side struggled to perform in the Second Division, finishing in 18th and 19th positions between 1950 and 1952, and Allchurch contemplated a move away from Vetch Field after being encouraged by some teammates at international level to move to a First Division side. Allchurch was persuaded to remain at the club, encouraged by Sykes and McCandless' belief in a number of local youth players making their way through the Swans setup, including Cliff Jones, Harry Griffiths and Allchurch's brother Len. In September 1952, Swansea rejected a bid of £30,000 from Arsenal for Allchurch, the bid just £5,000 below the British record transfer fee that Sheffield Wednesday had paid for Jackie Sewell a year previously. He finished the 1952–53 season as the club's second highest top scorer with 15 goals, including his first career hattrick during a 3–2 victory over Brentford on 6 April 1953. The Swans attacking trio of Allchurch, Medwin and Griffiths accounted for more than half of the club's league goals during the season. In 1955, the club was rocked by the sudden death of manager McCandless, days after the players had returned to pre-season training. The Swansea board decided against appointing a permanent replacement, instead establishing a three-man selection committee consisting of Ron Burgess, Allchurch and Joe Sykes, with Burgess being given the title of "team manager". Under the guidance of the trio, the Swans were able to mount a serious promotion challenge, going unbeaten in eleven games between September and December 1955. However, following a serious injury to defender Tom Kiley, the committee fell out with the Swansea board over their refusal to provide funds to secure a replacement for Kiley, Burgess having transfers for Bob McKinlay and Jim Dugdale rejected by the board. The loss of Kiley and the conflict with the board saw Swansea lose 7 of their last 8 matches of the season, eventually finishing in 10th position. His growing frustration at the club's refusal to invest in the squad and a strained relationship with new manager Trevor Morris led Allchurch to announce his decision to leave the club, stating in his own newspaper column "I am ready to admit that I had high hopes that my own club would get promotion a couple of years ago [...] then I would have been happy to end my career in the town [...] But that dream does not look like coming true". Morris later