U18's show they're playing "The Swansea Way"

32-pass move which led to goal against Leeds a perfect example of the ingrained philosophy in SA1

Not much needs to be said around this - it's just quality. Fair play to the lads playing in the game, it was a good result away to a tough team and it's very pleasing to see all the age groups adopting the same tika-taka pass and move style that the first-team has had so much joy with. Long may it continue, and if the youngsters keeps doing things like that it won't be long until we see some more players making the leap to the first team.

Good effort boys, and keep it up!

Cardiff vs Swansea - An appeal for peace

Remember, the world is watching...

For as long as I can remember (I was born in 1986, so anything that went before that...well...I can't remember it) the South Wales derby has been an emotionally charged affair which has (sadly) more often than not ended up witnessing some kind of crowd trouble.

In the past, this was something of an aficionado's derby. With both clubs spending a lengthy period of time in the lower reaches of the league, the media spotlight rarely fell on matches between Swansea and Cardiff, and this allowed a certain degree of anonymity. Ok, there was always police involvement and some column inches, but given the size of the clubs relative to the clubs the mainstream media actually cared about it was always unlikely it would draw top billing - no matter what kind of chaos went on in the aftermath of the game itself. It wasn't a match that every football fan would look out for, but those with an interest in ferocious derbies would no doubt have it marked out as "one to watch". 

We all know the stories. There were fights, which we won or they won (depending on who you ask) and a little part of me thinks "If there's a group on both sides who want to fight, let them meet somewhere and smash *&$% out of each other" but sadly that's not what happens any more. Violence seems less discriminate and I'm speaking from experience when I say I had to dodge stones, bottles and god knows what else after the last derby at Ninian - as did women and young children alongside me in the retreating throng. Very big of you, lads. 

My only crime was to be a fan of the opposition, and despite the bubble trip and being held in the away end for what seemed like forever after the match, the police hadn't thought to stop masses of Cardiff fans congregating on the adjacent construction site for the new CCFC stadium, which was covered in stones, broken bottles and god knows what else. Top marks, Heddlu! In fairness, they did send mounted policemen careering into the offending group once it became evident what was happening, but it was only luck which allowed everyone to escape without injury.

This time around, however, it's different. The rise of both the South Wales' clubs has seen an unheralded level of media attention being lavished on both clubs, which is unsurprising given how disparate the approaches the two clubs took to reach the Premier League are. Couple with that arguably the most ferocious derby in the UK after the Old Firm, and you've got yourself a media spectacle. 

The level of trouble we've seen in the past has been negated by the police's management of the "bubble trips", and in general they deserve credit - however Sky appear to have more bargaining power than South Wales Police as the match has been moved from it's usual lunchtime slot to 4PM, to allow for a bigger TV audience. Never mind it gives people more time to get hammered and riled up - think of the ratings! With a bigger audience than ever before, do we want to be known as a country of passionate fans who can create an unrivaled atmosphere, or a bunch of lunatics who can't help but lump ten bells out of each other?

If both sets of fans can refrain from violence this Sunday, this derby will be announced worldwide as one to watch. Derbies are about atmosphere, commitment, passion and so much more - they are NOT about kicking someone's head in because he (or she - very equal opportunities, me) happens to live in a city 40-odd miles away. This Sunday's match has the potential to make or break the South Wales derby as a global media event. 

Let's make sure on Monday morning they're talking about the football, eh?

South Wales derby infographic - stats, history & more

Some interesting stat-type gubbins ahead of the weekend's much-awaited South Wales Derby

It's not very often I get the chance to put an interesting blog up without having to do any research, but today that's exactly what happened! 

I do wonder about the "league positions" stat given we've been in a higher league for the last two seasons, however other than that it's pretty handy information!

The infographic did made me think one other thing, however. Well, a few if we're being honest, but the only one worth mentioning is just who is Bradley Reynolds, and why am I only now becoming aware of him putting eight goals past our nearest and dearest? Good lord.

Hopefully someone can come close to repeating the trick this Sunday...

What the players are saying ahead of the South Wales derby

With the derby-day momentum gathering, numerous players have been in the press explaining what the derby means to them

As numerous articles have been appearing featuring quotes from various Swansea players, I thought it would be interesting to put them all together to see if there was a consensus view. Without further ado...

Neil Taylor

"This is what you play football for, to play in these sort of games. It can be daunting but we as professionals, obviously playing at the highest level, need to be able to deal with that. 

"As soon as you step across that white line on Sunday and hear the crowd you know it's a different type of game. We watched the Sunderland-Newcastle game on Sunday before the West Ham game. That game was really hostile, the ball was bouncing around - two teams fighting for the ball and fighting for a win. I think it will probably be quite similar this Sunday. 

"Malky Mackay sets his teams up really, really well and I think he's quite an impressive manager. His teams work really, really hard that's for sure. Cardiff will think they've had a good start so far, but when it comes to a derby it wouldn't matter if we were top and they were bottom or the other way round, it just comes down to on the day who produces. The two we played in the Championship, it was just two bits of quality that settled two games. It's little bits of individual quality that might just settle it. 

"I think it's brilliant for Wales. The first thing I said was if Cardiff bring through more youngsters this is more Welsh players playing in the Premier League, but also it's so exciting to have these derby games. It was definitely the first fixture the players looked for."  

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24721480?

Leon Britton

"There have been a few sending offs in recent games, but in the five or six derby games I've played in they have been pretty good and not too much trouble or 22 man brawls. There's been the odd sending off, but they have usually been for two yellow cards rather than straight reds, but the main thing is you want 11 players on the pitch to give you the best chance to win. 

"It's very different. It's like a cup final. It's not like a league game. Sometimes it's crazy. It can be hard to control the game as it is so fast and furious at times, but they are great occasions to be involved in with great atmospheres. 

"We can relay what the game means to the football club, the fans and the city [regarding whether Swansea's foreign contingent understand the nature of the game]. They know. They have been here a while now. They know the history of the football club. To be fair, the Spanish lads have played in derby matches over there. They are used to it and in the build-up we will let the new players know how much it means. 

"It's great for Welsh football that the derby is in the Premier League. The first one is on Sunday, but we want that to carry on for the next five to 10 years and have both clubs in the Premier League because it is fantastic for the young kids and fans to watch and support their local team rather than the big clubs like Manchester United and Liverpool."  

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/swansea-midfielder-leon-britton-calls-for-calm-heads-if-they-are-to-take-the-spoils-in-the-south-wales-derby-this-weekend-8910442.html

Pablo Hernandez

"I think I should be able to train normally all week with the team and hopefully I'll be ready to start, but it's not my decision This game is very important for the club and most important for the fans. It's a difficult game. Both teams want to win the match, Cardiff are at home but we want to win this for the fans. The occasion should be unbelievable." 

http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/story-20000838-detail/story.html?#ixzz2j6U8OUaH

Michael Laudrup

“I want my players to know how special it is. Derbies are very special games. Whether it’s Lazio-Roma, Copenhagen-Brondby, Real Madrid-Barcelona or Juventus-Torino, it doesn’t matter where they are or who the teams are. This is the same. It’s always something special because you know it means a lot to a lot of people, especially the fans.

“They want to win all games, but these games are special for them. There will be a lot of words in the build-up – every time the players go out this week people will tell them they have to win on Sunday, but for me that’s okay, because that means the players will understand how important the game is to the fans."

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/michael-laudrup-insists-i-want-6246583? 

It looks like the team are as excited about this one as the fans are. If we can get a win this weekend, we would then be setting ourselves up to complete the first ever "double" (winning both derby games in any given season), which would see us retain serious bragging rights. It'd also go a long way in seeing us finish above them in the league, and any team we can say that about is welcome, in my opinion!

Obviously, the opposite is also true. If Cardiff win it'll no doubt give them a boost, but I don't want to go as far as to say it'll rejuvenate the "Bluebirds" as we'd then be accused of giving ourselves too much credit.

Hopefully this time next week we'll be celebrating. Come on you Swans!

Mike Dean a completely ridiculous appointment for South Wales derby

Referee bowed to crowd pressure in the last fixture to be contested between Cardiff & Swansea, and shouldn't have been appointed

I'm sorry, I disagree with Mike Dean being appointed for this match as strongly as it's possible to disagree with a refereeing appointment. Why? Well, it's been much publicised that he completely bottled it the last time he took charge of this fixture, and given the ferocity of the rivalry it should never, ever have been possible that the refereeing appointment adds further fuel to an already raging fire.

Thanks to the power of the internet, if you want to know what I'm on about I managed to find some highlights of the game in question on Youtube. 

I was in attendance for this match, and I was actually front row in the away section. When Joe Allen scored what we thought would be the winner, he ran straight towards where we were standing and that rates as one of the great euphoric moments of my life so far. It will always, always disappoint me that Allen's strike didn't go down as the winner in the last ever derby at Ninian, more for Joey than for any significance I'd attach to such a feat. 

Anyway, that was in the 86th minute, and it seemed we were set to cruise to a 2-1 win. So, a bit of pretext before the point of the article. In the 42nd minute, referee Mike Dean was hit on the head by a coin, and had to receive treatment to a cut to his head. Whether it affected his performance you can't honestly say, however it seems massively coincidental that with only injury time remaining he gave Cardiff what can only be described as a ridiculously soft penalty. McCormack converted, and the game finished 2-2.

Now, whether the two incidents are connected only Mike Dean would be able to say, and no doubt he'd refute any allegations of pandering to a baying home crowd vociferously, but the perception (of Swansea fans at least) is that in response to a relentlessly intimidating Ninian Park atmosphere, he bottled it and gave Cardiff a penalty. 

The refereeing appointment in games of this nature should be carefully looked at, and only a fine, neutral official appointed. Cardiff fans could also argue that, given he was hit on the head by a coin thrown from their section of the stadium, he's possibly not a fan of them - but given the penalty he gifted them I doubt there's anything in that.

Hopefully this won't be an issue on matchday and he keeps a close reign on things at the Cardiff City Stadium. Fans won't need any encouragement to turn it into a boiling cauldron of noise, sweat and tears, and the man in charge needs to be up to the task. Over to you, Mr Dean. 

(PS. If you watch Joey celebrating, I'm wearing a cream hoodie with orange and brown gubbins on it. Happy hunting!)

Swansea 0 - 0 West Ham - Not quite good enough...

Swansea edge to draw against Allardyce's "continental 4-6-0" formation

Cometh the rain, cometh the...clean sheet. That's about as big a positive as I could draw from yesterday's performance, as to be honest I felt that once again we didn't perform to anywhere near our maximum level. 

We lined up without Wilfried Bony spearheading our attack, and he was replaced with Alvaro Vazquez. Against a known physical side who were always going to park the bus that could be deemed a strange decision, but I'm sure there was some logic behind it. Ashley Williams returned to the starting lineup too, while Leon returned to the team in the middle of the park, and both the Swansea stalwarts were amongst our best performers yesterday.

We struggled to create anything for the entire match if I'm being truthful, and that isn't the first time I've said that this season. Apparently we had 67% of the ball, but West Ham mustered fifteen shots to our ten (although we both had five on target), and those maths don't add up. If we're retaining that much possession without creating anything meaningful then I'm afraid something's wrong with the system.

Throughout the first fourty-five minutes we were under severe pressure from set-pieces and appeared unable to cope with the onslaught. Quite worrying, and Vorm flapped at numerous high balls which, from where I sat, seemed destined to end in away goals. Thankfully the ball somehow didn't end up in the back of the net and we made it in at half time with the scores even, before we did improve in the second period.

The arrival of Pablo from the bench did rouse the team somewhat, and he injected some much needed pace and directness to the affair. His calibre was clear to see and hopefully he can now stay fit for a while and make his mark on the team. I thought we improved after Bony entered the fray too, and anyone knocking his performances thus far needs to look at how anonymous Vazquez was before his departure. As I've said before, it really isn't easy playing ahead of Michu.

Our standout performer for me was probably Angel Rangel. I thought he was busy and looked to get forward as often as possible, without allowing himself to be caught out in defence, but I thought he was let down by Nathan Dyer who frustrated throughout. It's been so long since I've seen Dyer properly take his man on at pace and look to get in behind, and he needs to stop automatically knocking the ball back to his mate Rangel. I know retaining possession is important, but playing that far forward in our team means you need to have your hand in a fair share of the goals we score. 

There were positives to be taken from yesterday's match. A clean sheet, as previously mentioned, is no mean feat against an Allardyce side, and that's the kind of game where in the past we'd have turned off and been punished by a late goal from a corner, so the squad deserve credit for mucking in and earning a point. We've also now got the same points tally as we had obtained at this stage last season, and given our run of fixtures up to this point that's quite the achievement indeed. I can't help but feel though that we're under-performing dramatically and that there's a lot more to come from this Swansea side.

One theory I have is that Laudrup started Vazquez in a bid to see whether it's Michu or Bony who is more to blame for a disjointed forward line thus far this season. With Michu at his wandery avant-garde best yesterday, I think there's now a clear argument for going with Bony up top, two defensive midfielders (Leon/Canas/De Guzman) with another orthodox midfielder ahead of them. When Michu plays well, he'll score and we'll probably win. When he doesn't play well, the team doesn't play well. We can't afford that.

I do love Michu, but we need to get the team playing to the best of it's ability, and if Michu dropping to the bench in a bid to restore fluency to the Swansea midfield solves that then that's the way it's got to be. 

So, Cardiff away next then. Oo-er. 

Swansea City vs West Ham - Match preview, statistics, team news & analysis

The Match

Swansea were robbed of a win which they possibly wouldn't have deserved against Kuban Krasnodar thanks to a last minute penalty converted by Djibril Cisse, and they'll need to play a lot better than they did on Thursday night if they're to come away with any points from this one. With a number of players likely return to the starting lineup we can be confident the performance level will improve, and Ashley Williams chomping at the bit must surely have an invigorating effect on the team. Hopefully Laudrup restores Leon, Rangel, De Guzman and Pablo to the team - including those players would, to me, raise the overall calibre of our starting XI and give us a much better chance of a result.

West Ham have enjoyed a mixed bag of results this season. They have had some tricky fixtures, but they've beaten Cardiff twice (snigger) already, however home losses to Stoke and Everton will have stung. Whether they view this fixture as winnable I can't say (although it's probable), and Sam Allardyce is very unlikely to try to match Swansea's passing game. Expect a rough and tumble performance with plenty of pressing high up the field, and for them to try and close down our defensive midfielders - thus strangling our possession game.

Prior Form (Most recent at top)

Team News - provided by Physioroom.com's Ben Dinnery

Swansea entertain West Ham United this weekend in a return to their familiar Sunday afternoon slot, kick-off at 4pm. The Jacks should finally welcome back winger Pablo Hernandez after almost two months out with a thigh muscle strain and a bout of illness. However this weekend will come too early for captain Ashley Williams, the Welsh international is close to a full recovery with the Cardiff or Stoke City game a more realistic target. Full-back Ben Davies misses out with ankle ligament damage which could see him side-lined for up to a month.

For West Ham, news that Andy Carroll could be close to a return are a little wide of the mark. The England international is still in Belgium and may not be back for two or three weeks with a possible return pencilled in for the end of November. James Collins (hamstring) will once again miss out along with full-back George McCartney who continues to battle with an on-going knee problem, but fellow defender Guy Demel has recovered from the slight knock he picked up against Manchester City. Alou Diarra remains a long-term absentee.

Completely guessed lineups

Statistics & Trivia

• West Ham have only won four of their twenty-two visits to Swansea.
• Swansea are looking to win consecutive league games for the first time since last December.
• 16 goals have been scored at the Liberty so far this season - more than any other Premier League ground.
• Swansea have drawn only one game so far this season - only Crystal Palce (0) have drawn less games.
• West Ham have the worst shot accuracy in the Premier League - 29.6%.
• When Swansea have kept a clean sheet this season (which they've done three times), they've won.
• West Ham haven't won consecutive away games since December 2007.
• Five of West Ham's eight goals conceded have come from set pieces - a league high percentage.
• West Ham have failed to score in six of their last nine away matches.
• The last three competitive meetings between Swansea and West Ham have seen the home side win whilst keeping a clean sheet. 
• Swansea's pass success rate is 86%, compared to West Ham's 73%.

Straight from the horse's mouth

Michael Laudrup thinks West Ham are in "our league", as it were:

"We want a positive result. It will be a tough one because West Ham are a very strong, physical team. Last year at home we started well because they made a mistake, a back pass for Michu to score the first goal, and the first two chances we got we scored. 

"I can't say we need to win it, we would like to. I think West Ham are in 'our league' and we play at home, so again it is one of those where you say it is a big chance to get points if we can."

http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/story-19992132-detail/story.html?#ixzz2ipK9gGo7 

Michel Vorm insists only a win will do:

"There's a very positive vibe after beating Sunderland 4-0. Everyone knew we hadn't won at home for a while in the Premier League. West Ham are not a top, top team but they are a strong side. They are a team we need to win at home against, these are the type of games we need to win at home. 

"There's no option other than winning."

http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/story-19992740-detail/story.html?#ixzz2ipKnBeBv 

Sam Allardyce thinks home form is more of a pressing concern than their form away from Upton Park:

"I couldn't knock the performances too much but I think we're about four points short of what we should have achieved. My huge concern is the fact that we've lost three home games on the trot, that never happened last season and if fact we only lost four all season at home. 

"That's my biggest worry, our away performances have been very good but our results haven't matched the performances. We should have beaten Newcastle, we certainly shouldn't have lost against Hull City we had a good draw at Southampton and a great win against Tottenham. 

"We've got to make sure we give our all in the Premier League because we're a 100 per cent team and we need to play at 100 per cent to win a game of football in the Premier League." 

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/347250/West-Ham-boss-Sam-Allardyce-admits-need-for-a-striker-for-clash-against-Swansea-City

Analysis

A bit up and down this week, eh? Massive league victory - good. Lacklustre Europa League performance...not good. Laudrup will be hoping reinstating regular "first choice" players to the team will bring about a return to form, which would see us winning back to back home games for the first time in a while. This game also marks five of our last six being played at home, and a win would make it three wins out of the five home games - not a bad return at all.

Leon Britton showed what he can bring to the team with an incredible performance against Sunderland, and expect more of the same tomorrow. Diame, Noble and Nolan are a formidable set of opponents but I expect him to have too much awareness to be seriously troubled, and we should be able to bat back any prospective attacks.

Key will be watching for long diagonals up to whoever's occupying the target-man spot, as no doubt West Ham will look to be more direct than we will. If Carlton Cole gets the nod he'll be looking to prove a point, so Chico Flores & Jordi Amat will need to be on their guard, as well as making sure Neil Taylor and Angel Rangel help to form an effective unit.

I want Bony to start, and I'm convinced he's going to start scoring. Ok, he didn't play well against Kuban, but neither did anyone really and while he did miscontrol it on occasions on the whole his ball retention was good considering the level of attention he found himself receiving. We need to give him more space - by crowding him with teammates he has no room to operate when all he needs is to be given the ball and the space he needs to turn and beat his man. If we always give it to him with his back to goal, he needs to then have a little bit of room in which to manoeuvre himself into a shooting position - if he's got Michu, De Guzman and Routledge running on his heels that becomes somewhat more difficult.

I'm confident of a result tomorrow. With a couple of important changes to the team expected, we'll have more zip about our midfield and I think that will be key in dismantling West Ham. Home win, and Swansea up to 13 points in the league from 9 games - that wouldn't be too bad at all. In fact, we'd be two points better off than after nine games last year. Have that for a stat.

Swansea City 1 - 1 Kuban Krasnodar - What a load of...

Lacklustre display from the Swans sees their Russian opponents claim a point with a late penalty

Did we deserve to win last night? I didn't think so. That was one of the worst performances I've seen from the Swans in a long while, and when Kuban were awarded a penalty (which turned out to essentially be the last kick of the game) I thought that, given our lack of effort and invention throughout the match, I thought that 1-1 was a fairer reflection on the game than 1-0.

We lined up with a much-changed team. Some were enforced (Davies having picked up an injury with Taylor replacing him) with others (Leon replaced by Canas) seemingly being a case of squad rotation, but from minute one the home side didn't look like they were particularly up for it and lethargically traipsed around the field without ever looking like they were going to create something.

With all due respect to our Russian opponents, we should have beaten them. They didn't show anything which made me think their run of one win in eleven (in all competitions) was a freak occurrence, and if we'd have played to the best of our ability we would have walked this. As it happened, a number of players underperformed and fans frustrations' were well founded.

Where to start? I thought Tiendalli was... poor. Last season I was raving about him and at times preferred to see him in the team ahead of Rangel (controversial, I know), but it appears he's forgotten how to play football. Hopefully he'll remember soon. Bony was poor too, but fans sniping at him is harsh - he has played better than a lot of fans have given him credit for up until now - however last night he lost the ball a number of times. 

In midfield, once again I felt that we failed to control the centre of the park. The ball just doesn't stick in the middle when we're in more advanced positions and I feel this is due to a combination of Michu playing at attacking midfield and other midfielders around him not possessing the discipline to get the most out of the Swans' system. Last night Canas spent a lot of the game charging around which pulled the midfield out of shape, but he was often covering for Shelvey or Michu, so I don't think he's to blame. The problem is simply a case of the sum of the parts not adding up to a number which works for the Swans. 

The opener for the Swans came midway through the second half, when a neat one two between Michu and Pozuelo resulted in the former running on to a cute flick through and getting to the ball marginally before the opposition keeper, and stabbing home. A neat bit of play, but the only other decent move I remember us putting together was Shelvey stabbing over after some good work from Bony. We simply didn't create last night and better teams would have punished us.

One positive was Jordi Amat played better last night than I've seen in previous matches, but his counterpart Chico could well be deemed at fault in the buildup to the penalty which saw Kuban equalise. It's pointless laying into the team but I do think at times this season we've flattered to deceive, with last weekend's result against Sunderland a prime example. We're relying too much on individual skill and moments of inspiration, when we should be looking to use our possession game to dominate teams and pick them apart.

So, West Ham up next and they'll definitely be a sterner test than Kuban Krasnodar. We'll have to play a lot, lot better than that if we're to get maximum points, but with a number of players expected to return to the starting line up (including, possibly, Ashley Williams) you'd imagine the team will play with a bit more fluidity than we did last night. 

Look after possession, and the calibre of our players will do the rest. We're trying to force the game too much at the moment, and a bit more patience would see us create the opportunities we spend so long looking for. Trust in possession. That should be our mantra. 

Having said that, Leon should be back in the team this weekend. With him in the team, we should be fine. Leeeeeeeeeeon!

Swansea City vs Kuban Krasnodar - Match preview, team news, statistics & analysis

The Match

Swansea got back to winning ways against Sunderland, triumphing 4-0 and consigning new Black Cat's boss Guy Poyet to defeat in his first outing. With heavy rotation likely, it's more than possible we'll see a number of changes despite Laudrup's statements about taking the opposition seriously. Whether he'll retain Bony & Michu with West Ham next in line at the Liberty is another debate to be had, but the squad could and should be confident of a win over a side who've lost their two opening Europa League group matches.

Kuban Krasnodar come into this match in quite dreadful form. They've won only once in their last nine in all competitions, and find themselves way off the European qualification spots in their domestic league. What's more, they recently sacked their manager and the new boss, Viktor Goncharenko, got off to a tough start losing 3-1 away at Dinamo Moscow. His side will be playing for pride as much as anything else, as it's already looking unlikely they'll be able to progress from the group stages of the Europa League.

Prior Form (Most recent at top)

Team News 

Swansea will be without Ben Davies after he was ruled out for around a month with a nasty twisted ankle, while Ashley Williams will probably not be risked with West Ham coming to town so soon after this fixture. Pablo Hernandez is pushing for a start after recovering from his own injury problems, while Garry Monk is fit again after picking up a knock against Birmingham in the League Cup. Roland Lamah could see a rare start in a game which could provide an opportunity for a number of fringe players.

Kuban Krasnodar look set to be without Alexei Kozlov and Charles Kabore, who missed the last outing at Dynamo Moscow and are still rated as doubts. That's all I've got...

Completely guessed lineups

In Kuban Krasnodar's case, I may or may not have just copied their lineup from their last match...

Statistics & Trivia

• Swansea have won their first two group games, scoring four goals and not conceding a single goal.
• Kuban have started rather more poorly, losing their first two games (away at St Gallen & home to Valencia) and boasting the opposite goal tally to the Swans - four against with none scored.
• Jonathan De Guzman has made more passes than any other player in the opening two group games - 145.
• Swansea have managed a mighty 90% pass completion rate thus far in the Europa League - Kuban come in much lower at 72%. 
• Kuban average 336 passes per game - less than half the 675 the Swans manage. 
• Swansea's average pass streak in the Europa League is 7.5, compared to Kuban's 3.

Straight from the horse's mouth

Michael Laudrup recalls a time when perhaps his team didn't take the opposition as seriously as was necessary:

"I remember it well, because in May 1992 I won the Champions League at Wembley with Barcelona against Sampdoria. Just after that, the following November, we had to play a play-off before going into the group stage. 

"We played CSKA and drew 1-1 away. Then we were 2-0 up after 30 minutes of the home leg and everybody thought it was done, but we lost 3-2. 

"It was a big surprise, and it could be an example for us because even though it was 2-0 after 30 minutes it showed you have to be 100 per cent focused. We had a fantastic team - better than CSKA with all respect, but they went on to the next round, we can use that tomorrow."

http://www.sportsmole.co.uk/football/swansea-city/europa-league/news/laudrup-experience-has-made-me-wary_113181.html

New Kuban boss Viktor Goncharenko is understandably positive given...well he's new in the job and he needs to be:

“I have only been here for 10 days, but we have a lot of good players in the squad and there is something to build on.You learn from every game and it’s important that you use this knowledge in the next game, but we are prepared to go for it on Thursday because we have the readiness and the willingness. We also have no points so far - and if we want to go a bit further, we need to start picking them up. 

Kuban striker Djibril Cissé believes he can use "insider knowledge" to help gain a positive result:

“I know the league very well. For me, I think it is an advantage. I’m going to try and talk to my team-mates and give them a few tips about Swansea. 

“The football is different compared to the Russian league and we need to adapt as soon as the game starts and be ready. If you give them [Swansea] time to start playing their football then we will be in trouble. 

“They have great offensive players and the philosophy is the coach to play forward all the time, but if we play good football and be confident, then we could cause them problems as well. 

“Swansea are the favourites, but we won’t be scared and we’ll be looking for a positive result.” 

http://www.swanseacity.net/news/article/kk-presser-1131234.aspx?#8055mgKxgQBS6yEy.99

Analysis

Given I know little to nothing about our opponents (as has been the case for a couple of Europa League games - it should get more interesting as/if we progress through the competition), all I can really comment on is the psychology surrounding a new manager being in charge. Much like Guy Poyet and Sunderland at the weekend, Kuban really need to turn things around - in fact they've won only three of thirteen in the league this season and things need to improve quickly.

If we give them any reason to be encouraged they could well pounce, and we'll probably have a couple of players on display who aren't 100% match fit. Against Sunderland we managed to get away with a poor first half performance, but we don't want to have to rely on luck so controlling the game from the off is a must. All the media talk is that this should be a walk in the park for the Swans, but Laudrup's comments show he'll be expecting a big performance.

A win tomorrow would surely see us as good as through to the next round of the competition - to the last 32 stage. I haven't checked the odds but after the Valencia game we were made third favourites - pretty heady stuff and a quick look through the other teams in the competition leads me to believe we could make a pretty good fist of advancing a bit further than that, too.

Hopefully we can maximise our points tally tomorrow, as that allows for youth players to be blooded and tired legs to be saved. Players like Lee Lucas, Kris Scott & Rory Donnelly - who scored the winner for the U21s this week - could and should all be hopeful of making a mark in the first team before too long, and it'd be good to see players like that get on the bench a bit more often.

Expect a big performance from Jose Canas, and I also fancy his compatriot Alex Pozuelo to shine. He's been threatening to put on a show for a while, and while I don't know much about our opponents I'm confident in the kid's ability to dance past his man when he's in the mood.

I'm feeling confident, so I'm predicting a 3-0 Swansea win, with Pozuelo running the show.

Amazing what a win does, eh?

Wilfried Bony splits fanbase much like Jason Scotland did...

With a growing number of fans appearing unhappy with the performance levels of our record signing, just what is it they're complaining about?

There's a reason I started this website. I grew sick and tired of reading the same arguments played out time and time again on all the other main websites/forums populated by the Jack Army, as all too often I found myself become both frustrated and involved in heated debates regarding certain Swansea players. Jason Scotland was a prime example of this. Despite scoring hatfuls of goals whenever he was selected, some people just couldn't get past the fact that he didn't spend ninety minutes chasing shadows and as such, he "clearly wasn't working hard enough".

Now, there's a very good reason an ideal Swansea City centre-forward doesn't spend ninety minutes chasing anything that moves. In case anyone hasn't noticed, we play with one striker. I know, shocking, right? For large swathes of last season it could also be argued we actually played without a recognised striker, given Michu's preference for a deeper role and his tendency to wander. 

When you operate in the manner the Swans do, it's vitally important we have an outlet who maintains a central position throughout the game. By doing this, he allows the team to rotate around him while constantly being available for a pass, and the team can stretch play to maximise the benefits of this style. The problem is it's been so long since we had a striker capable of playing this role (going back to Scotland, in fact) that I think we've forgotten how to get the most out of a quality lone striker, and what we're seeing is as much an adjustment from the team as it is an acclimatisation on Bony's part. If Bony was consistently hitting the corners, he wouldn't be in the middle to supply the finish. Simple.

Some of the comments on fans' forums are absolutely ludicrous. Were they even watching the game? Some were saying "Bony was isolated" in the first half - he was constantly surrounded by Michu, Routledge and got knows who else, and the effect was he had absolutely no space to operate in and plenty of opposition defenders nearby to close him down. Another said he "gets knocked off the ball too easily" - err...WHAT!? I'm sorry, you clearly haven't been watching the same games as me, as Bony looks to be the strongest player I've ever seen pull on the white shirt of Swansea City, and possibly the strongest player I've ever seen! Once he sticks his arse out, he's not losing the ball. End of.

Someone else coyly remarked that if Bony spent 90 minutes running around like Adrian Forbes, then fans would have taken to him instantly. Probably true, but would you rather have Forbesy or Bony up front for you in the Premier League? The guy scored a ridiculous amount of goals for Vitesse last season, Laudrup rates him enough to start him in the Premier League and we've spent £12million on him. What's the point of getting on his back this early in his Swans' career? Watch the Valencia highlights again and look at his flick in the buildup to one of the goals - it's an exquisite first touch and anyone who's accused him of lacking just that is wrong, in my opinion.

Don't forget, he's jumped to a higher league, and missed a large part of our pre-season due to his late arrival. The official site published a statistical analysis of his performance against Sunderland which confirmed what I thought - pretty much every ball that was played into him stuck, and that's such a novel thing to be able to say about a Swansea City centre-forward after a few years of, if we're being honest, makeweights. I was as big a fan of Danny Graham as anyone else, but Bony is a difference class of striker. 

We have seen far from the best of Wilfried Bony, but he's still our top scorer. Give him time, and he will reward us with goal, after goal, after goal. Of that I'm sure. 

Laudrup & Swansea reap the benefits of cool continental continuity

Leon's comments show Laudrup's approach suits the Swansea squad down to the ground

Last Saturday Swansea recorded their first home win since March - a run which, while lengthy, shouldn't have given too much cause for concern when you consider the calibre of the teams who've visited the Liberty during that time. 

Without aiming to take away from the Swans' performance, I thought 4-0 was a harsh result for Sunderland even though they, in truth, offered very little throughout. They defended well in the first half, but whatever Laudrup said at half-time clearly had the desired effect as we romped home in the second half with two goals from corners, a penalty, and an absolute worldy from thirty yards. 

Leon Britton revealed that (as everyone knows) Laudrup isn't a ranter and a raver, instead choosing to calmly put his points across:

"The gaffer's not a ranter and raver but he gets his message across. He just said that if we could raise our game, we could get the win." Leon Britton

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11661/8983639? 

For his part, the Swansea boss was as amiable and affable as usual post-match, honestly appraising the game and pointing out our first-half performance wasn't good enough:

"We did well, but it's true that this was the first win at home in the league this season. We can always go in and talk about fixtures and who you've played against, but we've played against three of the top teams, but when people start to talk about things like that, it's better to turn it down immediately, and the only way you can do that in this case is by winning.  

"For me, it was a great win because it was a very difficult game. The first half was very, very difficult. To be fair, we didn't make it easy for ourselves in the way we played. There was not enough movement, we weren't quick enough and we didn't move the ball around as fast as we could. 

"As a team we did not perform that well in the first half, but I knew that the players really wanted to win this game and we tried to change some things at half-time, and I think it changed completely. It always helps to score a goal." 

http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/laudrup-dismisses-home-form-concerns#6PsAplG8mGLOrjxm.99

This got me thinking about the type of manager we've grown used to at the Swans. Dating back to, well...a while at least, we've shied away from the quintessential British "motivator" when looking for a new manager, instead choosing to pluck lesser-known (until Laudrup!) names with more of a footballing education to call on. 

I'd imagine the last manager to "get in peoples faces a bit" would be Kenny Jackett. I can't imagine he was a tactical genius (I did like Kenny though), but I can imagine him giving people a dressing down if things weren't going our/his way. Whether I'm putting 2 + 2 together and making 5 I don't know, but I'm sure if I am someone will let me know.

Since then, we've gone for Martinez, Sousa, Rodgers & Laudrup. Four different nationalities, and four different variations on a theme. Martinez, as we know, put a lot of things in place which exist to this day, and was clearly someone who tried to relate with the Swansea squad - largely because he'd shared the changing room with lots of them during his previous spell at the club. 

He was followed by Sousa. By all accounts he's the one of a four who didn't mind causing a bit of a stir and reputedly caused some discontent at the club, but one thing he did do very well was teach a previously leaky defence how to keep clean sheets. We did this largely by foregoing goals scored, mind you, but you can't have it all your own way. 

Next up was Rodgers - he of the Ricky Gervais-esque parables. Rodgers, again, was someone who I'd imagine rarely (if ever) ranted at his squad in pursuit of an improved performance - in fact at one point it became a running joke that no matter how the Swans played, Rodgers press conferences would start with "Well, I thought the performance was fantastic..." (delivered in his lovely Northern Irish brogue), and hey - if it works who are we to question it! 

Now, however, we've got a manager who is as cool as the aforementioned trio combined. Every time you see him talk to the press, or giving out tactical advice on the training ground, he exudes composure and calmness, and long may it continue. All you have to do is look elsewhere in the league system to see what having an old-fashioned "man manager" will get you. Generally these managers are favoured by clubs who are willing to spunk ridiculous amounts of money on ridiculous players - further distancing this approach from our beloved Swans.

My point is that if you look past the footballing similarities (and differences) in our last few managers, there is still something which connects them all. A positive approach. Huw & Co clearly view the manager's personality as an absolutely crucial quality when looking for prospective candidates, and it seems providing a stable platform to work off is just as important as being able to impart top-notch tactical advice. 

Well, maybe almost as important. Laudrup does seem to be passing on a thing or two..

Leon Britton provides midfield masterclass as Swansea wear down Sunderland

Statistics back up fans' view that the diminutive midfielder provides a stable platform for his team-mates

Central to Swansea's second-half demolition of Sunderland was Leon Britton. The midfield dynamo was the fulcrum around which our team revolved, and after an outpouring of love for him on Twitter this morning I thought I'd have a look at his stats from yesterday. 

Britton has only started three league games this season - against Manchester United, Liverpool and now Sunderland. All at home, and if you disregard an opening day loss to the champions (which I'm sure most fans are fairly willing to do) the other two games have seen very good displays from the Swans. Against Liverpool Leon completed 95.7% of 97 passes, and against Sunderland he completed 94.6% of 92 passes, and it's easy to see how this benefits the team.

By moving the ball around at speed you consistently pull the opposition around the pitch and create space for others. Leon always faces the ball, and offers an outlet at absolutely every opportunity. He glides around the pitch fully aware of how he fits into the dynamic of the match, and seems to have excellent peripheral vision as he's almost always two steps ahead of everyone else. 

Compared with Jose Canas' performance against Southampton (82.6% of 69 passes) Leon clearly gets involved more metronoically. Again, as Laudrup stated after the match it's important that certain players retain a deep-lying position otherwise the team gets cluttered. Now that we have Wilfried Bony we have a focal point to hit and we don't necessarily need to tika-taka our way right to him - if there's a cheeky 30 yard pass on in to feet then the option should be there, but if everyone has bombed forward the chances are the opposition will end up with everyone behind the ball - as evidenced in the first half yesterday.

Yesterday Leon won four duels (losing two) and even managed to win the one aerial duel he pluckily got involved in. One stand-out moment for me was when someone else gave possession away (I forget who), Leon got involved in a foot-race with his man back towards the corner of the South and East stands. Not the quickest, Britton showed true grit and determination to get there first and retain possession. He's not the youngest any more, but he still loves it as much as anyone else.

He made two tackles, and managed to go the entire game without giving away a foul - remarkable for a player in his position. The beauty of what he does is by covering space intelligently he often forces the opponent into playing a risky pass, allowing the Swans to regain possession but sadly for those who believe only in numbers not necessarily being reflected in post-match statistics. You don't need figures though - you just need to watch him for ninety minutes to see how much of a classy operator he is.

A good comparison is to have a look at the heatmaps of Leon Britton and his central midfield opponent Lee Cattermole. On top is Britton, followed by Cattermole, and the more "vivid" the colour the more active the player was in that area. If you were interested, Leon Britton had 100 touches to Cattermole's 62, as well as making a surge which saw him claim Swansea's first penalty in fifty-six matches (just about visible on Leon's heatmap):

As you can see from Leon's heatmap, he was busy all over the field
and didn't restrict himself to one side. 

Cattermole, on the other hand, very much operated as one half of a midfield
duo which was ultimately overrun in the second half.

It's fair to say Leon put in a sterling shift yesterday afternoon, and with an understandably enamoured fanbase crying out to see Leon in the starting lineup for PL matches more often, it'll be interesting to see whether Laudrup chooses to retain him for this Thursday's Europa League game, knowing full well it'll almost certainly rule out any possibility of him starting at home to West Ham next weekend. Personally, I'd be going with Canas on Thursday as, given he's a few years younger and probably possesses a bit more physical "bouncebackability", he would probably be able to do both games anyway.

I've been crowing for weeks about how I think a defensive-midfield duo of Leon & Canas would see Swansea return to winning ways, but the truth is that on his own Britton brings balance and stability to the side, and yesterday was a perfect example of that.

Hopefully the calibre of his performance yesterday is enough to convince Laudrup that, for the time being at least, the answer lies in Leon.

Swansea 4 - 0 Sunderland - "We got a penalty..."

Two goals from corners AND we were given a penalty... 

Yesterday morning I awoke to glorious sunshine. I enjoyed an hour of thinking "what a nice day for the footie", before a brief (and heavy) bout of good ol' Welsh rain led me to think otherwise. By the time I arrived at the Liberty however, the skies had cleared and I was looking forward to what would surely be a long-awaited home win for the Swans.

Michael Laudrup had restored Leon Britton to the starting lineup, and he was partnered by JDG & Michu, while Ben Davies was deemed fit enough to start. Elsewhere, Pablo was benched in favour of Dyer & Routldge, while Ash missed out again so Jordi Amat continued to deputise in his absence. For Sunderland, Poyet had brought Phil Bardsley back into the team while Steven Fletcher had recovered from injury sufficiently to feature. 

The first half was... well, it should accurate describe it if I say I was seriously tempted to just skip analysing it. We were flat, lacked imagination and didn't look like breaking down a resolute Sunderland defence. For the visitors, Bardsley wasted a glorious opportunity at the back post while perhaps the biggest talking point for the Swans was whether or not Valentin Roberge should have been sent off for manhandling Michu when the Spanish forward seemed to be in on goal. As it was he only received a yellow card for his troubles - as had his previously mentioned counterpart Bardsley for an earlier (and nastier) foul on Nathan Dyer. 

So it was that we went in at half time with the scored tied at 0-0, and the talk on the terraces generally seemed to be laced with quite a lot of frustration. I remarked to a friend how I'd been particularly "less than enthused" with De Guzman's efforts, and how he did something spectacular every five to ten games which keeps him in the team. Ahem. The only shining light from our first half display (in my opinion) was Leon Britton. He basically spent the first fourty-five minutes scampering around clearing up his team-mates errors, and was the only player who looked like he understood the pressing need for three points from this fixture.

Thankfully, the second half brought about a change of attitude as well as a change of fortunes. The Swans operated with a renewed zip and vigour, and looked much likelier to break down their opponents. Neil Taylor replaced Ben Davies on 50 minutes, after the young left-back (Davies, that is) twisted his ankle in the first half. The Swans seem to be cursed with ankle injuries at the moment, and he's been sent for an x-ray to determine the extent of the injury. Laudrup thinks he may miss a game or two, which doesn't bode well.

As it happened, after Taylor came on we scored four goals. Whether you can attribute that entirely to a switch in left-back I don't know, but it happened. The opener came from a corner (I know!) - Angel Rangel flicking on at the near post and seeing his header (which was drifting across the area but not towards goal) cannon off Phil Bardsley and past Keiran Westwood in the Sunderland goal. 1-0, and the start of a seven minute purple patch which saw the Swans claim the first three of their four goals. 

Next up was Jonathan De Guzman barely a minute later - and WHAT a strike. I could try and describe it, but it's easier to just link a video:

Quality. The way he opened his body up... the guy has serious technique and I did feel bad for criticising him based on his first half. I just think he wanders a lot - stick near Leon and, as Laudrup remarked after the game, the forwards will do all the scoring. I think in the first half we crowded forward too often and given how compactly Sunderland set up there was no space to operate in. By sitting deeper you draw the opposition onto you and create gaps further up the field.

Next up it was Wilfried Bony from the spot. Leon, with shades of Hull 2003, burst forward into the left hand side of the box and got the ball marginally before Gardner clattered him. Just inside the box, and a definite penalty. Bony stepped up and smashed the ball right into the the left-hand corner - a great penalty, and I thought that taking the penalty showed massive strength of character. He must know that some fans are questioning his lack of league goals (which I think is harsh) and if he'd have missed it would have severely exacerbated that. 

As it happened, he buried it and we were in dreamland. 3-0, and to be honest up until that point I hadn't thought we'd played particularly well! Some call that the sign of champions, but I doubt we'll be vying for the title come the end of the season. There's an interesting statistical analysis of Bony's performance on the official site here: http://www.swanseacity.net/news/article/stat-attack-sunderland-1122485.aspx - hopefully we'll see more of that kind of thing from the club. It's rather novel for that kind of thing to come from the official source and I'm a big fan of it!

Just before Bony's penalty, Fabio Borini was one of two Sunderland substitutions and he came on to warm applause from the home fans. A few minutes later he missed a gilt-edged change running onto a hopeful pass where he skied his finish when perhaps he should have done better. I'm sure the home fans wouldn't have been quite so affable had he found the back of the net, as 2-1 with half an hour left would have given the game a vastly different complexion. 

Bony was replaced by Alvaro Vazquez on 75 minutes and Pozuelo came on for Routledge five minutes later, with both Spaniards looking lively. I think for players like Alvaro - a striker who's never had a prolific season - when you arrive at a new club you need to stick a few goals in early on otherwise you lose the belief you're able to be a twenty-goal-a-season striker. I've seen videos of him sticking in absolute worldies, but then again we signed Walter Boyd based on the same principle and he never came close to scoring the thirty-five goals he claimed he was capable of.

The fourth goal AGAIN came from a corner. The Swans got goals from unusual sources yesterday - we got our first penalty in fifty-six games and scored twice from corners. Quite remarkable. And we scored from outside the area. The Swans' last goal came from a corner swung in by Jonathan De Guzman (who turned around his day with a goal and two assists from corners), which  found Chico Flores. His header came off Steven Fletcher and slipped through Sunderland's clutches into the net, to make the game 4-0 with ten minutes remaining. Game over, and it was a case of damage limitation for Poyet's men. 

Instigated by the Jack Army, a small pocket Sunderland fans could be heard joining in with "Bring back Di Canio", but I suspect this was ironic based on the display of football from their team, and that they appreciate they're likely to be better off under the Uruguayan. Brighton had the best defence in Championship last year, and both the Swansea goals from corners have officially gone down as own goals - if we're being honest there was a stroke of fortune about both. Sometimes it goes your way, sometimes it doesn't.

So, a much needed boost to our goal difference and a confidence-boosting result to boot. Our first home win since March, we now have a Thursday/Sunday home combo of Kuban Krasnodar and West Ham before our little jaunt up the M4 to our nearest and dearest. A good time to be hitting some form...

Swansea vs Sunderland - Match preview, statistics, team news & analysis

The Match

Swansea will be hoping the first visit of a non-Champions League chasing side this season will result in a much awaited home win. Last time out against Southampton they huffed and puffed but failed to come close to blowing anything defence-shaped down, so the fact that the visitors boast the league's leakiest defence won't have got past Michael Laudrup. They should be fired up after most of the squad enjoyed a rest during the international break, and the Swansea boss will no doubt be expecting three points from this encounter.

Sunderland will be hoping a change of manager will bring about a change of fortunes. Yet to claim a league win, they've only managed one point from seven games and unless that changes soon you'd have to imagine they'll be leading candidates for relegation come spring. New boss Gus Poyet should get his side playing more structured football than the more...ahem..."motivationally focused" Paolo Di Canio, and as he's had the international break to work his magic his side should arrive in South Wales confident of making a much better fist of it than in previous matches. Remarkably, five of their seven games have been played at home so unless they start picking up points soon it could be a long, hard season for the team from the North East.

Prior Form (Most recent at top)

Team News - provided by Physioroom.com's Ben Dinnery

Swansea entertain Sunderland on Saturday in their first 3pm kick-off of the season to begin a “huge”  and “pivotal” week of football for Michael Laudrups’ men. Positive news on the injury front as the Jacks treatment room is beginning to clear with a number of first team members expected to be available for selection this weekend. Goalkeeper Michel Vorm should be fine after picking up a slight hand injury during the World Cup qualifiers while de Guzman and Monk has recovered from their respective groin and knee niggles. Leon Britton is a minor concern having missed training during the international break because of a calf injury while Spanish playmaker Pablo Hernandez (thigh) will return after six weeks out, although his recent illness may mean a place on the bench is likely. Full-back Ben Davies has progressed well after his hamstring injury at Southampton, the defender was initially ruled out for around four weeks, but providing there is no reaction in training today he could be a part of the match-day squad.

For Sunderland the new manager has brought a renewed confidence with a surge of positivity sweeping across Wearside as Gus Poyet takes charge of his first game with a fully fit squad at his disposal. The big news is the return of striker Steven Fletcher who recovers after dislocating his shoulder at West Brom in September, the manager has already hinted at a possible start with Altidore potentially dropping to the bench after his midweek international exertions. Goalkeeper Westwood (shoulder) should retain the number one jersey despite missing out for Ireland with full-back Phil Bardsley back in the frame following his recent off-field antics and broken foot.  Andrea Dossena is in line for his first competitive appearance for the Black Cats but Wes Brown is unlikely to be risked despite his recovery from on-going knee and calf problems.

Completely guessed lineups

Statistics & Trivia

• Swansea have completed 493 passes per game so far this season - the most in the league.
• Sunderland have kept clean sheets in three of their previous four PL games against the Swans.
• The Swans currently have the longest run of games at home without a win - eight, dating back to the Newcastle game last season.
• Swansea are one off 100 Premier League goals.
• Poyet is the 11th "permanent" Sunderland manager to be appointed in the Premier League.
• Under Poyet last season, Brighton had the best defence in the Championship, only conceding 43 goals in 46 games.
• Michu has been involved in more shots than any other player this season - 32. He's had 16 shots and created 16 chances for others.
• Sunderland are only the sixth team in Premier League history to have recorded one (or no) point after seven games. Three of the previous five were relegated. .
• Sunderland have gone 11 league games without a win.

Straight from the horse's mouth

Michael Laudrup speaks about Ashley Williams' fitness, and his pride about Michu making the Spanish squad:

Sunderland boss Gus Poyet fancies his chances of turning around Sunderland's fortunes:

Analysis

Swansea need to go for the kill. If Sunderland get to around half an hour gone without conceding it's distinctly possible they'll develop a sense of confidence they've probably been lacking so far this season, and it's imperative we don't afford it to them.

I really hope we see Leon & Canas deployed at the base of the midfield, especially with Ash and possibly Ben Davies out of action. With the need for a home win at the forefront of everyone's minds, Laudrup will surely deploy both Michu & Bony in the hunt for goals, which puts added pressure on the two other midfielders. I worry that without the balance the aforementioned midfield duo provide we could lose control of the midfield in a game we really can't be losing.

Hopefully Pablo will be fit enough to start, and he's surely itching to be back in amongst the action. With Bony not featuring in Ivory Coast's most recent match he'll also be fully fit, so I'm expecting a dynamic, deadly attacking performance for the Swans.

One cause for concern is the likelihood Steven Fletcher will be available for selection for Sunderland. The classy forward has three in three against the Swans so far in the Premier League and without Ash it'll be a tough task keeping him off the scoresheet. He'll need to be watched carefully lest he gets an early goal which allows Sunderland a foothold in the game.

New Sunderland manager Poyet will no doubt have been drilling his squad with his way of thinking, but given he's probably trying to get them to pass the ball around a lot they couldn't really be up against a worse team. - especially when you consider Ki (on loan from the Swans) is probably their best exponent of that type of football, and he's unavailable due to the conditions of the loan agreement.

Given the distinct possibility Fletcher will start I'm not confident of a clean sheet, but I am confident of a win. 3-1 Swans, with Bony impressing. Distance call, but I've had a beer and I'm feeling optimistic. Go on Wilf!

Swansea strike deal for fans to get cheap tickets at Hull & Newcastle

When I said "I'm sure we'll see offers for Swansea fans" I didn't think it would be that soon!

Following on from the previous blog where I looked at a deal we'd agreed with Newcastle to provide their fans with cheaper tickets, the club have announced that firstly, the Newcastle deal is reciprocal (so Swansea fans can purchase away tickets for the Newcastle game for just £20), and secondly an identical agreement has been reached with Hull City. 

Swansea Vice-Chairman Leigh Dineen explained that these initiatives are something the club has been putting a lot of work into:

“The reduced away ticket price initiative is something we started looking into over the summer. We contacted all clubs in the Premier League, but received very little feedback, but we’ve kept working at it and I’m glad to see that things have slowly started to gather pace.  

“We are in constant dialogue with other clubs in the Premier League and hope to announce additional reciprocal deals over the course of the campaign. We are determined to help keep the costs down for travelling supporters; not just for our own loyal fans, but those supporters of other clubs around the country as well.’’ Leigh Dineen  

http://www.swanseacity.net/news/article/ticket-initiative-newcastle-1117254.aspx #DO0FApZHgDez62Hi.99

It's quite easy to envisage the Swans holding a meeting whereby a lot of fan-pleasing initiatives were discussed, and it's good to see other clubs are now looking to offer similar deals. As mentioned in the prior blog, Swansea fans travelling to Crystal Palace had the option of a half-price adult seat when bought in conjunction with a junior ticket, while visitors to St Mary's in our most recent league outing received a free hot meal. When you couple that with a free scarf for anyone who attended the West Brom game and £15 off coach travel to our visit at Spurs, the goodwill missions really are stacking up.

The latest scheme put in place will see anyone making the trip to Craven Cottage to see us play Fulham receive a free matchday programme, with again the offer being reciprocal - Fulham fans will receive a copy of the Jack magazine when they visit our fair city.

I say good on everyone at Swansea City. It's impossible to change the big-money nature of the Premier League, but by putting in place a number of schemes which benefit the ordinary, loyal fan they'll definitely help to stem the tide of disillusionment we're seeing in football at the moment.