PLUS: SWANS FANS’ ANGER BOILS OVER
Supporters unite in show of anger towards club's owners
SWANSEA City fans have aired their frustrations and anger towards the club’s American owners by holding a protest march ahead of yesterday’s clash with Millwall.
An estimated 300 supporters marched from Castle Gardens to the Liberty Stadium, with many using the event as a chance to voice their concerns following another desperately disappointing transfer window.
Swansea loaned out Wilfried Bony, Jefferson Montero and Tom Carroll on transfer deadline day while captain Leroy Fer and academy winger Daniel James were also close to securing exits from the Liberty Stadium.
Both players stayed at the club, but not a single player was added to Graham Potter’s squad, which was already depleted by a difficult summer window.
Chairman Huw Jenkins has since left his position at the club, but fans nevertheless remain angry at majority shareholders Steve Kaplan and Jason Levien, who now face several big questions.
Disgruntled fans organised the protest through Facebook, leaving Castle Gardens just after midday yesterday.
Supporters made their way up towards High Street, before heading down New Cut Road and then taking Neath Road up to the Liberty Stadium.
Fans sung several songs aimed at Kaplan and Levien, including “Where’s the money gone?”, and “You greedy b*****ds, get out of our club” – both of which have been heard on a number of occasions this season.
One attendee, Paul Elliot, 71, accused the owners of “assetstripping” the club, who are facing up to the very real possibility of spending another season in the Championship.
“I think the Americans are assetstripping this club. They don’t seem to be investing any money in this club and the way in which the club was sold and the way in which the Supporters’ Trust was treated – they were bypassed. The terms of the agreement changed without consul- tation. I think it’s absolutely appalling, I don’t trust the Americans.
“They should get out of this club and sell it on to somebody who’s interested in the club.”
Another fan, 32-year-old Michael Walton, said: “They’re ripping off my club and I want it all sorted.
“There’s something going wrong with them and it needs to be sorted.”
Several other fans added that they would not be renewing their season tickets for next year.
Andrew Patterson has been a season ticket holder for 15 years, but says he won’t be back next season.
“No investment, no trust within the club. They’ve been poor in the transfer market and they just don’t care about the club.”
Fellow supporter Tony Sharpe from Gendros, who’s been a season ticket holder for seven years, added: “I didn’t renew my season ticket this year because the Americans are clearly not interested in investing in the club, they’re just interested in taking from the club.
“Jenkins has still got a lot to answer for. I think he should apologise to the fans for what he’s done.
“He instigated the sale, which was supposed to take us to the next level.
“I’m sorry, but the next level isn’t the Championship.”
Ahead of yesterday’s game, Chief Operating Officer Chris Pearlman issued a detailed statement on the club’s transfer window activity and financial issues following relegation last season.
In it, he said he believes the decision to allow the trio of Montero, Bony and Carroll to leave – with exits being inevitable in January due to the restructuring process in place following Swansea’s relegation from the Premier League – would “have the least impact on our team for the second half of the season”.
“Much has been made about the activity surrounding the transfer deadline last week.
“At the end of window, we sent three first-team players out on loan who had not featured regularly for Graham in the first half of the season,” he said.
“While we think highly of Wilfried Bony, Tom Carroll and Jefferson Montero, it was our belief that these particular moves would have the least impact on our team for the second half of the season as we remain in the hunt for a potential play-off position, while allowing the club to recognise some financial relief.
“We have spoken publicly on a few occasions since relegation about the club’s current financial position. Simply stated, our current contractual commitments are higher than our expected income.
“Relegation has seen our annual income this season drop by approximately £60m. That is inclusive of the parachute payments we received from the Premier League.
“Our transfer activity this past summer enabled us to address
approximately half of this deficit. On top of the decrease in income, the club still owes some transfer fee payment instalments on players we have bought over the past few years.
“Furthermore, our financial position across all transfer windows in the past few years has shown a net loss.
“Fans have every right to be critical about some of the transfer decisions that have added to our financial challenges.
“We are hopeful and optimistic that a new head of football operations at the club – coupled with a more structured recruiting strategy and process – will enable us to avoid the mistakes of the past.”
And on Huw Jenkins’ resignation as chairman of the club, Pearlman has reiterated that Swansea will work closely with the Supporters’ Trust in their search to find a “new person to lead our football operations”.
“Huw Jenkins’ resignation from Swansea City marked the end of an era. The club, our supporters and the community owe Huw a significant debt of gratitude for his contributions over the past 17 years,” he commented.