please log in to view this image Swansea City is delighted to announce Mark Allen as the club’s new academy director. The 57-year-old is appointed following Nigel Rees’ departure last month, and arrives with a wealth of knowledge and experience in British football. Allen, who is based in Llanharan, spent eight years as Manchester City’s director of academy where he helped nurture the likes of Phil Foden and Jadon Sancho. Most recently, he was director of football at Glasgow Rangers, where he was responsible for recruiting Steven Gerrard as their manager. He starts his new role today, with Allen meeting staff at the Liberty Stadium and Landore this morning. Swans chief executive Julian Winter was delighted with Allen’s appointment. please log in to view this image “In Mark, we believe we have someone who can continue to take the academy forward and help the development of our players and staff,” he said. “We underwent an extensive process with a recruitment agency for this position, and we were delighted with the high-calibre candidates who were keen to work for our football cub. “Mark was the outstanding choice. He has great experience in football and is familiar with the ethos here. “He has a proven track record of working with young, talented footballers at Manchester City and preparing them for the first-team environment. “His success at Glasgow Rangers also stood out, and his involvement there shows he is knowledgeable of the requirements and demands not just at academy level but at senior level too. “It’s an exciting appointment, and I am really looking forward to working with him.” please log in to view this image Allen had looked set for a professional career in football, but was released by Swindon Town at the age of 19. Following that, he earned a four-year scholarship with San Diego University, for whom he captained the football varsity team. Allen returned to the UK in 1986 where he spent seven years with HTV and then 11 years with MTV, where he was appointed managing director. After two-year spells each with Inside Out and Deluxe Digital, Allen joined Manchester City as the club’s director of academy. Allen is also an Uefa ‘A’ licensed coach, and has recently gained a Masters in sports directorship at Salford University.
Yes and so far Cooper hasn't fallen short in that department either so who knows what next gem we can snaffle into the Club
For all the yanks shortcomings as owners, isn't it good to see at least there's an effort with each appointment that the individual has some footballing knowledge and there seems to be a plan on how to keep us competitive both on and off the pitch
Who was responsible in signing him? Who did he know ? Was the trust involved in any way? .......He seems to have had several jobs. I wonder if he had any connection to our Chairman,or Yanks in the past?. It seems to me that it seems to be building up to be a case of them, and us, with them dealing all the cards. What are thes people doing here? They have no great attachment to the team, all they are interested is in Money. If any youngsters make the grade. , they would be sold to make more of what they are after.......money. It is firmly ingrained in my mind that none of these are true Swans supporters, but investors and their employees whose only interest is to make money for THEMSELVES. ...................... Sorry I don't trust any of them.
Like it or not Victor , the only one with a vested interest in the Club at personal level are us the supporters , to the the rest its business ,pure and simple. We're fortunate that we've been very successful with the Academy over the past 10 years or so, we've been able to have something to sell ( not that I wouldn't love to see a squad fully made up of our local talent but that's not going to happen anywhere ). If we're successful then by default so are the owners ,its just a matter of who determines the level of success. Look at that lot up the road they're in more debt as a Club than us , they have an owner who's shown as much interest in them as ours have in us but look at both Clubs as a collective and I know which one has more to fear at the moment and its not us.
