Jake Silverstein who is fast becoming the central communicator for the majority ownership at Swansea City is fully behind Russell Martin as the season ends this afternoon. He also comes with a warning though. He mentions supplemental financial support which he states will continue set against the clubs player trading model.

Quite simply if the offer is right players will leave.

It’s always good to hear a positive ownership reference the hard work that their employees are doing, and of course recognising the road ahead has a lot of hard work attached to it. And some swans fans will be pleased to hear that firm plans ahead are in place for as good a chance as any club in the championship come the start of next season. Silverstein has slowly taken over the US side of the clubs running leaving Steve Kaplan and Jason Levien to concentrate on their American interests and investments, especially DC United. The first real comments from Kaplan and Levien on arriving at Swansea were "Players don't play forever and they don't play for the same club forever, and we've got to make the best decisions - decisions which are in the best interest of the club." To an extent they have done that, the business overall has been a success since dropping down to the championship. Although that wasn’t on the agenda, it was clear they saw the relegation as a challenge.

Now with Silverstein as the figurehead and becoming more and more involved in communications and physical trading there most certainly is a plan, and with that plan is a clear vision. The swans press release via Silverstein late on Friday evening was positive. "We speak regularly about “building,” and that is what we are doing. We have been pleased by the progress Russ and the team have made over the course of this year; we are playing exciting, engaging football, we got stronger as the season progressed, and the team believes in what we are doing–and in each other. We want to achieve promotion back to the Premier League, and our route to get back there will require a bit of patience as this plan matures and comes to fruition. We showed several times this season that we can be exceptional; at our best, we were dominant on the pitch. And, while there were frustrating moments this year, we are happy with the trajectory we are on. We believe our culture will bring out the very best in our players and be a key difference maker for our squad throughout what should be a very exciting 2022-2023 season for the club”

What Swansea City don’t have are absent owners to the extent many clubs have seen in recent times. The club remains as stable as it can considering the pandemic and the knock on affects of the loss of parachute payments. And it can’t be said the previous two seasons before Russell Martin arrived that Steve Cooper wasn’t supported either. The continued investment in Andre Ayew and his extortionate salary when other options were available is one example. And yes other options were there. Silverstein continued "Dealing with the challenge of no more Premier League parachute payments requires us to blend player trading with supplemental financial support from ownership, which our group continues to provide. We strongly believe that our efforts towards achieving financial sustainability, paired with our shared vision for the Swans’ exciting playing style, all underpinned by the culture of resilience and openness we are committed to building, are steps in the right direction."

Football fans of every club will always have issues with perceived authority, and will always want more than they already have. The main thing for us here at Swansea Independent is that we do have a positive reaction to this season, and real people willing and able to identify the way forwards. Silverstein has done that, there can be little room for criticism when the road travelled to date has been explained and illustrated throughout a season of ups and downs by the manager. And that the majority ownership recognise that the route being taken requires patience. Numerous Swansea watchers don’t agree with any of this process.The quick fix is the answer as is the way in todays society.

Silverstein does come with a warning this time though. "Off the pitch, we continue our work towards building a financially sustainable football club–this, too, takes time and hard work. One core principle of financial sustainability for a club like ours is a player trading model whereby we identify, develop, and eventually sell young players to boost revenues. While over each of the last three transfer windows we have spent more in transfer fees than we have brought in through player sales, that will not always been the case. We are very proud of the incredible strides that so many of our players have made this year”

That last comment tells us that Swansea City are going to sell at least one of their prized assets this season, it can’t mean anything else. The investment has been there, it can be wrapped up in any way you want, but it is there. But of course consortiums do at some point want rewards, and it seems that these times are fast approaching, and of course Silverstein has invested as well. It’s a short closed season but it will be a busy one, and it is to be expected that not everyone will be happy at the end of it. When you reflect back on Russell Martin’s first season the split is very obvious amongst supporters, however there isn’t one at the top echelons of the club which will reassure Martin.

And that’s the best we can hope for.

Photographs licensed from Reuters

Swansea City Polls