Mark Goddard looks at the recent changes made at the Swansea City Academy; a starting point for so many Wales internationals. As the Academy moves to Category 2, the graduates still keep producing though!
Past glories, the future and starting 11 of recent graduates
Swansea City are famous for developing young talent for future first team football. Over the years, many success stories have been written about the youngsters that have gone on to play at the top level of club football and in many cases, international football. However, the Academy set up and indeed its very existence has been questioned following huge off field changes.
Category 2
The biggest change this season has seen the Academy downgraded from Category 1 status to Category 2. The downgrade took place just before the beginning of this season despite a statement earlier last year where the club, with full support of the owners, agreed to continue at category one status for season 2020-21. There had already been talk of lowering the status to Category 2 in order to bring costs down, but the effect of the coronavirus pandemic has meant deeper cuts sooner than planned.
Embed from Getty ImagesThis change has meant the Academy’s teams now compete only against other Category 2 academies and for the U23s, in the Professional Development League, playing against teams such as Colchester, Ipswich and Charlton rather than in Premier League 2 against the likes of Leeds, Villa and Newcastle. It also means the club can only recruit from a limited catchment area.
The main reason for this change is unsurprisingly money related. Swansea’s Chief Executive Julian Winter believes Swansea would expect to spend around £6m to £7m per year as a Category 1 academy compared to around £2m at Category two. There are only 6 Championship clubs who play at Category 1 and with the club’s rich Premier league days now distant, it is understandable that cost cutting is required. However, many Swans fans will question the decision to downgrade given the quality of the players that the Category 1 academy produced. Just totting up recent transfer fees for the likes of past academy players Oli McBurnie, Dan James and Joe Rodon brings in around £46 million.
End of the Glory Days
The glory days of the Academy probably peaked in the 2016/2017 season when the young Swans pulled off an impressive U23 league and cup double. The team stormed to promotion from the second level of Premier League 2 as champions and won the Premier League cup too. That team, managed by Cameron Toshack and Gary Richards, blitzed their way through the season, packed with future stars such as Rodon, McBurnie, James, Jay Fulton and George Byers.
Embed from Getty ImagesIndeed during this period, when the club were firmly established in the Premier league and money was available, the club undertook a policy of signing talented youngsters from all over Europe. Signings included a teenage midfielder Matt Grimes from Exeter for £1.75m, German goalkeeper Steve Benda from TSV 1860 Munchen, a 19-year-old Fulton from Falkirk for around £200k, 17-year-old midfielder Adnan Maric from GAIS Göteborg, Bradford striker Oli McBurnie for £250k and Wales wing Dan James from Hull’s U18s.
The Academy has been run for the last 6 and a half years by Nigel Rees, who has been involved for 12 years in total. Rees played a big part in the signing policy but stepped down from his role at the club in November last year. As he said, talking to Swans Official online “When you see a player that our academy has nurtured make his first-team debut, the sense of pride is enormous… There are so many players I could talk about, but what I will say is that I get goosebumps every time I see lads who grew in our academy go on to play for Swansea City. We’ve helped produce players for the first-team – some for us, some going on to other teams – and we also nurture them from a personal level to be good people. And when I say we, I’m talking about all the coaches that work in the academy, the player himself and the parents too. It’s a collective effort. The culture here is absolutely key. Everyone has to buy into the ethos and that leads to producing players and people who are proud to wear our badge.”
Welsh Path
More Academy trophies have arrived via the FAW Youth Cup. The under-19s have won ten consecutive titles from 2010. Looking at the younger age groups, the Academy has seen local boys grow into star pros. Connor Roberts joined the Academy as a 9-year-old, Joe Rodon aged 8, Ben Davies as a 7-year-old and Joe Allen as a 9-year-old. All these local lads have not only served their local team but starred on the international stage for Wales. The new crop of local youngsters include midfielder Oli Cooper who joined the Academy set up at U12, Kilgetty born Liam Cullen aged 8, defender Tivonge Rushesha another U12 recruit and Liberty local Cameron Evans as a 9-year-old.
Embed from Getty ImagesMark Allen, new Academy Director
So what does the future hold? The club recently appointed Mark Allen as the club’s new academy director. Allen is highly qualified for the role so the future might still look bright for Swans fans. He spent eight years as Manchester City’s director of academy, followed by a spell as director of football at Glasgow Rangers. Another exciting appointment is former first team player Kris O’Leary as head coach of the U23s. This is a very welcome addition for fans, who love O’Leary’s passion for the club. He is himself a former Swansea youth player so knows the history and traditions of Swansea’s youth development.
Jon Grey, current U23s coach since the departure of Cameron Toshack and Gary Richards, will move up to head of academy coaching. Lower age groups will see former Bristol Rovers and Newport defender Byron Anthony work with the U18s. Former Wales international Neil Roberts takes on the role of overseeing recruitment for ages 16-21.
Kris O’Leary, Head Coach of the U23s
O’Leary will be delighted to be involved with the U23s and joins just as the team look like turning around a disappointing start to their Professional Development League campaign. They were unbeaten in February with two wins and a draw, the latest a 2-0 win against Millwall. They currently sit in 8th position, one from bottom but now look set to climb the table. The opportunity to make it into the 1st team squad is a realistic aim for the players too. As Chief Exec Winter recently said “It is important to state that the academy will always remain central to the club’s strategy. In Steve (Cooper) we have a head coach who is very good at working with young players. But it is also now about making our academy the best Category 2 academy so that we can continue the pathway for players”.
The hope for all Swans fans now will be that these appointments will see the Academy continue its fantastic record of producing top quality footballers despite the cost cutting. The club’s tradition of developing local youngsters is strong, going back to the 1950s when the likes of John Charles, Mel Charles, the Allchurch brothers Len and Ivor, and Spurs legends Cliff Jones and Terry Medwin all came through the ranks. Let’s hope the future will be equally as bright.
Embed from Getty ImagesSo, as we have seen, the Swans Academy has seen dozens of youngsters go on to make a living in the game whether at Swansea or onto clubs throughout the football league and beyond. I have now narrowed the field down and selected a starting 11 line up of recent graduates, including an all Welsh international back four and no less than seven Welsh internationals at all levels.
Mark’s 11 line up of recent Swansea City graduates: do you agree?
GK – Steve Benda – Swansea (1 app)
RB – Connor Roberts – Swansea (127 apps) Wales (22 caps)
LB – Ben Davies – Swansea (78 apps) Wales (58 caps)
CB – Joe Rodon – Swansea (54 apps) Wales (10 caps)
CB – Ben Cabango – Swansea (48 apps) Wales (2 caps)
MD – Joe Allen (capt) – Swansea (127 apps) Wales (52 caps)
MD – Jay Fulton – Swansea (106 apps)
MD – George Byers – Swansea (40 apps)
F – Oli McBurnie – Swansea (58 apps) Scotland (15 caps)
F – Liam Cullen – Swansea (14 apps) Wales U21 (11 caps)
F – Dan James – Swansea (33 apps) Wales (17 caps)