Swansea City return from the international break top of the Championship, a position that marks their best start to a season since 2005. For a club that burned brightly in the Premier League — with Michu, Michael Laudrup, League Cup wins and European nights packed into seven seasons — setting the pace in the second tier is a significant swing in mood, and one that has brought talk of “The Swansea Way” back to south Wales.
Eight years have passed since relegation, and that drop brought a tightening of the belts and a lowering of expectations, ambition giving way to apathy. Taken over by American businessmen before falling out of the top flight, Swansea showed little sign of spending their way back. When talent emerged, whether homegrown or bought in, it was invariably sold on to balance the books — Joe Rodon, Oli McBurnie and Dan James among those who moved on and up while the club took a step back for every step forward.
Steve Carroll, editor of the fanzine Swansea Oh Swansea, describes the cycle plainly: a player sold without the money being reinvested into the squad, supporters growing fed up, the disconnect returning, and the whole process starting again. That took its toll on a succession of managers, among them Graham Potter, Steve Cooper and Russell Martin.
There was understandable cynicism, then, when new American ownership arrived in late 2024 promising to review how the club was run. US tech and marketing entrepreneurs Brett Cravatt and Jason Cohen have said little since, showing up in local pubs on matchdays but shying away from interviews. According to Carroll, they have not needed to. “To be fair, they’ve delivered,” he says. “When we’d get updates from the last owners, it felt as if we were being gaslighted. Now we can see clearly the ambition.”
Both owners remain based in the United States, with chief executive Tom Gorringe the decision-maker on the ground, but they are not hands-off, clear in their messaging and plans. Those plans included investment that first stabilised the finances and then green-lit the biggest squad spending since relegation. The club are also set to purchase the Swansea.com Stadium from the local council, with plans at an advanced stage to restore the academy to top-tier status, as well as further investment into the women’s team.
On the pitch, the rebirth has been guided by head coach Vitor Matos. The 38-year-old was headhunted for the role 11 months ago despite having just 12 games as a frontline boss with Portuguese second division side Maritimo. Worryingly close to the relegation places in November 2025, Swansea used data to identify the individual they needed, landing the man who had worked at Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp as elite development coach. His interview was said to have wowed the panel, including Swansea’s Ballon d’Or winner in the boardroom, Luka Modric, with sources saying the style he promised in his presentations is now playing out on the pitch.
That style fits with the old Swansea way but adds aggressive work off the ball, with the club’s on-pitch running data surpassing many second-tier rivals. It has also been effective, style not coming at the cost of substance, as shown by a defensive record that is the best in the division and a gritty come-from-behind win at Lincoln City before the international break. The seven million views of a Swansea goal in the September win over Watford suggest the eye-pleasing identity has returned. Former Reading midfielder Jobi McAnuff told the 72+ podcast that there was a time when he would watch Swansea and not be quite sure what they were. “From the minute he went in there he’s spoken about the DNA of the football club and wanting to tap into that, stylistically, getting them playing a little more to how Swansea fans would expect,” McAnuff says, calling their start to the season “exceptional”. There is a genuine awareness at the club that they are by no means the finished article, and a 3-1 defeat at promotion hopefuls Southampton was a reminder of that.
Recruitment, once Swansea’s biggest strength, had been a major problem for many of their years back in the Championship. The signs that it is returning are growing, and not by fluke. The club slowly rebuilt their expertise, bringing in Jay Lefevre from Celtic as head of recruitment and Ben Stevens from Crystal Palace as sporting director. Then came the eye-catching partnership with Jamestown Analytics, the data company owned by Brighton chief Tony Bloom that has brought success to the Seagulls as well as to Hearts, Como and Saint-Gilloise. Swansea agreed a rolling contract with the firm, their one slot per division opening up after previous partners Ipswich were promoted. The firm’s role is said to be akin to consultancy, adding another layer to Swansea’s existing processes, backing up findings and verifying the work of the club’s own data systems.
Winger Joseph Opoku and midfielder Elijah Just are said to be examples, first identified by Swansea before the confidence to spend was provided by the firm. Both World Cup goalscorers were signed, along with Canada midfielder Stephen Eustaquio from Porto and the bargain Bosman capture of new Scotland international Stephen Welsh, in a window of 10 new arrivals that signalled the club’s growing belief in where they are going. Opoku has scored twice since joining from Zulte Waregem. “You can see the difference,” Carroll says. “Before, we would look to the bench and know that changing things would make us weaker. Now the subs change games.”
Swansea held on to Zan Vipotnik, last season’s Championship-leading goalscorer, despite a £10m offer from Hull City, while former Southampton striker Ross Stewart is now fit to add support to Adam Idah. But the sale of midfielder Ethan Galbraith to Stoke City for a similar amount shows that a return of ambition does not mean ignoring the economics. Ownership funds are welcome but far from unlimited, especially compared with rivals, and spending has been about being smarter rather than bankrolling. The nature of the EFL’s financial controls has also meant a huge focus on boosting revenue beyond the matchday income of a club with a limited stadium capacity in an area where disposable income is almost a quarter below the UK average.
That is where the high-profile partnerships come in. Modric’s arrival as a minority shareholder was about introducing him to the world of football ownership and benefiting from his expertise in return, while the introductions of hip-hop star Snoop Dogg and US celebrity Martha Stewart were less about how much they invested and more about growing the brand and opening doors to new partnerships. Swansea brought in record sponsorship deals this season, and a partnership with media and entertainment investment giants Shamrock Capital — originally founded by the Disney family — has provided significant financial support for long-term plans.
Carroll does not expect promotion, given the other clubs who will be fighting for it, but sees a play-off place as a realistic target. “You can see we’re stronger and we’re moving in the right direction, so we’re going to enjoy it,” he says. “You can feel the positivity and the optimism is back.” There is a long way to go, but the signs are that — even if they don’t make it — Swansea have at least refound their way.