Another Twist In Tale?

Further Shock In Store For Swans Fans

After the upheaval of the last two weeks with the removal of Brian Flynn and Kevin Reeves, Swans fans will be shocked to learn that the situation may well have developed following interest from Paul Refil, a Swansea born businessman who has based his businesses in Munich, Germany.

Refil, 57, was a season ticket holder at the Vetch in the 1950s and 1960s before he moved to Germany when he was posted there when he was in the Army. After being discharged from the army he remained in Germany with his family and worked in setting up a stationary company in Munich which has become German’s largest suppliers of stationary to many of their leading Banks and blue chip businesses. His business concerns have thrived over the last 15-20 years and it is believed that Refil is now a millionaire several times over. He does return to Swansea once or twice a year and we understand that he was present two weeks ago for the 4-2 win over Scunthorpe having returned to Swansea to visit his wife’s parents who still live in the Gowerton area of the city.

Our contact in Fleet Street advises us that Refil’s right hand man Ralf Lööpi has been in touch with Huw Jenkins regards a possible takeover of the club and the initial reaction was one of interest although the club would prefer to see Refil come on board as a major investor first before a complete takeover can be completed. However, Refil does have contacts within the game and the London media have been told by Lööpi that Refil has been a close friend of former German international and Tottenham Hotspur player Jurgen Klinsmann and he is the man who Refil would like to bring in as the Swans new manager. Klinsmann is looking for a return to the English league and contacts with Premiership clubs have so far proved unsuccessful and he is prepared to start at the lower levels of the league to start his management career in this country. Klinsmann was in contact with his former club Tottenham after the sacking of Glenn Hoddle earlier in the season but the board of Spurs did not feel that he was the man to move them forward a couple of steps.

It is understood that Refil is back in Swansea this week for further talks with Huw Jenkins and the remainder of the Swansea board and he will be a guest of the directors at the game against Carlisle this weekend. Jenkins himself hinted at the possibility of Klinsmann taking over at Swansea with his comments in last night’s Evening Post “The right man may not necessarily be young, but he will be ambitious and enthusiastic with a good background at all levels of football. By that I mean at international level as a player, so that their credibility cannot be questioned.”

The current board, as stated earlier, are reluctant to hand over control to someone immediately who is unknown to Swans fans but it is believed that Refil is prepared to inject a seven figure sum into the club, a figure that he is prepared to more than double should he gain complete control after a period that is believed to be between six months and a year. The board have always said that they are prepared to move aside for the right investor and it seems logical that they should give that investor time to work with them before handing over complete control.

Of course, as with all things Swansea City, life is never as simple as it first seems and it does seem odd that the name of Paul Refil has never been linked with the club before but then again we are told that he has always kept his roots quiet knowing that his name would automatically be linked with investing in the club once it was known that he was a multi millionaire Swans supporter. Lööpi has told our contact in Fleet Street that Refil did have a contact with Tony Petty during the cockney’s unpopular reign at the Vetch but he refused to give into his demands for the sale of the club for a figure believed at the time to be in the region of £750,000.

We watch this space with some interest as this one develops over time but it certainly does appear to be a very unexpected development in recent events?

Why not check out the latest Vetch Verdict on the BBC site?