Swansea City: Jack to a King

Swansea City stalwart Alan Curtis has today decided to decline the offer to manage the Swans on a permanent basis, having previously declared interest in taking charge of the club.

Curtis had been temporarily put in charge of the club following the dismissal of ex-manager Garry Monk.

Curtis will remain at the club in a coaching position and is reportedly excited to work with the new manager.

Huw Jenkins and the board will act quickly in appointing his successor to ensure a manager is in place for the beginning of pre season ahead of the 2015-16 season.

Jenkins has confirmed there have been several promising candidates interested in taking the role on as the interviewing process begins. Several national newspapers have already claimed to have an inside source suggesting there is a five man shortlist. This has resulted in a flurry of bets been taken on the following five applicants:


Stay tuned to discover who Swansea decide to appoint as their next manager.

Nice start mate - Lee Trundle would be class!

joethequin - Thank you! All will be unveiled shortly!

Breaking News: Swans Appoint Former Player Lee Trundle as Manager for the 2015/16 Season

Sky Sports News Presenter:"Breaking news tonight! We can confirm that Swansea City have unveiled another former Swan, Lee Trundle as their new manager on a 12 month contract with immediate effect.

Trundle had two spells at the club during his playing days playing a key role in the clubs infamous rise through the football league from 2003-2007 and during a loan spell in the 2009-10 season. The newly appointed manager has said he's excited to join up with the squad tomorrow for pre-season.

Despite the fact Trundle is seen as a club legend scoring over 90 goals, including one at the Millennium Stadium against Carlisle to win help the club lift the Football League Trophy, some fans are sceptical about the decision to appoint another manager with out any former experience in the role.

However, Trundle will have no problem acclimatising to his surroundings having already been at the club since 2013 in an ambassadorial role”.

The new Swansea manager has confirmed in his first press conference that he wants to replicate his playing style on the current crop of players with the hope of entertaining the fans with attacking football.

Trundle revealed his objectives as part of this new chapter in his life..”


“Firstly, I’d like to thank Huw [Jenkins] and the board for giving me this opportunity at a club so close to my heart. I’m excited to continue with the great work Garry [Monk] achieved last season and hope to similarly achieve a top ten position in this great league. I have twelve months to impress the board but more importantly these great supporters as I hope to be part of this club for many years to come.

This is an exciting time to be at Swansea and I can’t wait to get started!”

When asked about former caretaker manager Alan Curtis, Trundle was swift to announce his intention to offer the coach the opportunity to work as his new assistant as the new manager begins to put his stamp on the club.

Day 1 - Squad Assessed Ahead of Pre-Season

New manager Lee Trundle has wasted no time assessing his first team ahead of a busy pre-season.

First team players Kyle Bartley and Marvin Emnes have both been transfer listed having been deemed surplus to requirements. Neither Kyle [Bartley] nor Marvin [Emnes] have been regulars during their time at the Swans and Trundle has said he is looking to replace the two players during the window.

In addition Trundle has said he will be looking for a striker to add competition for places in his team with Eder and Bafetimbi Gomis the only current strikers in his team.

Trundle has made no qualms about giving youth an opportunity whilst he is in charge. Having assessed the under-21 squad, the manager has decided to promote left back Stephen Kingsley and midfielder Matt Grimes to the first team for the current campaign. Jay Fulton who has also been tipped by Trundle to be an important player in the long term has been offered out on loan with Trundle hoping to secure the Scottish midfielder playing time at a Championship club.

Pre Season Preview:


The Swans have a busy pre-season schedule as Lee [Trundle] begins shape his squad ahead of the new season.

Swansea will begin their summer away to Northern Irish outfit Cliftonville before travelling to Singapore for a 10 day training camp. The Swans will face both Gombak United and Tampines during their stay in South East Asia. Before returning to the UK the club with play a two-game tour in Switzerland where they will face Aarau and Lugano. Five days prior to their opening game of the season at home to Stoke City, Swansea will make the short trip to play Newport County to complete their pre-season preparations.

Trundle has emphasised that although gaining match fitness is the most important aspect of these preparations he is targeting at least five wins from these fixtures.

Great start to the story so far, Swansea are a good team to play as.

MaxLuxon - Thanks for reading! Yeah, despite being a long-time Swans fan and season ticket holder I haven't gone them on FM in a few years! Thought that needed changing haha!

Week One of the Trundle Era Sees Changes in Personnel

Staff Changes:

Out
Five members of the Swansea backroom staff have left the club following mutual termination of their contract as Trundle continues to put his stamp on the club.

Attacking coach James Beattie has left despite only recently being appointed by the club. Trundle has said that he is looking for a more experienced coach to work with his forwards. Kristian O’Leary, Gary Richards and Cameron Toshack have also been told they will be leaving the club. All three coaches worked with young players but Trundle is hoping to improve the standard of youth development at the club to ensure Swansea’s long term success in the Premier League.

Finally, assistant manager Josep Clotet who was appointed by Garry Monk has been relieved of his duties. Swansea legend Alan Curtis will take over the role on a permanent basis.

In
Birmingham City coach Karl Hooper is the first new member to join Lee Trundle’s new look backroom staff. Swansea paid £16,000 to the Blues to appoint the 27-year-old coach to help with the defensive side of training.

German fitness coach Werner Leuthard has also joined Trundle’s team on a 3 year contract. The German has an impressive CV having worked for the likes of Bayern Munich and Schalke 04. This will be his second spell in the UK following a short stint at Fulham.

Antonio Pintus has also joined the Swans following Trundle’s offer. The Italian will work closely with Werner [Lethard] as part of the new fitness team appointed by Lee Trundle.

Welsh coach Steve Cooper was also appointed in this busy week of staff changes. The ex-Liverpool coach is said to be excited to be moving back to Wales and working again with a Premier League side.

Former Leicester City keeper Tim Flowers has also joined the Swans this week in a goalkeeping coach role. Trundle has also hired ex-West Brom manager Alan Irvine and former United coach Jimmy Lumsden as coaches to add experience to his backroom staff.

Player Changes:

Out
Kyle Bartley was confirmed as the first exit under Trundle’s management. The defender left the club for £2.5m having joined the Swans in 2012 for £1m giving the club a handsome profit. The defender only made 11 league appearances in 3 seasons at the club and it is expected that Swansea will reinvest this money to buy a new centre back.

Promising centre back Joe Rodon has secured a loan move to Fleetwood Town. Trundle hopes the Welsh defender will gain a lot of experience playing in the football league as he looks to continue the progression of some of the clubs young talents.

Jay Fulton has also made a loan move to Championship new boys Bristol City. The midfielder will be eager to get some playing time under his belt as he hopes to persuade Trundle that he has a place in his long term plans.

In
Swansea have signed 17-year old midfielder Louis Reed from Sheffield United for £725,000. Reed becomes Trundle’s first permanent signing and the manager has expressed his delight at landing such a promising young talent for a small fee. Reed will join up will play his football with the under-21s this season but Trundle has told the player that he will be given chances in the first team if he works hard.

Anwar El Ghazi became the second signing of the summer for Swansea. The Ajax winger cost the club £5m but the transfer could potentially rise to £6.5m. The winger scored 9 goals in 21 Eredivise games in his breakthrough season last year and will be hoping to have a similar impact in South Wales.


Trundle completed the first loan deal of his managerial career this week too. Palace forward Dwight Gayle has joined the club to ease Swansea’s striker problem.

Bids Rejected
Manager Lee Trundle has reject an approach from Liverpool for South Korean midfielder Ki Sung-Yeung. Trundle has commented saying the £10m offer wasn’t close to his valuation of one of the clubs key players during last seasons campaign.

Swansea have also turned down an approach from Chelsea for playmaker Gylfi Sigurdsson. Chelsea had offered £25m for the midfielder who Trundle has said is indispensable to the club. However there are rumours suggesting that Swansea would let the player go for a bid of £35m.

Injuries:
Head physic Kate Rees has confirmed that Portuguese forward Eder has sustained torn knee ligaments during a training session and will be out for 2-3 months. This is a massive set back to Trundle, who now only has one striker in the first team. The manager has confirmed he will be looking to sign a striker as soon as possible with an additional loan to cover Eder’s injury.

Swans Win But Injury Problems Deepen!

Swansea City began pre-season winning 4-1 away to Cliftonville in Belfast. First half goals from Bafi Gomis, Jonjo Shelvey and Jefferson Montero put the Swans in control of the game. A second half penalty from Ki Sung-Yeung ended the rout before a late consolation for the home side. Swans fans would have been pleased to see Ki celebrate his goal by pointing to the ground suggesting he is going nowhere!

However, the big news from this match will be the loss of summer signing Andre Ayew. The winger was tipped to make a huge impression on the league but has suffered a massive setback haven broken his ankle 14 minutes into his pre season debut. Ayew will be out for 3 months and joins Eder as the second casualty to Trundle’s team in his first week in charge!

Trundle said he was pleased with the result but was disappointed to see his side concede so much possession to the home side. In regards to Ayew’s injury Trundle was said to be “gutted for the lad!”. But the manager is upbeat and has called it a great opportunity for young winger Modou Barrow to make his mark on the first team!

Legend Leaves the Club

Swansea City have parted ways with club legend Leon Britton today. The 32 year old midfielder has moved to Qatari side Lekhwiya for £500,000. The midfielder was offloaded to balance the wages at the club and was told he could leave with Trundle looking to utilise the younger players in his side this season.

Britton played thirteen seasons at the Swans from League 2 to the Premier League. Last season saw his game time limited to 9 matches in the league and with no guarantee from Trundle he could expect any more playing time the midfielder took the opportunity to move to Qatar.

In other news:

Marvin Emnes also left the club for £750,000 to Championship side Brighton following an unsuccessful second spell at the club.

And Swans manager Lee Trundle secured a loan deal for highly rated defender Paddy McNair from Manchester United. The defender will replace the recently departed Kyle Bartley as he looks to gain more first team football in the top flight.

Swans Training Camp a Success!

Lee Trundle's Swansea won both matches during a 10 day training camp in the sweltering heat of Singapore.

Swansea began the tour with a 1-0 win against Gombak Utd. New signing Anwar El Ghazi was quick to make his mark, scoring a screamer on 10 minutes from 25 yards out.

The second match of the tour saw Ki Sung-Yeung score a second in three games for the side. The full-time score was 2-0 with striker Bafi Gomis getting a goal for his team from a corner.

In Other News:

Swansea signed Argentinian defensive midfielder Andres Cubas from Boca Juniors for £3.5m. The midfielder is expected to be the long term replacement for the recently departed Leon Britton.

Winger Botti Biabi was also allowed to leave the club on loan to Newport County and Trundle expanded his scouting network by hiring 3 new scouts: Angel Vales, Gilles Rouillon and Stig Torbjornsen,

Paul Scholes has also joined the backroom staff as a coach.

Drinkwater Joins Swans

Swansea City have unveiled English central midfielder Danny Drinkwater as their newest addition ahead of the new campaign.

The Leicester midfielder was transfer listed following the arrival of the “Tinker-man” [Claudio Ranieri] having been deemed surplus to requirements.

Drinkwater has secured a move to Premier League rivals Swansea City a £2.5m move.

Trundle is pleased with the purchase and believes the player will have a great future at the club!

In other news, Tom Holland (CM) has joined feeder club Newport County on loan for the season.

2 Wins, 1 Loss - But Another Star Suffers a Massive Set Back Ahead of the Start of the Season!

Swansea City manager was left disappointed with his sides performances during their short tour of Switzerland. Despite winning their first game away vs Aarau the Swans failed to impress with a below par performance. Swansea were spared the shame of not scoring against the lower division side thanks to a scrappy goal from right-back Kyle Naughton who isn't known for his goalscoring abilities!

The second match of the tour saw Lee Trundle's men suffer a first defeat under his leadership. The Swans lost 2-1 away against top division side Lugano with Bafi Gomis heading in the only goalmouth action the side managed all game!

Swansea ended their pre-season preparations with a 3-0 win at Rodney Parade against Newport County. Gylfi Sigurdsson, who has been linked with Man City and Chelsea during the summer window, scored the first goal from a direct free-kick. Then it was new loan signing Dwight Gayle that managed a goal in both halves to secure a comfortable afternoon for the Swans.

In other news, Swansea's injury crisis has suffered another massive blow with club captain Ashley Williams suffering a hip injury that could see him out for 4 months! Trundle has refused to make excuse ahead of their game with Stoke though saying that both Paddy McNair and Jordi Amat are more than capable of coming in and doing a job for his side.

Trundle Denied Dream Start to Swansea Career!

Swansea legend Lee Trundle arrived to a fantastic from the Swansea supporters as the club icon took his place in the Liberty dugout for the first time.


Trundle showed his ambition to entertain from the very beginning by playing a very attacking side in front of the Swansea faithful. Jordi Amat was favoured to Paddy McNair to replace the injured Ashley Williams. New signing Danny Drinkwater was thrown straight into the first team to partner Ki in the middle of the park. There was also a start for [Anwar] El Ghazi on the right wing.

The bench included new signing Cubas and loanees Dwight Gayle and [Paddy] McNair.

Lee Trundle’s side had a dream start to the campaign when Bafi Gomis gave his side an early lead on 16 minutes with a fierce shot into the bottom left corner.

Thirteen minutes late and an error from Marco Van Ginkel was exploited by the Swansea striker who doubled his lead with a well-executed finish.

However, Mark Hughes’ men weren’t prepared to follow the script in the second half. Irish forward Jonathan Walters came off the bench to get Stoke a goal on 65 minutes. Despite the inclusion of Paddy McNair in the second half, Swansea were unable to prevent a second goal from wide-man Mame Biram Diouf.

In his post match interview Trundle was disappointed with his side’s second half collapse but said there were some real positives to take against a strong Stoke City side. The manager also confirmed that Jefferson Montero suffered a twisted knee in the game and will be sidelined for 3 weeks. Another set-back for a club that is plagued with injuries in the early stages of the 2015-16 season. Despite his two goals, Trundle has also confirmed he is still searching for an additional striker before the window closes. The manager declined to comment when asked if that forward would be Frenchman Loic Remy who has been linked with the club in recent days.

Swansea Get Their Striker (At Last)!

Trundle's long search for a striker is over. Swansea have negotiated a deal for English striker Charlie Austin for £6.5m.

Austin was relegated from the Premier League last season with QPR despite scoring 18 goals in 35 games. The striker scored against Cardiff last week but will be delighted to be returning to the top flight with one eye on getting an England call-up ahead of the Euros.

Trundle has admitted he is looking forward to working with the striker:

"Charlie [Austin] is a prolific striker and has been wherever he's played. Just look at his record at QPR, Burnley and Swindon. This guy loves to score and that's why we've brought him to Swansea."

In other transfer news, Swansea have allowed tiger Wayne Routledge to join newly promoted Watford for £5.5m. Trundle was quick to replace the winger, triggering a £5m release clause for Birmingham youngster Demarai Gray.

Capital One Cup Round 3 Draw: