Planet Swans ArchivesThere are several moments in our recent history that are classed as pivotal moments in time and ones that we always look back at when it comes to moments like this and the signing confirmed last night of Bafetimbi Gomis on a free transfer from Lyon.
Those pivotal moments will include (but not exclusive to) the moment we removed Tony Petty from the club, the agreement of the CVA, the signing of Leon Britton, the Hull game, the Paul Connor signing, the appointment of Roberto Martinez, the Play off final in 2011, the Capital Cup win and the singing of Wilfried Bony.
You may wonder why the signing of Paul Connor is in there but it is relevant to this piece and I think it was relevant as we were finally back in the market to pay transfer fees for players and it was the first indication that we had the club back on an even footing.
But let me also here move back to a signing that has a real relevance here and that is the signing of Leon Britton which is well talked about when looking at the club as it was the signing that the fans funded. I am sure many of us remember the buckets being passed around the Vetch to get the signing to happen and you can safely say that there are not many signings of Premier League players that have been funded by the supporters. Last night as I heard the news that Gomis had signed (via a text message during the first half of the Derren Brown show at the grand) I thought briefly back to that moment and wondered what the battle for Bafte would look like.
200 supporters paying just รยฃ400 per week towards the campaign would be able to fund it. Well, that is if the reported รยฃ80,000 per week wage is to be believed. I will happily go on record here to say that I don’t believe that we are paying that much, certainly not as a basic wage anyway so maybe those 200 fans could get away with paying just รยฃ300 per week instead.
The one thing that those numbers show though is the difference between the club that we saw just 11 years ago and the club that we see now. It is also completely different to the club that was promoted to this level back in 2011 and highlights the increasing gulf that is likely to continue to grow between clubs in the Premier League and clubs in the Championship.
And the impact of the signing was no lost on Garry Monk either when he said รขโฌลIรขโฌโขm very happy. You are talking about a quality striker who has played international, Champions League and top flight football in France for a big club
รขโฌลItรขโฌโขs a fantastic signing; a very big and important signing for the club. It shows just how far we have come that we can attract a player of his quality.”
This is Swansea City in 2014 and what an enjoyable thing it is to watch as well. Roll on the new season.
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