JB returns with a more tranquil and reserved approach to his parchment protest today. After the turmoil of recent days, which one media outlet described as ‘seismic’ we reserve the right to be just that, reserved.

IT’S ALL OVER NOW, BABY BLUE
“You must leave now, take what you need, you think will last
But whatever you wish to keep, you better grab it fast”— Bob Dylan

Barely a week from reflecting on the end of the Swans’ season and daydreaming that a good summer transfer window would position us well to make a bid for promotion next season. Instead, we find our club in turmoil once again. Head coach, Russell Martin is expected to officially be declared as the new manager of Southampton in the coming days. Keith’s revelatory scoop on this site last Sunday blew the doors off what we had understood and laid bare a story of relationships and trust broken. Whereas we had been told that the owners were keen to sit down and talk with Martin about a new contract, they had been planning his departure.

Most fans had a reasonable expectation that Martin’s contract would be extended - indeed these were the messages coming from the club. Further discussions were anticipated to try and retain out-of-contract players and a list of transfer targets would be progressed following lessons learned from the January transfer window debacle. Most importantly we would retain continuity with the Martin style — tweaked and improved — and, on the basis of the season’s last nine games, be well-placed to make a strong push for promotion next season.

All that is for nothing and that is hard for any Swans fan to stomach. What we have is the inevitable turmoil that comes with seeing off one coach/manager and recruiting their replacement. There will be a new transfer list drawn up that may need to be lengthy if we are to source replacements for Ryan Manning, Joel Latibeaudiere, and possibly Joel Piroe and Matt Grimes, and others.

This isn’t really a blame game. The Swans went on a dire run of performances and results from late October that would lead most clubs to consider plans for managerial change. It appears that the final warning was given at Kaplan’s meeting with Martin in March. Owners have a duty to manage the club in terms of team performance, so plans being made for a replacement are no surprise. For Martin’s part, he will feel aggrieved that he hasn’t been backed, which would obviously lead to relationship breakdowns, and the January transfer window was probably the final straw.

Martin was appointed to return the club to what it is well known for. A passing game with inventiveness, style, and panache. In addition, living within our financial means emphasised the strategy of buying low-cost players to develop and sell at a much higher cost. Martin has ticked these boxes and deserves credit for this. He also deserves credit for developing a style of playing that the players have fully bought into. The team has progressed in their understanding of this and in their ability to play this way. When it has worked it’s been exhilarating to watch. A regret for many will be that Martin always professed his love of the Swansea area, its people, the players, and the club’s fans. Most have backed him and the project to come to fruition. As it is the project has not gained the recognisable success that promotion would confirm. That is our loss as well as Martin’s.

So where now ? We have the right to expect that the owners will look for a new coach/manager who will continue our playing philosophy, tempered with their own coaching ideas. This is crucial not only because that is the footballing style that fans want from our club but also because this is now embedded as the pattern of playing throughout the Academy age groups. The new coach/manager needs to be financially backed and reassurances provided to the players and team behind the scenes. Establishing order needs to happen quickly. Hopefully, Paul Watson will be the first piece in this rebuilding, to be followed by the right people and players brought in to take us forward.

Photographs licensed from Reuters

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