, Ben Lloyd, Ryan Manning, Jada Mawongo, Lincoln Mcfayden, Zane Myers, Kyle Naughton, Olivier Ntcham, Michael Obafemi, Nathanael Ogbeta, Jamie Paterson, Joel Piroe, David Roberts, Tivonge Rushesha, Jack Stafford, Joe Thomas, Charlie Veevers, Liam Walsh, Evan Watts, Lewis Webb, Morgan Whittaker, Tarrelle Whittaker, Daniel Williams, Kyrell Wilson.

[davidge]

Swansea City has completed the signing of defender Nathan Wood from Middlesbrough for an undisclosed fee, subject to international clearance.

The 20-year-old has put pen to paper on a two-year deal, which includes the option for an additional 12 months, and becomes head coach Russell Martin’s first signing of the summer transfer window.

Wood – who will wear the number 23 shirt - will bolster Swansea’s defensive options ahead of the 2022-23 season, and will join up with his new team-mates when they return for pre-season training next week.

Wood, the son of former Middlesbrough and Crystal Palace left-back Dean Gordon, is renowned for his composure in possession and athleticism, and also brings a physical presence Martin had been keen to add to his squad.

An accomplished athlete – Wood was once ranked in the British top 10 for his age group in the high jump – the defender joined the Middlesbrough academy set-up in 2015.

[davidge]

Swansea City has completed the signing of defender Wasiri Williams on an initial one-year contract.

Centre-back Williams, 22, will join up with his new team-mates at the start of pre-season, and will also be eligible to feature for the Swans’ under-23 squad.

His deal includes an option to extend terms by an additional 12 months.

Williams, who hails from Croydon in London, joins the professional ranks having spent the last four seasons featuring for a number of non-league clubs.

Those clubs have included Lewisham Borough, Tunbridge Wells, Sheppey United, Hatcham FC, Braintree Town and Corinthian Casuals.

In addition to football, Williams has worked with the youth charity Reaching Higher, helping to inspire young people in Croydon to take control of their lives.

Programmes aim to teach people between the age of 11 and 21 transferrable skills and discover new skills that can help them reach their goals in a safe and welcoming environment.

[davidge]

Swansea City has completed the signing of defender Harry Darling for an undisclosed fee, subject to international clearance.

The 22-year-old joins the Swans from MK Dons and has put pen to paper on a three-year contract through to the summer of 2025.

Darling will wear the number six shirt – with midfielder Jay Fulton taking the number 21 jersey - and will join up with his new team-mates for their pre-season training camp at Pennyhill Park.

The centre-half had been identified as a key target by head coach Russell Martin, who previously worked with Darling having signed him for MK Dons.

He enjoyed an excellent campaign as he helped MK reach the League One play-offs last term, making 49 appearances in all competitions and scoring 10 goals.

Darling first came through the ranks with Cambridge United, emerging from their youth set-up to make 73 senior appearances after making his debut as a 17-year-old.

The defender also had loan spells in non-league with Bishop’s Stortford, Hampton & Richmond Borough, Royston Town and East Thurrock United during his time with the U’s.

He made the move to MK Dons in January 2021, quickly becoming a regular. He skippered the Dons on occasions, and was a key figure in their promotion push.

Darling’s showings during the 2021-22 season saw him named in the EFL and PFA League One teams of the year, while he also won the club’s players’ player of the year award.

[davidge]

Swansea City has completed the signing of Matty Sorinola on a season-long loan from Union SG, subject to international clearance.

The 21-year-old winger or wing-back becomes the third summer signing for head coach Russell Martin, following the arrivals of defenders Nathan Wood and Harry Darling.

Lambeth-born Sorinola, who is of Nigerian descent, joins for the entirety of the 2022-23 campaign and will bolster Martin’s wide options following the departures of Cyrus Christie and Hannes Wolf.

[davidge]

Flynn Downes to West Ham all done and to be officially announced soon.

Swansea will receive a fee of £9m for the midfielder. Deal could rise to £14m with add-ons. 
 

Swansea bought him for £1.5m last summer.

Joe Allen is now expected to sign as a free agent to replace him.

[blue1878]

Swansea City v Forest Green | Highlights

 

[davidge]

First game of the season. A point away at relegation fodder Rotherham. Not brilliant.

[BigLicks]

A point away from home is not a bad result tho, a super strike for the goal.

[ryzen.007]

On 30/07/2022 at 20:12, davidge said:

First game of the season. A point away at relegation ‎foder ‎Rotherham. Not brilliant.

Don't worry my favourite team since mid 70's Stoke City seems to make sure Swansea stays in Championship.

I'm Swedish, so my relation to Stoke is somewhat questionable to most. Last position in Championship after first round...

[davidge]

1 hour ago, ryzen.007 said:

Don't worry my favourite team since mid 70's Stoke City seems to make sure Swansea stays in Championship.

I'm Swedish, so my relation to Stoke is somewhat questionable to most. Last position in Championship after first round...

One of my friends is a Stoke fan. He was brought up there. I owe him a Heineken the next time we meet in Pattaya as Stoke finished above us last season.

 

[davidge]

No positives today. Utterly dismal.

[davidge]

A quiet end to the transfer window. We were never going to spend money but there was the danger of us selling players as in previous years. 2 offers from Burnley for Obafemi were rejected, apparently well short of our valuation, and some interest from Leeds in Piroe went nowhere.
Ryan Bennett’s contract was terminated by mutual consent. We’ve been trying to sell him for a year as the manager doesn’t like him and he was on high wages.

We signed another couple of youngsters on loan to add numbers to the squad. Still looks a pretty thin squad though and most Swans fans are already just hoping we don’t get dragged into a relegation fight. Patience with the manager is starting to run thin in many quarters.

[davidge]

There was a Fans Forum this week and it’s clear that under these owners and Chief Executive there is zero ambition for the club and no chance of any investment. Mid table will be overachieving.

Can’t help thinking that Martin is regretting taking the job as manager.

[davidge]

On this day in 1978 I was at Loftus Road watching the Swans lose 2-0 to QPR in the League Cup. Tommy Smith and Ian Callaghan played for the Swans and Stan Bowles ran the show for QPR.

[JackinHK]

Is there anywhere in Pattaya to buy Wales football jerseys (even knock offs) at all?

[davidge]

Just now, JackinHK said:

Is there anywhere in Pattaya to buy Wales football jerseys (even knock offs) at all?

Hemingway’s in Jomtien is selling them 

[JackinHK]

17 minutes ago, davidge said:

Hemingway’s in Jomtien is selling them 

Thanks mate

 

[davidge]

I’ve said it before, but the Swans will go nowhere (except maybe League 1) with the current owners and Chief Executive.

This from a local sports reporter:

Endless missed targets and another deadline day mess - inside Swansea City's shambolic January transfer window

It will go down as one of Swansea's most shambolic transfer windows for some time.

The January transfer window has been and gone.

Six players left and only one came in, with that being the return of Morgan Whittaker from his loan spell with Plymouth Argyle.

It comes as a huge source of frustration to those on the ground at Fairwood who worked tirelessly to continuously line up targets right until the final stages of the window having been told they would be backed within what was financially sound for the club, only to find there was no scope for the deals to be done. Repeatedly.

Here's a closer look at how the transfer window unfolded for the Swans...

Exits were planned well before January 1, particularly those of fringe players Nathanael Ogbeta and Brandon Cooper who had plenty of admirers. This was the relatively straightforward part of it all.

Fresh from the beginning of his fourth stint as Peterborough United boss, Darren Ferguson enquired about the availability of Ogbeta, and The Posh ultimately pipped Exeter City to the loan signing of the left-sided defender in a move that will afford the 21-year-old the opportunity to finally get some game-time.

As for Cooper, his move to Forest Green Rovers was done with minimal fuss, despite the significant amount of interest in his signature.

The recalls of Armstrong Oko-Flex and Fin Stevens by parent clubs West Ham United and Brentford were expected by the time most were tucking into their Christmas dinners, and, while the former's return to London took longer than anticipated, the Hammers ultimately decided the attacker was best off seeing out the season in the Hammers' youth system as minutes in south Wales were expected to be limited.

With Jordon Garrick not featuring in Russell Martin's long-term plans, the winger was recalled and sold to Forest Green Rovers which at least ensured he did not leave for nothing in the summer when his contract expired.

As for incomings, stacks of players were discussed well before the window opened, but some were shot down by the time Big Ben chimed to signal the beginning of 2023.

The Swans were keen to re-sign Hannes Wolf on loan from Borussia Mönchengladbach, although the German outfit were not willing to let the Austrian exit in January.

Chiedozie Ogbene was admired in the summer, and he was identified as the top transfer target for the opening month of the new year given the expected shake-up to the attacking department (plenty more on that later). It was a deal was never going to be straightforward, mind, despite Ogbene's admiration of the club and his refusal to sign a new contract with the Millers.

A source close to the player was rarely optimistic throughout the month when it came to the possibility of a deal progressing.

With Michael Obafemi and Jamie Paterson told they could leave having effectively been frozen out, the Swans were in need of attacking reinforcements. But the pursuit of a new forward option proved both frustrating and ultimately fruitless.

Joe Gelhardt was firmly admired and was thought to be a serious option, although his hefty wages ultimately meant a loan deal from Leeds United was never going to be sanctioned.

Having appeared destined for a return to Wigan Athletic, the 20-year-old joined Sunderland - who are now without striker Ross Stewart due to injury - for the remainder of the campaign. 

Manchester City's decision to recall Liam Delap from his stint with Stoke City put the Swans on red alert, although that option swiftly fell by the wayside given the goings on at Preston North End.

Ryan Lowe's side lost Aston Villa loan man Cameron Archer, with Swansea seeing the 21-year-old as an ideal fit for their system. But he was duly snapped up by big-spending promotion rivals Middlesbrough which led to Preston taking Delap from Man City for the final months of the season - leaving Martin once again returning to the drawing board.

Spotted a theme yet?

There were, of course, other irons in the fire, although they too failed to come to fruition. 

By this point, Swansea had already missed out on Malcolm Ebiowei who was re-united with Liam Rosenior - who he worked with at Derby County - at Hull City after the Tigers were willing to meet the financial demands required to land the Crystal Palace ace. Sorba Thomas is another who featured on their list, although the Wales international secured a loan switch from Huddersfield Town to Blackburn Rovers.

Obafemi's situation quietened somewhat after Burnley failed with two bids for the striker in the earlier stages of the window. The Clarets looked at former Swans Viktor Gyokeres and Sam Surridge but, after lining up a deal for Lyle Foster from Westerlo, they went hell for leather on signing Obafemi after Millwall had shown an interest.

There was of course Whittaker's situation to be taken into account. The player himself and head coach Martin made their feelings clear following the 22-year-old's recall from Plymouth.

After Plymouth fell well short when exploring the possibility of signing the attacker on a permanent basis following his excellent loan spell at Home Park, tensions subsequently arose between Rangers and Swansea over Whittaker's future.

The Scottish Premiership side failed with multiple bids for the frontman, with all parties becoming increasingly irritated over the handling of the saga - which ultimately ended with no movement and Whittaker remaining in south Wales.

All the while, Swansea had a new problem to solve as a result of the knee injury sustained by Steven Benda at Queens Park Rangers - coincidentally the game in which Whittaker had been due to feature before asking not to be involved.

By this point, it had become abundantly clear that the pursestrings were, let's say, tight. To that end, there was an acceptance that the emergency loan market may well have to be explored at a later date if required.

As the latter stages of the window approached, the bullet was bitten, so to speak, and other targets were pursued more fiercely, with Ogbene now appearing likely to remain at Rotherham until his contract expires in the summer. It does of course mean a free transfer is now an option for the 25-year-old at the end of the campaign.

Ashley Barnes' name was discussed amid ongoing talks of Obafemi's sale to Burnley. His Championship experience speaks for itself, although he always appeared to be a back-up option at best given his age and lack of resale value.

Harry Cornick - who was wanted by Bristol City - was certainly a more viable option, and while Luton Town had no real Desire to flog the 27-year-old, there was an acceptance that, at the right price, the versatile striker could move on in January if the Hatters received a suitable transfer offer.

As for the defensive pursuit, the Swans found themselves in a battle with Luton for Exeter City's Josh Key, although, once again, the club were not willing to meet the League One side's financial demands. 

Regardless, the Hatters switched their focus to signing Leeds United's Cody Drameh - another Swans transfer target - on loan.

With funds readily available, Bristol City made their move for Cornick on deadline day, with Swansea fully resigned to missing out on his signature given the figures that were being discussed.

It left Swansea pushing for a new goalkeeper and a forward in the final hours of the window. When has leaving it all until the last minute ever gone wrong, eh?

An exciting deal for Karlan Grant was lined up on the final day of the window, and the 25-year-old was fully expected to be included in Swansea's matchday squad to face Birmingham City on Saturday. The paperwork for the deal was completed on time to ensure Grant would move to the Swansea.com Stadium for the remainder of the season. The two clubs are even understood to have made contact with each other to confirm a time to announce the deal.

But the Baggies pulled the plug after the 11pm deadline having failed to sign Omari Hutchinson on loan from Chelsea in what really was a kick to the nether regions.

As the Jack Army are undoubtedly well aware by this point, a goalkeeper didn't join either. Ultimately, it was far more prudent for the club not to spend for the sake of it, particularly in a window notorious for panic and inflated fees.

It's also vital to remember that 'ambition' does not simply correlate to splashing the cash, something that has the potential to do the club serious long-term harm if done erratically. 

But, and it is indeed a big but, there are now serious questions for the club's ownership group, chief executive Julian Winter and head of football operations Josh Marsh to answer following the Swans' inability to add a player to their ranks.

You'd certainly feel Winter and Marsh - two key men on the ground on this side of the Atlantic - had been promised that there was leeway to do at least some positive business.

Remember, on Christmas Eve, Winter said: "As a club we are aiming to be active in the window, with conversations around what we might like to do having begun a while ago. When one transfer window ends, planning for the next one begins immediately.

"Collectively, however, we will be working hard to improve the squad and look ahead to the second half of the season. But one thing is for certain, we will continue to do it our way; The Swansea Way."

The lack of absolute clarity for those bidding to put deals in place has led to endless hours of wasted time. This is nothing new, as per this piece from a year ago.

From an on-pitch perspective, it has led to a weakened squad, albeit one that remains within striking distance of the Championship play-off places, but with most, or maybe even all of their rivals now in a stronger position after the window.

But the off-the-field impact is far more damaging. Clubs have become increasingly angered (stronger words apply in some cases) when it comes to dealing with the key decision makers at Swansea, and that certainly isn't healthy for long-term relationships and future business.

Similar concerns were raised in January 2022. And, of course, the 2019 winter window, although turning off a phone ultimately proved to be an immensely smart decision, although even that was the decision of Huw Jenkins who left Swansea two days later.

It truly is key to remember that spending money on new signings is far from sensible if those players will not improve the squad. Being financially stable is critical. That cannot be understated.

But January 2023 was shambolic.

 

[blue1878]

Russell Martin ahead of Blackburn Rovers | Press Conference

 

[davidge]

110 years wait for the first double in the South Wales derby.

Not quite as long waiting for the second 

[chang 1974]

Yes Great was well happy this Afternoon but we left it late lol

 

[davidge]

39 minutes ago, chang 1974 said:

Yes Great was well happy this Afternoon but we left it late lol

 

Always loved a 99

[davidge]

45 years ago today:

 

I was at the game and no-one knew anything about it until after it had finished.

[davidge]

SWANSEA CITY CONFIRM LATEST ACCOUNTS

Swansea City has reported a pre-tax loss of £13m for the financial year ending July 31, 2022 in its latest set of accounts.

This follows a loss of £4.6m from the previous year (July 31, 2021) and a profit of £2.7m from the financial year ending July 31, 2020. All figures are before taxation. 

Turnover for the year was down to £19.7m compared to £27.5m for the previous year, owing principally to the end of the club’s Premier League parachute payments in the summer of 2021.

Broadcast revenue was £9.2m compared to £21.7m the previous year, while commercial revenue rose to £3.2m compared to £1.2m. Matchday income also increased to £4.2m from £1.8m, largely due to the return of full capacity crowds to stadiums following a season played almost entirely behind closed doors due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The club’s total operating costs reduced to £43m - including player amortisation and impairment costs of £2.7m - from £47.8m in 2021.

The club employed an average of 510 members of staff, including playing staff, backroom staff and part-time matchday staff, during the year at a cost of £26m.

This compared to 244 staff members at a cost of £27.7m the previous year – a reduction in staff costs of £1.7m. The increase in staffing numbers was due to the club bringing its catering operation in-house, with a rise in casual matchday staff across hospitality and concourse areas, while the return of crowds meant a rise in staff across operational departments. 

The accounts cover the duration of the 2021-22 season in which the club had a change of head coach in the summer of 2021, while they also include the sale of Flynn Downes to West Ham.

No dividends were paid to shareholders during the financial year.

Throughout the financial year the club has continued to be supported by ownership with a series of Convertible Loan Notes (CLNs) which have been converted into equity in the current financial year, meaning the club’s overall debt position has improved.

“These latest accounts cover a season where the club’s Premier League parachute payments came to an end, which is the principal reason why such a financial loss has been reported,” said Swansea City chief executive Julian Winter.

“However, the return of supporters to stadiums following the pandemic has been crucial for us to build up our matchday income following nearly 18 months without anyone being able to come to matches.

“The reporting period also covers a time where we appointed Russell Martin as our head coach, with a clear return to a playing style and identity that is synonymous with this club, as well as a commitment to giving young players an opportunity to thrive. 

“When a club sees its parachute payments end, there is a clear need to operate sensibly financially and to avoid decisions that jeopardise the long-term future of the football club. The club continues to be supported by ownership and the conversion of loan notes that has taken place in recent months is a positive step in terms of improving the club’s debt position.

“Whilst reporting a financial loss is far from uncommon for clubs operating at this level – or indeed even higher – we remain in a comparatively positive financial position as we now look forward to what will be an important summer for the club.”