Replacing Monk?

Garry Monk's appointment as temporary head coach initially brought a positive impact to Swansea City, including the Cardiff hammering and brave displays against Napoli. However, with less convincing results following, GAVIN TUCKER checks out the other managers who may be on Huw Jenkins' radar.

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By Gavin Tucker

After Laudrup left, the decision to hand the reigns to Monk made sense. Bringing in a complete stranger and expecting immediate results at this late and vital stage of the season would have carried too much risk.

With no official confirmation on the planned duration of Monk's reign other than 'the foreseeable future' it would seem fair to assume that Monk will stay in charge for at least the remainder of this season.

The club will then either feel Monk has earned the chance to take the squad into next season or seek a new manager soon after the season ends. This will allow time for an outsider to familiarise himself with the squad, make a few signings and complete a pre-season, before embarking on the tough year ahead.

In an ideal world we would unearth a manager with all the best bits from our recent past. Someone with the discipline and coaching ability of Roberto Martinez, the man management skills of Brendan Rodgers and the contact book and transfer market pull of Michael Laudrup. Not a lot to ask then...

So who could be the next manager at Swansea? Who would be interested? Do we give an upcoming rookie a chance or try a more experienced option? Here's a look at some potential contenders...

Dennis Bergkamp

"The promising gamble"

Huw Jenkins is reportedly a big admirer of the Dutch legend, currently at Ajax as an assistant coach. Bergkamp is hugely respected in this role by his peers and a disciple of the strict technical total football philosophy that would suit what our board try to instill at Swansea. Although he has previously distanced himself when asked about a career as a manager, it wouldn't hurt to ask!

Bergkamp would also bring a certain level of appeal in the transfer market, similar to what Laudrup brought to the club. It would have its risks of course - with Bergkamp unproven as a manager there would be a level of uncertainty as to how he would take to management being thrown in at the deep end of the Premier League.

Marcelo Bielsa

"The experienced choice"

The 58-year-old Argentinian, nicknamed Loco Bielsa (Madman Bielsa) has over 20 years experience in management including spells with the national squads of Argentina and Chile, and most recently in charge of Athletic Bilbao.

Unique in his coaching style, he is known for watching and collecting numerous football videos to the point of obsession. He is said to be meticulous in his preparation for games using all forms of statistics and technology to aid him. Referred to by Pep Guardiola in 2012 as 'the best manager in the world' that surely counts for something!

Oscar Garcia

"The up-and-coming young option"

Spending most of his playing career as an attacking midfielder in La Liga (sounds familiar) Garcia previously managed Barcelona youth squad, Maccabi Tel Aviv and is currently making a push for a the Championship play-off place at Brighton.

The 40-year-old was loosely linked with the Swans last time round. He's another young manager who fits our philosophy and tactics. Garcia, although a little inexperienced has made a pretty good start in management so far.

Ronald Koeman

"The big name"

Koeman is currently set to leave his role as Feyenoord manager at the end of this season and media friendly Swans director John van Zweden let slip this week that enquiries had been made by Koeman's agent as to whether Swansea would be a suitable destination for the Dutchman.

'Tintin', as he was known had an illustrious career as a player, most notably part of Johan Cruyff's dream team at Barcelona in the early 90's where he played with Michael Laudrup among many other greats.

His history in management is a bit mixed, most of it has been reasonably positive in the Netherlands. He's spent time in charge at Vitesse, AZ and PSV but his most successful period came with a four season spell at the helm of Ajax. He has ventured outside the Eredivisie twice with less success, with short times at Benfica and Valencia.

Koeman has experience at some massive clubs and his renowned name in the football world would bring appeal to Swansea in the transfer market.

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It's always worth remembering that our board tend not to go for in-work managers, as the last four appointments have shown. Martinez, Sousa, Rodgers and Laudrup were all unattached before taking the reigns at Swansea. Whether this is out of a respect to other clubs or Huw Jenkins doesn't want to pay out millions in compensation is not exactly known - it's probably a bit of both.

There is a massive decision to be made this time round and seeing as we have a pretty healthy bank balance, it may be that we need to approach an in-work manager this time round if it means we get the right man.

Nervous times? Exciting times? It's all just another lap on the Swansea City roller coaster!

Swansea's severed ties with Tutu... and Laudrup?

In this short blog post ForzaSwansea editor CHRIS CARRA takes an unsure look at the issues surrounding the ongoing Michael Laudrup saga (...he comes to no concrete conclusions).


Will he won't he? Will he... won't... he...? Yes I'm talking about Michael Laudrup.

Swans fans tried to shrug off the rumours as the post-season began, but things are now sticking and with the ties between the club and Bayram Tutumlu finally severed, it seems Swansea City's managerial future is once again uncertain.

But despite reports of these problems, Laudrup has come out and said, via the Evening Post: "...my intention is to stay."

Now, in football, those words don't mean that much. Just look at Brendan Rogers and his "Swansea is where my heart is" poetry and you'll know what I mean, but Laudrup seems a little more straight talking. He's made it clear he would leave the club in a few years, but seemed set on staying for a while.

Naturally he is going to be more loyal to his agent of 25 years than a Welsh football club, but he would know he has a lot left to achieve in Swansea.

But what if he does go? Let's take a step back. As Swansea fans we are probably looking at the Dane through glossy eyes - and who can blame us. He took the club to their highest finish since 1982 and won the Capital One Cup in great style. And he's a cool character who we all love to be associated with.

On the "flip-side" as I'm sure the cool kids say, is it the end of the world?

While I've just outlined what a sterling job he has done, the board would look to bring in a manager with a similar philosophy which would suit the players already at the club.

And he wasn't perfect - some could say his epic first half of the season was cancelled out by the concerning second half. I mean, it wasn't cancelled out, but the performances after the Wembley trip left a lot to be desired.

I've started this blog post with no conclusion in mind, so sorry if you were looking for answers - they will be hard to come by and, in this situation, only time will tell. He will either go in the next week or he'll stay for another season.

Stay tuned because we'll bring you all the gossip and speculation (and maybe even a few concrete facts) throughout this interesting summer.

Swansea City's not-so-merry-managerial-go-round!

THE unrest that shrouds Swansea City over the summer is now almost a tradition. In this article ForzaSwansea blogger ALEC JOHNSON takes a look at the current situation and outlines potential Laudrup replacements, should the worst happen.


It’s summer and that means another media assault on Swansea City. Let’s have a look at the facts surrounding the uncertainty within our club.

It is impossible to criticise Huw Jenkins and his team - they have collectively transformed the fortunes of the Swans, risking so much yet remaining private in their ambitions with the beautiful line "it is our duty to the people of the city". You’ve got to love this.

However we do need a summer of love not this perennial challenge of departures and mayhem.

Firstly, I find it strange that the people responsible for player recruitment at the club take holidays the second the season ends. During my days as a football agent I found that May is the second busiest month of the year and requires constant attention. Taking a holiday in late July seems like a sensible option as we always seem to be playing catch up, even though we do it very well.

The statement from Huw Jenkins last week was again very polished and honest, in the face of the media he gets better and better and deserves huge credit. However as a leader of people, running a business with revenues exceeding £70m, surely there is a feeling that relationships should be stronger internally. Successive managers have run for the exit at the first option with Wigan and Leicester hardly being the greatest attractions - deeper relationships create stronger bonds.

Laudrup is also known to be a quiet and infrequent communicator and this had led to recent comments being taken out of context. It is a statement of fact, not opinion, that we need to spend £200m to improve on our position. That is a fact and impossible to disagree with. What Laudrup wasn’t saying was "I need £200m or I’m off" which is the warped interpretation from certain sections of the media. His frustration lies in the pace of the activity to date with a provisional list of five players close to being closed off yet only Canas signing, not the budget.

It’s a risky game delaying closures at this level as little Swansea City cannot compete with three quarters of the clubs in the premier league. Our ‘home bargains’ happy shopper approach - which has served us well - can only go so far under the radar, the key to its success being getting business done early.

In spite of all of this, I do believe that Laudrup will stay for one more season. But, let’s consider plan B as there is deep level of uncertainty from within the club, not just the media onslaught.

Zola is a serious contender and fits the profile but had a rough ride at West Ham - can he cut it at the highest level? I believe so. Would he come here? He’d be mad not to as I cannot see another Premier League club giving him the opportunity anytime soon.

I had the privilege of speaking with Gus Poyet weeks after he was unsuccessful in his previous application at Swansea. His words: "I called my wife and said that I had found a perfect job for this stage in my career and that the Swansea chairman will be easy to work with, only to find out the next day that Sousa had the job". He was genuinely gutted. The reason then and the probable reason in future is that Poyet's family refuse to move outside London and this doesn’t go down well at Swansea. Nor should it.

I have always admired Roberto Di Matteo, a Champions League winner just twelve months ago and now scrapping around for media work. It is considered that a level of personal baggage is attached to this fella and I cannot see any legs in this.

So what about Morten Wieghorst? The second he arrived I tweeted that this is a ready-made replacement for the big man. The feeling is that he is a top class coach and is being groomed for a top job.

Anybody else? Certainly not in this country - previous contenders like Dean Saunders and Paul Tisdale have seen their stock plummet. The only other contender within profile is Eddie Howe, back at Bournemouth and doing magic for a second spell. Surely this is a step too big, too soon but his moment will come.

So, assuming the rottweiler named Bayram Tutumlu [Laudrup's agent] doesn’t get his way none of this will be necessary. Many will say that none of this should have happened if a few people had handled a few matters very differently.

Feel free to vent your feelings on this situation below or tweet @71_alec for a discussion!