Swansea City: How Welsh club found their way back as ambition returns

Swansea’s relegation hangover has taken a while to clear.

Having been taken over by American businessmen before dropping out of the Premier League, there was little sign of spending their way back to the top.

When exciting talent was unearthed – whether homegrown or bought in – they were invariably sold on to balance the books.

While the likes of Joe Rodon, Oli McBurnie, Dan James and more moved on and up, Swansea would take a step back for every step forward.

“As soon as we could get excited and find ourselves in a reasonable position, then we’d sell a player and it wouldn’t be invested back into the squad,” adds Carroll.

“Fans would get fed up and the disconnect would come back, and we’d start again.”

It took its toll on a string of managers, from Graham Potter, to 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.

And while they haven’t said much since – showing up in local pubs on matchdays but shying away from interviews – they haven’t needed to.

“To be fair, they’ve delivered,” says Carroll of US tech and marketing entrepreneurs Brett Cravatt and Jason Cohen.

“When we’d get updates from the last owners, it felt as if we were being gaslighted. Now we can see clearly the ambition.”

The pair remain based in the States – chief executive Tom Gorringe the decision-maker on the ground – but aren’t hands-off owners, clear with their messaging and plans.

Plans that included the investment that first stabilised finances and then green-lit the biggest squad-spending since relegation.

It hasn’t stopped there, with the club set to purchase the Swansea.Com Stadium from the local council and plans at an advanced stage to restore the club’s academy to top-tier status, as well as further investment into the club’s women’s team.