Swansea City under Steve Cooper were a solid Championship side, making the play-offs both seasons he was in charge at the Liberty Stadium.
Swansea City now face a rapidly-approaching Sky Bet Championship campaign without Cooper. Up to press, they have no permanent replacement for him.
Cooper walked away from the South Wales side with a year still remaining on his contract. There are varying accounts as to why he left, some sources commenting that he felt his position at the club untenable.
That leaves the Swans in a hole. They have just 13 days before they kick off their 2021/22 Championship campaign with a visit to Blackburn Rovers.
This 13-day period doesn’t give the Welsh side much time to replace Cooper. It can only be hoped that they have irons in the fire. One such iron was John Eustace but he has turned down the opportunity.
It is a situation that Athletic journalist Stuart James has felt compelled to comment on. He has done so via his personal Twitter feed:
Personal take on Swansea? Absolute shambles. They knew for a fortnight Cooper was going. They knew at the start of the summer he was almost certainly leaving. Serious questions need to be asked of Winter. As for the owners, they’re a total waste of time & have been from day one.
— Stuart James (@stujames75) July 25, 2021
The strength of James’ feeling is clear from the second sentence. For him, there is only one place where blame lies and that is with the club’s hierarchy. For him, those behind the scenes have a lot to answer for.
James singles out Swansea Chief Executive Julian Winter and the club’s owners, a consortium led by Steve Kaplan and Jason Levien, for criticism.
That criticism is brutal and to the point. It displays the level of frustration that Stuart James feels.
Thoughts?
Straight-talking is often something that very few in the media manage to put forward on a regular basis. However, there is no wavering here from Stuart James.
His criticism of the goings-on at Swansea City exposes one man’s frustration and expose it well. However, it is also likely a sounding board for the views of many others.
If as James says that there was knowledge of Cooper being set to leave stretching back to the start of summer then the frustration people are feeling is more than justified.