Swansea City's Capital One Cup success over Bradford City can serve as a lesson to all clubs Swansea's reluctance to become the fourth Premier League notch on Bradford's giant-killing tomahawk was augmented by their refusal to allow League Two opponents more than an occasional touch of the ball. And although the victims were from three leagues down, this was still the great coming of age for the new Swansea: more, even, than last season's ground-breaking wins over Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City, which secured their status as deserving members of the Premier League. Swansea's rebirth cannot be compared to Bradford City's recovery from the fire of 1985, in which 56 people perished. In the December of that year the Swans were officially wound up but were saved by the usual last-minute scrambling that keeps clubs just about on the right side of oblivion. But nobody died. From Vetch Field, which was originally laid on compacted coal cinder, Swansea found their way to a new home and a new self-renewing vision that has made stars of former journeymen and discards. Leon Britton, labelled the "world's most accurate passer" last season, with a 93.3 per cent completion rate, played in the side that beat Hull to escape demotion to non-League. This master of the simple pass exemplifies the educational revolution conceived by Martínez and now taken to an even higher level by Laudrup, whose experiences as a player with Barcelona and Real Madrid are apparent in his subtle marshalling of Swansea's flowing play. The Liberty, deep in rugby country, is now a place where players can recover buried gifts and burnish faded reputations. Nathan Dyer and Wayne Routledge - both excellent against Bradford - are talented individuals who have gained from being part of a bigger collective mission. Around the Rodgers core, Laudrup has selectively placed new European influences such as Michu and Jonathan de Guzman, who asserted his right to take Swansea's penalty in this 5-0 win, much to Dyer's annoyance. The tantrum thrown by the man of the match in response to De Guzman's insistence on claiming the spot kick was an isolated embarrassment on an otherwise gilded day. Dyer was not the player fouled for the penalty. His wish to go down in League Cup history as a hat-trick scorer was surely secondary to Swansea's need to be as professional as possible. Somewhere in the stands was the ball-boy (or ball-teenager) who had lain on the ball like an errant front-row forward when Chelsea came to town, and been kicked by Eden Hazard for his trouble. For a day or two the shadow of brattishness and bad sportsmanship hung over the club but it lifted as the wincing Charlie Morgan became a subject of ridicule more than contempt. Besides, Morgan's father is part of a board who posted an impressive £14.6million profit from the club's first season in the Premier League. Not only do Swansea revive good players who have lost their way and find continental bargains: they make money from it too. Either way, this League Cup final was going to advertise the resilience of our football clubs. It was a chance to wrench the gaze away from the machinations of the Premier League's top four and acknowledge the extraordinary power of clubs to endure often self-inflicted difficulty, and sometimes calamity, as in Bradford's case. We saw again that clubs are sustained by their supporters and the communities they first took root in, usually more than a hundred years ago. So although Bradford, a £7,500 compilation, were outclassed, they were already victors by reaching Wembley in the first place. The example set out by Swansea will have inspired none more than the ­residents of Valley Parade, who had the closest view of where good management can take a club if the thinking is clear and the formula is right. There could be no objection to Swansea receiving this award for artistry. There is no bigger beacon for progress through creativity. To advance from near-catastrophe to a stylish Wembley Cup win in 10 years is completely admirable and uplifting, for Bradford as much as the rest of us.