Swansea City poach Rangers transfer guru as owners speak for first time on Williams axe in statement to fans
The Swansea City owners have addressed fans in an open letter to update them on the current situation and the decisions they have taken
Swansea City have announced the appointment of former Rangers head scout James Morgan-Snowley as the club's new head of scouting and have spoken about the decision to sack Luke Williams for the first time.
Brett Cravatt and Jason Cohen of the majority ownership group have penned a letter to supporters to update them on the current situation, the manager search and to confirm appointments of personnel.
Richard Montague was appointed the Swans' new director of football back in February, but in a new statement, they have announced that he will be joined by Morgan-Snowley, with whom he will have worked at Notts County. Morgan-Snowley was Rangers' recruitment analyst for two years before taking on the role as lead technical scout last year.
On the recruitment restructuring, the statement reads: "Rich has been joined by James Morgan-Snowley who joins us from Rangers as the club’s new Head of Scouting.
"The team is completed by Adam Worth who has been promoted to our Global Head of Analytics and Recruitment. Adam brings a wealth of experience in harnessing sports data across the globe to give us an edge, and we have already seen this come to fruition with the exciting signing of Melker Widell. Adam is a lifelong Swansea City supporter and comes to the club via BetMGM, where he was Senior Sports Trader managing the live odds division. We believe that we are building a great team that can help us achieve the success on the pitch that we all crave."
While results have declined since the change in ownership back in November, the club headed into December in a strong position under Luke Williams. Sign up to our Swansea City newsletter here.
So much so, in fact, that Williams was apparently courted for the manager's position at West Brom. His refusal to rule out a possible move in January stirred ire among some supporters and Williams never quite seemed to get them back on side.
Results also worsened during that period, leading to the club parting ways with their manager. Speaking publicly about Williams' sacking for the first time, Cravatt and Cohen have hinted that a breakdown in communication during that period might have led to his dismissal.
"Over the last 100 days, we have been reviewing the club’s operations and working on our plans to put the building blocks in place for future success. We love football and want to build something here that we can all be proud of," they added.
"During our time in control, we have also made the difficult decision to part ways with Luke Williams and his team. Despite heading into Christmas in a strong position in the league, the results, performances and communication during January and February fell short of our expectations, and it became clear this was the right decision for the football club. "
Another big decision looms for this still relatively new ownership group at the end of the season. Alan Sheehan has been appointed until the end of the campaign, however a more permanent appointment will have to be made ahead of summer transfer planning for next term.
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"Alan has done a great job in the fixtures that he has taken so far and that has allowed us the space to thoroughly review the market for all candidates for the role," the statement adds.
"We have enjoyed a great working relationship with Alan, and he has demonstrated his dedication to the club during his time with us, turning down a number of high profile opportunities to stay at Swansea City. While the process to ensure that we identify the right candidate for the role continues, we are happy with the progress that has been made on the pitch."