About bloody time!
Fan-bloody-tastic news this is! After what seems like an age, Ashley Williams has finally put pen to paper on a new four-year contract, which sees him tied to the club until the summer of 2018, when he'll be thirty-three. This effectively means he'll be ending his career at the Swans (barring some big-money move by a Champions League club), and it's good to see that we didn't allow ourselves to be priced out of this one, as there were obviously suitors who would have more than matched what we were prepared to offer.
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I'd imagine whatever Sunderland, for example, were offering (which undoubtedly Ash & Jamie Moralee knew) would easily exceed what we'd be able to offer, so it'll be obvious to Ash that if Swansea have broken their wage structure to get the right contract in place, it's because of how integral he's become to the team. For his part, Ash does seem genuinely happy to have committed to the Swans for what could now turn out to be the rest of his career:
“I've signed because I'm happy here. I'm happy with the team, the way the club is. I said last year this was the place I wanted to be so as long as we could work something out and they wanted me it could be done.
“I've had a lot of managers over the years and I've come to realise the relationship with the manager is very important. The fact I know him, I like him and enjoyed working under him at the back end of last season it made sure it was an important factor.
“There's speculation every season but it's normal for me now, it's not something I can get involved in or want to. There's been no quotes from me saying this or that, I was relaxed and just concentrated on getting my body right and rested for the season and focused so I can attack it.
“There was supposedly bids but I've always said it I take it as a compliment that people have been talking about you but that's it.”
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/swansea-city-captain-ashley-williams-7373244?
Judging by the internet reaction the Swansea fanbase is very happy at this news, and who can blame them? It's important that this sets a precedent too - big clubs have been linked with Ash and this, coupled with the insistence that Bony isn't for sale for anything less than £25million, have shown that we won't simply sell to the highest bidder any time someone comes in for one of our players. We don't need to sell players, and if the money isn't right what's the point?
If Ash had gone to Sunderland for, essentially, bigger wages then it would surely have had repercussions in terms of players beliefs that they can get the "big contract" that they want at the Swans. This shows that if you are important enough to the club you can get a fair deal, and one that in no way can be described as stingy - in contrast to the way we normally do things. Ash was previously on around £35kpw - it's being reported that he's now on £45kpw plus bonuses and I must say that seems about right.
On a four year deal though, that is a LOT of money! £2.16million basic a year in fact, and with the prospect always there that everything could go tits up and we could get relegated, I'd hope (and expect, in fairness) that there are provisions in his contract so that, if we were relegated, we weren't paying a thirty-plus Ashley Williams fourty thousand plus a week. Thankfully I don't think that's something we have to worry about, but it is a big, big deal.
Contractual intricacies aside, I do think it's fantastic that Ash has committed for another four years. He's currently, along with Leon Britton (and of course Garry Monk), an important daily reminder to young players at the club that if you work hard enough you can force yourself into the reckoning. I've talked about it a lot, and I'm aware that it's stating the obvious, but having these links with our recent past is absolutely crucial - I firmly believe if we lose sight of where we've come from then problems will arise, and the club are astutely plowing money into youth facilities which will help stop this becoming the case.
Local players are much more likely to have an affinity with the club, and be familiar with the troubles in the not so distant past. This kind of awareness of, of why it's such an impressive feat for Swansea to be continually punching above their weight in the Premiership, is crucial in keeping us from stagnating, and in making sure we're constantly evolving, and moving forward. In the short term though, getting Ashley Williams to commit to another four years is absolutely massive for Swansea City football club.