Yesterday, the Swansea City Fans Forum was held. Vitor Matos, Swansea CEO Tom Gorringe and newly recruited sporting director Ben Stevens sat on the panel and answered questions from the fans. They talked for about 90 minutes and there were a lot of good takeaways. I can't cover it all, but here are the things I found most interesting.

⚽️ The great atmosphere
I can't remember the vibe around the club being this positive in the last 6 years or so. There were broad smiles throughout the Fan Forum, and this reflects the discourse online and the overall feeling around the club at the moment. There is just a lot of positive news coming out at once and it feels like there are some bright years ahead of us. Of course, this has been felt before; last season, for example, many were very excited after our ambitious summer recruitment, but we still ended up in the same position as the year before. But this feels different. No matter what happens on the pitch this season (unless we get relegated) I think we're still on a great long-term path. But why? Let's go through what Vitor, Tom and Ben had to say.

⚽️ The club and its future
First, Tom Gorringe gave us insight into the negotiations around buying the Swansea.com Stadium from the council. He said a price has now been agreed, though we have not completed the purchase yet. Still, this is wonderful news. If the club gains ownership of the stadium, it would own its most valuable asset and most crucial piece of infrastructure, strengthening our long-term financial position and giving us control over the ground's development and use. It also creates an opportunity to generate revenue by hosting other events, like concerts, should that be desirable. And it would make the club more attractive to future investors.

More importantly, though, it gives Swansea a more secure future. The club would no longer be tenants, but the actual owners of the most important building in the club's life. Tom Gorringe put it well: "...we're effectively the landlord and tenants of this stadium, we cover all the running costs, we look after it everyday and we still pay a rent to the council for the privilege of being here. So it's a really important move for us and I think it will change the way we can operate, it grows more opportunities in the future and it locks in the fact that this is our home, we own it. And for me that's really important."

Buying the stadium isn't the only area we are investing in. It was reported a while back that the club is applying to regain Category One academy status, which was something Gorringe was asked about during the forum. If you're unfamiliar with what Category One status means, it's the classification system for academies in the EFL and Premier League. Category One status is only achieved by meeting a certain standard of facilities, coaching and so on, and it brings with it competition against other Category One academies, so the Swansea youngsters would be playing against the Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal academies, for example.

Regaining that status would be very beneficial to us. It would make us the only Welsh club with Category One status (Cardiff are at Category Two and Wrexham at Category Three), attract more players to the academy, increase academy investment, and hopefully generate more players who can either break into the first team or be sold. As mentioned, Swansea previously held Category One status, but dropped to Category Two in 2020 after the expenses became too much. The feeling now is clearly that the investment would be worth it again To regain Category One status, the academy will be independently audited during the upcoming season, and if all requirements are fulfilled, the status will be restored. Fingers crossed.

⚽️ The squad and tactics
Staying with the academy, Matos was asked which academy players are currently training with the first team. Right now, Carter Heywood, Tom Woodward and Daniel Watts are all training with the first team. Heywood is a 17-year-old centre back who featured in the pre-season game against Udinese and is considered one of the club's biggest talents. Most of us are familiar with Woodward by now; he made his debut against Charlton in the final game of the season and provided an assist for Adam Idah. Woodward is 19 years old and is likely to feature more regularly this season. When Woodward debuted, Matos expressed frustration at not being able to bring on 20-year-old Daniel Watts as well. Watts' professional deal ended on July 30th, so I assume he's still with the club, but I can't find any news of his extension.

Matos also mentioned that every week the first-team coaching staff hold a session with the academy players, allowing the coaching team to get a better understanding of them, help them develop and identify which ones to move up. There were also questions about Gonçalo Franco's injury. Matos said he will probably return at the end of August, which is better than I expected.

On tactics, one fan asked Matos if he had a "preferred system". He was also asked how we will improve our play on the ball after focusing so much on pressing last season. His answers overlap somewhat, so let's address both together. Matos said our standard system is a 4-3-3, which we all know, though some football sites list our line-up as a 4-2-3-1; we rarely play with a double pivot. Matos highlighted the fluidity within the system, dependent on player profiles, relationships and opposition. The word "fluidity" is something he returned to when talking about our play on the ball. Awareness, understanding of the flow of the game and composure are qualities he mentioned when explaining how we improve in possession. He avoided any clear tactical specifics here, focusing instead on the individuals; either this is because he doesn't want to go into tactical details, or because he is genuinely prioritising the development of individual ability and decision-making on the ball. If we are more adaptable and versatile with the ball, we become way harder to play against. This is what Matos means when he says “fluidity”, the ability to be dynamic, adaptable and flexible. To be that, our players need particular skills and experience to use those skills. This mindset I believe to be very healthy and a good way to become a very tough team to beat. We’ll see on Saturday how “fluid” we are at the moment.

⚽️ Summary
As I mentioned at the outset, this forum was full of positive energy and genuine excitement. I was thoroughly delighted with the panel's answers overall, Ben Stevens included, even though I haven't quoted him directly here.The club seems to be in a very healthy position and now has the groundwork in place to start working towards higher ambitions. The future looks bright, and that is honestly more important than anything that happens right now.

It also has to be mentioned that CEO Tom Gorringe is guiding the club on home turf to new heights, he has overseen a lot of the changes reported this week. Now we just need that extra effort on the basics to thrust the club forwards into the minds of people in local areas and across Wales. It’s brilliant having a growing fanbase in the USA but mid Wales is equally as important.

⚽️ Ross Stewart signs

Photo : Swansea Independent, artwork Xolin