Now this post is a little bit funny. It was originally going to be me slagging off Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins for sacking their previous manager Garry Monk. I predicted that the Welsh side were only in that situation because of their difficult fixtures and would have it easier after the Man City game.
Sadly though Jenkins sacked Monk before the City game and I was furious, calling it a knee-jerk decision and saying that the man isn’t looking towards the future by sacking a potentially great manager at the first sign of trouble.
I still stand by the decision that Monk would’ve steered Swansea clear of relegation and would’ve become a better manager for it but will admit I have seen the error of my ways in judging Huw Jenkins so quickly. This man has been the driving force behind the Swans rise to the top of flight of English football.
I’ll start by saying this man must know his football. He’s hired some first class managers, isn’t afraid to offer chances to inexperienced bosses and it's all for the love of exciting, attractive football.
I’ll start by talking about Kenny Jackett (simply because I don’t know any of the managers previous to him.) After so nearly being relegated out of the football league Jackett was appointed as manager and immediately set out to establish an attractive style of play, similarly to what he has done with Wolves in recent years.
In his first full year in charge The Swans achieved promotion. Jackett eventually left by mutual consent and Jenkins appointed Roberto Martinez, who had never had a managerial job before...brave move in my opinion. Like Jackett, in Martinez’s first full season he achieved promotion finishing top of the league.
After the Spaniard was poached by Wigan Jenkins hired Paulo Sousa who took Swansea to their highest league finish before being poached himself by, then, big spending Leicester. From here Jenkins decided to take a punt of Reading failure Brendan Rodgers. Rodgers got Swansea promoted yet again and was poached by Liverpool...Huw Jenkins seems very good at finding managers but not too good at keeping hold of them.
Speaking of finding good managers, in rolls Michael Laudrup, the man who took them to the probably the biggest game in the club's history, the League Cup final which of course they won, beating Bradford 5-0. Poor form and rumours of him wanting to leave forced the Swans’ chairman’s hand and Laudrup was sacked, losing six of their last eight games…
Now you’d fully expect your chairman to bring in an experienced head here to stabilize the rocking ship wouldn’t you? Well Jenkins being the crazy motherfucker he is said “ffwcio hynny cachu” and hired managerial padawan/club legend Garry Monk. Monk took them to their highest finish and looked to be a great appointment.
A few tough fixtures and players struggling to find consistency and The Monk got sacked...I can’t even tell you how gutted I was about this. Sound guy, good manager, actually told the truth which some managers seem to struggle with (Arsene Wenger: “I didn’t see it”), alas that's football, a few bad games and you can find yourself in Llanelli job centre wondering where it all went wrong…
As much as I didn’t want it to happen I couldn’t really disagree with the sacking., results were poor and some performances were worse (the Leicester one sticking out for me.) I thought Monk could’ve turned it around though. How the Welsh side played against Liverpool was first class, similar performances would have seen them climb up the table in no time. But of course Jenkins has to think of the future…
And the best thing for the future is Premier League football and the best way to guarantee that is by bringing in an experienced manager. Step up Francesco Guidolin. The former Udinese coach is very much travelled in Italy and makes his first steps into the English leagues (albeit with a Welsh club) and has so far 11 points from a possible 21. Not bad.
I’m more than sure Guidolin will do well in the Prem. I’m sure Swansea fans will be happy if he hits the same heights of either of his last two predecessors. It’s just refreshing to see a chairman who actually understands the requirements of football. This man genuinely loves Swansea and I’m sure will come up with a good plan to move them forward when he reviews the club in the Summer.
I want to end this post by saying I’m sorry Huw for doubting you. You’ve done an amazing job with Swansea already and I hope you will continue to get the best out of them for the next few years. An inspiration to any football chairman.
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Cheers for reading.
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