"They're not really too fussed" - Swansea City ownership concerns raised over "pretty terrible" communication | OneFootball

FLW's Swansea City fan pundit has given his verdict on the club's owners and their relationship with supporters.

This article is part of Football League World’s 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Swansea City will be hoping for a much-improved campaign in the Championship this season.

It was a disappointing campaign for Swansea last season, and they looked to be in serious relegation danger at one stage, but Luke Williams guided the club to a 14th-placed finish after taking over in January.

The Swans have been owned by majority shareholders Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan since July 2016 when they bought a 60% stake in the club for £110 million, and they have been joined on the board by Jake Silverstein and Andy Coleman in recent years.

It has been a turbulent eight years under Levien and Kaplan's ownership, with the club suffering relegation from the Premier League in 2018, while nine different managers have taken charge at the Swansea.com Stadium during the duo's tenure so far.

The owners have had a number of issues with some of the managers they have employed over the years, with Steve Cooper departing just two weeks before the start of the 2021-22 season due to concerns over the direction of the club, while Russell Martin publicly urged the board to change their recruitment strategy in February 2023.

Swansea City fan pundit issues damning ownership verdict

When asked whether the club's owners have a strong relationship with supporters, FLW's Swansea City fan pundit James Fleming criticised Levien and Kaplan's lack of communication, and he suggested the pair are only invested when the team is successful.

"I think our owners' connection with the fan base is pretty terrible to be honest," James said.

"There's never really any communication from the owners at all, I can't remember the last time I read a statement directly from them, it always tends to come through Andy Coleman, who is the chairman.

"It was the same when Julian Winter was here, it was always statements from him, but we never had any statements from the owners.

"The only time they did in recent years was when we were in play-off contention, that was when they decided to make a statement, so it almost seems as though they're not really too fussed unless we're doing well, which is quite scary to be honest.

"There's a lot more that needs to be done from them communication wise because we already don't think very highly of them, and the fact they don't even bother trying to communicate with us and explain their decision-making is pretty poor."

Swansea City ownership concerns are understandable

It is easy to see why James is frustrated with the lack of communication from Levien and Kaplan, and there is no doubt that Swansea have declined under their ownership.

The duo's takeover came not long after the Swans had won the League Cup and competed in the Europa League, and while it was always going to be tough to reach those heights again, it was incredibly disappointing to see the club relegated in just the second year of their reign.

As well as the underachievement on the pitch, Levien and Kaplan have made some questionable managerial appointments, most notably Bob Bradley and Michael Duff, and they have not provided the necessary investment in the transfer market at times.

However, Williams is a popular figure among Swansea supporters, and he was backed this summer with the signings of the likes of Lawrence Vigoroux, Goncalo Franco, Eom Ji-sung and Zan Vipotnik, so this could be the season that the club's fortunes begin to change.