Swansea fight back to bag 3 points against the Baggies

Football seasons are 9 months long. They are determined by form, consistency, and key results at key times. This one fell into the latter.

Swansea City headed into the contest having only recently broken their away-day duck, a 2-0 victory over Aston Villa back in early January. If the travelling support then thought that they’d turned a corner, they would have been encouraged yet ultimately disappointed with the 2-0 reverse at the Stadium of Light that followed a couple of weeks later. Yet the signs were there against Sunderland, that perhaps Rodgers had found an answer to the dismal away form. Roll on Saturday, and Swansea proved that theory with a great 2-1 win against West Brom.

Heading into the contest, this one had draw written all over it. West Brom are awful at home, Swansea are awful away. This was never going to be a thriller- but with Swansea involved, it was certainly going to be captivating.

The first half hinged on some key moments. Firstly, Williams appeared to use his arm to block a goalbound header, though referee Jon Moss wasn’t convinced, despite the home side’s appeals. Next, West Brom had a flurry of corners, the first of which Neil Taylor somehow managed to throw his head at to block, and the second cleared first off the line by Sigurdsson, and from the follow up, Taylor again got a block in.

West Brom were pressing, but Swansea were hardly on the back foot overrall, and could have had a penalty themselves before half time, Scott Sinclair taking a tumble in the box but again Moss was uninterested.

Half time, 0-0, and neither manager could really complain at the scoreline.

Second half came, and West Brom came out with renewed vigour, and pressed Rodgers’ men back earlier on. In truth, it was no great surprise when the hosts took the lead, nor was the source of the opener a real shock. A corner came into the area, flicked on at the near post, and Fortuné found himself in a ridiculous amount of space at the back post, with time to control, stutter, and eventually smash the ball past Vorm in goal.

1-0, and an end to West Brom’s home woes? Not quite. Actually, not by a long shot. Within 60 seconds of the restart, the parity was restored. Some neat football released Neil Taylor on the left who cut back for the eager Sigurdsson to side-foot beyond Foster for his first Swansea goal.

If that goal was greeted with stunned silence from the home crowd and wild celebrations from the away end, it was about to turn into moans of discontent and dilirium from the travelling Jack Army. A purist’s goal, Swansea moved the ball back and forth, in and out, making a total of 19 passes, finding Sigurdsson in space. The Icelandic international took his time before measuring a perfectly weighted cross into the path of Danny Graham, who slid in to poke past Foster in the Baggies goal.

Graham wheeled off with his trademark celebration, but all eyes were on the provider. A goal and an assist? If only we could play in snow every week. Rodgers needn’t have justified his loan move for Sigurdsson, who came with glowing reports- but this was vindication nevertheless.

Swansea saw out the remaining half hour, and should have closed the game out but Dyer couldnt quite find the target from Graham’s pull back 6 yards out. Odemwingie then missed an open goal not too dissimilar to Sinclair’s against Sunderland a few weeks previous, but the biggest scare came in the final minute.

With the Swans seeing out injury time, there was still time for heart-in-mouth action, when a wild uncharacteristic swing by Williams saw the ball scuff off his leg and into the path of Fortuné. Through on goal with the clock ticking down, his shot was straight into the path of Vorm, but slid under his body off the surface snow and skidded inches wide of the near post.

The game really could have gone either way, despite Swansea’s impressive performance, and the win was huge in the grand scheme of things. Results elsewhere saw us move 10 points clear of the relegation zone with 14 games left, and it’s another away win to further boost the confidence of Rodgers’ young squad. The away fans were vocal and boisterous throughout, as usual, and certainly helped the boys on when it looked like being the Baggies’ day.

Next up, Norwich. The Canaries humiliated us a bit earlier on in the season at Carrow Road, so there could be an argument for a revenge mission.

But if Swansea can play the way they have so far this season at home, there’ll be no need to seek vengeance against Lambert’s men. The result will see to itself.

We’re not safe yet, but a win on Saturday could see us move 13 points clear of the drop zone with 13 games left, and even the most cautious of fans would have to admit then- it would take an almighty collapse for Swansea to be relegated then.

The Swansea train goes on!

From agony to perspective, Swansea City can take positives

As Swansea City fans left the stadium on Tuesday night, some joined in a chorus of boos. No doubt these were directed at referee Andre Marriner, who’s performance was questionable at best, but the draw felt like a defeat.

Yes, the sucker-punch came in the 93rd minute, not allowing Swansea to regain any rhythm and press on for the unlikeliest of 3rd goals. That said, this wasn’t another Wolves. No, the boys in white were not all-dominating for the 92 minutes that preceded José Bosingwa’s late leveller. In fact, we were under the cosh for much of the second half, so there seems to be an acceptance that “a goal was coming”.

I don’t buy into that. Just because Chelsea had possession and territory, that doesn’t mean they looked like scoring. Michel Vorm was a spectator for the entire contest. How many times have we talked about Swansea having possession, and having territory, but not having penetration? For Chelsea, see Swansea. The closest Chelsea came was through a spectacular 25 yard rising half-volley from substitute Michael Essien which flew a whisker wide of the far post. The visitors simply didn’t look like scoring, and that is credit to Swansea.

Ashley Williams was an absolute monster in defence, as was his partner in crime Steven Caulker. Angel Rangel showed the sort of awareness and positioning that has sometimes evaded him in the past, and Leon Britton plays with a Velcro football. A case in point, Michel Vorm was never going to win man of the match on this occasion, despite seemingly heading towards yet another home clean sheet.

Scott Sinclair had given us the lead, through a spectacular effort that looped over Cech and into the top corner of the net. Brilliant, outstanding, inspirational, accidental? It doesn’t matter, we should have been 3-0 by then, anyway. We weren’t to know at the time, but having 2 shots cleared off the line in the space of 5 seconds would cost us dearly in the end.

Hang on a second, we just drew 1-1 with Chelsea. Time for some perspective I think!

It’s a measure of how far we’ve come as a team that we’re disappointed to be drawing against the likes of Chelsea at home. Before the season began, the visits of the London heavyweights would have been written off. Spurs, Arsenal, Chelsea- these are the teams that expect to come to newly-promoted clubs and show their title ambitions by steamrolling the minnows into a reality check.

5 points from 9, is a very healthy return from those games. Yes, it could have and should have been 7, but unfortunately Premier League football doesn’t necessarily mean a higher standard of refereeing. Chelsea were lucky to finish with 10 men, whilst Swansea’s Neil Taylor could have walked for a senseless lunge in the first half.

Consistent? Not quite. Marriner managed to allow Ashley Cole far too many ‘final warnings’ in the first half before producing a card, whilst Malouda must have laughed all the way to the team coach having got off completely scot-free after a series of reckless challenges himself. The only consistency we can apply to Marriner was that he was consistently rubbish. But I don’t blame the ref for us dropping late points.

No, the best managers in the world don’t blame anyone but themselves. If they blame something on uncontrollable circumstances, then they are likely to find themselves feeling hard done by, again and again. For every scratched head over Marriner’s decision-making, Rodgers will have been reliving the counter-attacks that should have sealed the game before Neil Taylor’s untimely deflection late on. And perhaps with hindsight, Rodgers wouldn’t have brought Luke Moore on for Scott Sinclair.

That said, I certainly think he was right to take the ex-Chelsea man off. He was average at best, again. Dyer looks such a bigger threat and genuinely strikes fears into defenders with his unpredictability. The same cannot be said for Sinclair. Kicking the ball 40 yards ahead of himself and chasing it before realising it’s gone straight out for a goal kick is something we associated with Paul Anderson. Only Paul Anderson usually managed to catch up with the ball. However, this was only a minor negative on a night full of positives.

Kemy Agustien came onto the pitch and for my money looked like the sort of midfield enforcer we’d always hoped he’d grow into. I’m sorry, but I simply cannot see how we can afford to leave the Dutchman out at the moment. He bosses the game whenever he is on the field and provides the muscle we perhaps lack with Leon, Allen, and Siggy in there. Who misses out? That’s what Rodgers gets paid to decide. Counter in the fact that McEachran should be getting plenty of game time between now and June, and you just wonder how on earth the gaffer can possibly play all his best players. 2-7-1, anyone?

So it was a night when Swansea were frustrated to only get a point from title challengers, who then celebrated like it was a victory at full time. It was a night when Rodgers announced his new addition, Wrexham right-back Curtis Obeng to his squad, and then delivered the promise that the youngster would be the fastest player at the club, which is quite something when you consider the abundance of pace that already exists at the club. And finally, it was a night where points were all dropped from teams below us, who were then kindly mimicked by those playing the next evening. All in all, not a bad day’s work.

I am loving the Premier League, especially as we’re the cream of the crop.

In other news, congratulations to Brendan Rodgers who was today awarded Manager of the Month for January. An incredible feat in the Premier League, and one that was fully deserved. Just no curses please!

Roll on West Brom on Saturday- a point from this one will certainly feel like a point gained, no matter what the circumstances are!*

 

 

 

*Unless we are robbed again by a useless ref like Chelsea or end up throwing away a 2 goal lead like at Wolves

What was that word? Perspective.

LastMinuteScreamer

 

No Swansea shame in Bolton loss

As Swansea trotted off the pitch at full time on Saturday, already the internet forums had gone into meltdown. The gamble, had not paid off.

Swansea City had just lost 2-1 away to to Bolton, yet you’d be forgiven for thinking it was ‘Shrewsbury‘ all over again. At this point, I should stop, and say-

****WARNING****PERSPECTIVE ALERT****

There, that should clear out all of the readers that were looking for controversy, because this post won’t provide it. Yes I was disappointed in the result- I don’t like losing. In fact, you can guarantee that the 14 men that participated in Swansea colours on Saturday were disappointed in the result, too. Particularly when you consider the guile and class shown to break the deadlock by Luke Moore. I have previously been damning about Moore, but credit where credit is due, he certainly didn’t do his chances any harm judging by the reviews of his performance at The Reebok.

You can bet your bottom dollar that Rodgers knew he would face a mini-backlash should his side fail to progress past the relegation candidates. Why? Because of his starting line-up.

Rodgers made 10 changes to the side that somehow managed to leave the Stadium of Light empty handed a week earlier, leaving only ever-present Ashley Williams in the side. Consummate professional, or contractually obliged? I’ll let you decide…

Of course, I am joking about Ashley Williams’ situation- with Caulker unavailable, Williams was the obvious choice to partner club captain Garry Monk in defence. Even carrying a small injury, Williams was available to play his 160th consecutive Swansea match. Incredible. It wasn’t lost on Rodgers, either.

However, apart from Williams, the team was completely changed. Owen Coyle played a strong side, then bleated about the lack of coverage for Bolton’s win over Liverpool in comparison to Swansea’s over Arsenal. The reason, Owen (if you happen to be reading this), is because whilst you are a strong established Premier League club, your demise is all of your own doing. You are hugely underperforming, and you beat an underperforming Liverpool. On paper, Swansea have no right to even be in this division. But we are making the most of what we have, with a fantastic young manager, educated support, and the best board in the country. But then, I’ve already talked up Swansea before, haven’t I!

The cheap attempt to score points with the media was a poor show from Coyle, who is desperately trying to deflect attention away from the fact that Bolton are sinking faster than a cruise liner in the Adriatic. The fact of the matter is, Rodgers played a hugely under-strength side, and had it not been for hitting the woodwork twice, could quite conceivably have been in the hat for the 5th round.

Which, by the way, would have seen us travel to either St. Mary’s or The Den. If Southampton beat Millwall in the replay, I predict that the boys from down South will be in the 6th round.

And should Swansea be celebrating Premier League survival in 6 months time, you’ll be hard-pressed to find anyone moaning about losing an FA Cup match then.

Little known Swansea making big noises

Swansea City may not be the most well-known club in football. In fact, it’s not even the most well-known club in it’s providence, but that could all be about to change.

When you consider that very few people outside of Wales know where Swansea is, and very few people outside of the UK know where Wales is, it’s fair to assume that Swansea City at the back of the shelf when it comes to commonly-known football clubs.

My family and I went on holiday to Florida a few years ago, and a local asked us where we were from. When we told him he started laughing uncontrollably, before retorting- “You live in a whale?!”. Unfortunately Wales is about as well-known to Americans as pythagoras’ theorum is to former President George Bush. Swansea suffers the same fate from its’ own isles.

Such is the mystery surrounding the club, that it’s rise to prominence had been largely ignored by the English media until Swansea shunted themselves into the top flight, forcing themselves into recognition with the media. Huw Jenkins was never going to have it easy, selling the club to successive managers year on year, but the city spoke for itself. You see, travel West of Cardiff, and skittle through the eyesore that is Port Talbot steelworks, and you find yourself in one of the most beautiful areas in Europe.

Few that come to Swansea complain about the lifestyle, being largely out of the bustling media-friendly gorge that is London, or to a lesser extent, Cardiff. Even fewer leave the city to go onto better things. But that has less to do with the delights of the Gower, and more to do with the unique style of play adopted in the SA1.

Ever wondered why the club continues to have high profile departures, but no high-profile arrivals? It is because the players only become high-profile in our system. Swansea City makes players look good. When the football is good, the lifestyle is unique, and the supporters have complete faith in the project at hand, it’s easy to forget that the club may not be smothering you in the riches that another club may.

Dorus deVries left Swansea for Wolves in the Summer, citing the likelihood of Swansea’s demise compared to Wolves’ secured status. He really should have known better, having plied his trade at the Swans for 4 years. Year on year, Swans were written off in front of the Dutchman, year on year Swansea proved their critics wrong. Darren Pratley is another, but I won’t dwell on the story, having covered it in a previous post.

Swansea face Pratley’s new club Bolton on Saturday, in the FA Cup, at the Reebok Stadium. The hosts have a dismal home, and Swansea’s away form has improved considerably, in performances at least. What are the chances that Pratley would jump ship back to Swansea if the opportunity arose, a la Leon Britton?

With newcomers Gylfi Sigurdsson and Josh McEachran slotting into the middle seamlessly in recent games, there would be little point, as Pratley would be a bench-warmer at best.

Can Swansea progress in the FA Cup? Why not. We can give any Premier League team a run for their money- our league form thus far suggests as much. If we can progress on Saturday against Bolton and get a favourable tie in the 5th round, the Jack Army could soon find themselves in the latter rounds, playing for a place in the cup final.

Then you can let out a wry smile when the next American says “Swansea? Do they play in the ‘English’ Premier League?”..

But that rant is for another day.

Black Cats conjure up the magic to beat confident Swansea

Swansea City won just about every fight on Saturday against Sunderland, apart from the one that matters most.

In a game of few clear cut chances, Rodgers’ men were undone by two wonder goals from the hosts. Dominating possession and territory for large parts of the contest (Swansea registered 63% possession against the hosts), Sunderland had that little bit of class in front of goal which told the difference at the end.

The game tilted on a key couple of minutes early in the game. Firstly, the mightily impressive Gylfi Sigurdsson found Nathan Dyer in space down the wing, who powered a low cross across the face of goal. With the ball evading everyone, Scott Sinclair charged in and managed to scythe wildly over from 6 yards out. Then, while both sets of fans were still wondering how the visitors weren’t head, it was the hosts who grabbed the initiative. Sessegnon benefitted from some loose control by team-mate James McClean to fire expertly into the top corner from an acute angle.

The Stadium of Light was awakened by the marvellous effort, but Swansea still had aspirations of turning things round. Despite prolonged pressure, Sunderland managed to get to half time at 1-0 and then put 11 men behind the ball in the 2nd half.

With Swansea edging towards a dramatic finale, Craig Gardner struck an absolute peach of an effort from fully 30 yards, looping over the helpless Vorm and into the back of the Swansea net. Game over, and Swansea could have no complaints about the goals that separated the sides.

That said, no result should be without it’s lessons, good or bad. First, the good. Siggy was the best player on the pitch before he was replaced by new loan signing McEachran. The Icelandic international had a hand in just about everything Swansea did. He was the sort of playmaker you dream of having in any team. The ball appeared to be attracted to him, as everytime we got the ball, he got the ball. He also looked creative enough to do damage with it, too. His vision to find Dyer in space was akin to the vision which plucked out the inch-perfect Danny Graham assist for the winner against Arsenal 6 days previously.

 I’ll stick my neck out and say it was the best performance on the road since we entered the top division in August

The Chelsea recruit didn’t shine quite like his predecessor, but Rodgers informs us that McEachran will become a cult hero in his short stint here, and who are we to doubt him. If he has a similar impact to that of Fabio Borini, who became a hero in these parts after just 6 months, then the lad will have done very well. Just seeing him run out in a Swans shirt is good news for this club. There is no compromise for quality, and all the reports suggest that young Josh has it in abundance.

Also worth noting was the all-round Swansea performance. I’ll stick my neck out and say it was the best performance on the road since we entered the top division in August. Bold statement that may be, particularly after a 2-0 defeat, but our boys were worthy of at least a draw. Had Sinclair scored that sitter just before Sunderland’s opener, then I think we’d have won that game comfortably.

Which brings me on to my only real negative of the game. Sinclair’s performance. Now, I know it’s become fashion to use forums, twitter and the like to bash players in recent times. If you’re Joey Barton, you’ll even use the social networking site to slag off the man who brought you to your club on mammoth wages. But that’s counter-productive, and I will say now, that I am furious that some “fans” decided to message Scott Sinclair personally on twitter to air their grievances. Sadly, these are the times we live in. No, I’m not going to bash Sinclair

What he has done for this club is immeasurable. His goals last season almost single-handedly brought us Premier League football and for that he will always be a legend at this club, come what may.

But on Saturday we saw something that we’ve seen all too often this season- a completely ineffective winger desperate for glory. No matter how many times Sinclair was stopped in his tracks by the hard-working Sunderland full-backs, he continued to run down blind alleys. There was no attempt to look up and slot the ball infield to Siggy, or his replacement McEachran. It was almost as if he just wanted to get beyond them once, for bragging rights. We are used to Scotty hogging the ball, but when he is as ineffective as he was on Saturday, that greed makes him more of a hindrance than a help on the pitch. Try as he might, he didn’t get the better of the defenders at any point during the contest, and ended up being pulled inside by Rodgers when Routledge came on late in the contest.

Sinclair needs a break.

Fortunately for Rodgers the fixture-list Gods are with him. Next up is Bolton away in the FA Cup. Important, especially as Swans fans harbour hopes of a fruitful run in the competition, but not the bread and butter. Should he decide to stick with his trusted wingman, he can assess his performance and judge whether to use him against his old club Chelsea. Should he decide to drop him, he has the excuse of resting the England U21 international, in preparation for the Chelsea game 3 days later.

Either way, Rodgers has a decision to make. Stick or twist? Rest his stars or give them a chance to stake a claim for a place against Chelsea?

For my money, Rodgers will look at a team similar to this-

Vorm

Rangel     Williams     Caulker     Taylor

Britton

Siggy         Josh

Dyer                                        Routledge

Graham

Sticking to a strong side, like he did against Bolton, he gives a chance for Siggy and Josh to strike up an understanding. If he can get the two midfield loanees to work in tandem, then Swansea City fans could be in for a treat.

Ironically, play as we did against Sunderland, and I’m sure we’ll be in the hat for the 5th round.

Super Swans Shoot Down The Gunners

It was a day that will live forever in the memory. It will go down as a mid-season victory for David over Goliath, but Swansea City ensured that it was so much more than that.

Let’s get one thing straight. Arsenal do get beaten- quite often this year, actually. It’s not beyond the realms of possibility that another one of the promoted sides will take maximum points from Arsenal this season. But nobody across the country will get the reaction that Swansea have got.

Why? Because Swansea humiliated Arsenal, at their own game.

It’s generally understood within football circles that to beat Arsenal, you need to rough them up a bit. Getting stuck in and unnerving their flair players, is a tactic often used by opposition, which leads Arsene Wenger to bleat about lack of protection week after week. Arsenal have also developed a tendancy to be mentally weak when it matters most, so teams try to soak up pressure and score from a set piece up the other end. It’s not uncommon for Arsenal to lose a game, having had over 60% of the possession and double the efforts on goal of the opposition.

But- and it’s a big but- nobody plays Arsenal at their own game, and wins. Not until yesterday, at least. Swansea set out their stall early on to play quick, incisive football, a style the country is used to seeing from the visitors. However, just 4 minutes in, Arsenal asked the first big question of Rodgers’ men. Van Persie eventually pulled the trigger after being played through by the otherwise anonymous Arshavin, and beat Vorm at his near post.

1-0, early doors, and Arsenal had laid down the gauntlet. Vorm will be disappointed that the first meaningful attack ended in a goal, but nevertheless the question had been asked. What steel have you got, Swansea?

For all Swansea’s plaudits over the past 3 years, those who follow the Jacks around the country every week know the weaknesses. The ability to close out a game comfortably has never been a trait of ours. Neither has coming to win from behind. Swansea were about to correct the latter, in emphatic fashion.

The outstanding Agustien made countless interceptions, and had a big part to play in the equaliser. Having won the ball in the centre of the park, he played an audacious pass with the outside of his boot to set Danny Graham free. When the through ball was blocked, it found its’ way to Scott Sinclair, who laid the ball into the path of Joe Allen. The young Welshman scampered down the wing and crossed in to Nathan Dyer, who’s heavy touch led Ramsey to prod his leg in. Missing the ball and impeding the player’s ‘landing zone’, Michael Oliver quite rightly awarded the penalty. End of story.

Scott Sinclair stepped up and maintained his incredible record from the spot. Since taking over the penalty duties some 15 months ago, Sinclair is still to miss from 12 yards.

1-1 it was at the break, and Swansea went in the happier of the two, having bravely fought back from the early setback. But if the neutrals were waiting for the game to explode into life, they needn’t wait much longer.

From the restart, the game started frantically and Walcott was through barely 30 seconds after kick off. He skied his chance, but it was a sign of what was to come. End to end football ensued, an absolute delight on the eye. But to the undoubted shock of the lazy journalists and reporters around the country, Swansea were bossing the game!

If there was a carnival atmosphere for the most part, it was about to ascend into pandemonium.

Aaron Ramsey found himself to blame yet again, the lacklustre Welsh captain robbed by his understudy Joe Allen, who teed up Dyer perfectly 18 yards out. Taking a touch to steady himself, Dyer lashed the ball beyond the helpless Szczesny and into the top corner. Cue mayhem, as the Swans had come from a goal behind against the mighty Arsenal and now found themselves 2-1 up, 15 minutes into the second half.

Dyer himself has now scored 3 in 3, not bad for a winger that supposedly offers no end product! Dyer has certainly worked on his finishing, and it is now paying dividends. The big problem from Swansea’s point of view, is that the lack of goals was the only thing deterring the big clubs. Now that he has added that string to his bow, I’d be surprised if we didn’t receive a concrete offer for his services in the next fortnight. But that is to be dealt with at boardroom level, and was never going to concern the fans celebrating the Englishman’s stunner in front of Fabio Capello himself.

From the restart, Swansea again took the upper hand, and making Arsenal look inept at their own game. But while Swansea kept creating, and kept pushing for the killer goal, they were hit with a sucker punch. An defence-cutting pass by Alex Song caught Swansea napping, and whilst Ashley Williams had stepped up to play the offside trap, Stephen Caulker was playing Theo Walcott onside. The England International raced through and clipped the ball over Vorm and into the back of the net.

2-2. Swansea fans sensed that maybe the fairytale wasn’t going to materialise. They needn’t have worried.

All the talk before the fixture was about the return of Arsenal legend Thierry Henry. But the iconic Frenchman gifted Swansea the winner. Right from kick off, Swansea lost possession to Arsenal and as they pushed forward, Henry played a wayward pass straight to Joe Allen. He nipped the ball to debutant Gylfi Sigurdsson who took a touch before sizing up a wonderful through ball for Danny Graham to run onto.

With Szczesny dithering in his area, Graham won the race and slotted the ball inch-perfect into the far corner. Cue eruption.

For those wondering, it was 45 seconds after Theo Walcott hit the back of the net, and 16 seconds after kick off. Those watching on Sky will not have even seen Sigurdsson’s through ball, as the broadcasters were still showing replays of the Arsenal equaliser. Phenomenal stuff.

The rest of the game was played out fantastically well by the hosts. Even when Arsenal threw men forward to pressurize Swansea, the men in white just nonchalantly passed the ball around in triangles, making the visitors chase shadows. It was like watching a training regime- there should have been so much pressure on Swansea to clear their lines, but such is the philosophy at the club, that players were happy to play it amongst themselves in the tightest of spaces.

Arsenal barely threatened after that, and Swansea were in control when Michael Oliver blew for the full time whistle. Wild celebrations ensued, and continued onto the streets as the fans came to realise that they’d just witnessed a piece of history.

As for recognition, it was the biggest win in 30 years. The play off final victory gave us national coverage,  but for the millions of fans around the globe who watched us completely outplay Arsenal, there will be one question on everyone’s lips.

Just who are this Swansea team?

Keep it up, and those fans curious about our emphatic rise will soon be wearing the Swans shirt with pride.

Swansea City vs Arsenal – But will the legend feature?

When Arsene Wenger brings his troops to South Wales this weekend, he will do so with the weight of expectation on his shoulders. Arsenal have spent the whole of this season playing catch up for their atrocious start, and will be expected to get another 3 points to keep the pressure on the top 4 teams.

That said, Harry Redknapp was very complimentary about the Swans when his side visited the Liberty last time out. He claimed the likes of Arsenal and the next visitors Chelsea would struggle to leave with maximum points, given Swansea’s confidence on home turf. He is right, too. Swansea have amassed 17 points from their 10 home games, the 8th best record in the division. It is the home form that has carried the Swans this far, and they’ll hope that by breaking their travelling hoodoo at Villa Park in their last Premier League fixture, they’ll be able to rack up some vital points on the road, too.

So what will Wenger have up his sleeve? Most have run out of superlatives to describe leading marksman Robin van Persie this season, and rightly so. The Dutchman has finally proved that with a run without injuries, he can be one of the best strikers in world football. Wenger can also call upon one of the rising stars in european football, Welsh captain Aaron Ramsey. The only time Ramsey has not been chosen to play for Wenger’s side was when he was recovering from a horrific broken leg.

But, lest I forget, there may be a true footballing legend on the pitch to grace the Liberty turf. A player that has grown an unbreakable bond with his supporters that was only reinforced by his recent emphatic return to the club. A player that makes the players around him tick, one that oozes confidence and inspiration, and one that has seen it all in his career. I am, of course, talking about Leon Britton.

Little Leon started his career at Arsenal, and was expected to make the breakthrough at Highbury, but saw Wenger bringing in foreign youngsters and expected his opportunities to be limited. For a kid that had been at the same club, at the same height, since he was 9, moving would always be a big wretch. But he knew that he needed to do it. So he moved for £400k to West Ham, where he found his true calling. Sent on loan to dreary South West Wales in order to gain first-team experience, Little Britton wasn’t to know what he was about to let himself in for.

He joined a club clinging onto their league status for their lives, a club that was struggling to attract 3,000 fans to attend matches. Success wasn’t a term recognised with the boys in white, not for 20 years. Since the Toshack decline, our club had spent it’s time dithering around in the bottom division feeling sorry for itself. Well, it was now do or die. We needed to stand up and be counted. Having just turned 20, Britton could be excused for getting lost in the moment. Instead he rose to the occasion and was a huge catalyst that contributed to the final-day survival against Hull.

Many people have many memories of that fateful day, but the image of Leon being lifted aloft by fans as the final whistle went is one that will live with me forever. Partly because of the symbolism of the time, and partly because the circumstances are completely unrecognisable today.

Leon was then paraded aloft in a mud covered shirt and oversized shorts, much like a child that’s put his dad’s clothes on. He looked ecstatic, but nobody could have predicted just how important that win was.

Swansea never looked back. Neither did Leon. Steadily we rose through the divisions, from League 2 to League One thanks to Kenny Jackett, and then from League 1 to the Championship thanks to Roberto Martinez. However, things were about to turn sour for Leon. In the depths of contract negotiations with the club, manager Paulo Sousa decided to declare the details of the negotations to the waiting press. Disappointed didn’t quite cover it. Leon was devastated. Hung out to dry by his boss, he decided that his future lied elsewhere and he moved to Sheffield United at the end of the campaign.

Days later, Sousa was snapped up by Leicester, and to this day, Milan Mandaric is still receiving Christmas cards from Swans fans as way of thanks. Leon never made it work at Sheffield United- after all, for a player that is just 5’5″, Leon was going to be a lonely man in the middle of the park as the ball was hoofed up the park 60+ yards towards the hapless strikers.

It lasted all of 6 months, before the Swansea City love affair was reignited. Rumour has it, that Leon was speaking to Alan Curtis one day, and joked about him coming back to the Swans, such was his struggle at the Blades. The rest, they say, is history.

Leon returned for an undisclosed fee, which turned out to be a free transfer, and Leon found himself back at home. One of the rare examples of players who were lucky enough to discover the grass is never greener away from Swansea, and able to come back to tell the tale.

For those wondering if the message was heeded, well just look up Darren Pratley’s name on Bolton forums. I would also say to look up de Vries’ name on Wolves’ forums, but it would probably return 0 results.

You see, Swansea is the club to be at. Leon was lucky. And let’s not forget, the Swans were lucky too. Because in Little Leon, they have a player who will give 110% in every game, come rain or shine, doesn’t moan when he is left out, and plays with a selflessness rarely seen in modern football.

He is a dying breed these days, and Swansea have embraced Leon, putting him back in the fray.

The plaudits have come from all angles for our midfield maestro, but as the little number 7 will tell you, it’s all about the team.

Rodgers leading the way, but also wielding the axe where others failed.

Brendan Rodgers has been a busy man this month already. After the Darnel Situ debacle in the last transfer window, much has been made over the club’s failure to secure deals before the last minute. We all said our piece, and whether it was our fault or not, whether it was because we are Welsh or not, the fact of the matter is that it wasn’t completed in time.

We would have all sat here and stated how vitally important it was to learn from those errors. Doing the business early was on all our minds. But we could never have expected this.

Less than halfway through the window, where most Premier League clubs are yet to make a single move, Rodgers has swooped to seal the deals for the aforementioned Situ, Rory Donnelly, and Gylfi Sigurdsson. Even with that impressive tally, the Swansea boss isn’t yet done, and looks likely to add to his January spree with a move for Chelsea’s young starlet Josh McEachran and Bristol City hotshot Nicky Maynard.

That would take the tally to 5 signings in January, and all well in advance of the January 31st deadline.

Even then, one would hope that Rodgers is keeping a keen eye out for available full-backs, with Swansea still looking a little thin beyond Rangel and Taylor. Jazz Richards has done a commendable job when called upon, and Alan Tate’s return is imminent, but I would be uneasy with having either in if one of our starting duo was out with a long-term injury. There is also Fede Bessone to consider, but I’m not sure where he stands in the pecking order.

Which brings me nicely to my next point.

Bessone was signed in the final hours of the transfer window- knee-jerk? Possibly. Gamble? Definitely not. Cheap as chips and happy to play second fiddle, Bessone was exactly the sort of character we needed in our time of crisis. He acknowledged that he may not get a lot of game time but was happy to wait for his chance.

Now Swansea are finally weeding through the overgrowth in their squad. There are simply too many players that are unlikely to offer the Swans anything more. You can forget your Harry Houdinis and your David Blaines. For true escape artistry, look no further than our own Tommy Butler. The Irish winger seems to trigger a contract extension every year, despite not being named in a matchday squad since 1994.

There were rumours circulating a couple of months ago that our Tommy, David Cotterill, and Andrea Orlandi were all offered to ADO Den Haag. However, due to the lack of action on that front, we can safely assume that Den Haag were less than impressed with the trio on offer!

Alas, one twitterer took it upon themselves to ask Tom if he was leaving, and he confirmed that he was! I simply will not believe it until it’s official, and of course even then I will still have my doubts.

Let’s not get too down-trodden on Tom, though. He served us well in League 1, and in hindsight probably should have been offloaded as soon as Roberto Martinez guided the Swans to the Championship. But he wasn’t. Martinez was awful at letting players go, as was Paulo Sousa after him.

But as nice a man as Rodgers is, he also has a ruthless streak. Ditching the likes of Cedric Van Der Gun and epic flop Jordi Lopez in the Summer, Rodgers has now turned to David Cotterill, who’s agreed to have the remaining 18 months of his contract cancelled. Though there is no confirmation, the wording suggests that Cotterill simply agreed to walk away from the club to find pastures new.

A £600k player he may no longer be, but he can certainly be worth it again, if he manages to grow mentally stronger. Scorer of brilliant goals against Leicester and Newcastle, Cotterill offered glimpses of his talent, but since missing penalties against Norwich and QPR last season, he has fallen out of favour at both club and country, and badly needs to resurrect his career fast. A good move for all parties, I think.

Before Cotterill, 5 minute-wonder Vangelis Moras was shown the door. The Greek stop-gap only had a contract until January anyway and was deemed surplus to requirements since the return of Steven Caulker and imminent return of Alan Tate.

Where will Rodgers turn next? Is Tommy Butler the next out the door? Will he look at Craig Beattie? Scott Donnelly?

One thing looks sure, Stephen Dobbie‘s days at the club are numbered, after he was offered in a swap deal for Nicky Maynard. Recent Bristolian news also suggests that Leroy Lita was added to Dobbie deal. However, should Bristol refuse to take Lita on board, I can’t envisage Rodgers parting with the man he paid £1.75M for only 6 months ago.

As the final piece of the three-piece jigsaw (what an odd jigsaw) that was offered to Den Haag, Andrea Orlandi would be an obvious candidate for the exit door. However, if the Spaniard’s inclusion in the starting XI against Villa was a surprise, then his performance was startling, particularly when you consider the lack of game time that Orlandi had prior to the festive fixture.

He played an hour there, and was given another hour against Barnsley in the FA Cup in our last fixture. So maybe the future isn’t all gloomy for the likeable midfielder after all?

As an outside bet, consider the possibility that Luke Moore may be touted around to potential suitors. The ex-West Brom striker has failed to live up to his £0 price tag, and while the forward has looked slightly better in the attacking midfielder role, the introduction of Gylfi Sigurdsson and impending signing of Josh McEachran should push him way down the pecking order. If Maynard does indeed end up a Jack, then that would render Moore completely worthless.

Still unlikely? Oh well, I can dream!

Lita added to entice Maynard swap?

Shedding more light on my previous post, it appears that Leroy Lita may be used as further bait in the bid to secure the services of Nicky Maynard from Bristol City.

Now I’ll admit to not knowing a great deal about Maynard, apart from him being a mightily talented youngster that hasn’t quite fulfilled his potential yet. The reason I say he hasn’t filled his potential is based on my memory of him. As a 21 year old striker, banging them in for fun at Crewe, I expected him to be knocking the door of the top flight within 18 months. He hasn’t quite reached that level yet, but maybe here is the 25 year-old’s chance.

It’s no secret that Swansea are in for the Bristol City striker. Rumours have been circulating for weeks and it’s well understood that Stephen Dobbie was part of the deal to entice Derek McInnes to part with his star striker.

Now it’s emerged that Leroy Lita has been added to the proposition, along with an undisclosed fee to sweeten the deal further.

Lita has started his Swansea career with some promise, but without ever stealing the limelight from main man Danny Graham. And it appears as though the ex-Bristol City man isn’t going to get the game time he craves at the Liberty, particularly if Rodgers is keen on Maynard. With that in mind, it could be argued that a move away from the club he joined just 6 months ago would be best for all parties.

However, how much is Nicky Maynard worth? I would say that as a Championship playmaker, Dobbie is up there with the best. Twice he has won promotion via the playoffs in consecutive seasons. Both times he was integral to his side’s success. I would rate him at a cool £1M.

Lita joined for £1.75M, and no matter what you make of his short time here, he has scored 2 goals in the Premier League, with very little game time. His value won’t have plummetted, that’s for sure. Let’s say he’s worth £1.5M. That’s £2.5M plus the undisclosed fee. Let’s say that it’s 500k. £3M for Maynard?

He has hardly set the world alight in the past few years, has he? Danny Graham only cost us £3.5M, and he was by far the division’s top scorer last term.

Not that I’m saying it’s a bad move. It’s a brave move. It could turn out to be a masterstroke. Why have 2 back-up strikers that don’t fit into your plans when you can have 1 that does? That’s not to mention the wages that Lita is likely to be on. Lest we forget, Lita was a Premiership player before us, having spent time in the top flight with Reading.

The article is the only one claiming that the deal is on the cards, and judging by the website, it is Bristol’s version of The Evening Post. However, with Lita rebuking the claims through his Twitter feed, and the fact that the journalist responsible for the piece labelled Dobbie as the “physical presence” that Brizzle crave, there is a good chance that this is one that never leaves the spokes of the rumour mill.

For what it’s worth, Maynard would have to be something pretty special for Bristol to turn their noses up at this deal. 2 strikers proven at NPC Level and a bit of cash on top, sounds a good deal in my book.

Whatever happens, let’s hope Rodgers ends up with the men he wants by the end of January, because with all the talk of the players coming in and out of clubs, the one man Swansea simply cannot afford to lose is Rodgers. He is still only on a 12 month rolling contract which the board are looking to rectify, but we need to support him in the transfer market if we can afford to.

Forget Dobbie and Lita, losing Rodgers would be the biggest blow to our chances of survival.

McEachran the next name to add to the list?

Rumours first surfaced at the start of the season, and they’ve risen higher again in the past few days. Swansea City look set to complete the loan signing of Chelsea youngster Josh McEachran.

Wow. Whether or not our team is crying out for a quality ball-playing midfielder, is certainly up for debate. After all, Leon Britton, Mark Gower, and Joe Allen have probably been the 3 most talked about central midfielders in the Premier League this season. The composure in possession is something we already have in abundance and it’s part of our make-up.

However, even if the signing is very much alike what we’ve already got, then Josh will still be a massive, massive signing for the club. What a coup! We have spent the past 10 years bringing in players with something to prove. It’s all we could afford to do. We needed to bring in hunger and desire, because the most sought-after players were well out of our league.

This isn’t Scott Sinclair, a young talented journeyman that never quite made it in the top flight in his few chances. This isn’t Michel Vorm, an unknown foreigner who has something to prove to the Dutch manager, and the rest of the world. This isn’t Danny Graham, who has only performed at Championship level. No, this is a kid that 18 of the 19 other Premier League teams would snap up in a second, given his availability.

McEachran has shown a maturity far beyond his years in his little game time amongst the Chelsea superstars. Exactly who is keeping him out of the team is anyone’s guess, but I would think that boss Villas-Boas is hoping for a similar result to that of Daniel Sturridge, who was loaned out to Bolton last January and returned as a Chelsea starter.

McEachran will never sign for Swansea. He is simply above what we’re looking at. But the potential of getting 6 months on loan is something to whet the appetite. With Josh on board, Swansea have a team, nay, a squad worthy of Premier League football.

If the rumours of a swap deal with Bristol City for Adomah and Maynard in exchange for Dobbie are to be believed, our first team would look something like this…

Vorm

Rangel     Caulker     Williams     Taylor

McEachran     Kemy

Dyer     Sigurdsson     Sinclair

Graham

…which I’m sure you’ll agree, is mightily impressive. However, take a look at the 2nd string we could field…

Tremmel

Richards     Monk     Tate     Bessone

Allen     Britton

Adomah     Maynard     Routledge

Lita

Impressed? Well try out my THIRD string for size!

Moriera

Alfei     Moras     Situ     Davies

Gower     Bodde

Cotterill     Moore     Orlandi

Donnelly

The defence looks a bit light, but apart from that, you’d be hard pressed to find many better THIRD teams outside of the big 4. Even then, I’m making the assumption that Dobbie is on his way out, hence his exclusion, and this team is also missing the mighty Tom Butler.

Look at the teams that have come and gone from the Premier League in years gone by. The second half of the season is the killer. Much of that is down to injuries, suspensions, and a lack of strength in depth when legs get tired. Teams in the Premier League play for 93+ minutes.

I have never seen a squad so strong. But then, I’ve never seen us this successful. If we have managed to assemble a team like this for the run in, imagine the sort of team we could end up with, should we manage to establish ourselves in the division!

So proud to be a Jack