Whilst we wait for the official confirmation that the managerial hunt has started there has already been much speculation as to who the Swans may turn to as they prepare for the post Russell Martin era in SA1.
A look at the betting at this stage rarely tells you a story that will play through to appointment with Chris Davies the current favourite at 2/1 followed by John Eustace (3/1), Nathan Jones (6/1) and Oscar Garcia and Steven Schumacher (both 8/1).
Former Swans bosses Brendan Rodgers features at 12/1 with many other names on the list but all at extending odds beyond Rodgers.
Personally, and as much as this would not be a popular opinion, the name of Nathan Jones should not be dismissed as no chance. He is well known to Paul Watson and with him coming into the club to be a big part in this kind of appointment we should not dismiss his view in being able to influence the majority owners of the club.
I struggle to see why Schumacher would pass up the chance to work with Plymouth in the Championship to work with us and the link with Eustace is an interesting one as we know he has come close twice to the job before now. Could it be third time lucky for the Birmingham boss and would it be lucky for us? His record at Birmingham is not sensational but then again he wouldn’t be the first manager to turn up here without a strong record on paper behind him.
One of the things that we do know this summer is that the new people coming into the club (Andy Coleman and Paul Watson) are both determined to seal some of the leaks that come from the club but, as experience tells us, that is easier said than done as Swansea remains one of those cities where everyone seems to know everyone else’s business.
When you then add to that the fact that managerial searches often throw up appointments of people that featured nowhere near the top of betting lists when they are first compiled. And often the appointment that is maybe not the first choice of the club – we know this of some very recent appointments and also some very successful ones here at the club.
It can therefore be assumed that the club are working on some managerial thoughts that are certainly not in the public domain and if Watson and Coleman are determined to stop the leaks then watching how this one pans out will be a sure sign of how good they are at stopping those leaks. It’s early days for one of them and pre-appointment for the other!
Many people have questioned why any manager would want the job at Swansea and cite the lack of support given to recent managers by the owners but we should never lose sight of the fact that, despite their shortcomings, most recent managers have been backed well (ignoring certain windows!) and that Swansea has a reputation for allowing hungry ambitious managers to take early steps in their career. Just take a look at some recent (and current) Premier League managers as a good indication of this.
So as the calls take place between SA1 and the other side of the Atlantic in the main we can probably only guess which names are under discussion and you can guarantee that it will be significantly more than just one or two. And that is before we have the names of those who want to put themselves forward for the job and we should not underestimate just how many people that could actually be.The manager that Swansea City will turn to
The next few weeks will continue to see us speculate and debate the names that are in the public domain but it should be the names of those who aren’t that could probe to be the most interesting of all.
Just a shame we don’t know who they are…!
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