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Jankins and Jackett Answer The Fan’s Questions |
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Swans chairman Huw Jenkins and manager Kenny Jackett were on hand at the Riverside Lounge tonight to answer the questions of the fans who turned up for the latest fan’s forum. The evening was the latest Fan’s Forum operated by the Supporters Trust who opened the evening with a low down of what they had achieved in the past 12 months together with some of the upcoming events which include the 3rd annual Megabowl, a race nite, a fans forum in Port Talbot and the unveiling of the Ivor Allchurch Bust outside White Rock hopefully in October ahead of the visit of Oldham Athletic. Once the formalities had been completed it was open floor with fans invited to ask questions of the manager and chairman on a range of topics with some very passionate views put forward. Jackett was quizzed on various topics from Andy Gurney, through Lee Trundle rumours, free-kicks and corners and transfer targets. Whilst Jenkins found himself on the end of questions about The Welsh media, Stadco and the general feelings of the fans since the move to White Rock Stadium. Kenny Jackett was definitely not one to be drawn on some of his other transfer targets although he again admitted that both Lee Johnson and Gavin Williams were targets that he wanted to add to his squad and although at the moment he had been turned down for both, that did not mean the end of his involvement there. Andy Gurney has now left the club and is with Swindon Town on loan. In terms of free kicks and corners, Jackett stated that they spent one day per week training on this front and delivered a statistic that we were the 5th best club in league two last season of converting wide free kicks and corners into goals. A statistic that I wouldn’t necessarily have thought was right but I’ll definitely take him on his word at that one. It was also pretty clear that youth development was something that Kenny felt pretty passionate about and on that front he believes that he is putting in the structure to ensure that the club is producing some home grown talent in the future. He is also keen to ensure that we don’t miss any talent on our own door steps and Colin Pascoe in particular has the remit to develop Wales and the West on this front. Jackett was also full of praise for Shaun Macdonald who made his competitive debut at Reading and seemed very hopeful that the likes of Bond, Pritch and OTJ would all have a part to play this season. The questions to Huw Jenkins were possibly more ‘passionate’ and it is clear that the rumblings about Stadco are not just refined to the message boards, which we all knew was the case anyway. In fairness to Huw he was honest with his answers and it is pretty clear that he shared many of the same frustrations. Some of the things that he sees are wrong he openly admitted could not be changed overnight and that there are frustrations at dealing with local government. Whilst the fans were less complimentary about the club’s partners in Stadco. Jenkins, rightly so, would not get drawn into name calling, any movement down this road would surely have made the problems harder to solve not easier. The Trust publicly said that a boycott or the like was not the answer and whilst everyone appreciates that the problems are there and do need to be resolved, the short term answer is to grit teeth and work with them. Not against them. Amusement from me came in a long question from the floor about the Welsh media’s view of Swansea City which was met with a simple ‘I agree’ from the chairman. There were no mind shattering revelations at an evening like this but in fairness would you ever expect there to be? Most of what we know about player targets etc will have been in the local press and I wouldn’t expect Kenny to reveal much on that front that we didn’t already know or that you wouldn’t read in tonight’s Evening Post. The chairman is never going to publicly slate his business partners in a forum like that any more than he would do on a soapbox in Castle Square on a Saturday afternoon. However, for those that were there, you can see that he shares some of our frustrations and when the point was made about gates dropping you just know that it was fear in his eyes as he thinks ‘lost income’ However, there aren’t too many clubs that get the opportunity for a group of fans to put forward their views. Nobody has to agree with them but fair play to two busy people for giving up a few hours of their time to discuss this further. And fair play to them as well for hanging around for almost an hour after the event to talk to fans individually if they so wanted to do so. Also on display from the Trust point of view were the first couple of box sets in their almost finished state (minus the DVDs at the moment) For anyone that has not seen them, these are excellent items and the word ‘box set’ really, to my mind, does not do them justice. They are a marvellous keepsake of the Vetch Field and all it’s memories and, dare I say it, well worth the £150 they cost. And also well worth waiting for. The Trust also have a small selection of merchandise that you will be able to purchase from the Superstore at White Rock on Monday from 11.30 – these include swanstrust.com wristbands, Pin Badges and also rosettes, some of which were signed on the night by Kenny for the trust to sell. Anyone interested in these items will find them on the Ospreys counter on Monday. All in all a good evening and if you have read this hoping for some mind blowing revelations then you are wrong but I can safely say that if you get the chance to attend one of these in the future then do so, it’s always interesting to hear the words personally rather than second or third hand. Click Here For Pictures From The Night You May Like |
