Phil Sumbler
He may have had spells at Liverpool, Celtic and Leicester City working with Brendan Rodgers but it is now reported that Chris Davies is ready for the step up to be a manager in his own right and that has Swansea City on alert with Davies one of their preferred candidates.
The name of Davies has been linked with the Swans almost since the news broke that Russell Martin was on his way and given that his footballing philosophy is very similar to that of his mentor it does feel that the move itself could be a good fit for both the Swans, their supporters and of course Davies itself.
Many people’s thoughts actually probably turned to Brendan himself when the news on Martin became clear but, despite his recent exit from the now relegated Foxes, it’s easy to see that the former Swans boss is probably out of our reach financially. The ship to bring him back sailed several years ago when it was suggested he was ready but it never materialised. Ships sailing and water under the bridge that one.
So we turn to Davies. It’s not clear if an official approach has been made but it has been suggested that he is also wanted at Tottenham with Ange Postecoglou supposedly wanting him as part of his coaching staff.
Davies is, of course, no stranger to Swansea having worked here with Rodgers as part of our Premier League winning season in 2010/11 and he has been a “trusted lieutenant” of the former boss since then. Their association started as youth team captain at Reading under Brendan and they have been close to inseparable ever since.
Nobody knows where Brendan will end next but if Davies does end up here I suspect it will be as much to do with Brendan’s blessing as anything else and it could well be that he may even have played a part in recommending his right hand man to the Swansea City owners.
The news was broken by Alan Nixon via his Patreon account and references the battle with Spurs but Davies is said to be ready to go alone and give management a chance and that seemingly has alerted Swansea.
It is difficult to know how Davies would take a step upwards into management. We saw with Paul Clement that the step was harder than maybe he expected but Davies has a good background and has learned that trade from a successful manager who has delivered results wherever he has been and was one Steven Gerard slip away from winning Liverpool’s first Premier League trophy. Success was consistent and regular at Liverpool and Leicester won the FA Cup under his guidance. Davies will have learned alot in that time and it could well lead to success with the Swans.
“I like to spend quality time analysing opponents and our own game. Those are the hard yards you need to put in, to deliver high-quality content and information back to the players. Analysing a match properly takes me three hours,” Davies told the FPL website last year.
“Ever since my time at Liverpool, I’ve had individual player meetings and it’s something I have continued since I became an assistant.
“I don’t think many people dream of being an assistant manager when they are older. Most want to coach their own team.
“When I first started working with Brendan, I did tell him that one day I would like to be a first-team manager. That was clear and it was a good starting point for us as a working relationship.
“That’s the path I still want to go down, to be a manager at the right time.”
Follow this one closely it feels like it could be a likely outcome.
It would be a calculated risk but one worth taking if he has ambition to progress as a manager, a manager in the PL at that.
Not only does he know the club from his time here he will also have learned so much about coaching and the process of personal development through the partnership with Rodgers.
I would imagine he will also be aware of the success achieved by managers at Swansea who had no, little or poor experience in the role.
An article full of the usual waffle by reporters that have not one fact relevant to any interest the Swans have about Davies. For example
“it is now reported (by whom and when …last year ?) that Chris Davies is ready for the step up to be a manager in his own right and that has Swansea City on alert ( what is the evidence for this ?)with Davies one of their preferred candidates.(any evidence for this?)
but it is now reported ( by you ?) that Chris Davies is ready for the step up to be a manager in his own right (what is the evidence for this?) and that has Swansea City on alert (what does this mean?) with Davies one of their preferred candidates.(again what’s your source ?)
It’s not clear if an official approach has been made ( certainly not from this article clearly )
seemingly ( it seems from what and where?) has alerted Swansea.( any evidence ? )”
Football reporters fill pages of so called news giving a cv of the person some quote he has made in the past and after that hide behind words such as ..understood, seemingly , it has been reported, it seems, serious contender, not clear, good fit, corridors of power, top brass, powers that be, etc etc. It’s laughable.
Full of cliché and hackneyed words (from hacks)which attempt to hide the only true fact that there is nothing new in the article but a rehash of someone else’s equally factless report. A complete waste of time for both author and reader. What has article this added?
PLANET SWANS EDIT
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