Swansea City hit the jackpot with Man Utd transfer - it created a legend | OneFootball

Swansea City signed Alan Tate on loan during the 2002/03 campaign, he would become a club legend in SA1

The 2002/03 campaign is remembered as a tumultuous one for Swansea City which nearly cost them their Football League status, but the foundations that were put in place that season helped them rise through the leagues in the following years.

Swansea beat Hull City on the final day of the season to avoid a catastrophic non-league relegation, and while their squad lacked quality and depth, there were a number of players brought in during the season that would go on to enjoy huge success in SA1.

Roberto Martinez was brought in from Walsall, along with youngsters Leon Britton and Alan Tate joining on loan from West Ham and Manchester United respectively, and the trio played an important role in maintaining the Swans' Football League status.

Tate's loan move to Swansea saw him gain his first experience of regular senior football having come through the ranks at Manchester United and little did anyone know it at the time, but the defender would make South Wales his permanent home and become a club legend over the next decade or so.

Manchester United loan deal gave Swansea City a club legend

Tate was well thought of at Old Trafford as a youngster and captained United's reserve team before heading out on loan to Belgium with the Red Devils' sister club Royal Antwerp, but after making just seven appearances and with his route to Sir Alex Ferguson's first team blocked, he was loaned to struggling Swansea.

The defender had two spells on loan in SA1, starting the famous Hull game which saw Swansea stay in the Football League, and after a chat with Sir Alex upon his return to Old Trafford, Tate decided to make his Swans stay a permanent one.

He told The Mirror in 2012: "I knocked on Sir Alex Ferguson’s door and asked him ‘what does my future hold’? I’d just come back from being on loan at Swansea, and he said he would offer me a year’s ­contract. But he said I might only get games in the Carling Cup, so I didn’t take the easy ­option – I’m proud of what I have achieved."

Tate penned a permanent deal with Swansea in 2004 and played a huge role in Swansea's rise through the divisions, starting with promotion to League One in 2005, before promotion to the Championship in 2008 and reaching the Premier League in 2011.

Regardless of who was manager, Tate was a mainstay in the Swans starting XI until the Premier League, and his eight top-flight appearances meant he joined Leon Britton and Garry Monk as the only Swansea players to have played in all four divisions.

The former United man was a victim of Swansea's success in his latter years at the club, and would spend time on loan at Leeds United, Aberdeen, Yeovil Town and Crewe Alexandra before leaving the club in 2015.

While Tate may not have had the fairytale ending at Swansea, the Jack Army certainly consider him a club legend after his 350 appearances and his role in taking the club from the bottom of the Football League to the Premier League.

Alan Tate could return to Swansea City as a manager one day

Following his retirement, Tate began coaching at Swansea City's academy, before becoming assistant first-team coach to Steve Cooper in the summer of 2019.

After reaching the Championship play-offs in his two seasons as coach, Tate departed Swansea in September 2021 following Russell Martin's appointment and joined Cooper at Nottingham Forest, and has been the Welshman's right-hand man since.

Tate followed Cooper to Leicester, and is now at Danish club Brøndby, so while a return to Swansea looks unlikely at this stage, it could be an option should he choose to forge a career for himself as a manager.

He did briefly take the reins as manager in the pre-season of 2021 when Swansea were managerless prior to Martin's appointment, but he left the club just a month later.

In a recent interview with the BBC, Tate was critical of the club's direction in recent seasons, lamenting too many "poor decisions".

He said: "Honestly, the commitment and the desire of the fans is incredible and if you can get a team that matches that, you're on to a good thing. I think they've heard too many excuses over the last four years.

"Everyone now comes out and says 'oh, sorry for this, sorry we got beat, sorry you travelled in numbers and watched that. The one thing I know about the people of Swansea is you don't need to speak. Shut up saying sorry and show us you're sorry by playing well in the next game."

On that evidence, it's clear that Tate is still very passionate about his former club and perhaps he would welcome the chance to turn Swansea's fortunes around as manager one day.