Everything's on the up at Liberty — bar support

SWANSEA CITY are undoubtedly a club on the rise.

Having climbed into English football's second tier last season after nearly a quarter of a century, the club has a significantly bigger profile.

Their growing reputation has been enhanced further by an impressive FA Cup run in which Swansea impressed against Portsmouth and Fulham in front of an admiring national television audience.

It seems the only thing that hasn't increased significantly is the size of the Liberty Stadium crowds.

Attendances soared when the club left the Vetch Field for the Liberty Stadium in 2005, rising from an average of 8,458 to 14,112 in just one season.

But Swansea have failed to maintain such a dramatic crowd increase, despite the fact the club have since won League One and now sit just outside the Championship play-offs.

"The crowds are very much in line with where we anticipated them to be. We're happy with an average of around 15,000," said chairman Huw Jenkins.

"Considering the financial crisis and competition from the Six Nations, our crowds are good. We've come a long way over the last six years.

"There are other clubs in a far worse position than us."

Swansea have a chance of playing top-flight football next season for the first time in 26 years and have put themselves in the play-off picture by producing an attractive brand of eye-catching football.

Yet an average of 15,298 people — 5,000 short of the Liberty capacity — have watched Roberto Martinez's side in league action at home this season.

Swansea have only twice come close to a sell-out crowd, both times against arch-rivals Cardiff City — in the league and Carling Cup.

It begs the question of whether even the lure of Premier League football would lead to regular full houses at the Landore venue.

"Every club would like their crowds to keep growing, but I think that will only come with sustained success — if we continue to be successful over the next five to 10 years," added Jenkins.

"In the meantime, the club will continue to progress. The away support that's come here this season has been lower than we expected.

"We also suffer because there are other clubs in the country in much closer proximity to each other."

Swansea's average gate places them 15th of the 24 Championship clubs, hardly a disgrace for a side used to playing further down the league ladder and whose nearest Championship opponents are 40 miles away.

"I'm pleased with the attendances. What people don't seem to realise is that it's not like 30 or 40 years ago. The shops are open 24/7 and there are plenty of other things for people to do," said Ugo Vallario, who runs Swansea City's official travel club.

"There's also a lot more football on TV than there was 30 years ago, and if you look at the Ospreys' crowds, TV coverage is a big reason why they are so low.

"In the first season at the Liberty there was a new ground factor that attracted people and the prices are lower than they are now.

"There is an unwritten rule that when you are going for promotion, attendances in the last five or six games will rise, and I'm confident that would happen.

"And if Swansea did get promotion, attendances would be extremely high because then we'd be watching top-class football."

Former Premier League big-hitters Birmingham's average gate at St Andrews is only around 3,000 more than Martinez's side attract.

Away attendances at the Liberty have been poor.

An average of around 850 visiting fans have travelled to Swansea's home this season, almost 400 fewer than the average number that have followed Swansea away.

Still there are fears the club may not have the home following to sustain a Premier League club should they ever reach that level again.

An average gate of just over 18,000 watched Swansea at home during the club's most successful ever season in 1981-82 when they finished sixth in the top flight and took on football royalty like Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal.

That level of support contributed to the financial problems that followed, but Swans director David Morgan is adamant future success is not dependent on how many people pass through the turnstiles.

"The financial rewards available for being in the Premier League mean gate receipts are not the main source of income," he pointed out.

Maybe not, but they certainly provide a welcome boost.

And with the full support of the city behind them, who knows what Swansea could achieve?