Ashley Williams: Location makes it tough for the Swans

Former Swansea City and Wales captain Ashley Williams says that he knows Luke Williams wants to bring more bodies in the door but believes that it is tough for the Swans because of the geographic location of the club.

Williams, who represented the Swans more than 300 times in the league was sharing his thoughts on the Swans ahead of the new season and in a week where the latest of the summer signings – Gonçalo Franco – was unveiled by the club.

It was back in 2008 that Roberto Martinez parted with £400,000 to sign Williams from Stockport in what will always be seen as one of our shrewdest bits of business with Williams leading the Swans as Captain in the Premier League and, of course, into Europe on top of his caps for Wales whom he captained in Euro 2016.

Williams who is now a BBC pundit was asked about the Swans transfer dealings and revealed that he believed that a mixture of location and budget counts against the Swans “I’m sure Luke Williams wants to bring some more bodies in the door,” said Ash.

“Whether that happens or not, it’s always tough for Swansea to get players in just because of where it’s located. They don’t pay the biggest amount of money, so it’s always tough.”

Williams also added that he felt last season was flat but recognised the connection that was starting to develop between Luke Williams, who arrived in January, and the fans towards the end of the campaign.  “I think Luke can help the situation by just doing what he did towards the end of the season,” added Williams.

“And I don’t mean results, but just the connection between him and the fans and the team and the fans. If I look at that second derby game against Cardiff at home, more days, more afternoons or more evenings like that with that kind of show of commitment and intent from the team will help bring the fans back on side and then it becomes a lot more smoother for him. I do think they need some players, they need to shore up the defence a little bit, but there is good players in there also.

“I was massively disappointed with the way the season went for Swansea last year, as a big Swansea, like all the Swansea fans, it was just disappointing, it was flat. There was nothing to get behind apart from probably that one game against Cardiff at home.”

The Swans open their campaign on August 10th with an away game at Middlesbrough before home matches against Gillingham (EFL Cup), Preston and Cardiff give a good chance of getting some early momentum behind the team – something that Williams believes is essential for the Swans boss “So a good start for Luke would be key and I’m sure they’re working hard to try and get bodies in the door, but as I said, being there for so long, I do know how frustrating it can be at times, because there’s not a lot of players jumping, especially foreign players, that don’t know where it is or you look at it and it’s quite far from everywhere else, so they have to work a little bit harder than other clubs to get players in.”

The Swans do face some pressure this summer to be active in the transfer market particularly after a run of largely unsuccessful windows and given the comments of Ashley Williams it does mean that the likes of Andy Coleman and Paul Watson have to work hard to ensure that we overcome the challenges our former captain lays out.

The question though remains on the lips of all Swans fans is whether they are up to that challenge – as ever, time will tell.

Ashley Williams was talking to Coin Poker (www.coinpoker.com)