.
After taking control of Swansea in 2016 – when the club were in the Premier League – Kaplan and Levien vowed to “outwork our opponents on the pitch and in the boardroom”.
They went on to declare: “We will be relentless in our determination to continually improve this club – and we have the financial resources to do so.”
The mission statement would be regularly shared by Swansea supporters on social media sites during periods of struggle over the next eight years.
There were issues for Levien and Kaplan to contend with from the outset, with Swansea City Supporters’ Trust – which held a 21.1% share in the club – threatening to take legal action after claiming it was excluded from some of the negotiations regarding their takeover.
It was an ugly situation that rumbled on for several years and, even when concluded in 2022, it was far from a happy ending.
The club, its former major shareholders and the Supporters’ Trust “reached an agreement” over the dispute, although a significant portion of trust members were left angered amid suggestions they were not privy to the decision.
And then there was the actual football.
Francesco Guidolin was Swansea boss when Levien and Kaplan took charge.
The Italian steered the Swans to Premier League survival having replaced club icon Garry Monk midway through the 2015-16 season, but was sacked just seven games into the new owners’ first campaign at the helm.
His replacement was the former USA coach Bob Bradley.
His brief spell in charge was miserable, with Swansea registering two wins, two draws and seven defeats before Bradley lost his job after just 85 days as head coach.
Swansea, who had been praised for the way they operated in the years prior to the arrival of Levien and Kaplan, were now facing serious challenges.
Many questioned whether they would have found themselves in such a predicament had the …
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