After guiding the Swans to Premiership safety last season,
after initially replacing former Danish international Michael Laudrup on an
interim basis before he was handed his managerial reigns permanently by Swansea
Chairman Huw Jenkins.
Since then the Swans have continued to maintain their
Premiership status and Monk won the Premier League Manager of the Month for
August 2014 after the Swans made a strong start to the current campaign.
This is the latest instalment of a career that has seen him
win three promotions; won their first major trophy and played in Europe. started
in 1995 when he joined Torquay United as a young YTS hopeful.
Whilst he was a young player at Plainmoor, Monk was part of
the same Gulls youth side as Tony Bedeau, Wayne Thomas and Matthew Gregg and his
duties also involved cleaning the boots of the then Torquay skipper Alex Watson.
He made his debut as a 16-year old in an away game against
Chester City on November 4th 1995, and went on to make a further
four appearances in a Torquay shirt before he was snapped up by Southampton at
the end of the campaign.
After moving to the Dell, he completed his
apprenticeship with the Saints, shortly before signing his first professional
contract with them. He made a brief return to Plainmoor for a six-match loan
stint during the 1998-99 season before making his debut for the Saints against
Derby County on November 28th 1998.
As well as his loan spell with the Gulls, Monk was also
loaned out to Stockport County, Oxford United and Sheffield Wednesday.
He would make a further ten appearances for Southampton –
including their final two homes matches at the Dell in the 2000-01 campaign against
Manchester United and Arsenal respectively - before leaving towards 2003-04 campaign to
join Barnsley.
However, Monk failed to settle at Oakwell and joined Swansea
during the summer of 2004, which marked the beginning of his long association
with the south Wales club. His move to the Swans coincided with their ascent up
the leagues as they won promotion from League Two in his first season, which
was the Swans’ final season at the Vetch Field before their move to the Liberty
Stadium.
In the following campaign Swansea lifted the Johnstone’s
Paints Trophy by beating Carlisle United 2-1 in the final at the Millennium
Stadium; however, they missed out on a second consecutive promotion as they
were beaten by Barnsley in the League One Play-off final later that year.
Garry was appointed as club captain by the then Swans’
manager Roberto Martinez on the eve of the 2006-07 season.
A year later, he led the Swans to League One title as they
marked their return to the second tier of English football for the first time
in 24 years. He then played a key role to helping them to an eighth place
finish in the Championship last season.
After establishing themselves in the second tier under
Martinez and his successors, Paulo Sousa and Brendan Rodgers, Swansea won
promotion to the Premiership when they beat Reading in the 2011 Championship
Play-off final, with Monk once again captaining them to success.
Following Rodgers’s move to Liverpool, the Swans lifted the
Capital One Cup in 2013 when they defeated Bradford City 5-0 at Wembley, and
Monk lifted the trophy alongside Ashley Williams.
And a year later when Laudrup left the Liberty Stadium, it
was to Monk that Swansea Chairman Huw Jenkins turned help steer them clear of
the relegation zone and then onto the current level of stability that they
currently enjoy.
