Planet Swans ArchivesThese are just two of the headlines that we have picked up on today: –
Sunday Express – Hunt on for Michael Laudrup’s Successor
Sky Sports – Swansea Chairman preparing for life after Michael Laudrup
So what was behind the sensationalism of these headlines? Had Michael decided that the pinnacle of his time here would be a 1-0 win over Newcastle at the Liberty or was that just a convincing look-a-like that had sat on the Swans bench yesterday to lead the team beyond the 40 point barrier?
Nope this was nothing more than the usage of the Huw Jenkins statement made a coupld of weeks back that the Swans were always trying to plan in advance. It wasn’t Huw saying that Laudrup was about to walk away from the club merely stating that the club have learned from the lessons of the past.
There was criticism in that past of the club reacting too late to renewing player contracts and watching kep people leave for free but those days have passed as we see it although I’m not sure that the media have caught up with that part just yet.
If they had then surely you wouldn’t get the headlines that we have had today or is it just a case that ‘Swansea City keep one step ahead as they practice a better business model’ doesn’t sound quite so impressive when they are trying to get people to click the links that they see with the headlines.
Succession planning is an essential part of any business and whilst football differs from a normal business in so many ways there is no reason why some of the smart practices that we encounter in everyday life should not be put into play at a football club.
We already know that we work with a different financial model to most of the other 91 clubs that sit within the top four divisions and the comments made by our Chairman also shows that we think differently when it comes to thinking about when the future may hold.
It has been widely speculated that the Swans only tied Brendan Rodgers into a new contract last year as they knew he was turning heads in other boardrooms and Huw himself has hinted that he was making plans for life after Brendan way beyond the call of the Liver Bird took him away from the Liberty.
And that is what Huw was saying as he answered questions asking about Michael being linked with some other jobs including Chelsea, Arsenal and Real Madrid.
We all know that one day Michael Laudrup will leave the Swans and it may well be on a new challenge but we also know that bringing in hungry managers over the past few years has left us where we are as all are keen to move us on a level so it makes perfect sense to think about suitable candidates for when that day arrives.
But panic not Swans fans that day has not arrived today but some web pages have probably had a few extra hits on the back of another smart move by our club. One day they’ll understand that our blueprint is the best way and not just the Swansea way.
