Phil Sumbler
Andy Coleman is the man charged with developing Swansea City both on and off the pitch and he believes that everyone connected to Swansea City should be proud of the club as he looks to take it to a ‘significantly’ better place during his time here.
The Swans Chairman has been in his position now for almost six months having been appointed just before the end of last season and it has been quite a six months for him. Personal family loss is something to which we can all sympathise but he has also had to oversee the change in management, the transfer of thirty players between the men’s and women’s teams and an early season period which saw massive pressure on his new manager as he searched for a first win.
If ever the Swans Chairman had a doubt about what the pressure of the job entails he has probably experienced it all within those first six months so he was certainly speak from experience when he addressed the fan’s forum at the Swansea.com Stadium yesterday evening.
“To me, the Swansea Way is so much bigger than just what happens on the field. It’s about this community and it’s togetherness. Everyone is so proud to be from here, and this is an incredible place. That pride in the community, the football club and each other is something everyone here should be very proud of.
“My job is to leave this club in a significantly better place than when I got here, it’s important you hold me accountable to that because you are the heart and soul of this club. We value and appreciate you, and we cannot perform on or off the pitch without you behind us.”
Coleman has not been backward in coming forward in mixing with the fans in his time here. He has regularly mixed with fans prior to matches and he is determined to be someone who can be approached and held accountable by the supporters who ultimately contribute heavily to his wages at the club.
“There’s a reason why I’m here – I’m here because if you have a question come and ask me. I’m happy to answer it. I have nothing to hide from anyone.
“I understand talk is cheap. We will have good days and bad days, there will be days I do things right and there will be days I get things wrong. But I am here full-time, I am part of this community, this is my home and club. I am going to do everything to be successful here, or go down trying.
“I am passionate about what I do and I hope I can show that to each and everyone of you and, over time, earn your trust.”
Coleman insists that he is very much the man who makes decisions at the club describing himself as the operating partner and controlling member of the ownership group. Traditionally it has been stated that those on the ground at Swansea have been hampered by the need to revert back to Kaplan and Levien on making decisions but Coleman insists that this is not the case.
“I will share as much as is reasonable about the ownership structure. I’m the operating partner and controlling member of that group and I think that’s important. It’s important that the controlling operator is here in this country. We are not in a position where we need to ask permission to do things.
“The most important takeaway is that I’m here, and I am the controlling partner of this ownership.”
Coleman is often at pains to point out his importance in Swansea during interviews which can seem a little odd and unnecessary but it is clear that he does want to be seen as the decision maker as often as possible something which he talked about when he reflected back on the summer transfer window.
As referenced earlier, 30 players arrived at the club during the summer in a period where the Swans women’s team was officially bought under the umbrella of the club for the very first time.
“We’ve signed 30 players – 13 on the men’s side and 17 on the women’s side. To do that requires decisions to be made on the ground in Swansea.”
Of course building a football club is not only about doing things right off the pitch doing things right off the pitch has an equal – if not higher – importance as the infrastructure that sits behind any club will determine largely how much money is available for transfer. Coleman was keen to point out that spending money does not always mean that things improve and we all know that there are endless examples of clubs who have had to learn some of the hardest lessons from that particular mantra. Ourselves included.
“Spending does not always equate to real success. We want to be smarter, on the commercial and football side of the business. Stability is key, so throwing good money after bad is not how to do it. Having football people building processes that will allow us to do so smartly is how we want to do it.”
And that includes the experience for the fans as he fielded a late question on the catering facilities at the club “I’ve spent 20 years in the hospitality business. The experience for fans has to get better. We’ve only been here 90 days, and it will be about progress not perfection, but we are looking at catering changes across the entire club.”
