Diminutive midfielder has written his name in the history books
I'll be honest, I started thinking about who should play at centre-back (as my Twitter timeline will bear testament to), but it fried my brain and I decided it would be better to give that some thought over the next few weeks. So, in less than heroic fashion I switched and decided to select the first central midfielder for my All Time Swansea XI, and in truth it didn't take long for me to decide who would be the first outfield player to make it into the team.
Leon Britton arrived in Swansea with the club at a low ebb. The acquisition of a player who could legitimately claim to still be (at the time) the most expensive 16 year old in British football was regarded as something of a coup, and having already spent time at both West Ham and Arsenal it was very much hoped he could help pull the Swans away from the relegation zone.
Originally an Arsenal youth team player, Britton was a member of the England Development School at Lilleshall, and must have been doing something right because in 1998 West Ham manager Harry Redknapp deemed fit to pay £400k for the technically proficient midfielder. Britton was in esteemed company at West Ham - the team at the time would have included Joe Cole, Frank Lampard, Paolo Di Canio, Rio Ferdinand and other star names, however such a glut of talent (in central midfield in particular) left Britton watching from the sidelines. All in all, Britton spent four years trying to make a mark at West Ham but failed to make an appearance for the first team.
That takes us neatly to how Britton ended up at the Swans. By December 2002 (now aged 20) Britton had grown tired of playing reserve football, and instructed his agent to look for loan moves away from Upton Park. New manager Glenn Roeder didn't seem to fancy giving Britton his break, so when Brian Flynn inquired about the possibility of taking Britton to South Wales there was nothing standing in his way, and he found himself driving down the M4 towards Swansea. After playing in two friendly fixtures (against a Villa reserve side & Forest Green Rovers) he made his debut away at Exeter City - a game he remembers fondly despite the Swans going down 1-0. The Swans would actually go on to lose Britton's first four games 1-0, and these were followed by a 3-2 home reverse to Bury, and a 3-1 away loss at York, so it was seven games before Britton found himself on the winning side as a professional footballer, in a 1-0 home win over Lincoln City. I actually dug through my old programmes and found one from the Bristol Rovers game in December (Britton's third appearance for the Swans), but if I'm honest the overriding memory for me is that he had bright red boots which, let's be honest, were a bit flash for the arse end of Division Three. Thankfully, Britton had the skills to back up his boots, as it were, and found himself an instant hit with supporters.
His performances throughout 2003 undoubtedly helped the Swansea cause, but he was unable to stop the Swans spending most of the season in the drop zone, and as the end of the season drew close the Swans still needed to win on the final day of the season to secure their league status for the following year. Britton was part of the team that included Alan Tate, Kristian O'Leary, Roberto Martinez & James Thomas who famously kept the Swans up against Hull - a game that I'm sure will forever remained embedded in the memories of anyone who witnessed it. Britton's performances for the Swans hadn't gone unnoticed either - he found himself nominated for the PFA Player of the Year award, which he subsequently won - not bad going for a player who six months prior had never played a professional match. A sign of the man is that in March of that year Britton suffered a triple fracture of his cheekbone, and was expected to miss the rest of the season. Not Leon. After just one game out he returned to the Swansea team sporting a protective facemask which was a bit Phantom of the Opera, as the picture below shows!
Despite his impressive loan spell in South Wales, West Ham were happy to let Britton join the Swans on a free and waived the final year of his contract - but things weren't quite that simple. Given the scarcity of funds available to the Swans hierarchy, it was left to supporters to gather funds to pay Britton's wages - with buckets literally being passed around between fans in an effort to raise the required sum. Leon has said he thinks his ex-girlfriend and her family chucked a bit of money in, and while it's a nice memory hopefully we won't ever require fans to literally put their hands in their pockets again in order to pay a players wages. That being said, it clearly worked, and after joining on a permanent basis in the summer of 2003, Leon has remained an almost ever present figure in the Swansea starting XI.
Britton seemed to enjoy playing under Flynn, and originally spent a lot of time playing as a right winger. His control and technique were way, way better than most of the squad's, and it was a joy to see someone who could, seemingly, control the ball every time (not a given at the level the Swans were playing at). Flynn moved on in March of 2004, and that led to Kenny Jackett being appointed as manager. Jackett's reign as Swans boss was, it seems, one of the two less enjoyable periods for Britton, as he found his first team berth threatened by players Jackett felt were more competitive physically. Jackett's tenure didn't start well, losing his first six games in charge and missing out on the playoffs, but the following year the Swans gained promotion back to "League One", and would start the next season playing in their new home - The Liberty Stadium.
The Swans flew out of the blocks the next season, and spent a large amount of time in the automatic promotion spots before eventually having to settle for a playoff place due to their form tailing off at the end of the year - although the team did win the Football League Trophy, in part thanks to this outstanding goal from Lee Trundle. Look closely, and despite the grainy resolution you should be able to make out Leon playing a lovely ball for Trundle to hammer it home.
The next year saw Jackett struggling to maintain the level of performance, and after a mountain of media criticism (mostly for what was generally construed to be a negative playing style) he resigned, citing lack of support from the fans, players and media as his main motivation for leaving the club. In the first of Swansea's curveball managerial appointments, Jackett's successor was someone who, when the call came, was actually still a footballer player! Ex-Swan Roberto Martinez was enjoying himself playing for Chester City when Huw Jenkins got in touch, and after a contract was agreed Roberto was unveiled as manager. This was the start of Leon's renaissance with the Swans - Martinez & Britton were room-mates during their time together as Swansea players and it was always likely that Britton would fit neatly into how Martinez would want his team to play football.
In reality, since Martinez sculpted the Swansea team in his own mould Britton has almost been ever-present in the side. The only manager who he hasn't got on with in the time that has passed was, famously, Paolo Sousa, but it seems no-one got on with him so that's no real surprise. What was surprising, however, was that it actually led to Leon departing the club - and realistically few would have seen Sheffield United as an ideal footballing destination. As everyone knows, that didn't work out, and Leon found himself rejoining the Swans for free six months later, and with Brendan Rodgers now at the helm he found himself once again enjoying regular first-team football, becoming the essential midfield pivot around which the Swans expansive football flowed. Promotion to the Premier League under Rodgers and unparalleled cup success under Laudrup followed, firmly cementing his name into the annals of Swansea' history. A good indicator of how far Britton has travelled with the Swans is that last year Britton finished the season as Europe's most accurate passer - fending off competition from most of the Barcelona squad! I'm sure you'll agree that's quite a departure from Exeter City away in front of 3,000 fans...
That Leon joined the Swans at around the same time as the current owners took charge draws a nice parallel which is strengthened when you consider he has become the embodiment of how Swansea like to play football. For Swansea to prosper, it's imperative we retain as many links with the recent past as possible. Britton has, time and again, recalled less glamorous times for Swansea City; of training sessions at "mystery" destinations, washing your own kit, and travelling around in what appeared to be an old school bus. He, along with Garry Monk, Alan Tate and a host of behind the scenes staff, will help to ensure that the squad remains grounded despite their current lofty status in the league.
Given that his playing style leans more towards a neat pass rather than a lung-bursting sprint, it's likely Leon can maintain his level of performance for a number of years yet, and you won't find any Swansea fans who'd object to that. Leon Britton. Swansea Legend.
Leeeeeeeeeeeeeon
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| Britton as a youngster at West Ham |
Originally an Arsenal youth team player, Britton was a member of the England Development School at Lilleshall, and must have been doing something right because in 1998 West Ham manager Harry Redknapp deemed fit to pay £400k for the technically proficient midfielder. Britton was in esteemed company at West Ham - the team at the time would have included Joe Cole, Frank Lampard, Paolo Di Canio, Rio Ferdinand and other star names, however such a glut of talent (in central midfield in particular) left Britton watching from the sidelines. All in all, Britton spent four years trying to make a mark at West Ham but failed to make an appearance for the first team.
That takes us neatly to how Britton ended up at the Swans. By December 2002 (now aged 20) Britton had grown tired of playing reserve football, and instructed his agent to look for loan moves away from Upton Park. New manager Glenn Roeder didn't seem to fancy giving Britton his break, so when Brian Flynn inquired about the possibility of taking Britton to South Wales there was nothing standing in his way, and he found himself driving down the M4 towards Swansea. After playing in two friendly fixtures (against a Villa reserve side & Forest Green Rovers) he made his debut away at Exeter City - a game he remembers fondly despite the Swans going down 1-0. The Swans would actually go on to lose Britton's first four games 1-0, and these were followed by a 3-2 home reverse to Bury, and a 3-1 away loss at York, so it was seven games before Britton found himself on the winning side as a professional footballer, in a 1-0 home win over Lincoln City. I actually dug through my old programmes and found one from the Bristol Rovers game in December (Britton's third appearance for the Swans), but if I'm honest the overriding memory for me is that he had bright red boots which, let's be honest, were a bit flash for the arse end of Division Three. Thankfully, Britton had the skills to back up his boots, as it were, and found himself an instant hit with supporters.
Despite his impressive loan spell in South Wales, West Ham were happy to let Britton join the Swans on a free and waived the final year of his contract - but things weren't quite that simple. Given the scarcity of funds available to the Swans hierarchy, it was left to supporters to gather funds to pay Britton's wages - with buckets literally being passed around between fans in an effort to raise the required sum. Leon has said he thinks his ex-girlfriend and her family chucked a bit of money in, and while it's a nice memory hopefully we won't ever require fans to literally put their hands in their pockets again in order to pay a players wages. That being said, it clearly worked, and after joining on a permanent basis in the summer of 2003, Leon has remained an almost ever present figure in the Swansea starting XI.
Britton seemed to enjoy playing under Flynn, and originally spent a lot of time playing as a right winger. His control and technique were way, way better than most of the squad's, and it was a joy to see someone who could, seemingly, control the ball every time (not a given at the level the Swans were playing at). Flynn moved on in March of 2004, and that led to Kenny Jackett being appointed as manager. Jackett's reign as Swans boss was, it seems, one of the two less enjoyable periods for Britton, as he found his first team berth threatened by players Jackett felt were more competitive physically. Jackett's tenure didn't start well, losing his first six games in charge and missing out on the playoffs, but the following year the Swans gained promotion back to "League One", and would start the next season playing in their new home - The Liberty Stadium.
The Swans flew out of the blocks the next season, and spent a large amount of time in the automatic promotion spots before eventually having to settle for a playoff place due to their form tailing off at the end of the year - although the team did win the Football League Trophy, in part thanks to this outstanding goal from Lee Trundle. Look closely, and despite the grainy resolution you should be able to make out Leon playing a lovely ball for Trundle to hammer it home.
The next year saw Jackett struggling to maintain the level of performance, and after a mountain of media criticism (mostly for what was generally construed to be a negative playing style) he resigned, citing lack of support from the fans, players and media as his main motivation for leaving the club. In the first of Swansea's curveball managerial appointments, Jackett's successor was someone who, when the call came, was actually still a footballer player! Ex-Swan Roberto Martinez was enjoying himself playing for Chester City when Huw Jenkins got in touch, and after a contract was agreed Roberto was unveiled as manager. This was the start of Leon's renaissance with the Swans - Martinez & Britton were room-mates during their time together as Swansea players and it was always likely that Britton would fit neatly into how Martinez would want his team to play football.
In reality, since Martinez sculpted the Swansea team in his own mould Britton has almost been ever-present in the side. The only manager who he hasn't got on with in the time that has passed was, famously, Paolo Sousa, but it seems no-one got on with him so that's no real surprise. What was surprising, however, was that it actually led to Leon departing the club - and realistically few would have seen Sheffield United as an ideal footballing destination. As everyone knows, that didn't work out, and Leon found himself rejoining the Swans for free six months later, and with Brendan Rodgers now at the helm he found himself once again enjoying regular first-team football, becoming the essential midfield pivot around which the Swans expansive football flowed. Promotion to the Premier League under Rodgers and unparalleled cup success under Laudrup followed, firmly cementing his name into the annals of Swansea' history. A good indicator of how far Britton has travelled with the Swans is that last year Britton finished the season as Europe's most accurate passer - fending off competition from most of the Barcelona squad! I'm sure you'll agree that's quite a departure from Exeter City away in front of 3,000 fans...
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| Europe's most accurate passers for the 2011/2012 season |
That Leon joined the Swans at around the same time as the current owners took charge draws a nice parallel which is strengthened when you consider he has become the embodiment of how Swansea like to play football. For Swansea to prosper, it's imperative we retain as many links with the recent past as possible. Britton has, time and again, recalled less glamorous times for Swansea City; of training sessions at "mystery" destinations, washing your own kit, and travelling around in what appeared to be an old school bus. He, along with Garry Monk, Alan Tate and a host of behind the scenes staff, will help to ensure that the squad remains grounded despite their current lofty status in the league.
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| Leon celebrating promotion to the Premiership with fellow stalwarts Alan Tate & Garry Monk. |
Given that his playing style leans more towards a neat pass rather than a lung-bursting sprint, it's likely Leon can maintain his level of performance for a number of years yet, and you won't find any Swansea fans who'd object to that. Leon Britton. Swansea Legend.