Sunday 2nd April was not the best day to be a former Swansea City manager. Brendan Rodgers and Graham Potter were sacked by Leicester City and Chelsea respectively following poor form.

Rodgers’ four-year spell as Fox manager ended with a 2-1 defeat at Crystal Palace which saw them drop to 19th in the Premier League table, putting them in real danger of relegation to Division One.

Meanwhile, in West London. The Blues gave Potter his marching orders in less than seven months. A 2-0 defeat at home to Aston Villa marked the end of his tenure at the club, which finished 11th in the Premier League and has already spent £600m this season.

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Things came to a head for Rodgers and Potter, but Swansea have a history of producing top managerial talent, particularly over the last decade.

Here, we look at what happened to Swansea’s managers during their promotion to the Premier League and the subsequent Championship era that followed, starting with Rodgers.

Brendan Rogers (2010-2012)

The Northern Irishman took Swans to the Premier League at the first attempt and finished 11th in Division One the following year.

After a successful but brief spell with SA1, Rodgers joined Liverpool in the summer of 2012, spending three and a half years on Merseyside, leading them to the title.

Rodgers then headed north to join Celtic in 2016, helping the club to seven successive domestic trophies before moving to Leicester in February 2019.

Rodgers had a successful spell as head of Fox, winning the FA Cup and finishing fifth in the Premier League in consecutive seasons. However, things have not gone as planned this season and Rodgers was released by the club yesterday.

Michael Laudrup (2012-2014)

Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, Laudrup led Swansea to the League Cup trophy and ninth place in the Premier League in his first season at the club.

However, the Dane was sent off in February 2014 after a poor run pushed Swansea into a relegation battle. He subsequently joined Qatari club Lekhwiya in the summer of 2014, winning both the league and cup.

In October 2016, he joined Qatari club Al Rayyan, where he remained as manager until the summer of 2018. It was Laudrup’s last foray into management, with the former Barcelona player now seeking opportunities outside of football, particularly in the media. .

Monk Harry (2014-2015)

Swans legend Monk temporarily took over in 2014, saving the club from relegation before finishing eighth the following year in his only full season as Swans boss.

Monk was sacked by the Swans in December 2015 and became manager of Leeds United in the summer of 2016.

Visits to Middlesbrough, Birmingham City and Sheffield Wednesday followed, but Monk was sacked from management after being sacked by the Owls in November 2020.

He occasionally appears on Sky Sports as an expert and now works with Soccer Profile to help the next generation of talent.

Alan Curtis (temporary, 2015-2016)

A man who needs no introduction. Swans legend Curtis took over as caretaker boss following Monk’s sacking in December 2015. Curtis was in charge of the Swans for a month before Francesco Guidolin was appointed as manager and Curtis returned to his managerial role.

In 2017 he became Swansea’s player loan manager, retiring as manager at the end of the 2018/19 season. He was subsequently appointed honorary chairman of the club upon his retirement and received an MBE on the 2021 New Year’s List for his services to Welsh football.

He also knows where the kettle is.

Francesco Guidolin (2016)

The Italian took charge of Swansea in January 2016, initially signing a short-term deal until the end of the season with the aim of keeping the club in the Premier League. He did so comfortably and signed a new two-year contract with the club, putting an end to any thoughts of a surprise return to South Wales by Rodgers.

However, the veteran was released in October 2016 on his 61st birthday, just three months into a two-year contract following a dismal start to the season.

This was the last executive role for Guidolin, who has since worked as a commentator for DAZN.

Bob Bradley (2016)

American Bob Bradley spent just 85 days in charge of Swansea, one of the shortest reigns in Premier League history. He won just two games as Swans manager and conceded 29 goals in just 11 games.

After his release from Swansea, Bradley returned to his homeland, managing LAFC in the MLS. Bradley spent four years as LAFC boss, winning the MLS Supporters’ Shield in 2019, before leaving the club in November 2021.

Later that month, Bradley took over at Toronto FC, where he remains today.

Paulo Clemente (2017)

Englishman Clement took charge of Swansea in January 2017 and helped the club survive that season. However, the 2017/18 campaign did not go as planned and Clement was sent off in December 2017 with the club four points from safety.

In March 2018 Clement joined Championship club Reading but was released after just nine months due to poor form.

He then tried his luck on the continent when Cercle Brugge took over the Belgium national team in July 2020, but was released by the club in February 2021.

Clement was most recently assistant to Frank Lampard at Everton but has been out of work since Lampard’s sacking earlier this year.

Leon Britton (temporary, 2017)

Another man who needs no introduction to the Swansea faithful, Britton, still a Swansea player at the time, took charge of the club two games after Clement’s departure.

The legend led Swansea to a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace before seeing his side lose 5-0 to Liverpool. He retired from professional football at the end of the season and was later appointed as a Swansea board adviser.

He was appointed sporting director at the club between 2019 and 2020, before returning to action for Welsh League sides Llanelli and Ammanford.

Britton returned to the club in October 2021 as a mentor to under-23 players, but resigned in June 2022 for family reasons.

Carlos Carvalhal (2017-2018)

Despite being sacked by Sheffield Wednesday in December 2017, Swansea, who were a Premier League club at the time, decided to pounce on Portuguese manager Carlos Carvalhal.

Early signs looked promising as wins over Watford, Liverpool, Arsenal and West Ham helped Swansea pull away from the relegation zone. However, the dreadful last two months of the season meant that Swansea were relegated to the Championship in May 2018.

Finally, Carvalhal left and returned to Portugal, from where he continued to Avenida do Rio. Carvalhal joined Braga in 2020 where he stayed until May 2022 before moving to UAE Pro League side Al Wahda.

He was released in October 2022 and is now in La Liga with Spanish side Celta de Vigo.

Graham Potter (2018-2019)

Potter joined Swansea from Swedish club Ostersund following relegation from the Premier League in 2018. Swansea finished 10th for the season under Potter, with praise for the style of football the young side are playing.

Premier League Brighton finally called and Potter spent three years on the south coast with the Seagulls before joining Chelsea in September 2022.

Potter’s time at Chelsea went unplanned and he was sacked yesterday with the club ranked 11th in the Premier League.

Steven Cooper (2019-2021)

Welshman Cooper was relatively little-known when he took over in the summer of 2019, but the former England Under-17 manager has twice guided Swansea to Premier League promotion.

Swansea reached the play-off semi-finals in Cooper’s first season, losing 3–2 on aggregate to Brentford, and fared better the following year by reaching the final.

The play-off final was Cooper’s last game in charge of the club, as the Swans again lost 2-0 to the Bees, and Cooper left the club by mutual consent in the summer of 2021.

Cooper subsequently joined Nottingham Forest, leading the club from bottom of the Championship to the Premier League via the play-offs. Coopers Forest are currently 15th in the Premier League.

Russell Martin (2021-)

Former Scottish international Russell Martin joined Swansea from MK Dons in August 2021. In his first season, Martin led Swansea to 15th in the league and his side are now 15th, but this time again.

Martin signed a three-year deal with the Swans, meaning his contract expires at the end of next season.

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