It’s been a long and arduous season for Swansea City and their fans.
Poor managers leading demotivated players has accumulated to the looming (and very poignant) prospect of relegation. It would be all too easy to write a harrowing piece on the failures of the club, but at this point everyone knows what’s gone wrong and there’s no point in milking a dead cow.
The club need to be ready for relegation, and right now, it might be necessary. There are positives to dropping down a tier, believe it or not. The likelihood of coming back up is slim, and the chance of becoming a team that fluctuates between Premier League and Championship is a horrible thought; but Swansea need relegation.
The club has been in dreamland ever since their promotion to the top flight. Tales of ‘rags to riches’ have echoed through the last five years and the Swans became a neutral’s team. Not anymore.
They no longer play the free flowing football that Roberto Martinez’s reign began. That was lost when Francesco Guidolin took the reigns; dark times. It’s time to eat a bit of humble pie and realise that the fairy tale has to come to an end eventually.
The news that Paul Clement will stay in charge of the Swans came out this week and it was like music to the ears of every Swansea fan. So far he has shown glimpses of his tactical prowess and there have been examples of the magnificent football played under Brendan Rodgers and Michael Laudrup.
A season in the Championship would let the former assistant to Carlo Ancelotti hone in on that, and make Swansea great again (excuse the Trump-like remark). With the new facilities that Premier League money has bought them over in Landore, there’s no reason as to why any progress currently being made would be halted by a campaign in the second tier.
Squad wise, Gylfi Sigurdsson will be inevitably snapped up – and that’s okay. The Iceman has been an immaculate servant for the Swans in recent years and his absolute brilliance will never be tainted by him trying to better his own career.
Fernando Llorente will be on the first plane out of SA1, but other than that, it’s tough to see any first team players leaving for warmer shores. If the club can keep hold of Alfie Mawson they have a natural leader. Dare you say it, a replacement for Ashley Williams. Add in the young prospect of Oliver McBurnie – who has shone in PL2 this season – and there’s a new striker who fits the club at only 20 years of age.
In fact the general youth that Swansea can boast may well be useful after relegation, with a few looking as though they are ready to be stepping up into the first team – especially if relegated.
The Swans have a first team that could potentially tear the Championship apart. Keeping the core of that will go a long way to catapulting them back into the Premier League.
As for the Jack Army, the prospect of playing Cardiff alone will excite them, and many fans do feel that Premier League football doesn’t hold the same feeling as the Championship – full of glory hunting fans that don’t produce the same atmosphere.
Replacing Sigurdsson would be a bit of a stumbling block. Who wants to move to a team in the Championship? The answer may well be lying within the ranks. A January signing that has gone under the radar but has well and truly been a remarkable signing – Tom Carroll.
Often preferred as the ‘new Leon Britton’, Carroll has shown some brilliance in attack this season, and the Championship could be the perfect place for him to learn the trade. You heard it here first, Tom Carroll has the potential to be a huge figure in the future of the club.?
Obviously no one wants relegation, and ultimately it is a depressing idea; but every cloud has a silver lining. This just happens to be a fairly large cloud.
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