| From Beacon to Bystander: Rise and Decline of Swansea City Supporters’ Trust 11:01 - Aug 20 with 1419 views | theloneranger |
"There was a time when Swansea City stood as a beacon of supporter-led governance in British football. A time when the Swansea City Supporters’ Trust wasn’t just a footnote in club affairs—it was a co-owner, a conscience, and a community anchor. Today, that legacy feels distant. The Trust, once hailed as a model for others to follow, now risks being seen as little more than a glorified supporters’ club—tea, biscuits, and a club lanyard thrown in for good measure."
"This is a story of pride, betrayal, resilience—and the urgent need to remember what made the Trust matter."
https://jackarmy.net/2025/08/20/from-beacon-to-bystander-the-rise-and-decline-of
[Post edited 20 Aug 11:03]
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| Everyday above ground ... Is a good day! 😎 |
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| From Beacon to Bystander: Rise and Decline of Swansea City Supporters’ Trust on 11:33 - Aug 20 with 1329 views | Whiterockin |
I wonder how long before the inevitable happens on this board. |  | | |
| From Beacon to Bystander: Rise and Decline of Swansea City Supporters’ Trust on 17:02 - Aug 20 with 1103 views | SullutaCreturned |
| From Beacon to Bystander: Rise and Decline of Swansea City Supporters’ Trust on 11:33 - Aug 20 by Whiterockin |
I wonder how long before the inevitable happens on this board. |
It'll happen.
On thread though, what happened to the trust is really poor. It bacame a play thing for the board who were only interested in what they could gain for themselves, in my opinion. It became a laughing stock even amongst our own supporters.
Can it be rescued, turned around and made relevant again, under the current owners MAYBE. |  | | |
| From Beacon to Bystander: Rise and Decline of Swansea City Supporters’ Trust on 17:23 - Aug 20 with 1069 views | JJBomber |
| From Beacon to Bystander: Rise and Decline of Swansea City Supporters’ Trust on 17:02 - Aug 20 by SullutaCreturned |
It'll happen.
On thread though, what happened to the trust is really poor. It bacame a play thing for the board who were only interested in what they could gain for themselves, in my opinion. It became a laughing stock even amongst our own supporters.
Can it be rescued, turned around and made relevant again, under the current owners MAYBE. |
There again, how many in the trust have experience of running a multi-million pound business? | | | |
| From Beacon to Bystander: Rise and Decline of Swansea City Supporters’ Trust on 17:55 - Aug 20 with 990 views | KeithHaynes |
| From Beacon to Bystander: Rise and Decline of Swansea City Supporters’ Trust on 17:02 - Aug 20 by SullutaCreturned |
It'll happen.
On thread though, what happened to the trust is really poor. It bacame a play thing for the board who were only interested in what they could gain for themselves, in my opinion. It became a laughing stock even amongst our own supporters.
Can it be rescued, turned around and made relevant again, under the current owners MAYBE. |
The problem with the trust since Levien and Kaplan were there was Levien and Kaplan. |  |
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| From Beacon to Bystander: Rise and Decline of Swansea City Supporters’ Trust on 18:04 - Aug 20 with 960 views | vetchonian |
| From Beacon to Bystander: Rise and Decline of Swansea City Supporters’ Trust on 17:55 - Aug 20 by KeithHaynes |
The problem with the trust since Levien and Kaplan were there was Levien and Kaplan. |
the Trust Chairman and board were problems too
They went against the decision of the membership...
More interested in being seen in the directors box than protecting the Trust | |
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| From Beacon to Bystander: Rise and Decline of Swansea City Supporters’ Trust on 18:20 - Aug 20 with 942 views | ReslovenSwan1 |
The Trust has the chance to turn a £200k investment into £20,000,000 with a 10,000% return created by Morgan and
Jenkins and failed to sell a single share when all other shareholders did.
When their board member told the press the shares would never be sold nothing was done until it was too late.
The 5% permanent holding s could be valuable as long as it is 5% of any sale price and 5% of shares dividends. (Not s just voting rights).
If it is then Snoopy and Modric's money is subsiding the Trust as I understand it. If Modric wants 5% of the club he will need to pay a notional 5% Trust tax to maintain their holding as I understand it.. [Post edited 20 Aug 18:27]
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| From Beacon to Bystander: Rise and Decline of Swansea City Supporters’ Trust on 18:25 - Aug 20 with 929 views | SullutaCreturned |
| From Beacon to Bystander: Rise and Decline of Swansea City Supporters’ Trust on 17:55 - Aug 20 by KeithHaynes |
The problem with the trust since Levien and Kaplan were there was Levien and Kaplan. |
Yes and then the good people left and thise who took their place have become yes men. Now we have new owners and the trust has a chance to repair itself.
The big question is, do they want to or are they just in it for the freebies? | | | |
| From Beacon to Bystander: Rise and Decline of Swansea City Supporters’ Trust on 18:35 - Aug 20 with 877 views | ReslovenSwan1 |
| From Beacon to Bystander: Rise and Decline of Swansea City Supporters’ Trust on 18:25 - Aug 20 by SullutaCreturned |
Yes and then the good people left and thise who took their place have become yes men. Now we have new owners and the trust has a chance to repair itself.
The big question is, do they want to or are they just in it for the freebies? |
Kaplan and Levien were very kind the the Trust from what I can see. They sent over that splendid chap Silverstein over for Christmas to sort out a right royal Welsh mess . That is exactly what he did..
They gave the Trust a very decent deal if it is as presented. The problem with the Trust is they ars unable to handle money and need to convert to a new constitution.. | |
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| From Beacon to Bystander: Rise and Decline of Swansea City Supporters’ Trust on 18:49 - Aug 20 with 856 views | Landore_Jack |
The decline started before 2016. Probably when Leigh Dineen resigned as supporter director. That's when the cracks started to appear. |  |
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| From Beacon to Bystander: Rise and Decline of Swansea City Supporters’ Trust on 18:50 - Aug 20 with 848 views | Whiterockin |
| From Beacon to Bystander: Rise and Decline of Swansea City Supporters’ Trust on 18:25 - Aug 20 by SullutaCreturned |
Yes and then the good people left and thise who took their place have become yes men. Now we have new owners and the trust has a chance to repair itself.
The big question is, do they want to or are they just in it for the freebies? |
It will be very difficult to restore their reputation, they went against the wishes of the members and the membership just upped and left. Myself included. | | | |
| From Beacon to Bystander: Rise and Decline of Swansea City Supporters’ Trust on 19:05 - Aug 20 with 808 views | dobjack2 |
| From Beacon to Bystander: Rise and Decline of Swansea City Supporters’ Trust on 18:49 - Aug 20 by Landore_Jack |
The decline started before 2016. Probably when Leigh Dineen resigned as supporter director. That's when the cracks started to appear. |
I believe that the cracks really started appearing when they became a potential barrier to the sale of the club for a lot of money. At that point I believe that the interests of the Trust and those of the other shareholders were no longer aligned. | | | |
| From Beacon to Bystander: Rise and Decline of Swansea City Supporters’ Trust on 20:22 - Aug 20 with 717 views | SullutaCreturned |
| From Beacon to Bystander: Rise and Decline of Swansea City Supporters’ Trust on 19:05 - Aug 20 by dobjack2 |
I believe that the cracks really started appearing when they became a potential barrier to the sale of the club for a lot of money. At that point I believe that the interests of the Trust and those of the other shareholders were no longer aligned. |
That is what I think. Hence the reports of the then owners trying to keep the Trust away from the sale.
it's history now though so the question is, can the trust be rebuilt. Are the fans interested in rebuilding it or have we all moved on and hope the current owners are the real deal?
Personally, I'm going with the latter. | | | |
| From Beacon to Bystander: Rise and Decline of Swansea City Supporters’ Trust on 20:25 - Aug 20 with 706 views | ReslovenSwan1 |
| From Beacon to Bystander: Rise and Decline of Swansea City Supporters’ Trust on 18:50 - Aug 20 by Whiterockin |
It will be very difficult to restore their reputation, they went against the wishes of the members and the membership just upped and left. Myself included. |
The members did not match up to the job. When the Director stared their share would be er be sold they said nothing because they were not fulfilling their mandate.
The members continued to disappoint and wanted to go to Vegas with not for profit money. The club had given them big money and the members were irresponsibly up for a spin at the casino with poor odds and huge charges.
If the members of that time walk away in disgust then it can only be a good thing. They proved they were not up to the job.
If they had gone ahead their shares would now be held by venture capitalists. [Post edited 20 Aug 23:16]
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| From Beacon to Bystander: Rise and Decline of Swansea City Supporters’ Trust on 20:33 - Aug 20 with 696 views | QJumpingJack |
you should listen to the YouTube / Trust forum with Levien and Kaplan. They made it quite clear what happened and it amazes me you won't acknowledge it.
Did Jason and Steve know they were being recorded.....................?????????????? | | | |
| From Beacon to Bystander: Rise and Decline of Swansea City Supporters’ Trust on 20:34 - Aug 20 with 693 views | QJumpingJack |
| From Beacon to Bystander: Rise and Decline of Swansea City Supporters’ Trust on 20:25 - Aug 20 by ReslovenSwan1 |
The members did not match up to the job. When the Director stared their share would be er be sold they said nothing because they were not fulfilling their mandate.
The members continued to disappoint and wanted to go to Vegas with not for profit money. The club had given them big money and the members were irresponsibly up for a spin at the casino with poor odds and huge charges.
If the members of that time walk away in disgust then it can only be a good thing. They proved they were not up to the job.
If they had gone ahead their shares would now be held by venture capitalists. [Post edited 20 Aug 23:16]
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and for someone who has spent days/months posting about the Trust it is a real shame you did not step to the plate and stand for election when you had the chance. | | | |
| From Beacon to Bystander: Rise and Decline of Swansea City Supporters’ Trust on 21:13 - Aug 20 with 638 views | Dr_Winston |
| From Beacon to Bystander: Rise and Decline of Swansea City Supporters’ Trust on 18:04 - Aug 20 by vetchonian |
the Trust Chairman and board were problems too
They went against the decision of the membership...
More interested in being seen in the directors box than protecting the Trust |
The Supporter Director seemed to have taken his eye off the ball at the time. I don't doubt his motives for a second, but it was never a good look for him to be on these forums defending the club's decisions at times against those whom he was ostensibly there to represent.
He allowed himself to get too close to those he was there to keep an eye on. Certainly he should not have been in a business relationship with the club at the same time. Probably something that he'll always regret.
Since then, I have a little bit of sympathy but not much. Too many people were desperate to push the nuclear button of legal action without much thought to the possible consequences. The Trust was stuck in a difficult position without the quality of leadership to get through it and just made themselves look worse and worse as a result. Now they're an irrelevance.
Ultimately however the blame for all that happened between 2016 and 2024 lies at the feet of those whom the Trust and the fans trusted. The sellouts. [Post edited 20 Aug 21:26]
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| Pain or damage don't end the world. Or despair, or f*cking beatings. The world ends when you're dead. Until then, you got more punishment in store. Stand it like a man... and give some back. |
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| From Beacon to Bystander: Rise and Decline of Swansea City Supporters’ Trust on 21:25 - Aug 20 with 589 views | ReslovenSwan1 |
| From Beacon to Bystander: Rise and Decline of Swansea City Supporters’ Trust on 21:13 - Aug 20 by Dr_Winston |
The Supporter Director seemed to have taken his eye off the ball at the time. I don't doubt his motives for a second, but it was never a good look for him to be on these forums defending the club's decisions at times against those whom he was ostensibly there to represent.
He allowed himself to get too close to those he was there to keep an eye on. Certainly he should not have been in a business relationship with the club at the same time. Probably something that he'll always regret.
Since then, I have a little bit of sympathy but not much. Too many people were desperate to push the nuclear button of legal action without much thought to the possible consequences. The Trust was stuck in a difficult position without the quality of leadership to get through it and just made themselves look worse and worse as a result. Now they're an irrelevance.
Ultimately however the blame for all that happened between 2016 and 2024 lies at the feet of those whom the Trust and the fans trusted. The sellouts. [Post edited 20 Aug 21:26]
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The blame lit ies with the people in charge 2015-2016. They could now have £40m in the bank by taking the cash on offers, changing the constitution and investing in the open markets which are up 100% + on 2016.
If they had the new boys would be very interested is speaking to them and offing private jets to LA. | |
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| From Beacon to Bystander: Rise and Decline of Swansea City Supporters’ Trust on 22:17 - Aug 20 with 541 views | dobjack2 |
| From Beacon to Bystander: Rise and Decline of Swansea City Supporters’ Trust on 21:13 - Aug 20 by Dr_Winston |
The Supporter Director seemed to have taken his eye off the ball at the time. I don't doubt his motives for a second, but it was never a good look for him to be on these forums defending the club's decisions at times against those whom he was ostensibly there to represent.
He allowed himself to get too close to those he was there to keep an eye on. Certainly he should not have been in a business relationship with the club at the same time. Probably something that he'll always regret.
Since then, I have a little bit of sympathy but not much. Too many people were desperate to push the nuclear button of legal action without much thought to the possible consequences. The Trust was stuck in a difficult position without the quality of leadership to get through it and just made themselves look worse and worse as a result. Now they're an irrelevance.
Ultimately however the blame for all that happened between 2016 and 2024 lies at the feet of those whom the Trust and the fans trusted. The sellouts. [Post edited 20 Aug 21:26]
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I agree about the supporter director. I suspect that he was kept close enough so that he thought he knew what was going on, with people he viewed as friends, but in reality I believe that he didn't suspect what was going on behind his back.
Like the Godfather film would have been if Don Corleone hadn't been warning Michael about what was coming. | | | |
| From Beacon to Bystander: Rise and Decline of Swansea City Supporters’ Trust on 00:45 - Aug 21 with 467 views | ReslovenSwan1 |
| From Beacon to Bystander: Rise and Decline of Swansea City Supporters’ Trust on 20:33 - Aug 20 by QJumpingJack |
you should listen to the YouTube / Trust forum with Levien and Kaplan. They made it quite clear what happened and it amazes me you won't acknowledge it.
Did Jason and Steve know they were being recorded.....................?????????????? |
You need to understand the Trust's well publicised position after the failed 2015 investment enquiry,
Their shares were "not up for sale and never would be". Also stated at this time was the statement that the Trust would not accept dilution of their 21% holding if others invested. This was an unreasonable comment and muscle flexing,
These statements indicated to the other shareholders that the Trust would use their legal leverage to prevent any big sale and any investment. Things were going well and there was no need for change according to the Trust.
This directly contradicted the Chairman's view that new money was needed and he could not balance the books with increasing wage demands He was forced to sell Shelvey readers might remember.
The feeling of the other board members was the Trust would use legal means to prevent a sale and might chase away US buyers as they may have been perceived to have done in 2015. This would prevent investors selling up and moving on which is their right. There were many non locals like the Dutchman, South African and Frenchman. They had no loyalty to Swansea at all. They were "Venture Capitalists".
Consider 2015. The Board director was simply following his remit "To increase the holding in the club". This was a very bad idea but no one opposed it.
Had the Trust had any inclination to sell after 2015 they surely would have tabled a vote for the members to decide given that they had made 10,000% return on their investment. It is a wonder that the board did not act to do this. They would then be ready to sell if that is what the members wanted.
When in March 2016 the US people introduced themselves they reportedly asked the Trust representative if they wanted to sell any of their shares. Their answer was in effect "We do not know because we have not asked the members",
With no answer they proceeded with the sale 3-4 months after. In 2016 the US owners were confident and positive. By 2017 with the Trust holding a mandate to sell the club were bottom of the leagues with bad prospects.
2017 talks failed. US said the terms were the same. The Trust said they were worse but an agreement had been made. It does not matter much. In 2015 the Trust did not act to get a mandate to sell in 2016 when a terms were available. By 2017 the buyer was no longer keen on buying at the same price.
A one year decision making process does not fit in with modern business practice. No wonder they were left out. They were unable to make any decision as they had not done any prepartity work from what I can see. Levien was a lawyer and understood the situation I would think. | |
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