Planet Swans ArchivesPeople have pointed to Flynn’s strengths and weaknesses with equal merit, but what can’t be denied is that since he took over after the Boston game last season when we lay bottom of the football league he has improved both our league position and the quality of the playing staff.
The question I would ask though to all those wanting to change manager is this:
WHEN WILL WE LEARN?
Over the past 20 years we have had no fewer than 17 managers, during this period we have plummeted to the lowest league position in our history and have spent half of that time in the basement division.
We have had two promotions and an Autoglass trophy victory in Wembley during this time as well, but interestingly those seasons of relative success came during the most stable managerial tenders of the time, namely Yorath, Burrows and Hollins.
A quick look at the changes we have had in the top job over the period makes for horrific reading.
Colin Appleton 1984
John Bond 1984 – 85
Tommy Hutchinson 1985 – 86
Terry Yorath 1986 – 88
Ian Evans 1988 – 89
Terry Yorath 1989 – 91
Frank Burrows 1991 – 95
Bobby Smith 1995
Jimmy Rimmer 1996
Kevin Cullis 1996
Jan Molby 1996 – 97
Mickey Adams 1997
Alan Cork 1997 – 98
John Hollins 1998 – 01
Colin Addison 2001 – 02
Nick Cusack 2002
Brian Flynn 2002 – ?
What a list, some of those names were not fit to manage a drink up in a brewery; others weren’t given much of a chance.
Molby and Cusack were fan’s favourites, however their signings were some of the worst by any manager in our clubs history.
Molby for instance signed:
- Shaun Garnett for £150,000
- Linton Brown for £60,00
· Joao Moreira
· Colin McDonald
Cusacks signings were to say the least disappointing, with only James Thomas being of any quality.
Alan Cork on the other hand signed the defensive duo of Bound and Smith and psycho Martin Thomas in Midfield.
Therefore if the various boards of those times had always listened to the fan’s would we still be a league club today? Who knows, but one thing we do know is almost all successful clubs have had managers who have been given above everything else time.
Is it any coincidence that three of the most successful clubs in the UK, namely Arsenal, Celtic and Man Utd have had stability at the top for a number of years now.
Yes you can argue that these are 3 huge clubs and would be successful no matter who was in charge, but I ask you this are these teams better now than when Messer’s O’Neil, Ferguson and Wegner took over?
There has over the past few days been speculation about names of possible replacements for a non-vacant post, Frank Burrows name has been mentioned, the same Frank Burrows the SWANSEA fans DROVE out in 1995.
We have over the last 12 months gone from bottom of the football league to 11th, we have reached the 5th round of the FA cup, we have been having our best attendances for years and have a new stadium being built, the club is now owned by the fans, we have a supporters trust to rival any in the lower leagues, we are also a very young side with players like Izzey, Maylett, Tate, Jones, Britton and Hylton all under 24 and in Andy Robinson and Lee Trundle two of the best players we have signed for many a year.
I believe now, is not the time for rash decisions and knee jerk reaction, as we have seen so often in the past, it is a time for stability and calm. If over the next 12 months Brian Flynn can add more players of the calibre of Britton, Robinson and Trundle, we will be opening The John Charles Stadium in front of 20,000 fans as a division two club.
