Swansea: where did it all go right?

As a football-loving economics student, there are often many unanswered questions in my head, important questions such as:

1. Why are my lectures always first thing in the morning?

2. Why do diminishing returns exist?

3. Most importantly, why is it that, even this far into the season, it’s still so tight at the top of League 1?! (have a look, it really is)

I’ll start though, by tipping my hat to the winners of the first trophy of the season (the Community Shield doesn’t count). Swansea were superb in every way on Sunday at Wembley, and their manager Michael Laudrup deserves huge credit both for his signings and his management this season.

That said, it is not just Laudrup who can be accredited with the rise of the Welsh club. After all, Roberto Martinez, and then Brendan Rodgers, managed the side through 2 promotions in the space of just 3 years. But the one constant throughout all of this is chairman Huw Jenkins. Just ten years ago, Jenkins’ first season as chairman ended in 21^st position in English football’s fourth tier. Next year, he’ll watch his side compete amongst Europe’s not-quite-elite in the Europa League.

Of course, Jenkins has never scored a goal for Swansea, or managed the side, but it is his managerial appointments that have brought about the Swans’ first ever major trophy. Without Michu, Swansea may be in a relegation battle, but without Jenkins, Swansea could still have been trapped in the dungeons of the lower leagues.

But we can’t forget opponents Bradford City in all of this. Their incredible cup run must not go unnoticed – after all, they have defeated more Premier League teams than QPR have this year...

I joked on Sunday that Bradford-Swansea was more akin to the JPT Final than the League Cup Final, but on reflection that is what makes both stories even more remarkable. A fourth tier side in a cup final for the first time in history, facing off against a team who avoided falling out of the very same league by one point just a decade earlier.

And whilst Swansea’s fans can look forward to the prospect of a European tour next season, Bradford’s travelling support have successive trips to York and Port Vale in the coming week.

As they say, a week is a long time in football...