Chairman's Notes | Barnsley

Welcome back to the Liberty Stadium for today’s festive fixture against Barnsley. I hope you are having an enjoyable Christmas period, which I know will be made even better if we can secure another Championship victory on home soil.

It was great to record a deserved home win over Middlesbrough last time out in a game that saw us score three goals and the visitors suffer two red cards. With a point (which should have been three with two blatant penalties denied) against Blackburn in the previous game, it means we are now two games unbeaten at home – a record we must continue to build on.

And we got our away form well and truly back on track at Luton with an excellent 1-0 win. I thought we dominated most of the game on a very narrow pitch and should have come away with a bigger victory, especially as we had another perfectly good penalty on George Byers turned down. 

Yet again I thought our away Jack Army support was magnificent. It makes such a difference and you could see how the players reacted to such fantastic encouragement and support. Thank you.

Writing these notes before our Boxing Day fixture at Brentford, we now have two home games in quick succession, with Charlton arriving at the Liberty on Thursday night. Hopefully we can go into the new year on a high in great shape with everything to play for. 

A lot has been mentioned on forums and social media about the future direction of our Academy. As I have stated previously, we continue to keep all aspects of our operations, not just the Academy, under review as we adapt to the restrictive financial life outside the Premier League.  Once we have the transfer window out of the way I will provide supporters with a further update.

My aim is to remain open, honest and regular in my communications to supporters, whether it’s good or not so good news. But we need to get through January and complete ongoing reviews first, before I can properly update you. So please bear with me a little longer.

At least season ticket holders can have a free drink on me and the club today. I felt it was important to say thank you for the support throughout the campaign so far, especially as season ticket renewal numbers have been so encouraging since the launch on December 2.

So, all season ticket holders were given a free pint or a hot or soft drink before today’s game. It’s a small gesture which just shows our appreciation for your support. So, cheers.

That support spreads far outside the city, as I discovered when I was invited to Ammanford Town AFC recently to watch their JD Cymru South (Welsh League) fixture against Briton Ferry Llansawel.

There were lots of Swans fans there also supporting their local club. Despite the atrocious weather, you could sense that there was a fantastic family feel to the club. They work closely with the Jac Lewis Foundation, a mental health charity close to the community’s heart, and who were our charity sleeve sponsors for our Carabao Cup tie at Watford earlier this season.

I was looking forward to seeing the legend that is LT10 in action, but he only managed a cameo appearance after being sent off in the first 10 minutes.  Some unkind souls mentioned the atrocious weather and Christmas being round the corner having played a part, but I’m sure that wasn’t a factor!  And by the time Robbo came on as a late substitute I’d exited stage left to try and thaw out.

A warm Welsh welcome to the directors, staff and supporters who have made the long trip from Barnsley today and a safe journey back.

And finally, a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year to everyone.

Enjoy the game.

Trevor