Swansea City A.F.C.

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Swansea City
Full name	Swansea City Association Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Swans, The Jacks
Founded	1912 (as Swansea Town)
Ground	Liberty Stadium (aka Morfa or White Rock Stadium) (Landore, Swansea) (Capacity 20,532)
Chairman	Huw Jenkins
Manager	Roberto Martínez
League	Championship
2007-08	League One, 1st (Champions) (Promoted)
Home colours 　 Away colours

Swansea City AFC (Welsh: Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Abertawe) is a Welsh football team playing in the English Championship from the 2008-09 season, having gained promotion from Football League One in the 2007-08 Season.

Since 2005 Swansea have played their home games at the Liberty Stadium, a ground they share with the Ospreys rugby team. Before 2005 the club's home ground was Vetch Field.

Contents 1 History 2 Honours 3 Club records 4 Players 4.1 Current squad 5 Notable former players 5.1 Gentle Giant Immortalised 6 List of club managers 7 League positions and Cup results since World War II 8 Miscellaneous 9 Further reading 10 External links

[edit] History

Main article: History of Swansea City A.F.C.

Nicknamed "The Swans" or "The Jacks", the club played from its formation in 1912 (as Swansea Town) until 2005 at the Vetch Field in Swansea city centre. In the summer of 2005, Swansea City moved to a new 20,532 all seater ground, which is really lame because it is owned by the council so the club will never actually own it, the Liberty Stadium.

Surprisingly, the early 1980s were Swansea's most successful years, under the guidance of then player-Manager, John Toshack, the Swans gained promotion to the old First Division in 1981, winning 3 consecutive Welsh Cups and subsequently appearing in the UEFA Cup Winners Cup as well. However, as fast as Swansea rose up the Football League, a decline ensued just as quickly which was to be expected by the whole nation.

In recent years the club has brought itself up from the decline of the 80's and 90's and has re-established itself as a credible force in the football league. They were promoted to League One as 3rd in 2004-2005 and League Championship as champions in 2007-2008. 2008-09 will be Swansea's first season at this level since 1983-84. With this, they are in contention with rivals Cardiff City for a Welsh place in the English Premiership.

The manager at the time of the first triumph was Kenny Jackett but he departed in 2007 to be succeeded by Roberto Martinez, who guided them to title glory a year later.

[edit] Honours

• Football League
  • League One (third tier) champions 2007-2008
  • Third Division (South) champions 1924-25, 1948-49
  • Third Division (fourth tier) champions 1999-2000
  • FA Cup semi-finalists 1926, 1964
  • Football League Trophy winners 1994, 2006
• Welsh Cup
  • Winners 1913, 1950, 1961, 1966, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1989, 1991
• FAW Premier Cup
  • Winners 2005, 2006
• FAW Welsh Youth Cup
  • Winners 1999, 2003, 2008
  • Runners-Up 1990, 1991, 1994, 1996, 2004
• West Wales Senior Cup
  • Winners 1923, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1930, 1934, 1949, 1950, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1965, 1966, 1975, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 2002, 2003
• Welsh Football League
  • Division One champions 1913, 1925, 1926, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1951, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1976
  • League Cup winners 1931, 1933
• Football Combination
  • Reserve Division Two champions 1955, 1961
  • (Reserve) Cup winners 1947, 1950
• Macbar (Reserve) Cup
  • Winners 1987
• Southern Football League
  • (Reserves) Western Section champions 1925

[edit] Club records

• Biggest win 12-0 v Sliema Wanderers (Malta), European Cup Winners' Cup First Round First Leg, 15 September 1982
• Biggest win (League) 8-0 v Hartlepool, Football League Fourth Division, 1 April 1978
• Biggest defeat 0-8 v Liverpool, FA Cup 3rd Round Replay, 9 January 1990; 0-8 v Monaco (France), European Cup Winners' Cup First Round Second Leg, 1 October 1991
• Biggest defeat (League) 1-8 v Fulham, Football League Second Division, 22 January 1938
• Highest attendance (Vetch Field) 32,786 v Arsenal, FA Cup Fifth Round, 17 February 1968
• Highest attendance (Liberty Stadium) 19,010 v Leeds F.C., Football League One, 29 December 2007
• Lowest attendance (Vetch Field) 1,301 v Northampton Town, Football League Fourth Division, 18 September 1973
• Lowest attendance (Liberty Stadium) 5,321 v Rushden and Diamonds, Football League Trophy Second Round, 22 November 2005
• Highest final position 2nd (Division One), 1941/42
• Lowest final position 22nd (Division Four), 1974/75
• Most points in one season 92 (in League 1) 2007/2008

[edit] Players

[edit] Current squad

As of 9 June 2008.

No. Position Player 4 MF Kristian O'Leary 5 DF Alan Tate 6 MF Ferrie Bodde 7 MF Leon Britton 8 MF Darren Pratley 9 FW Jason Scotland 10 MF Andrea Orlandi 11 FW Darryl Duffy 14 DF Marcos Painter 15 DF Dennis Lawrence 16 DF Garry Monk 17 MF Owain Tudur Jones 19 FW Chris Jones 20 MF Shaun MacDonald 21 GK Dorus de Vries

No. Position Player 22 DF Angel Rangel 23 FW Guillem Bauza 24 DF Darren Way 25 MF Matthew Collins 27 DF Kyle Graves 28 MF Thomas Butler 30 GK David Knight 31 MF Scott Evans 32 MF Joe Allen 33 FW Kerry Morgan 35 DF James Burgin 36 DF Ashley Williams -- MF Jordi Gomez (On loan from Espanyol) -- FW Chad Bond -- FW Gorka Pintado

For recent transfers, see List of English football transfers 2007-08.

[edit] Notable former players

See also: Category:Swansea City A.F.C. players

Four Swansea-born men were named among the Football League's 100 legends, to mark the 100th season of League football in 1998. All four began their careers with the club. They were Ivor Allchurch, John Charles (signed by Leeds before making his first-team debut), Trevor Ford and Cliff Jones.

Ivor Allchurch is the subject of the first statue to be placed at the Liberty Stadium. Funded by the club's Supporters' Trust, it was unveiled in October 2005 and stands outside the ticket office. Following a poll conducted by the BBC programme Football Focus, Allchurch was named Swansea City's 'Cult Hero', beating off competition from Alan Curtis and Robbie James.^[1]

Many of Swansea's greatest players were part of the squad that, between 1978 and 1981, won promotion from the old Fourth Division to the old First Division under John Toshack, who now manages the Welsh national team. These included goalkeeper Dai Davies, fans' favourite Alan Curtis, the late Robbie James, winger Leighton James, Yugoslavian international defenders Ante Rajkovic and Dzemal Hadziabdic (now coach of the Qatari national team) and Nigel Stevenson.

More recent players include long-serving goalkeeper Roger Freestone, whose Swansea career came to an end in 2004 just a handful of games short of the club appearance record, and Merseyside born Lee Trundle who, after scoring 85 goals in 183 appearances during 4 years at The Swans, moved to Championship Side Bristol City for an undisclosed fee believed to be around £1,000,000

Chelsea and England Midfielder Frank Lampard had a spell on loan from West Ham in the 1995-1996 season playing 11 games and scored 1 goal for the Swans before heading back to Upton Park

Giorgio Chinaglia was born in Italy but grew up in Cardiff and made 6 appearances for Swansea before playing in Italy and the USA, becoming NASL's top scorer ever.

[edit] Gentle Giant Immortalised

On May 5, 2007 a permanent memorial to John Charles, one of Swansea's favourite footballing sons, was unveiled at the Liberty Stadium. Regarded by many as the greatest all-round footballer ever to come from Britain,^[2] Charles never played a professional game for Swansea, despite playing for the club as a boy, making his name with Leeds United and Juventus, where he acquired the nickname Il Gigante Buono – The Gentle Giant.

[edit] List of club managers

See also Category:Swansea City A.F.C. managers

Name	Tenure Began	Tenure Ended	Total Games	Won	Lost	Drawn
Walter Whittaker	July-1912	May-1914
William Bartlett	May 1914	April 1915
No Manager	April 1915	June 1919
Joe Bradshaw	June 1919	August 1926
No manager	August 1926	July 1927
James Thomson	April 1927	August 1931
No manager	August 1931	July 1934
Neil Harris	July 1934	June 1939
Haydn Green	June 1939	September 1947
Billy McCandless	September 1947	July 1955
Ron Burgess	July 1955	August 1958
Trevor Morris	August 1958	May 1965
Glyn Davies	June 1965	October 1966
Billy Lucas	February 1967	April 1969
Roy Bentley	August 1969	October 1972
Harry Gregg	November 1972	February 1975
Harry Griffiths	February 1975	February 1978
John Toshack	March 1978	October 1983
Doug Livermore	October 1983	December 1983
John Toshack	December 1983	March 1984
Les Chappell	March 1984	May 1984
Colin Appleton	May 1984	December 1984
John Bond	December 1984	December 1985
Tommy Hutchison	December 1985	June 1986
Terry Yorath	July 1986	February 1989
Ian Evans	March 1989	March 1990
Terry Yorath	March 1990	March 1991
Frank Burrows	March 1991	October 1995
Bobby Smith	October 1995	December 1995
Jimmy Rimmer	December 1995	February 1996
Kevin Cullis	February 1996 (6 days)	February 1996
Jimmy Rimmer	February 1996	February 1996
Jan Mølby	February 1996	October 1997
Micky Adams	October 1997 (15 days)	October 1997
Alan Cork	October 1997	June 1998
John Hollins	July 1998	September 2001
Colin Addison	October 2001	March 2002
Nick Cusack	March 2002	September 2002	17	2	10	5
Brian Flynn	September 2002	March 2004	77	25	29	23
Kenny Jackett	April 2004	February 2007	163	75	48	48
Roberto Martínez	February 2007	Present	54 (as of 29/03/08)	38	11	15

[edit] League positions and Cup results since World War II

Season	Division	Position	FA Cup	League Cup	FAW Premier Cup	Welsh Cup	European Cup Winners' Cup	Football League Trophy
1946-1947	Second Division	21st (relegated)	4th Round			6th Round
1947-1948	Third Division South	5th	3rd Round			5th Round
1948-1949	Third Division South	1st (promoted)	2nd Round			Runners-up
1949-1950	Second Division	8th	4th Round			Winners
1950-1951	Second Division	18th	3rd Round			6th Round
1951-1952	Second Division	19th	5th Round			5th Round
1952-1953	Second Division	11th	3rd Round			7th Round
1953-1954	Second Division	20th	4th Round			Semi-Finals
1954-1955	Second Division	10th	5th Round			6th Round
1955-1956	Second Division	10th	3rd Round			Runners-up
1956-1957	Second Division	10th	3rd Round			Runners-up
1957-1958	Second Division	2nd (promoted)	3rd Round			6th Round
1958-1959	First Division	2nd	3rd Round			6th Round
1959-1960	First Division	23rd (relegated)	4th Round			6th Round
1960-1961	Second Division	7th	5th Round	3rd Round		Winners
1961-1962	Second Division	20th	3rd Round	2nd Round		Semi-final	1st Round
1962-1963	Second Division	15th	3rd Round	2nd Round		Semi-final
1963-1964	Second Division	19th	Semi-final	3rd Round		6th Round
1964-1965	Second Division	22nd (relegated)	5th Round	4th Round		Semi-final
1965-1966	Third Division	17th	1st Round	1st Round		Winners
1966-1967	Third Division	21st (relegated)	2nd Round	3rd Round		5th Round	1st Round
1967-1968	Fourth Division	15th	4th Round	1st Round		6th Round
1968-1969	Fourth Division	10th	3rd Round	3rd Round		Runners-up
1969-1970	Fourth Division	3rd (promoted)	3rd Round	2nd Round		Semi-final
1970-1971	Third Division	11th	4th Round	2nd Round		6th Round
1971-1972	Third Division	14th	4th Round	1st Round		5th Round
1972-1973	Third Division	23rd (relegated)	1st Round	1st Round		4th Round
1973-1974	Fourth Division	14th	1st Round	1st Round		4th Round
1974-1975	Fourth Division	22nd	1st Round	1st Round		5th Round
1975-1976	Fourth Division	11th	1st Round	1st Round		5th Round
1976-1977	Fourth Division	5th	1st Round	4th Round		5th Round
1977-1978	Fourth Division	3rd (promoted)	3rd Round	1st Round		4th Round
1978-1979	Third Division	3rd (promoted)	3rd Round	3rd Round		5th Round
1979-1980	Second Division	12th	5th Round	2nd Round		Semi-final
1980-1981	Second Division	3rd (promoted)	3rd Round	1st Round		Winners
1981-1982	First Division	6th	3rd Round	2nd Round		Winners	1st Round
1982-1983	First Division	21st (relegated)	3rd Round	2nd Round		Winners	2nd Round
1983-1984	Second Division	21st (relegated)	3rd Round	2nd Round		Semi-final	Preliminary Round
1984-1985	Third Division	20th	1st Round	1st Round		Semi-final		3rd Round
1985-1986	Third Division	24th (relegated)	2nd Round	2nd Round		5th Round		3rd Round
1986-1987	Fourth Division	12th	4th Round	2nd Round		3rd Round		2nd Round
1987-1988	Fourth Division	6th (promoted via play-offs)	2nd Round	1st Round		4th Round		Group Stage
1988-1989	Third Division	12th	2nd Round	1st Round		Winners		Group Stage
1989-1990	Third Division	17th	3rd Round	1st Round		3rd Round	1st Round	Group Stage
1990-1991	Third Division	20th	3rd Round	1st Round		Winners		2nd Round
1991-1992	Third Division	19th	2nd Round	2nd Round		5th Round	1st Round	Group Stage
1992-1993	Second Division	5th	4th Round	1st Round		3rd Round		4th Round
1993-1994	Second Division	13th	1st Round	2nd Round		Semi-final		Winners
1994-1995	Second Division	10th	4th Round	2nd Round				4th Round
1995-1996	Second Division	22nd (relegated)	1st Round	1st Round				2nd Round
1996-1997	Third Division	5th	1st Round	1st Round				2nd Round
1997-1998	Third Division	20th	1st Round	1st Round	Quarter-final			1st Round
1998-1999	Third Division	7th	4th Round	1st Round	Quarter-final			2nd Round
1999-2000	Third Division	1st (promoted)	2nd Round	2nd Round	Quarter-final			2nd Round
2000-2001	Second Division	23rd (relegated)	1st Round	1st Round	Runners-Up			4th Round
2001-2002	Third Division	20th	2nd Round	1st Round	Runners-Up			1st Round
2002-2003	Third Division	21st	1st Round	1st Round	Quarter-final			1st Round
2003-2004	Third Division	10th	5th Round	1st Round	Semi-final			2nd Round
2004-2005	League Two	3rd (promoted)	3rd Round	1st Round	Winners			2nd Round
2005-2006	League One	6th	1st Round	1st Round	Winners			Winners
2006-2007	League One	7th	4th Round	1st Round	Quarter-final			2nd Round
2007-2008	League One	1st (promoted)	3rd Round	2nd Round	Quarter-final			Semi-final

[edit] Miscellaneous

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

Swansea City and its supporters are unofficially known as the 'Jacks'. One explanation for this name is that during the 17th century, sailors from Swansea were extremely well respected and any 'Swansea Jack' was allowed to join the crew based simply on the town's reputation for great seamen. Many, however, believe that the name originates from the renowned life-saving dog Swansea Jack.

The club's somewhat flamboyant mascot is Cyril the Swan who was joined in 2005 by Cybil, a doyenne of equal opportunity. The couple were "married" on the pitch at the Vetch Field as part of the pre-match entertainment at the last league game to be played at the ground, a 1-0 win over Shrewsbury Town F.C. during the 2004/05 season.

On 10 January 2006, striker Leon Knight became the first Swansea City player to score a hat-trick on his début for the club since Bob Latchford in August 1981, in fact scoring his hat-trick during the first 27 minutes of the game against Milton Keynes Dons at the Liberty Stadium.

Leon Knight's second hat-trick for the club, in the final game of the 2005-06 season at Chesterfield on 6 May 2006, completed another first. As Lee Trundle had scored a hat-trick in the home game against Chesterfield on 29 October 2005, this was the first time that Swansea players had scored hat-tricks in both home and away League fixtures against the same opponents in the same season.

The Liberty Stadium hosted it's first competitive match against Premiership opposition when Reading visited in August 2007. The visitors won 1-0 thanks to a Leroy Lita goal in extra time, despite having 10 men for over an hour of the match.

The club, riding high at the summit of Football League One, lost an FA Cup replay on 16 January 2008 4-2 to Conference South club, Havant & Waterlooville, losing out on a lucrative tie against Liverpool.

Famous fans include, Rob Brydon, Michael Sheen, Kate Beckinsale, Michael Howard, Enzo Maccarinelli and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

[edit] Further reading

• Burgum, John (1982). Swansea City, 1912-82, Pelham Books, ISBN 0720714133
• Farmer, David (1988). Swansea City Football Club, Archive Publications, ISBN 0948946199
• Farmer, David;Lile, Brian ;Jones, Colin (2000). Swans, Town and City, The: The Official Biography, South Wales Evening Post, ISBN 0953919102
• Hayes, Dean (1999). Swansea City Football Club: An A-Z, Aureus Publishing, ISBN 1899750045
• Haynes, Keith;Sumbler, Phil (1999). Swansea City FC (100 Greats) , NPI Media Group , ISBN 0752427156
• Jones, Colin (2006). Swansea Town/City FC: The First Comprehensive Player A-Y, Parthian Books, ISBN 1902638751
• Phillips, Gareth (2005). Fan's Eye City: Swansea City in the Age of the Premiership, London League Publications Ltd, ISBN 1903659205

[edit] External links

• Official club website Swansea City's official website
• Vital Swansea Match Previews , Reports, Daily News and forum
• Swans Online Daily news and match reviews of Swansea City FC.

• Swansea.com 2007-08 Swans shirt sponsors

Preceded by Port Vale	Football League Trophy Winners 1993-94	Succeeded by Birmingham City
Preceded by Wrexham	Football League Trophy Winners 2005-06	Succeeded by Doncaster Rovers

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