Jason Levien and Jake Silverstein are in town and have both endorsed the trajectory the swans are heading in despite another disappointing afternoon at home to Norwich City on Saturday. No specific meetings have been held with Russell Martin by Levien but even after the loss on Saturday he was endorsed in his position as manager, as were his coaching staff.

Silverstein was in Swansea around this time last year ( he has been in the city since then as well ) and in to January prior to the fans trust agreement regards ceasing action over the sale of the club in 2016. He was also concerned at the time as to the ongoing relationship between Mark Allen and the recruitment set up. That resolved itself with the departure of Allen after the dissatisfaction surrounding the Nathanael Ogbeta signing from Shrewsbury Town.

We have asked the question regards their objectives this time around and it does seem more focussed on how January and the transfer window will pan out. However, meetings with CEO Julian Winter have been long and productive. We have been told that there could be a rethink on the structure of the club and its personnel, that’s not as drastic as it sounds but it seems we will be hearing about some movement or role changes at the club. Back in September Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan released a long awaited update on their current situation at Swansea.

“We have regular dialogue with Russell, Julian and Josh, and our goal is a return to the Premier League. We are extremely respectful of the success the club has achieved in the past - before our tenure - playing football the 'Swansea Way'. This is a long-term project where we want to continue to progress, be highly competitive, develop players and achieve our goals while maintaining the long-term financial position of the club. Like many businesses, we are facing inflationary rising costs. We have seen costs rise in almost all areas of day-to-day operations such as catering, hospitality, stewarding, travel and accommodation for all our squads, as well as the annual running of our academy and training grounds. The harsh reality of the Championship is that there is a continuing need for a combination of ownership investment and player trading to stay in a strong financial position”

That last sentence is crucial and there is a desire to maximise player trading again in January. That will concern some swans fans as the only players who really bring in cash are those with saleable value. And January isn’t a time generally to terminate contracts. We understand that there will also be some strategic changes with Jake Silverstein playing an even more major part at the club. That is working on the financial side and the decision making surrounding those players Russell Martin wants to bring in over the transfer window.

The Americans visit is timely and will be welcomed by Martin who we know has had some meetings with Silverstein already to talk about a new contract. The rewards for the swans and Martin are huge if there can be some support financially to bring about premier league football in Swansea once again. Russell Martin has stated this weekend "Jake's been here for a few days now. He's been over a lot this season so he's really familiar with the players and the staff which is brilliant, really helpful. To see Jason here as well is really nice, he's not been here for a while I think. I'm disappointed we couldn't get a result for him, but I hope he's seen enough to be excited about moving forward”

On the objectives for this season it seems there is some flexibility for Russell Martin to carry on his ideas for next season as well. Martin also referred to the long term thinking at the club. "He's really happy with how it's going and what we're building. When we all signed up for it, we knew it was going to be a long-term thing because to play this way is not easy, it takes time. We've got some young men doing incredible things. I think him, Jake, Steve Kaplan and the owners are excited about it, hopefully they're as excited as we are."

Rumblings of discontent follow every Swansea moment that doesn’t come with a win, to an extent that’s understandable but really the repetitive and at times relentless undermining of the manager by some fans is hardly helpful. It is of course helpful if the discourse has some value to it, we reported this yesterday, and it’s a report we know has reached certain quarters. And of course we stand by it, Russell Martin does need financial assistance to achieve his objectives, and as he is so valued then surely that isn’t an issue ?

That report from yesterday is here –>
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We will most certainly see that play out in January, and by the end of that month we will know the value that the majority owners place on Russell Martin, and indeed the trust they have in his decision making and ability to move Swansea City forwards.

Photographs licensed from Reuters

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