Fulham bid for Taylor rejected, N'Gog talks continue

I suppose we can't win them all...

Swansea reject bid for Neil Taylor

With both transfer stories which seem to have a semblance of truth about them being rather undesirable for your average Swansea fan, it seems there's been a bit of positive news at least - we've rejected Fulham's bid for Welsh international full-back Neil Taylor. Fulham have confirmed they're interested in Taylor, with Rene Meulensteen claiming he's been impressed by Taylor since his time at United:

“We have put a bid in. It’s on the table. It’s simmering. I rate him. I rated him when I was at United. 

"The boy was very unfortunate. He had that horrific injury at a time when he was really playing at his best and he had top four qualities.”   

http://hereisthecity.com/en-gb/2014/01/24/tmb-meulensteen-reveals-bid-for-swansea-left-back-has-been-lodge/? 

The bid is reported to be around the £4million mark, and to me that's waaaay too cheap. Given the market I'd say we should be aiming for a shade more than £6million at the least. Taylor is homegrown, has proven himself in the Premiership and could clearly operate well for almost any club in the PL. 

We stood by Taylor when he was injured and I think that, while I'd never suggest I feel he "owes us" anything, he could at the very least see out the season in SA1. It's looking more and more likely Laudrup is off to pastures new in the summer, and it's more than possible Tayls could find himself first choice left-back next season if whoever comes in prefers his full-backs to defend rather than gallivanting down the wing.

Fingers crossed his agent doesn't get his wish and spirit him away to London, no matter how much the Cottagers are craving him. See what I did there?

Bolton confirm Swansea interest in David N'Gog

Christ. Dougie Freedman has confirmed we're in for N'Gog, and some sources have quoted him as saying he "expects him to join the Swans". Given our relative superiority over Bolton, it's hard to see him turning the move down - even if he is likely to spend the rest of the season as a super-expensive bench warmer. Why, though? Why do we need him? With Michu coming back to fitness, and Alvaro Vazquez still on loan, why do we need another striker - especially one with a poor track record and who'd command wages of £20k+ a week? It really doesn't make any sense to me, especially given our history of avoiding permanent deals in the January window.

Surely there is someone out there who would fit the bill, but on a loan basis? By signing N'Gog now we're a) automatically paying over the odds given it's the January transfer window, b) filling another squad place with a "non home-grown player" and c) spending money that could be spent in the summer. To me at least, it literally makes no sense. If someone could explain to me how indeed it does make sense, it'd be much appreciated.

In other news...

The Swans have had plans to increase the capacity of the Liberty to 33,000 approved, with the work taking place in stages over the next three years (if everything goes to plan). I'll put together some information and get a blog up related to that later on...

Swansea announce planning application for expansion has been lodged

Three-phase expansion could see the Liberty Stadium capacity increase to around 32,000

The rather crude photo released by the Swans showing what
 the proposed expansion of the stadium may look like

Swansea City football club today announced that they have formally lodged a planning application with Swansea Council which could ultimately see the capacity of the their Liberty Stadium home increase by around 50% (if the expansion is carried out in full). The news, while not a surprise, has generally been welcomed by fans, and for me personally I see the biggest impact being that Swans fans will be confident they can get a ticket. After consistent sell-outs (and admittedly sub-par ticketing facilities), some fans (myself included) simply assumed by the end of our first PL season that it would be impossible to get a ticket. Lazy? Possibly, but there simply weren't tickets to be had for home games last year.

This year it has been a lot better, mostly due to the Swans not selling out as many games as they did last year, however I still feel there's a hangover from last year's ticketing difficulties and this should go some way to alleviating that. It's good to see, too, that the Swans are adopting a sensible approach in redeveloping one stand at a time (with the East Stand due to be expanded first).Whether these plans will interfere with the expansion of the West Stand (where a fourth tier is to be added to accommodate extra press officials in line with PL regulations) remains to be seen, but there's been no indication of this from the club.

The proposed redevelopment of the West Stand

The initial increase to the East Stand will provide seating for an extra 3,844 spectators, and if the North and South stands are also completed it will add an extra 11,000 seats in total, not including the 500 (give or take) that are due to be created when the West Stand is expanded. 

Hopefully however, it's not just the stands which are redeveloped; fans are generally unhappy with the half-time fare offered by the food & drink suppliers, and extra space, an improved system, and a different lager supplier would be more than welcome. Does anyone actually like Carling? In a nation of beer-lovers, it seems nonsensical that we've gone with arguably the most bland, overrated beer known to man. Obviously this is something which is very much an afterthought at present, but the news that the club are looking at addressing this issue is welcomed nonetheless.

Information regarding the expansion is available in the Civic Centre on the seafront, and anyone can access it during it's planning stage, so if you want a look head down. Here's the club statement in full:

Swansea City has lodged a formal planning application to the City and County of Swansea for the comprehensive expansion of the Liberty Stadium.   

The works proposed would see the extension of the North, South and East stands of the stadium in a phased manner over the next three to five years.   

The proposals seek to capitalise on the success of the football club during their first two seasons in the Barclays Premier League; help consolidate this status and remain part of the top flight for many years to come.  

Works that are proposed for the stadium would look to increase its capacity by approximately 11,000 spectators.  

The current application is concerned with the North, South and East stands and there will be three phases of development for these works.  

Phase One will comprise of the expansion of the East Stand providing an initial increase in capacity of 3,844 spectators (this does not include completing the corner sections). Phases Two and Three will be constructed thereafter to take the total increase to around 11,000.  

Clearly it is not possible to construct all stands at once due to operational requirements so the phased approach identified would seek to keep disruption to a minimum.  

As part of the proposals the club has developed a robust Travel Plan reflecting the phased approach of the development with a comprehensive Park and Ride strategy being a key element of it.   

This document together with all other application documents can be viewed at the Civic Centre. 

With the redevelopment of Landore, ongoing work at Fairwood and now the club giving the green light to the Liberty's expansion, these really are heady times for the club. Long may it continue.

Who are the new sponsors?

Do Swansea have mega-deal lined up which includes stadium naming rights?

Is the Liberty Stadium soon to be renamed?

Back in 2005, the Swans left their ancestral Vetch Field home to move to a new stadium which would, they hoped, help propel the team in an upward direction through the league system. It worked out pretty darn well, as it goes, and they currently find themselves strutting their stuff in the Premier League; a major cup holder for the first time in their history. This week however, the biggest news was that the Swans were cutting short their current sponsorship deal; which does leave you wondering just what Huw and co have lined up, as they continue to prove themselves canny negotiators. 

First, lets have a look at what was already on the table. The stadium naming rights are currently paid for by Liberty Properties, who signed, originally, a five year deal worth £100k a year. Back then that was important money for the Swans. In 2010 they renewed that deal for another five years at the same rate, so that currently runs for another year and a half.

The shirt sponsorship with 32RED was a five year deal worth £1.1million a year, so a bit more cash in the attic there. It started in 2009 so was due to expire at the end of the 2013/2014 season, but evidently the board think they can secure a better deal elsewhere, and with the cash currently kicking around in SA1 who's to say they aren't negotiating a release of the Liberty naming rights - in a bid to land a bumper shirt AND stadium naming rights package? As mentioned in my previous blog, I would hope that if this were the case, it wouldn't be quite simply a case of selling to the highest bidder. No fan would like to see their team sponsored by McDonalds, Tesco or Starbucks, I'm sure, and Swansea fans have, on the whole, appreciated that having a stadium called "The Liberty" is actually rather nice. 

As yet no information has left the Swans camp regarding a new sponsor, however given the fiscally prudent approach in evidence over the last decade it's unlikely the Swans have kicked 32RED out of bed without somebody else ready to jump in. The question is who? From the list here, it's evident given the Swans impending European adventure that we could realistically hope to triple the income from our shirt sponsorship, and over five years that would lead to an extra £10million - not an amount to be trifled with! Couple that with the possibility that the Swans have reached an agreement to end the deal with Liberty Properties to seek more lucrative pastures and it could significantly increase sponsorship revenue. 

It's already been hinted at by the Swans that any increased revenue will go towards the expansion of the stadium, and the amounts mentioned would cover a massive chunk of this. It really does seem to be an excellent move on the part of the board, and if it is announced that the Swans have signed a new mega-deal with a flashy new sponsor then they must be applauded for continuing to maximise the opportunities the Premier League provides. Since day one they've worked tirelessly for the benefit of Swansea City, and it shows no sign of easing up just yet. Keep up the good work, guys.