Time to show our real hands – can Coleman and Watson show actions as well?

The transfer window is well into its last week already and yet again the club are yet to make a signing despite “learning the mistakes of last January” and “three months of hard work”

There are clear deficiencies within the squad that were highlighted more by the change in management in December and, you would have assumed, that part of the discussions with Luke Williams would all have been around the desire and ambition to bring in new players in January.

The meek way in which the Swans surrendered to both Southampton and Bournemouth in the past week tells you much about the need to strengthen the squad and, whilst I am all for not blowing a fortune on average players in January, it is highlighting that all the work we are told went into this window was probably nothing more than a large dollop of hot air.

Back in November, Swans Chairman Coleman said the club was ready when he told the BBC “What I can tell you is we are investing in data, we are investing in scouting, we are investing in Paul Watson and others and we are planning not only for January but for other windows as well.”

Adding that the £3.5m investment that month had left us strong financially he continued on the subject of the window “We have the ability here to move very quickly and make those decisions to improve this football club,” he said.

“I have told you before: don’t tell me what you are going to do, show me what you have done. The summer was a great success.

“One of the things we needed to learn from [experiences at] this football club and others, was looking at windows in a very narrow band.

“We have changed our mindset now to think three windows out. We are planning not only for January but for next summer and the next January.

“That’s the only way we can build a consistent pipeline of players coming through that improve the football club.”

Many would question the “success” of the summer window when you look at the quality of the players that arrived and what they have added to the squad.   You would question it even more when we have now a manager looking to play a different game to the previous one as to how well those summer signings could fit into anything Luke Williams wants to achieve.   And that is before you put to one side the fact that many of those players aren’t even ours.

What has been most alarming for me this window is the lack of complete public links of players we are supposedly interested in.  Some will tell you that’s a good thing given most of the links never turn into anything but when links appear it is generally driven by agents/clubs trying to drum up interest in players.   However, even with that tactic then they have to be feasible links so is there now even a general feeling that the club are incapable of completing transfers.

We also have to remember that having completed two managerial searches in less than seven months on both occasions we have been unable to secure our first choice (indeed one man we failed to complete a deal for twice) and that adds doubt not to the position of the club but the ability of the ownership group top negotiate deals to complete things.  I have said this before on the forum that I have experienced this first hand and whilst it is never a bad thing to believe you hold all the aces you have to accept that you never always do.   Especially not when you have the hand Swansea City.

What starts to concerns more is that the excuses appear to be lining up already.  In midweek Luke Williams said “What I would say is even if it’s not what everyone was hoping for, it won’t be for the want of trying.”

And on Twitter the club mouthpiece, Swans Trust, tweeted last night “January is a very difficult month to recruit, and there has been a general lack of movement up until this week for most clubs.”

And we should not forget the words of Paul Watson last summer either “January is a tough window to recruit in, but if we end up not signing anyone in the next January window, that will be because we have agreed that as a club and we will communicate that clearly.”

I can firmly believe that a one month window in the middle of the season isn’t the best market to be shopping in but it is a window that clubs – certainly those in need of reinforcement – manage to recruit in.    Nobody here is advocating a desperation signing for the sake of it but if so much work and time has gone into this window then being in the last week without signings suggests either a lot of hot air or a large amount of incompetence.

We have six days left so no full judgement can be passed until the window closes next Thursday but the signs aren’t good on or off the pitch.    So we close with those famous words from Steve Kaplan and Jason Levien when they assumed control at Swansea City.

“We will be relentless in our determination to continually improve this club – and we have the financial resources to do so. We will be competitive and we will outwork our opponents on the pitch and in the boardroom”.

The ball remains in your court.   Let’s see where we are Friday.