"I just don't believe him" - Swansea City chairman Andy Coleman questioned for ownership failings | OneFootball

FLW's Swansea City pundit reveals his thoughts on their owner.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Swansea City changed the structure of their ownership late last year, as Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan sold their majority shareholding to Andy Coleman.

Alongside Coleman in this purchase were his American business partners, Brett Cravatt, Jasen Cohen, and Nigel Morris. Together, they now own 91.4% of the club, with Morris holding 14%, while the remaining 77.4% is shared among the other three.

Unfortunately, their first January transfer window likely didn’t go as planned, with the club losing captain Matt Grimes and head coach Luke Williams criticising the lack of cohesion in their transfer strategy.

Nevertheless, they will have time to make amends in the summer and strong planning from the new board is needed to help ensure a strong 2025-26 season.

Swansea City thoughts issued on owner Andy Coleman

Posed the question of what one word would describe their owner, Football League World's Swansea pundit, Will Hughes stated this: "There are many words I could use to describe Andy Coleman, but there aren't many positives.

"The one word I would use to summarise him would be 'unbelievable' – and I don't mean that in a good way.

"I don't believe a word that comes out of the guy's mouth. He talks a very good game, saying, 'We are going to do this, we are going to do that'.

"He wants fans to believe him when he tells us he has plans for transfer strategy, the players we are looking at, and a long-term vision. But I just don't believe him, and I don't think the fans do either.

"Last year, at a fans forum, he said he had unquestionable faith in Paul Watson, only for him to be sacked just six months later.

"Don't get me wrong, he rightly left after a disastrous summer transfer window, where I think we spent £8 million-£10 million on players who are not going to be here long-term.

"This summer, we had another bad window and, while we were looking in the right areas abroad, we didn't bring in any Championship experience to balance it out. We just went, 'Yes, that is our answer', because it is a cheaper market.

"As well as that, we were left short and playing players out of position. We only signed four players before the season started, one of whom was Žan Vipotnik, who signed the week the season began, which, for me, means there was no plan."

Swansea City fan pundit berates January transfer window failings under Andy Coleman

Moving into the January window, Hughes' faith in the current owners is clearly dwindling.

"Watson has now gone, and Andy Coleman is the one in charge of transfers. He said to us months before losing Paul Watson that it wasn't going to make much of a difference, and that we have people working in the background to help bring players in, with a long-term plan for the players we are going to get," Hughes added.

"We signed one permanent player, and we can't use him until next year, so for me, that is a summer signing. We brought two players in on loan on a reactionary basis, with Delcroix coming in because Darling got suspended and O'Brien because Grimes has gone. It makes me wonder whether we would have brought them in had that not happened.

"He (Coleman) has now come out and said we are going to get a new sporting director (which has since been confirmed as Notts County's Richard Montague). But why wasn't that done sooner?"

Hughes continued to criticise Coleman for failing to build on his promises and believes the owner needs to be more transparent by holding monthly meetings with the fans.

"He is saying all these things to make himself sound like a nice guy when, in reality, he doesn't have a clue what he is doing. He needs to put his ego aside, employ people to handle the football business, and take a step back.

"If we keep going in this direction, there is only one way we will be heading – and that is down.

"The big test is next season. We are going to have a lot of players leaving, whether due to contracts expiring or players being sold.

"We are going to be an even smaller squad, so the summer is going to be the biggest transfer window for a long time at the club. If that goes wrong, we could be in another relegation battle and in an even worse position than this year.