Stats show managerial changes at Liberty were right, insist pundits
A panelist on the Guardian’s Football Weekly podcast this week said he wanted Swansea to survive this season purely because the welcome he and others receive at the Liberty is the warmest in the Premier League.
That warmth is being felt by the fans now as the players help with the cost of a trip up north.
The club’s Twenty’s Plenty scheme has won widespread praise for its inclusive benefits that shows the club understands its support base.
Following any team is an expensive business, and Swansea were one of the first clubs to acknowledge that.
We can talk about the club’s halo slipping, but now is the not the time to bring up the catalogue of errors made over the last year - especially after such a fantastic gesture from the club and players, with the emphasis on the fan.
The club may not be perfect, but they have assured themselves the backing of 3,000 on Wearside and a whole city in South Wales on Saturday - and beyond - with this gesture.
There is a lot to be proud of about Swansea City Football Club.
And in the club’s hour of need, the fans will be there. They always are. SKY Sports pundits Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher have insisted that Swansea City were right to change their manager on two occasions this season, writes Ian Mitchelmore.
The TV pundits were discussing Middlesbrough’s relegation from the Premier League on Monday Night Football following their 3-0 defeat to champions elect Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
They discovered that of the 38 managerial changes after the Christmas period for bottom half sides in England’s top tier prior February 2015, only 13 had improved their side’s league position, a success rate of 34%.
But since February 2015, an incredible eight out of the 10 changes – a success rate of 80% – for bottom-half sides after Christmas have seen an improvement, one of which includes Paul Clement at Swansea City who replaced Bob Bradley.
And discussing the bizarre shift in the trend of performance of new managers, former Manchester United and England man Neville conceded that sackings are now proving far more successful than they were during his playing days.
“Over the last five or six years we’ve been on Monday Night Football, we’ve regularly done a graphic on managerial changes as to whether or not it’s the right thing to do,” said Neville.
“We’ve more often than not said no. Historically, pre-2015, it was proven not to be that successful.
“However, the scary thing is that in the last 18 months to two years, there have been eight improvements out of 10. That’s a pretty big shift.
“If you look this season at managerial changes, you look at Swansea, going from 0.75 points-per-game to 1.25 points-per-game.
“I still think to this days that the Leicester change (Claudio Ranieri) is one of the most distasteful moments of the season, but sackings have been improving teams’ positions.”
Clement became Swansea’s third manager of the season following the sackings of Francesco Guidolin and Bob Bradley in the first half of the campaign.
And ex-Liverpool defender Carragher says the money involved in the Premier League gives owners no choice but to sack managers when things are not going well.
“I don’t like it because I don’t think it helps young players,” said Carragher.
“There’s that much money involved now owners are saying it’s worth the risk.
“I don’t think it’s a big stigma getting sacked anymore, it’s just part of being a manager now. People say you’re not a manager until you’ve been sacked.”