Swansea City : The irresistible tempo set against a painful past
Tuesday, 10th Feb 2026 10:08 by Jack Butty

After hours bobbing around the coves of Cornualles, Jack Butty climbed out of the cold water and sat on the sand, fingers brushing out starfish, periwinkles, and mussels from his bedraggled hair. He scratched his head. This was undoubtedly a pickle. Cold and hungry, what was he to do?

He scented an unmistakable smell in the air. Someone along the beach was having a BBQ. There was a fire, and there was food. And potential crewmates. Salvation was at hand.

Since relegation from the Premier League in the 2017-18 season, Swans fans have experienced many false dawns.

Seven head coaches during this period highlight a lack of managerial stability, limited progress in shaping a football identity, and failure to sustain the competitiveness required for promotion. This was exacerbated by American ownership under Steve Kaplan and Jason Levien. They both had other wide-ranging sports ownership interests in the U.S. Swansea, as another trans-Atlantic interest on their roster, appeared to be given relatively low priority, and the club drifted off course. This changed in November 2024 when Club Chairman Andy Coleman, Brett Cravatt, Nigel Morris, and Jason Cohen bought out Kaplan and Levien.

This ownership change is ushering in a new era. There has been a significant cash injection to manage revenue expenditure and financial support for targeted squad building. The new owners take a close interest in the club's management and are working to improve its operational efficiency across the board. The ownership group is ambitious and will not hesitate to make the necessary decisions to gain success. New high-profile investors have signed on, including Luka Modric, Snoop Dogg, and Martha Stewart.

A key area requiring improvement was player recruitment, after many transfer windows of humdrum deals and occasional low-level or no activity. As a consequence, recent seasons have seen the club flirting with relegation as the squad has been weakened year by year.

Adam Worth was appointed as the club’s Recruitment Director with the task of finding hidden gems. As the Indy reported in December 2025: “Upon arriving in late 2024, Worth ripped up the old recruitment template and implemented his own data-driven model, which he combines with traditional scouting. He is credited with finding what many see as our best player in a decade, in Ethan Galbraith. It was Worth who identified Zeidane Inoussa and Melker Widell and was at the front of bringing Marko Stamenic to Swansea. We exclusively reported Ethan Galbraith wanting to join Swansea City and was interested in no other club two days before he signed.”

The Swans need to be a ‘selling’ club, sourcing hidden gems that can be converted into high-figure transfer deals to support club expenditure and fund future deals. At the same time, it is necessary to build a squad that meets the requirements of the Head Coach and can be competitive in the Championship.

That is not an easy line to straddle.

Questions were raised about the effectiveness of this strategy amid the high volume of new player signings in the summer window. However, we now see Cameron Burgess, Ethan Galbraith, Melker Widell, and Marko Stamenic (below) featuring regularly in the first eleven. The loan deals of Malick Yalcouye and Ishe Samuels-Smith provide cover and depth to the squad. Zeidane Inoussa and Adam Idah have suffered with injuries, but both have enough to offer for the future, while Bobby Wales is likely one for next season. On reflection, it was a good window, although it is recognised that it may take several windows to build a squad that can be highly competitive.

Worth was instrumental in alerting the club to Vitor Matos. Matos was appointed Head Coach in November 2025 and has turned fortunes around. From looking down to the threat of relegation, he has the club looking up at possible play-off places. His record to date is 8 wins, 2 draws, and 6 losses. A number of these defeats were extremely close, with the Swans unfortunate to gain nothing. During this period, Matos had to navigate a demanding match schedule, initially without his coaching staff, while conveying his ideas to the team. This has taken a little time but is now delivering, with players enthusiastically executing a coordinated high press and counter-press. This playing style is more pleasing to fans, has a higher expected-goals ratio, and results in more goals.

There is a buzz around the club that has been missing for many years. It is as Keith described in his match day report on Sunday morning before the game with Sheffield Wednesday:“The Swans will make chances, we will see free flowing football at times and an attitude that every time they are on the front foot they will look for goals. We haven’t seen this for so long it’s a joy to look forward and witness these current times at Swansea City. For us it’s the start of something, we can only hope it develops as this season progresses and we look back on these these times as the root of something really special.”