Joint majority shareholder of Swansea City Brett Cravatt made a fairly quick turnaround journey from the USA to Wales this past week. During that time he attended to numerous matters at the Swans and also had the pleasure of seeing his side beat Oxford United 2-0.
Getting a handle on the situation so to speak, and physically seeing for himself how the operation at Swansea City is progressing was his clear aim. But why now and what happened ? To understand that you have to get to the basics of Cravatt’s philosophy on employees. In our round up below it becomes very clear. This has been a common factor throughout his time at the helm of the Swans and is effectively referenced across the board in all of his businesses.
Cravatt most certainly has been concerned as to the progress of the visa applications for three coaches who were primed and ready for announcement on Monday November 24th. Vitor was announced as we reported two days earlier. Unfortunately processes determined that his three coaches couldnt get work permits. Those coaches, Tozé Mendes, Diogo Medeiros and Goncalo Ricca have all failed to meet the immediate criteria for permission to work in the UK within their chosen fields and an appeal is in progress. That has concerned Brett and the management of that process has been discussed. We understand a pathway ahead has been instigated by Cravatt before he returns to the USA.
He also wanted to meet Vitor Matos which of course happened, and both spent some time together as Vitor went over his vision for the club and in turn Brett was keen to assure the Portuguese of the journey ahead. They also took the time to square off some of Vitor’s concerns and indeed to agree a pathway for new coaching appointments ‘if’ these current visa issues continue. We have been told Vitor is comfortable in all that the club are doing and accepts that new coaches may well have to be a consideration, however as of Sunday evening there was little information on where the club are this morning moving forwards.
Vitor didn’t sound that convinced when last asked the visa question.
Meeting Chairman Tom Gorringe we understand was to evaluate the interview of Kim Hellberg who we are told wasn’t that impressed overall with the Swans club structure. That said he did warm to both Gorringe and Adam Worth the recruitment specialist at the club. As Hellberg mentioned upon his appointment at Middlesbrough he felt the north Yorkshire club had everything in place for him and a sporting director with great vision. As it stands the Swans do have some perceived gaps in their employment chain at the Swansea.Com. Does this reflect something of a desire to operate with Gorringe and Worth attending to many matters across the board ?
There is a belief that there needs to be a replacement after the departure of Richard Montague (sporting director) who left in September. However, we did reveal there were no plans for this for the rest of this year. And as it stands we think that the board will wait until the outcomes of the January window are certain before making a decision. You can take your pick of other reasons why Brett made this visit. Settling the minds of investors such as Snoop Dogg which is something very close to his heart after direct involvement earlier this year. Even just getting an overall feel from being on the ground as opposed to a reassuring video call. There’s much more in everyone’s minds from the contacts we have had from people on this site and social media. But thats’s speculation, what isn’t is the prime objectives that seem to have been achieved this time around.
It won’t be just the fans hoping that the joint ownerships attentions are now satisfied.
Some background from the Indy
⚽️ Why is Cravatt in Swansea ?
First of all he is people focussed.
An unhappy workforce leads to people spending less time thinking and solving problems, because they aren’t motivated to succeed. Depending on your business model, you might be able to stay afloat for a while with unhappy workers if your company can depend on technology. Long-term, however, it will have a negative impact on profitability and will ultimately lead to your demise.
Brett Cravatt started business with his own ideas in fantasy sports betting with thirty thousand dollars of savings. When Jason Cohen and Brett Cravatt met they eventually struck up a strong bond and friendship which has led to a number of successful businesses not least Centerfield. Collection and examining data is the thrust of most of what these two best buddies do. They rely on data driven factors as do Swansea City (with eyes on) in their recruiting methodology. We first reported on them a good few weeks before they took the reins at Swansea City, but really got to grips with them before the announcements of 2024.
This was an exclusive to us as was the Tyler Morse report a few weeks earlier.
You can read some of our reports into the business side of Swansea City and how the whole takeover of the Swans happened over many months before it happened. There will be links throughout our reports taking you on a journey of initial reporting
Any visit from an owner to any business will raise questions, we have been fortunate enough to get some insight, thanks for following and supporting the Indy.