'You Jack Baston.....You Jack Baston....'
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They have just signed Borja Baston from A Madrid for a club record fee. BBC Sport.
'You Jack Baston.....You Jack Baston....'
I am learning not to expect the demise of Swansea anymore.
They have some good football people at their club and time and time again make shrewd decisions in taking the club forward.
However I believe this is the first season for a while where I am genuinely optimistic about what we are doing and I believe the gap is far smaller than it was 12 month ago.
I know our fans are craving new big name signings but we are quietly going about our business and shedding the big earners and actually getting a fee for players for a change.
Trollope knows what he's doing and he knows what he wants. Everyone I have spoken to within the club lately have been very impressed with the atmosphere within the club in pre season and they assure me that the standards are returning for the first time since Malky was here.
Agree. Some points above are a little unfair on the Tan era I feel. No doubt we've squandered money and opportunities as highlighted, but let's not forget that we've also rid ourselves of the noose that was Scam Hammam. We can't rationally bemoan the negatives without accepting the positves too.
Last year we had an umongo imposed despite still having the parachute payments to offset against outgoings. So clamor for big name signings and complaints for names leaving are comments I find naive and ill informed. We still have austere times ahead, but as Gringo has informed us before, having a manager who's philosophy it is to train players already contracted and capable of learning is definitely the right way forward. I'm sure there are the usual doom mongers with daggers ready when it comes to our new head coach, but I'm not one of them. I am comfortable in saying we ought to give PT at least two years to do his thing at Cardiff.
Swansea are largely irrelevant to us now. The only way in which there is a vital competition between the clubs is 1. With our academies and their attempts to leach into our catchment area. And 2. Recruiting fans around South Wales and Wales. With their academy one status, they are, in theory, able to take from any area in the UK they see fit. But with PL status comes a disadvantage when it comes to implementing DVP graduates. It's been a while since Swansea successfully graduated one of their youth players into the seniors. Cardiff need to present themselves as the better option for young hopefulls to sign up with. In truth the Welsh team winning the battle for the best place for young talent to go to and successfully graduate is Newport County. They've overtaken Wrexham (who lose a lot of good youngsters to category one teams), us and the Jacks in the past couple of years. Because of their playing level, it seems good young players there bypass youth level football and jump straight into first team opportunities.
The battle I most want Cardiff to win is to be the best place for young Welsh talent to be nurtured.
Last edited by Blue in the Face; 11-08-16 at 13:36.
I keep reading how Swansea are infiltrating Cardiff areas and taking all the young talent while we are just sitting on our hands but it's absolute bollocks.
I spend some time down the Academy and you would swear I was in Swansea sometimes with the amount of parents who are jacks from Swansea, Llanelli etc.
A lot of these parents have told me that Swansea is not as well run as Cardiff and have chosen Cardiff for their sons.
I live in the Rhondda and it's true that Swansea are more active up here at present but they are just using it as a money making scheme and committing the same mistakes as we did 10 years ago.
Whether their structure will improve now they have category one, time will tell but for now I don't believe Cardiff are too worried about the Swansea are going about things.
Maybe so but some of the parents I'm talking about are in the pre-academy and they have the choice of both.
Swansea will inevitably have more funding at present but the premier league is a difficult platform to blood youngsters so it may not be as big a priority for them.
Swansea certainly have the better facilities and Fairwood is a lot better than Treforest but late July there was still no word on when the younger kids were due to start back.
The same applies for the development squads.
Last year they run development squad training out of the sports Yard in Treorchy (a couple of kids from my u7s team were asked to go) but the kids still haven't had any word whether this is continuing this season and the whisper is that it's not but it's being amalgamated with the Pontypridd centre.
In your 1st post you talk about 'the academy' in the 2nd post you say the 'pre academy' there is a big difference.
Lets be honest you would have to as bitter & twisted as lawnmower to stop your child going to the Swansea academy over the Cardiff one these days.
Alan Tate is part of the coaching staff at the academy as well ...... what more could an up & coming footballer want
The jacks are going to be relegated this year - can feel it in my water .