Sunday 11 January 2015

Cup o' coffee and the Swans (Sunday Catch-up - 11th Jan 2015)

Here we go - Happy New Year!

Recently my commitments to other projects (along with a peppering of laziness) has seen output on Forza Swansea fall pretty low. So, in an attempt to ensure at least one new post a week, I have created a new Sunday catch-up post which I aim to keep up with!

So grab your Sunday morning coffee / tea / hair-of-the-dog, and let's catch-up with the goings on in the wonderful world of Swansea City over the past week!


Swansea 1 - 1 West Ham: Frustrating / Inspiring / Greasy


Sloppy defending in an overall frustrating first half saw Swansea concede to a decently struck goal from Andy Carroll. His celebration was infuriating, but Swans fans had the last laugh as his team lost two points when Bafetimbi Gomis equalised in the second half.

Carroll goading the Swans fans (Great photo - not sure who took it sorry)

As I mention, the first half was - in a word - pathetic from Swansea. Most of the passes were in the middle of the park and as soon as they had a chance to break quickly... the ball was passed back to the centre backs, rendering a surprise counter attack impossible.

The fans were screaming for subs and thankfully Garry Monk heard our cries, bringing on the inspired Modou Barrow and Marvin Emnes; injecting some much needed pace and desire to replace Nathan Dyer and Wayne Routledge. Some attractive passing in front of goal later and we had our deserved equaliser. Men of the match (for me): Fernandez, Britton, Fabianski.

What did we learn from yesterday? Gomis - with a little work and confidence - will be enough to carry the team through the second half of the season. Nelson Oliveira looked smooth and very handy with the ball. Angel Rangel had a terrible game - no matter how much of a club legend he is, he needs to sort it out before next time. Andy Carroll is still a greasy b*****d, capable of scoring against Swansea when he wants.


Bye bye Wilfried Bony, no more goals for Swansea

The biggest news this week has been the imminent (although not yet confirmed) departure of beloved Swans striker Wilfried Bony, who is likely to head off to big spending Manchester City for £30million (although Chelsea are also in the running to sign the striker, should the Man City move break down, or so the Daily Express report).

Goodbye, and thanks for all the goals!

The power striker is currently in Equatorial Guinea for the African Cup of Nations, but it's unlikely he'll ever put on the white shirt of Swansea again. It was always likely to happen and it will be a great shame to see him go. Not only for his goals, but his creativity and his huge presence on the pitch.

As Forza Swansea blogger Alec Johnson tweeted last week: 'Gomis was signed as a Wilf replacement last summer as offers were expected for £19m... But we've had an extra 4 months and £11m so just smile'. 

That's a sentiment I agree with, and I'm sure sensible Swans fans everywhere else do to.


Hello Troy Deeney?

With the upcoming departure of Bony, several media outlets have linked Swansea with Watford striker Troy Deeney, who has been one of the Championship's top scorers in recent seasons.

Deeney has scored 69 goals in 183 appearances for Watford since 2010, and could fit into the side pretty nicely.

However as Planet Swans pointed out earlier in the week, with Gomis and Oliveira already in place, it's unlikely that a move will be made for the 26-year-old front man. But who knows...?


Rory goes to Tranmere

Finally, young Rory Donnelly has joined League Two bottom-dwellers Tranmere Rovers until the end of the season. The 22-year-old striker has suffered his share of frustrating injuries since joining the Swans in January 2012 and as a result has made little impact.

So it's a good move for both clubs and the player in this respect - he'll definitely get some much needed game time with Tranmere, as yesterday afternoon proved. Donnelly came on for Rovers as a 67th minute sub in yesterday's flaccid 0-0 draw against Morecambe. Good luck Rory.

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That ends the first of these regular Sunday morning catch-ups. In the meantime make sure to cheer yourself up this January and get your copy of Swansea City's Greatest Games now!



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