Having this discussion over the weekend, what is the Swansea Way? People are often led to believe it’s simply about pass, pass, pass football. For me, the Swansea Way is about the club having a clear structure for how we want to run things.
For example, ensuring that the youth teams follow the same blueprint for football as the first team.
Recruitment – establishing scouting networks across Europe and identifying players who fit into the culture of how we want to play. It’s about avoiding the trap of overspending on players who haven’t performed at a similar level.
Style of play – for me, the Swansea Way isn’t about playing tippy-tappy football just for the sake of it. The Swansea Way is about being fearless. From my first season following the Swans under Jan Mølby, I’ve always had the feeling that we could beat anyone. It was almost a case of, “let’s show them what little old Swansea can do.” More often than not, the opposition knew they’d been in a game with us, whether we won, lost, or drew.
It’s also about adapting. I think back to Martinez. Of course, he brought in a lovely brand of football, but he wasn’t afraid to mix it up. How many times did we see a long ball over the top for Paul Anderson to run onto? It’s about playing to your strengths – something we’re failing to do now.
My biggest frustration is the board hiding behind this tagline, “The Swansea Way.” When we recruited Williams, Coleman would repeatedly say we needed to follow the Swansea Way. But employing a coach who just faffs about at the back isn’t the Swansea Way.
The Swansea Way is about adapting to our strengths and fostering an exciting, fearless attitude – the belief that we can take on anyone.
