Tremmel released as Tate waves goodbye to Swansea

Gerhard Tremmel has left Swansea City following the end of
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his Liberty Stadium contract, while Alan Tate said his goodbyes after 13 years in south Wales.

Tate initially arrived on loan from Manchester United in 2002 and was part of the Swansea side that narrowly avoided relegation from the Football League in 2003.

The 32-year-old established himself as a firm fans’ favourite as Swansea rose through the divisions, but courted controversy in 2006 when he, along with team-mate Lee Trundle, displayed a Welsh flag emblazoned with an anti-Cardiff City message following a 2-1 win over Carlisle United in the Football League Trophy final.

The versatile defender missed the decisive penalty as Swansea lost the League One play-off final to Barnsley later that season.

Tate captained Swansea in their opening Premier League fixture in 2011 – a 4-0 defeat at Manchester City – but fell out of favour as the Welsh club established themselves in the top flight and spent time on loan at Leeds United, Yeovil Town, Aberdeen and, most recently, Crewe Alexandra.

Tremmel, meanwhile, played second fiddle to Michel Vorm and then Lukasz Fabianski during his three seasons at the Liberty but was ever-present as Swansea won the 2013 League Cup to collect the first major silverware in the club’s history.

Third-choice stopper David Cornell has also been released, while Rory Donnelly headlines a group of nine youth players to make their Swansea exits.