Some thoughts on the last few days

Swansea City - League Cup Champions

Drink that in, ladies and gentlemen. In Swansea City's 100 years of existence, at no point had a player, manager, fan or any other person connected with the club been able to say they had watched their team win a major trophy. If you are reading this, the chances are you witnessed the Swans humbling Bradford 5-0, and in doing so qualifying for the Europa League. This current Swansea side are soaring higher and further than any of their predecessors, and they're doing it in a manner which is seldom seen - through thorough planning and good honest hard work.

It's obviously been talked about at immense length in the media over the last few weeks, so I'll skip the hyperbole, but it's truly incredible how well the Swans have done since the current regime took charge. Immense credit must go to all who have helped mould the entity that is Swansea City into what it is today. Fiscally well run, 20% fan representation at board level, money in the bank and now the club's first major trophy (and impending European football) - it really is a story that is likely unsurpassed in modern football.

Swansea City celebrate their maiden major trophy win

With all of the mooted financial controls, it seems inevitable that the Swans will act as an unofficial blueprint for modern football clubs. Up and down the country, the people behind smaller clubs in League One or Two will rightly be thinking "If they can do it, why can't we?". All it's taken is sensible people in important positions, and a lot of hard work. If people love their football club enough, they'll put in the hours, and given patience and a plan of action you can get results. Continuity is key, and sadly it's becoming an increasingly rare commodity in professional football.

One of the more entrenched arguments is "there's always been money in the game" but to compare millionaire backers from times gone by - people who, generally, were pumping money into clubs as a labour of love, with billionaire foreign investors who ultimately, no matter what people say, expect a profit on their investment, is to deny the problem. Almost all of the clubs in our most illustrious league have backers who are fairly new to the game, and have financial motivation. The obvious comparison people draw is with Arsenal - who announced today they made a profit of over £10million in the last 6 months of last year - however given Arsene Wenger's continued refusal to spend any money, we don't really know if the board are as mean-fisted as their Welsh counterparts, however the end result is the same.

Football should be competitive no matter what level the game is played at, and over the last few years some fans, myself included, have become disillusioned with the modern game and its glamour, bling and glitz. In this age of superstar footballers, who earn more money before they are 20 than most of us will earn in our lifetimes, Swansea City stand up proudly as a bastion of sensibility. Long may it continue.