Swans Trust to hold ‘urgent’ meeting with Swansea City owners over concerns

Swans Trust to hold ‘urgent’ meeting with Swansea City owners over concerns regarding what has been a poor January transfer window for them.

Swansea City Supporters’ Trust are to have talks with the club owners and board members having been left frustrated by the lack of signings in the last month. 

They thought they had signed Karlan Grant, who, had agreed to a loan move from West Brom for the remainder of the season only for it to be cancelled by the Baggies as the deadline passed 11pm despite all paperwork had been completed.

The month was a tough one to deal with for the fanbase and head coach Russell Martin. 

WalesOnline report that a number of targets passed them by despite Chief Executive Julian Winter stating back in December 2022 that the club were looking to be active on the market.

Yet it was departures more than anything, with six players leaving and Morgan Whittaker was recalled from his loan period with Plymouth Argyle.

Swansea currently sit 12th in the Championship table, with 39 points from 28 games played.

January Transfer Window: Trust Statement https://t.co/1hGdhjcI4J

— Swans Trust (@swanstrust) February 1, 2023

SWANS TRUST STATEMENT:

January Transfer Window

The Trust completely understands the frustration that many fans have expressed about the lack of activity throughout the January Transfer window, and the concern at the lack of depth within the squad having seen several players depart without any senior incoming players. As fans first and foremost, we share these concerns. We all want a team that has the necessary depth at each position to mount a playoff push as we enter the last third of the season.

We are not afraid of having difficult conversations with the Club or our fellow owners – we recognise that the animosity and lack of transparency for fans is not productive or tenable in the long-term and must be addressed. Whilst it would be unhelpful to speculate on exactly what went wrong, it’s clear that the processes within the club didn’t work as they needed to in this window, whether that was in player trading, or in the communications that set expectations for fans at the end of 2022. The club and the majority owners have agreed to our request for an urgent meeting to discuss the transfer window, and the medium-to-long term strategy – both in terms of squad management and transfer activity.

As part of this, we have set out four key questions that capture our concerns and those of our fellow fans:

1 – What decisions or events occurred during the January Transfer Window that led to no first-team level players being brought into the squad?

2 – How does the club board and majority ownership intend to learn from this and prepare for future summer and winter transfer windows?

3 – What is the club’s medium-term strategy around player trading, especially with the club perennially hovering around the playoff positions at this time of the year?

4 – How does the club board and majority ownership plan to reflect on the gap between communication and delivery of expectations in this window, and what actions will be taken?

The Trust’s primary aim is to maintain a professional football club in Swansea and bring the football club closer to its fans in our local community and across the world. Against that backdrop, we consider that members and fans deserve an explanation from the club on occasions like this, and will use our position as a Director and shareholder to ensure that these questions are asked and answers sought.

We will hold these conversations as we aim to hold all conversations with the club, with mutual respect, a focus on what can be learnt in the future, and most importantly how fans are kept up to date and can feel confident in the information that is being shared.

We look forward to urgently meeting with the hierarchy and majority owners to discuss this.

Swansea City Trust Board
1^st February 2023

Here’s how Twitter users reacted with the Swans Trust to hold an ‘urgent’ meeting with Swansea City owners over concerns…

@DanielJJames2: Question that needs to be asked. When are you looking to sell the club.

@touchfarvetched: If only you hadn’t sold out and turned the Trust into a “Supporters Club” – they will just laugh in your face as you ask your “questions” and you’ll roll over when they threaten to withdraw your privileges. Oh, and maybe answer the questions YOU have been asked first!

@JohnnyRichards: Why did they lie to the supporters about ready to invest without selling? Why did they leave things to the last day ? If they don’t invest when are near the playoffs when will they ? What is their 2-3 year plan ? How will they target promotion ? When are they selling ?

@oldcolwynjack: Good luck with that

@deon_lt: Add a 5th question: How do you intend to even try and build trust with a fan base that has given you opportunities, has seen you burn through 3 good managers, several strong players, and seen 0 investment into a club that is so much more important to the fans than it is to you?

@samm1966: I vote for demonstrations!!

@MarkJonesRib: Those questions are powder puff. Please ask difficult questions and hold the owners to account. Including…How much money are you going to invest in the first team playing squad and when?

@JohnnyRichards: Are they using us as a loss leader for promotion into other business ventures ? What value do they see in the club ? What are their plans when there are no big fees from players ?

@samm1966: When is Winter going to resign?? Is another important question

@ryanjscfc1: Need to be asking them what funding is actually available because from the outside looking in we have zero funds

@DarlingSZN: A 5th should be when are they planning to sell up because they are no longer wanted or welcome here same as Julian Winter who must walk

@AndrewJPowell: And this is why I stopped being a @swanstrust member. There is not one commercial mindset, or commercial leader, with any level of integral ability to challenge & to hold to account a set of owners (I won’t call them investors), who have not put a penny into our club post purchase

@xDoey: I bet they’re quaking in their expensive loafers at the thought of answering such rigorous questions

@MikePugh16: 3 points off the play offs we should have got some one to help us over the line . To run a club like a total business impossible. Prepare to lose money,If you’re not ,then we are never going anywhere. We need ownership to front up or sell sorry

@TheLovelyPeople: That the Trust has to put this statement out demonstrates the abject failure to address matters internally & robustly, in good time. The Trust is disregarded & disrespected by the majority owners & you appear powerless. Get some serious commercial & legal advice.

@JasonPaulThomas: This was a farce. They said in December that they were in very advanced talks with players, yet all fell through. High wages, apparently. One would have thought that would be the first question one would ask. 🤷‍♂️ It seems the club is just feeding us crap. If we’re not going to sign

@AlcalasNoseband: Could you also ask the majority shareholders when they are going to leave and hand the club over to people who care?

@gowerjack64:
Fuck sake
You lost me at “fellow owners”
You should be deeply deeply ashamed of the betrayal of the founders and ideals of the Trust .
You have no purpose.
Disgraceful.
#swanseacity #Swans

@Ross_Pow_10: Another fobbing off exercise. Ask them to sell the club.

@ianapharri: A sensible statement 👍

@GethinH69754737: The major questions, are what are your immediate plans for this club and do you have the necessary tools and money to want to go forward as you so put it when you took over. At present to the supporters and the wider football world you haven’t and need to put the club up for sale

@ShropshireJacks: This question is just ridiculous: “How does the club board and majority ownership intend to learn from this and prepare for future summer/winter transfer windows?” Learn from this? They don’t need to learn anything – they don’t care! There’s a difference! And they are skint!

@BowenWilkie: Question number 5. Please can we have the box for the next 3 games and any chance of some more of those prawn sandwiches.

please add a 5th and 6th question about

The status of the clubs balance sheets. Are we seriously still in the massive debt?

What investment has the ownership given, and what type of investment should we expect in the future pic.twitter.com/UiyYdQGBna

— my teams are disappointing (@NotNotMichael) February 1, 2023

🤡🤡 pic.twitter.com/Os0fIRkDPf

— Wills (@PortTalbotJack) February 1, 2023