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Stewart & Lloyds Corby F. C

Swansea City A.F.C.

Swansea City AFC (Welsh: Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Abertawe) is a Welsh football team playing in the Coca Cola Championship from the 2008-09 season, having gained promotion from Football League One by winning the title 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.

History

Nicknamed "The Swans" or "The Jacks", the club played from its formation in 1912 (as Swansea Town) until 2005 at the Vetch Field(1912-2005) in Swansea city centre. In the summer of 2005 Swansea City moved to a new council owned 20,532 all seater ground, the Liberty Stadium.

Surprisingly, the early 1980s were Swansea's most successful years, under the guidance of then player-Manager, Cardiff born 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. In thier first season in the top flight they beat the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal and unlucky not to beat Liverpool at Anfield. Two months before threre first season in top flight football ended they were top for the league but finished 6th by may. As fast as Swansea rose up the Football League, a decline ensued just as quickly.

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 and then to beat Cardiff City in the League Cup in the next September.

Honours

  • Football League

  • 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

Club records

Players

Current squad

As of 7 October 2008.
For recent transfers, see List of English football transfers 2007-08.

Out on loan

Notable former 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.

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 of all-time.

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, 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.

Other notable former players

See also Swansea City A.F.C. players

 

 

 

List of club managers

See also 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

League positions and Cup results since World War II

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Last updated on Saturday October 11, 2008 at 09:00:30 PDT (GMT -0700)
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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 19th 3rd Round 6th Round
1958-1959 Second Division 11th 3rd Round 6th Round
1959-1960 Second Division 12th 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 3rd 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

Miscellaneous

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.

The club has a number of relationships with other clubs in the Football League and in Europe. Their main rivals being Cardiff City. The antipathy towards the Bluebirds stemming partly from the local media ignoring the Swans in favour of the capital club. The fixtures involving both sides in recent years have frequently been marred by violence. The club also has rivalries with Bristol City, Bristol Rovers and to a lesser extent, Yeovil Town, Leeds United and Derby County.
The club also holds some positive relationships with clubs. Local sides Port Talbot Town and Neath Athletic act as affiliate clubs with players moving on loan to the Welsh league sides, as they do with Swedish side Ostersunds FK. They also have strong links with Dutch Eredivisie side ADO Den Haag.

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, Chris Coleman, Dean Saunders, Ryan Jones, John Hartson, John Charles, Mel Charles, Leighton James, Enzo Maccarinelli, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Jordi Cruyff, Johan Cruyff, Lee Trundle and Imogen Thomas and Pancho from Dirty Sanchez

Notes

External links