For a while, Swansea City were a club people felt sorry for. Seven seasons in the Premier League had given them Michu, Michael Laudrup, a League Cup win and nights in Europe, and then came relegation eight years ago, followed by tighter budgets and lower expectations. Now they return from the international break leading the Championship, with their best start to a season since 2005, and something is happening in south Wales that supporters had stopped expecting.
The owners nobody hears from
"You can see the ambition and the ideas are there," says Steve Carroll, editor of the fanzine Swansea Oh Swansea. The old pattern was grim. A promising player emerged, the club sold him, the money did not come back into the squad, and fans drifted away until the cycle started again. Joe Rodon, Oli McBurnie and Dan James all left that way, and the managers who went through the door included Graham Potter, Steve Cooper and Russell Martin.
American entrepreneurs Brett Cravatt and Jason Cohen took over in late 2024, which was greeted with cynicism. They live in the United States, rarely give interviews and turn up in local pubs on matchdays, and chief executive Tom Gorringe makes the decisions on the ground. But Carroll says they have delivered. Their investment steadied the finances and then funded the biggest squad spending since relegation. The club is also set to buy the Swansea.com Stadium from the local council, and plans to restore the academy to top-tier status are at an advanced stage, with more money going into the women's team.
Matos and the Klopp connection
Vitor Matos was headhunted 11 months ago, when Swansea were worryingly close to the relegation places, despite having managed just 12 games as a frontline head coach at Portuguese second-division side Maritimo. The club used data to find him. He had been Jurgen Klopp's elite development coach at Liverpool and later Pep Lijnders' assistant at RB Salzburg. The 38-year-old's interview is said to have impressed the panel, which included Luka Modric, Swansea's Ballon d'Or winner in the boardroom.
The football has followed what he promised. Swansea play the passing game the club is known for, with aggressive work off the ball, and their running data surpasses many Championship rivals. They have the best defensive record in the division, and they came from behind to win at Lincoln City before the break. A goal against Watford in September was watched seven million times on one social platform. Former Reading midfielder Jobi McAnuff, speaking on the 72+ podcast, called the start "exceptional". Not everything has gone to plan: a 3-1 defeat at promotion hopefuls Southampton was a reminder the squad is unfinished.
Borrowing from Brighton
Recruitment used to be Swansea's greatest strength and, for years in the Championship, a problem. The club has quietly rebuilt it, bringing in Jay Lefevre from Celtic as head of recruitment and Ben Stevens from Crystal Palace as sporting director. They have also agreed a rolling contract with Jamestown Analytics, the data firm owned by Brighton chief Tony Bloom, taking the slot that opened up when Ipswich were promoted. The BBC describes its role as a consultancy layer that checks the club's own findings rather than replacing them.
Winger Joseph Opoku, signed from Zulte Waregem and already two goals into his Swansea career, and midfielder Elijah Just are said to be examples, spotted by Swansea first and backed by the firm before the club spent money. Ten players arrived in the summer, among them Canada midfielder Stephen Eustaquio from Porto and Stephen Welsh, a free transfer who is now a Scotland international. Carroll puts it simply: before, a change from the bench made the team weaker, and now the substitutes change games.
Club context: Swansea City lead the Championship after the international break, their best start since 2005. Head coach Vitor Matos is 38. Owners: Brett Cravatt and Jason Cohen; chief executive Tom Gorringe. Source: BBC Sport (Chris Wathan).
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