Supporters Trust Forum - The Lowdown

My attempt at remembering everything that was covered last night...

There are some times when, as a Swansea fan, you have to pinch yourself. Last night the Swans Supporters Trust held their annual open forum, where fans had an opportunity to come to the Liberty Stadium free of charge and put their questions to the board, manager and players alike.

In attendance were Lee Trundle, Angel Rangel, Jonjo Shelvey, Huw Jenkins, Leigh Dineen & the Supporters Trust's own Huw Cooze (Nathan Dyer sadly had to drop out at the last minute) and they fielded all manner of questions - from the mundane to the ridiculous, with some pearlers in between. 

Michael Laudrup, for his part, reaffirmed my belief that he is the smoothest man on the planet. Time and again, he responded to tricky questions affably and at one point even answered a question with a question. You'll forgive me if I can't remember what the original question was, but the Dane's response went down a treat with fans.

The main issue on fans minds was clearly the ticketing problems we've still been experiencing, but to be honest the continued stream of inquiries, some of which bordered on the irate, seemed to me very much a case of being able to have a rant at the board. I don't really get what the point in laying into the board about this particular issue was, as anyone who knows anything about the Swans must surely know the club are looking to address this problem post-haste. 

We've grown so fast as a club that a problem or two of this nature is inevitable, and the main price of a sudden increase in stature will always be that the infrastructure is liable to lag behind a bit. Another aspect of this is the catering facilities in the East Stand. I asked whether the club would consider getting a tie-in with a local brewer (Tomos Watkin?) and whether anything had come of the Trust's statement a few months ago which said they were looking into improving the service at half time at the Liberty. 

Leigh Dineen and Huw explained that, as a prudent business, they're very simply always going to look for the best commercial deal for the club, but the main problem seems to be the lack of space in the East Stand concourse. They pointed out that, when expansion commences (with the East Stand being the first in line for a few extra seats) one aspect of this will be improved food & drink services - something which will come as a relief to some (myself included) who've grown disillusioned with the "service" provided by the current shower.

As for the expansion itself, Huw stated that the club expect planning to be granted by December, and seemed pretty confident this was going ahead as expected. I also had the chance to ask if money had been "ring-fenced" for expansion, and if this summer's transfer spending had altered that at all - Huw responded by simply saying "No" in reference to the ring-fencing aspect of the question, before going on to reiterate that, with the club's main focus always on maintaining a steady solid financial footing, all aspects of financial planning need to be flexible and are liable to change. 

Another money-related question was directed at Huw when he was asked how he felt about signing off on the £12million deal for Wilfried Bony. He responded...well...as you'd expect really! With Laudrup sitting alongside him, there was only so much he could say, but he did say that if the player was right and we can afford the transfer, we'll make it happen. He did, however, say this through gritted teeth and pointed out he hoped he wouldn't be doing it too often...

One of the better questions asked of the players was "Who was the best player you ever played with?". Jonjo Shelvey picked Steven Gerrard, Lee Trundle lumped for Rooney (when did they play together?!), while Angel Rangel (love him) went for Leon. Leeeeeeeeeeon. Laudrup showed his understated cool when he responded by saying "...well I'm from a different generation, but in my day we had this Argentinian guy...Maradona". Ha. Class. I assume he played against him during his time in Italy when Diego was playing at Napoli? Either way, it must have been amazing to see him up close.

(EDIT: @1UsernameTaken on Twitter tweeted me this photo of Platini, Laudrup & Maradona all on the field together. Excellent.)

At one point Jonjo Shelvey was asked, as the inquirer had kept the midfielder in his "Sun Dream Team" for this weekend, if he could promise to score the winner against Liverpool on Monday. He, obviously, said he'd give it a go, but somewhat surprisingly (to me at least) his first response was "there's a few tackles I want to make first". Who does he mean? Answers on a postcard. 

When asked about how he was enjoying life in Swansea, and how it differs to life in Liverpool or Charlton, Shelvey seemed to indicate he didn't enjoy his time at Anfield, and that they aren't as much of a "family club" as they'd have you believe. From posts on the internet in the aftermath of his move south to SA1 it seemed he had a rough time of it from the Scouse fans, and it appears he's enjoying trying to rejuvenate his career at the Swans.

Most of the questions put to the board after the players (and Laudrup's) departure were, as mentioned earlier, of a ticketing nature, as well as being asked about pouring rights and the stadium naming rights. Leigh Dineen confirmed that discussions have started in regards to the name of the stadium and the club will look for the right partner going forward - but he also stated we weren't up for rent to just anyone - he indicated Go Daddy had been interested but that the club didn't think it would fit very well. Quite right too.

Last but not least, at the end of the night I got the chance to speak to Huw himself. After congratulating him on a sterling job over the last decade I asked about whether we could expect to see Ki back at the Liberty competing for a place, and he seemed to think that was a certainty, as well as appearing a big fan of the Korean. With the World Cup looking this coming summer, it's understandable that Ki wants to be playing week in week out, and given the extra competition for places he can't be blamed for seeking a temporary move elsewhere. It appears Huw, like me, rates Ki and thinks he has a future at the club. Great minds, eh...