Time to be positive? A forgettable season ends with some good signs

As the 2024/25 season drew to a close in the last minutes on Saturday afternoon maybe it was apt that a defensive error cost us the win that we so desired on the last day of the season as it probably summed up most of the season as far as Swans fans were concerned.

Of course in the grand scheme of things it turned out it didn’t matter at all as the Swans secured a more than respectable league position thanks to an excellent run of form at the end of the season under the newly confirmed Head Coach in Alan Sheehan.

Sheehan had been confirmed just days earlier as taking on the permanent position after yet another successful stint as caretaker and he will now be tasked with working with the new recruitment team over the summer to ensure that the squad is strengthened to the depth that we need to sustain a Championship campaign that can see us looking upwards to challenge rather than looking nervously over our shoulders behind us.

The departures of both Joe Allen and Kyle Naughton on Saturday were emotional moments, two excellent servants of the club with hundreds of appearances between them and both got the receptions that they deserved having both served the Swans with distinction over their time with the club.

For many the memories of the 2024/25 season will completely disappear from the banks on the basis that for most of it, it was completely forgettable.   Endearing months of dreadful football under the stewardship of Luke Williams had turned many away from the club and there were games where it was questionable that there were even over 10,000 people in the stadium.   Season ticket sales will always dictate that the number is reported higher but with banks of empty seats particularly around the turn of the year it was a clear message that eventually had to be heeded when the club parted company with Luke Williams a few short months ago.

Williams – and the Chairman of the time – Andy Coleman, were the catalysts for many to take the easy route on a Saturday and watch the game from the comfort of armchairs or, in the case of many, just not watch the game at all.   I have covered on these pages before my own apathy given that football is an entertainment sport and watching Swansea City under the leadership of these two made it as entertaining as not just watching paint dry but to come back and see if you can watch it dry a second time.

Thankfully neither of them are here any more.   There was no outpouring of emotion at the final departure of Coleman this weekend except for the Trust organisation who he so often walked all over (the editing of their own programme notes has gone pretty much without any level of discussion) and the sheer fact that his fellow investors were relatively quick to remove him from position tells you much about the success he made of what was once a very respected role in football circles.

The early moves into the transfer market this summer appear to have the right noises behind them.   I still cannot get fully excited about transfers made off the back of data analysts but if they perform on the pitch for us next season then the moves deserve all the credit that they will get.  After several years of completely dreadful transfer windows it is nice to see us making the early moves this time around and picking up players who are certainly coming with the right noises being made about them by people who have watched them in the past.

There is of course much work to be done here this summer.   We still have some of the loans that are coming to an end who will need to be replaced (not all of them but certainly some of them will be missed) and of course there is still the uncertainty over Harry Darling who is yet to put pen to paper on a new contract to stay in SA1.

The Championship will line up to be an interesting league next season with Leeds and Burnley – both too good for this league but yet to be seen if good enough for the Premier League – having already departed and it is difficult to see that the three sides coming down will necessarily dominate the way that they did last season when they went up.   Birmingham’s promotion will surely see them arrive stronger than they departed last season but I can see a more open Championship next season and maybe we have the chance to be part of those who are seen as having an ability to push on if we choose to take that route.

When I look back over the course of this season I have seen less games in the flesh then I have in any of the last 30 years supporting the club.   Frankly it was just not enjoyable to watch some games and then, as the season drew to a close and the football improved, a series of personal circumstances means I think I have only seen two games since the turn of the year.   I won’t therefore have any memories that remain of the season that just past but with some luck, a good summer and the right decisions being made over the next few months then maybe next season will be one that is more memorable.

For now, we have to say that there have been many correct decisions that have been taken over the past few weeks and these give us a firmer footing going into the close season then we have seen before.   We have a new manager, we have some signings in the bank and we have a positive run of results at the end of the season that saw us take 16 points from the last 21.   That’s no mean run of form at all.

So whilst we did not sign off with the result that we wanted on Saturday we should not dwell on that and look forward, with a nervous feel of excitement, that there just could be a good summer ahead.