Swans Trust Update - September 2019
Welcome to the September Update from the Swans’ Trust. It’s been a busy couple of months for the Trust, including the recent board election and the members’ consultation in relation to the Trust’s shareholding in the football club. Plus of course some excellent results being enjoyed on the pitch!
From a Trust perspective, we’d like to firstly thank everyone who has already joined for the 2019/20 season. For those of you who haven’t yet joined, you can do so at the Pod outside the West Stand on matchdays or online at https://www.swanstrust.co.uk/join-the-trust/ It literally just takes a few minutes!
We hope all existing members will renew and that we add as many new members as possible to our ranks at this critical time for the Trust.
Football Club Update
As always seems to be the way for our football club, this summer has seen several major changes. While it was disappointing to see Graham Potter and his team leave their positions and move to Brighton, and we wish him well for the future, the Trust was delighted to welcome Steve Cooper, along with Mike Marsh and Martyn Margetson, to the club. Steve comes with an excellent reputation from his time at the FA, particularly as the manager of the U17 World Cup winning team.
We also saw two of the standout performers of last season, Daniel James and Oli McBurnie, leave for the Premier League, joining Manchester United and Sheffield United respectively. After their excellent performances last season interest was inevitable and while it was sad to see them leave, we wish them well for their future.
Whilst it’s always disappointing to see important players move on, this summer did also see several players join the club on loan for the coming season, in Aldo Kalulu, Kristoffer Peterson, Sam Surridge, Ben Wilmot and Freddie Woodman. All have shown, even at this early stage, that they will be assets to our squad over the season.
Given the number of changes, it would have been natural to assume that it may take a little bit of time for everything to gel, however we’ve hit the ground running, with the Swans currently sitting top of the league with 16 points from 6 games. An incredible start which provides an excellent launchpad for the season.
When we talk about the changes at our football club, we sometimes forget about the quality that has been here for some time. So far this season, the likes of Mike van der Hoorn, Joe Rodon and Matt Grimes have continued their excellent form from last season. This season has also seen Borja Baston and Andre Ayew stay with the club and both have played a critical role in the start of the season. The recent announcement that both will be staying for the foreseeable future has been well-received by both players and fans and will surely help in our goal of aiming for a return to the Premier League.
The Trust also welcomes the appointment of Leon Britton as Sporting Director. As someone who has been involved with our club for such a long period of time and played such a critical role on the pitch, it’s difficult to imagine anyone better versed in the “Swansea Way”. There can be little doubt our club had lost its way in recent years, which had led to the Swans Trust publicly calling for the removal of Huw Jenkins, however this change, along with the appointment of Trevor Birch and the upturn in fortunes on the pitch, seems to point to the club at last beginning to move in the right direction.
Shareholding Update
Following the members’ vote to authorise legal action subject to appropriate funding being secured, the Trust board is continuing to work with its legal advisors and potential funders to finalise those details.
While we appreciate that from the outside, it may seem that little has happened since the result of the vote was announced, we can assure members that work continues as quickly as possible to action the result of the consultation. We will issue a more substantive update at the appropriate time.
Trust Board Elections and Structure
Thanks to all members who voted in the recent board elections, where the following people were elected for a period of two years - Cath Dyer, Stuart McDonald, Sian Davies, Andrew Godden, Andrew Cude and Terry Sinnett.
Since the election, the Trust regrets to announce the resignation of two board members, Viv Brooks and Sian Davies. Viv has served the Trust with distinction since the early years and is a regular feature at the Trust Pod on match days, a role we are pleased that he will continue as a volunteer. Sian has served on the Trust Board since 2017 and was one of the driving forces behind the Trust’s Schools initiative as well as being a regular on pod duty. Viv and Sian will both be missed, the Trust thanks both for their service and wishes them all the best of luck for the future.
We are pleased to announce that Dave Dalton has re-joined the board. Dave brings a wealth of enthusiasm and experience to the board, particularly in the areas of social media and IT, and will be well-known to members of the Ceredigion Jacks and those members who are active on our social media accounts.
Roger Goodwin will also be re-joining the Trust as Schools Initiative Affiliate, to carry on the excellent work done to date in rolling out the Enterprise and Employability Challenge that the Trust has worked with the WJEC to offer to schools as part of the Welsh Baccalaureate qualification.
Disabled Supporters Association (DSA) Update
The Trust would like to thank everyone who attended the recent consultation event at the Liberty Stadium for the new pop-up sensory room, which will enable fans to access the game in a calm, safe environment. The club and the DSA, including Trust representative Cath Dyer, have been working jointly on this project for the last two years, which included a trial during the pre-season friendly against Atalanta. Further information regarding availability and a welcome pack will be published by the club and the DSA in the coming weeks.
We’d also like to highlight a “quiet hour” at the Swans’ club shop on the first Saturday of each month, between 9-10am. The DSA has requested this to provide supporters with the opportunity to visit in a calm environment where TVs are turned off, lights dimmed, and music not played.
We’d also like to once again remind everyone that memberships are due for the Swans Disabled Supporters Association (DSA). Annual fees are £5 for adults or £2 for U16 and further information can be obtained from http://www.swansdsa.org.uk or secswandsa@gmail.com.
Raffle Tickets
A final reminder too that the draw for the Trust raffle will take place at the Nottingham Forest game on Saturday 14th September. Please ensure any sold ticket stubs and money are returned to the Trust in the envelope provided prior to next Saturday's game. Thanks for your participation and good luck!
And Finally..
We’d like to finish this update by reminding all members that, between email updates, you can visit the Trust’s website at http://www.swanstrust.co.uk to keep up to date with latest news. We are also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You can contact us at info@swanstrust.co.uk with any questions or approach a Trust board member on match days at the Pod or Landore Social Club.
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