Summer Starts Early!

With Swansea City's eventful season almost over, it's almost time for 'silly season' to begin - four months of excitement and uncertainty. But before the rumours start ALEC JOHNSON takes us through what we have and what we need in the summer transfer market.

What’s in store for us this summer? I believe far more stability and positive moves rather than counteractive managerial hunting. After two seasons in the top flight, a major cup and a European adventure ahead, we have become a safe, exciting proposition for developing footballers.

We have developed an identity as a well-run club playing attractive football, but interestingly we are now considered specialists in the Spanish market, in the same way that Newcastle are for French or Arsenal were for French or African talent. Yet I still remain surprised not to see a Danish player or two.

So, what do we need?

Defensively we are solid with depth across every position. Four proven centre-backs and four dependable full-back options gives us plenty of versatility. So I would not add to defence unless the bombshell of Ash leaving to a top four club is realised. Sadly this is highly possible and that opens up a like-for-like exchange with Alberto Botia or another mobile man mountain. It will also be interesting to see if Darnel Situ can finally step up - he is highly thought of and must be in his thirties by now, the length of time he’s been hanging around.

Midfield is an area where Laudrup tends to freshen things up by changing things game to game. The engine room is vital to our game with both the box-to-box nature and the creative artists requiring fresh legs to break with pace. Jonathan de Guzman is expected to find another club - he replaced Joe Allen and, in my eyes, did a better job, offering more in the final third and on set pieces.

The board will fight to keep de Guzman and his statement suggesting that he would love to stay is encouraging, but money talks and he will have lucrative alternatives. Even if Jonno chose the Swans, would we pay £7million for him? I’m not sure.

So who could fill the gap? Personally I would love to cherry pick from the relegated bunch which could include Seb Larsson? Ashley Westwood? Tarabbt (cue multiple boos)? Possibly Wigan’s Shaun Maloney or James McArthur? Jose Canas may be brought in to compete with Leon, but where does that leave injury plagued Kemy?

Out wide I expect an addition to provide another menace for tired legs, covering off-days for Dyer or Routledge. So far Lamah has proved nothing yet and Pablo is far more effective in a more central role. Laudrup has quoted on several occasions his desire to work with four wingers capable of both creating and scoring.

Iago Aspas: Perfect signing for the Swans?

In attack I expect two strikers to be recruited, plus Luke Moore offered a new deal. Rory should be retained to complete the pack of four chasing the goals. Iago Aspas seems to want to come to Swansea and I believe he will for a club record fee and will fit in perfectly. It’s been a long time since we had a smaller more nimble option.

The Lukaku merry go round is back in motion - we nearly snared him last summer but his demands were too big, however this year we have a 30% greater budget to play with. A cheeky bid for Steven Fletcher if Sunderland drop would be fantastic, but I expect us to chase value overseas, or cherry-pick from the Championship. And what about Glenn Murray at Crystal Palace or even Jordan Rhodes - these fellas are all about goals and we do create a few chances.

Here’s my top three to mull over that could add firepower up front for us:

• Adam Szalai of Mainz is a big lad and superb finisher, previously with Real Madrid and of Hungarian nationality, in his mid-twenties. He never fulfilled his early potential but could blossom under Laudrup.

• Wilfired Bony has been banging them in all season for Vitesse Arnhem, a current Ivory Coast international and at 25-years-old he is deserved of a go in a big league. 

• Jonathan Soriano moved to Red Bull Salzburg for a few extra euros last summer. Why this lad hasn’t left the Barcelona fold and moved onto a big club in a major league surprises me, he’s got everything needed to succeed at a club like ours.

Adding one of these three plus Aspas takes into the category of top six challengers, it really does.

Closer to home, the under-25 home grown rule will affect decisions. Clearly Tiendalli was rated above Jazz last season but the decision is reversed for next season. The extra space in the squad is unlikely to be deemed important for another full back - a shame as Dwight has done very well.

Anybody coming in will fit the profile characteristics necessary at the club: a few years before their peak, great work ethic, comfortable on the ball in any area and the hunger to work hard.

In addition to the character profile we must consider how a blend of highly paid egotistical stars blend together. Adding the wrong individual can be hugely counter-productive if team selection doesn’t go their way. But I have faith in our board to assess the character assess anybody joining in ‘Fokker’ style.

We will continue to do it the Swansea way and, despite any whispers or speculation, I forecast a bunch of new players that we haven’t heard of and an even stronger season ahead.

Swansea City: Competition winners!

Thanks to everyone who entered the ForzaSwansea blog competition to win a wonderful Swansea City caricature print from SwansFootball.

In the end the main prize went to a very deserving winner, Marie Pearson, who was in hospital receiving treatment for breast cancer at the time.

Afterwards she said: "I was so chuffed I won, it brought tears to my eyes."

Well done Marie!

Marie showing off her prize!

Meanwhile Tash Smith, Clive Mitchell and Sian Protheroe were the lucky runners-up who bagged an individual player print each.

Stay turned for more great blogs and competitions!

Cardiff... it's been a while.

We've had several brilliant blog posts from some top contributors over the past month, but now ForzaSwansea editor CHRIS CARRA returns with a post of his own, discussing the likelihood of Swansea City's biggest rivals making the leap into the Premier League


There is no point hiding the fact that most Swansea City fans have been keeping a close eye on the Championship table recently and not for nostalgic reasons. It's about time we addressed the possibility of sharing the Premier League with another Welsh team next season.

We've seen how many times Cardiff have thrown away the opportunity to propel themselves to the top flight, usually in the most painful way - the play-offs. However this season it looks almost inevitable that they will finally be successful in their attempt.

With seven games to go, the Red Dragons are seven points clear at the top of the table and have a game in hand. The teams that can stop them all seem to be slipping up. This year seems to be the year Swansea City's greatest rivals will shake off the bluebottles label. But is it a bad thing?

Instantly I would say yes. It is ingrained in Swansea fans that we do not want Cardiff to succeed. They don't want Swansea to succeed. How many Cardiff fans were cheering us on in the play-off final? How many were willing us to beat Man City, Arsenal and Chelsea? None (or a very few odd ones). Yes, the rivalry between the clubs and the fans is historically mental.

However Cardiff being promoted would see the return of the South Wales derby which is certainly one to be celebrated, and is up there with the best 90 minute rivalries in the world - Italy vs. Brazil, Real Madrid vs. Barcelona and Shenzhen Xiangxue Eisiti vs. Guangzhou Pharmaceutical F.C. (I've discussed this before - it is an actual derby, albeit less media friendly as others).

It's been a while since the last one - we have to go back to February 6th, 2011 when Brendan Rodgers was still wooing us with David Brent-isms and Yves Ma-Kalambay was making an impact on the bench. Cardiff came down to the Liberty Stadium and won 1-0 in a match where they were hungrier for the win (though a few poor refereeing decisions helped their case). We were close to witnessing a South Wales derby in the play-off final later that season but thankfully that was an M4 bubble match that didn't happen.

And this time around the derby will be on the biggest stage - probably a Super Sunday 3D affair! The whole world will have the opportunity to watch, including the newer fans that Swansea have collected over the last few seasons.

Some may say Cardiff's promotion is good for Welsh football but I don't fully buy into it. Unless it's a team bursting with Welshmen it won't do that much good - not as good as Swansea's promotion anyway. Apart from Craig Bellamy, Cardiff don't have much Welsh talent to brag about and less to develop. Yes some of the younger reserve players may fall into the same category as Ashley Williams, Ben Davies, Joe Allen, Neil Taylor, but with only Bellamy in the first team it won't be groundbreaking move.

Ultimately if Cardiff do achieve promotion they deserve it. They've played well enough throughout the season and look to be making the step up as champions of the second tier. While no-one in Swansea will applaud, no one should really begrudge.

Besides, they will probably be relegated anyway.

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Aus readers who fancy football tipping should have a look at TABs footy tipping website.

Ashley Williams: On his way out?

In this blog post, JULES PRICE takes a look at why Swansea City legend Ashley Williams may well be heading away from South Wales this summer. And we don't mean on holiday.


I’ve lost count of reports linking established Swansea City players with bigger clubs, especially on the back of the Swans' continued success in the Premier League. This season there has already been a lot of speculation over players being lured away from Swansea including Michu, Vorm and of course Laudrup himself, while loanee Jonathan De Guzman would create a genuine void should he return to his parent club Villareal.

But a major headache for the club would be the departure of captain Ashley Williams. While he denies seeking a move, maybe there are some telltale signs to suggest otherwise.

What career path has Williams followed so far? After a short spell as a youth player at West Brom, he joined non-league Hednesford Town before being snapped up by Stockport County. He was well respected at Stockport and club captain, and was given a farewell round of applause when he signed for the Swans during the 2007-2008 season.

Since then, Williams has been a stalwart in the heart of the Swansea defence, breaking many records along the way. He holds the record in the 2012/13 Premier League season for the most blocks. His player influence stats are nearly always the highest in the Swansea team, and he has one of the highest pass completion rates amongst his peers. The icing on the cake was lifting the Capital One Cup at Wembley in February.

However, I have seen a side to Ashley Williams this season that has not been so visible previously. At the start of the season, the club was surrounded by rumour that all was not well behind closed doors, with the chairman holding meetings to resolve disputes between the players and the new management team. This seemed to have an effect on Williams as some sloppy back passing from him cost Swansea dearly. His levels of concentration were clearly strained.

Credit to him, his season has got back on track. But another problem occurs. Is he satisfied with the quality and commitment he sees from some of his teammates, especially the newer recruits? At the end of the West Brom away game and the recent Arsenal game at the Liberty Stadium, Williams was livid with some of his teammates, but one player in particular has been at the wrong end of his disgruntlement – Pablo Hernandez.

I have observed him shouting, swearing and screaming at Hernandez like I have never seen before, with pure frustration and anger. Could this be too much for Williams? I suspect he has had and will continue to receive offers from now until the start of next season, from other clubs and the opportunity may finally be right for him.

At 28-years-old a move to a richer club would guarantee one large pay-day before retirement, the possibility of Champions League football, and the chance to play with players of even greater ability. Or will Williams see Swansea’s entry into next season’s Europa League as enough of a challenge, and it will suppress any other desire to leave the club?

His agent Jamie Moralee has reiterated Williams is likely to stay, but he has confirmed discussions would need to take place between all parties if a substantial offer is received. With Arsenal and Liverpool reportedly admirers of the Swansea defender, the Swans will be lucky to have him playing for them during the 2013/14 season.

ForzaSwansea in March '13

March was a superb month for the blog, I hope you'll agree (or at least keep quiet if you don't)!

Since I made the decision to open the blog to a small team of contributors we have seen healthier numbers of interesting Swansea City articles.

As with all good sports websites (I think) the direction changes from time to time and it's refreshing to see more detailed, standalone articles profiling certain aspects of Swansea City, instead of match previews and reports which saturate the blog market (in a good way - it's good to have a lot of choice these days).

Over the past few weeks we've seen Jules Price take a look at the Liberty Stadium expansion plans and in another article he highlighted Swansea's 'other' summer signings. Jacob Cristobal made a very enthusiastic debut post outlining why he chose to support the Swans despite living over 4,500 miles away.

Alec Johnson also made his first contribution with a really solid piece looking at the past and present, before trying to define where it is the club are going in the future. Elsewhere in a piece that proved popular with many fans, Matthew Jacob profiled my favourite Swans player, Angel Rangel.

We have another couple lined up for April, before we look at the end of season drama (there is usually a little when it comes to Swansea) in May.

Remember, some of the ForzaSwansea writers have their own blogs and websites so be sure to check out the contributors page for the links.

Thanks as always for visiting,

Chris

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Off to the Swansea Bay Beer Festival this week? Check out my review of last year's event on my food blog, SwanseaOnAPlate!

Swansea City: The ‘other’ summer signings

Although Michu has rightly claimed the title of the new Swansea City poster boy, he is not the only player who joined the club in the summer. As JULES PRICE explains, there are others worth celebrating.


To suggest Michu has been the signing of the season is an understatement. Not only is he one of the leading scorers in the Premier League, but he has demonstrated his versatility playing in different positions and, with the departure of Danny Graham, has taken on extra responsibility within the team.

However, he wasn’t the only signing that Swansea made before the 2012/13 season commenced.

New recruits Ki Sung-Yeung, Pablo Hernandez, Chico Flores, Jonathan De Guzman and Kyle Bartley have all enjoyed some success in South Wales. Let's take a look at three of these ‘other’ signings who sit in the shadow of Michu.

South Korean Ki Sung-Yueng had already enjoyed three successful seasons in British football with Scottish giants Celtic. Swansea signed the 24-year-old Korean international for a club record fee of around £6million. Little was known of the attacking midfielder, but it soon become apparent how useful this player is. He is a skillful player who has great vision to choose the right pass, many of which are forward moving and has the ability to use both feet.

For both Celtic and the South Korean national team, he has shown to be a valuable asset, scoring some spectacular goals from 25 yards plus. Although yet to score for the Swans, he has had the most shots blocked of any player in the Premier League this season. Ki’s willingness to help his team mates and his resourcefulness was typified by playing a full back role in the Capital One Cup Final game against Bradford at Wembley.

Pablo Hernandez is a 27-year-old player who was signed to compliment the wide players like Routledge and Dyer. Formerly a striker in his early days in Spain, Hernandez has been tipped to play for a big club with alleged interest coming from Manchester United and other top European sides. After some success at international level for Spain, making his debut against Austria in 2009, Hernandez’s career seemed to meander before Swansea signed him during the Summer of 2012.

He has the ability to round a player and has scored some memorable goals for the Swans. However, in more recent games against WBA and Arsenal, his pass completion has been poor, and he seems to try almost too hard to be precise with his pass. He played well against Bradford, showing some flashes of his true talent, whilst gaining an good understanding with Ben Davies.

Jonathan De Guzman has been signed on loan from the relegated Villarreal for a season, although both the player and Swansea are looking to make the deal a permanent one. This will depend on whether Villarreal are promoted back to La Liga. During the pre-season games at the Liberty Stadium, De Guzman could be seen marshaling his new team mates around the pitch, showing great zonal awareness, and demonstrating some true technical ability.

De Guzman has grown in statute, producing some wonderful free kicks, and is now the second leading goal scorer for the Swans with eight goals in total. Arguably his best game was in the Capital One Cup semi-final against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, where he proved to be the perfect foil for Michu helping to create the first goal.

Many media pundits will still argue that to be successful in the Premier League you have to spend serious money. I disagree! Yes, you need to sign new, better players to improve the squad, but more importantly a club needs to sign the RIGHT players and Swansea City have been justified in this approach.

Michu has been a revelation this season, and his recent League Managers Association Award has vindicated this, but the Swans are much more than that and, with two exciting players apparently lined up to join the squad this summer, may Swansea’s shrewd approach continue.

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If you are after lovely, independent reviews of the fine eateries of Swansea remember to check out Chris's food blog - SwanseaOnAPlate!

From Oldham to Old Trafford: The Rise of Angel Rangel‏

He's my favourite player. No, not Alan Tate - it's Angel Rangel. And MATTHEW JACOB, in his ForzaSwansea debut, profiles the Spanish defender who continues to dominate the wings of the Premier League.

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By Matthew Jacob

Swansea City have been on an incredible journey in the last ten years, and many have played their part in the meteoric rise of the club. Were you to ask the Jack Army who they think has been a standout performer you may hear names such as Ashley Williams, Leon Britton, Scott Sinclair, Michu... only a few might immediately suggest Angel Rangel, but the Spanish full back has been a stalwart since his arrival from Terrassa in 2007.

I remember my initial reaction being one of incredulity - I mean, Angel Rangel?! Who is he?! I learned soon enough. For a mere £10,000 Rangel was brought to Swansea from the Segunda B outfit on a performance-based deal by Roberto Martinez, and quickly established himself as a first team regular as Swansea stormed to the League One title.

Rangel continued to perform well as Swansea's passing style drew admirers from all corners of the football world, culminating in a Wembley showpiece and promotion to the Premier League. An extraordinary rise then for a player plucked from obscurity in the lower echelons of Spanish football.

Rangel has had an exceptional six years at Swansea City, forging an excellent understanding with the likes of Nathan Dyer and more recently Pablo Hernandez. His rampaging overlapping runs from fullback cause havoc for opposition defences and allow the midfield even greater freedom when the Swans get into an attacking flow.

Defensively Rangel has proved himself time and again. The likes of Eden Hazard, Nani and Aaron Lennon have had little or no joy against the man from Catalonia, and his recently penned three-year deal is just reward for a string of high quality performances.

So what makes him so important to Swansea City?

First and foremost Angel Rangel is an intelligent footballer. In modern football it's as much about positional play and how the game is read that make good defenders great defenders. Rangel knows when to get tight to a tricky winger and knows when to stand his ground. As good in the air as he is with his feet Rangel has developed into one of the most highly rated fullbacks in British football.

When Rangel gets into attacking positions his ability to pick a pass and set up scoring opportunities for the forwards is another important commodity for the club. And that really is one of Rangel's greatest quality is that he's not 'just another defender' he's a winger, a fullback, a leader and a team player.

If I had to choose a Rangel moment in the last six years it would have to be his goal at Doncaster Rovers in the Championship. With the clock ticking down the Spaniard rescued a point for the Swans to keep their promotion push on track as he controlled a pass from Kemy Agustien before firing into the top corner on the volley to the joy of the travelling fans behind the goal.

Brendan Rodgers actually referred to that point as "the most important to date" at the time - a superb goal from an unlikely source, and he's chipped in with a few more since!

Rangel's influence extends beyond the pitch. The Spaniard, who recently referred to himself as 'feeling like a Welshman' is a model professional and a role model for the younger players, while recently he took to Twitter to request help from his followers to find a charity shelter where he and his wife could make food donations. The story spread and even attracted national press coverage.

Angel Rangel sums up everything that's good about Swansea City at the moment; hard work, pride, passion and belief. I'm looking forward to watching his rampaging runs for a few more years yet.

Are we there yet?

What is Swansea City's ultimate destination? Are we a 'big club' yet? What makes a 'big club'? In his first ForzaSwansea blog post Alec Johnson explores the past and possible future of the club that everyone just can't get enough of.


Are we there yet? The dreaded question for any parent on a long journey, but one we can also ask ourselves as Swansea City supporters, because we too are on quite a journey. But before we look ahead, let’s rewind and appreciate recent points in our history.

It has been well documented that we were rock bottom a decade ago - at least it was our rock bottom. Thankfully we didn’t suffer the ‘Luton’ or ‘Oxford’ syndrome, both of whom a generation previously had reached their Wembley cup finals, both winners of a major cup. Neither club has recovered to reach similar heights after losing their league status.

For Swansea, that fateful day against Hull could have delivered an entirely different direction for our club and we danced with the devils of non-league. Would we have returned? I believe so. I have considered a few reasons why but thankfully we will never know the answer to that question. One thing for sure is that we wouldn’t be parading cups around our city on a bus full of international stars.

Size counts for nothing in this ruthless game where the worst teams fall through the trap door. Though comparisons can be drawn between the clubs, we are a much bigger club than both Luton and Oxford, boasting far greater fan bases and population - 750,000 people live within a 45 minute drive of Swansea, a huge catchment area.

More importantly, our club are in the safest set of hands in the entire football pyramid, and have been since 2001, two years before our judgement day. Huw Jenkins and Martin Morgan in particular have built this club with their hands dirty and through their heart and soul for the city and its supporters, not themselves.

The board in the winter of 2003 recognised two things that could be done to affect the journey and change the destination -  bringing in players and fans. They did both by running several cheap ticket schemes that doubled the attendances from 3500 to 6000 and beyond, the extra revenue generated was reinvested in Martinez, Britton and Tate, among others.

History and survival has been well documented since. So acknowledging the past will always have our board and long term supporters appreciate the present and future. Accepting where we are in the pecking order of football hierarchy can bring perspective to what we have achieved when planning the next steps.

So many managers become victims of their own success but thankfully our board see the hill in front of them and have one eye, not two, on the mountain beyond it. If this was ‘bet in-play’ would we cash in now? Have we peaked? How far can we develop our club? Are we now considered a big club? Are we there yet?

The Future

We were promoted in style, also in hope not belief that Premier League status could be retained. Belief has now turned into expectation, as I predict a minimum five year run at this level. If there was a check list of items necessary to develop in this league, I believe we tick every box and we can now set our targets even higher beyond the hill and towards that mountain.

We remain debt free, profitable, focused on developing a young squad under long contracts, under a manager committed for the next season at least. Our profile grows month on month and the board have the investment priorities in the right order.

It’s all about the Liberty, the team and new training facilities absorbing the cash surplus, what we can afford and pausing what we cannot. There is not another club in the Premier League that ticks every box, this leaves us in an enviable position where we can prosper and become a ‘big club’ - this has to be the goal. There is no actual definition of a big club but the most common factor considered is attendances.

Clubs like Norwich, Sunderland and West Brom punch well above their weight but this is down to a prolonged time in the top flight. A top flight stay breeds a generation of fans and it becomes a habit.

Most remain through relegation and tough times therefore securing greater revenue at lower levels and the probability of a promotion. This is in the minds of the Swansea board as they embark on the investment for stadium expansion - the interest is not the revenue as there is enough of that swilling around. It’s the bums on seats for the future of the club.

Adding to this the fact that ‘we’re all going on a European tour’, again the few million yield on this adventure is of secondary importance, the raised profile attracts both players and fans, embedding our proud name in the media every Thursday across Europe. Iron the banner Mrs J, me and the fella are off to Latvia!

So, are we there yet?

I don’t think so, but we do need to understand where we sit in the order of things. We will not be competing for the Champions League, firing our manager for not winning the league, booing our players off the pitch for not winning 5-0 or chanting ‘sack the board’.

Let’s not forget our values as a club as we become more successful, our recent history is now our best history but I believe there is more to come, lots more. The first ever top flight south-Wales derby perhaps? Let’s hope not! A serious crack at Europe, an FA cup and a decade in the best league in the world sounds like a great destination for me.

But let’s not forget, ‘we are Swansea, and we know who we are’.

Fortress Liberty: Expansion

In his debut ForzaSwansea blog post JULES PRICE takes a brief, sensible look at the exciting new plans for the desperately needed expansion of the Liberty Stadium.


It was in 2005 that Swansea City and the Ospreys moved to the Liberty Stadium, which was a typical off-the-shelf packaged modern complex, based on plans similar to Sunderland’s ground, the Stadium of Light.

With an initial capacity of 20,500, this has organically grown to 20,750 with better use of space, but now the club has announced a three-stage plan to expand the stadium, increasing the capacity to an eventual 32,000 seats. Having the second lowest stadium capacity in the Premier League after QPR’s Loftus Road, Swansea City are now anxious to take advantage of its growing popularity among local and global supporters.

An artist's impression of what the front elevation may look like.

However, the club has brought forward the first stage of its ambitious expansion programme, as the current media facilities at the stadium are not compliant for the new Sky TV/BT Sports agreement commencing in August 2013. The initial phase will involve the creation of a fourth tier in the West Stand, which will house a new media centre.

This also provides the Swans with an opportunity to house a new spectator area on the newly created level, and replace the existing media area with spectator seats. Externally, the fourth tier will not be visible, and the perfect bowl shape is still retained.

Seating inside the stadium.

A further 5000 seats are expected to be added to the East Stand in time for the 2014/15 Season, and should the Swans continue to enjoy success on the pitch, a decision will be made to increase the capacity to an eventual 32,000.

This steady, calculated approach typifies how Swansea City have conducted its business under the guidance of Huw Jenkins. The Swans will be keen to avoid the mistake made by Wolves where an ambitious expansion programme to increase their Molineux Stadium was started, only for the club to be relegated to the Championship and subsequently struggle to fill the new seating areas.


Thoughts from Chris:

The stadium desperately needs more seating. In this age where Swansea have significantly increased their support in the city and beyond (not in Cardiff) there is a constant battle for tickets. The infuriating Jack Army membership scheme starts to play its part, tickets are sold for stupid prices, fans try to get tickets in the away end... it's not what football should be about.

How refreshing it would be to just wander down to the stadium on match day and pick up a couple of tickets half hour before kick-off.

As Jules mentions, if Swansea are relegated then support may wane (though it shouldn't if everyone is the Swansea supporter they say they are...) and the half-full stadium may make Swans matches seem like Osprey's matches!

Still, it's worth the gamble. Swansea don't look likely to be relegation material in the near future and now is the time to encourage new supporters who can actually pop along to a match without having to scavenge for a ticket weeks ahead of the game.

A Swan in Seattle

In bed, through one bloodshot eye - that's how Seattle-based Swansea City fan JACOB CRISTOBAL watches his newly-adopted team. In his debut ForzaSwansea blog post, he explains how he fell in love with a club that play the beautiful game over 4,500 miles away.


There's something special about watching Swansea City, and the overall narrative of who they are and what they're trying to accomplish.

Most fans of the game here in the US tend to start off with finding a favourite in England's top flight before branching out to finding favourites in other places, including our own domestic league, Major League Soccer.

I was going through the motions of picking a Premier League side. Most of my friends already had their allegiances with someone of the "Big Four" and, while I was close to following suit, I wanted to expand my horizons.

My personal preference is to go for the new and in Swansea City's case they were the newest of new. Their first time ever being in the Premier League as well as being the first Welsh club to do so definitely struck a chord with my way of thinking and throughout the 2011/12 season I kept an eye on what they were doing.

The confirmation of picking and following them didn't really come until the summer of 2012. No, this wasn't like LeBron James' The Decision, though one of my friends tried to make a campaign for me to swear allegiance to Chelsea.

Looking at where Swansea City finished in their maiden voyage was very impressive and truth be told there are a couple aspects about Swansea City that I just like and, most likely, only by my logic make sense. They are:

• The Swanselona nickname - having been dazzled over the years by FC Barcelona, this is a no-brainer.
• Their crest is a beautiful design of simplicity and echoes something you'd see out of the DHARMA Initiative (yes, that's a reference to the series LOST).
• Their nickname, the Swans - where sports typically go for aggressive nicknames, you have the swan. How can you not like that?
 

Living on the west coast of the US, I'm in the unique position of catching Swansea City matches from the comforts of bed, through an Internet stream and with one bloodshot eye. When kick-off happens over in the Premier League, most of the time it's 7am here in Seattle. So you can already imagine the process when those lunch time kick-offs happen and it's 4am here.

Sometimes the Swans are on TV and in those cases I have to endure Steve McManaman's attempts to use words to form sentences to make a point about who knows what! Then again, this is how it is following practically any European league match live. I would never complain about it because without the marvels of technology, discovering Swansea City and getting to know some of the fans would not be possible.

Chris asked me where Swansea City lie in terms of how American fans view them - I would say they are of two outlooks.

First they could be seen as a mid-table team who will make a little bit of noise, but ultimately lie in the middle of the pack. Something akin to your Stoke City and Fulhams of the world. Not competing for the Premier League title, but not trying to pull off a great escape from relegation.

The other outlook is that with their immediate success and feel good story of winning the League Cup and possible advancements in European competition, Swansea City could become an alternative for those looking for a Premier League team to root for that aren't part of the old, established giants.

I'm not saying the Swans themselves are going to be Premier League giants any time soon, but they are building a great case to attract more people to not just how they play and the stars they have, but how the club is managed and most importantly the fair and good people that support the club.

And that is one of the biggest aspects about Swansea City that I've come to like over the journey so far - the people. Those that I've interacted with over social media have welcomed me with virtual open arms and I've noticed that not one of them has ever felt the club was entitled to any of the success. Yes, the want is a great burning desire, but those that I've talked to know what's happening before them is special and they are just enjoying and appreciating the ride.

As the saying goes, the rest is history.

No one is going to be able to say where Swansea City will go next but the ride they're taking fans on, both old and new, has been a blast. It's roughly 4,600 miles between Seattle and Swansea and while I hope to one day close that distance and attend a match at the Liberty Stadium, near or far this guy says thank you and let the good times roll.

Changes to ForzaSwansea.com!

I am changing the name of the blog to ForzaCardiff.com. Announcement over.

...yes, I'm joking. But I didn't drag you here just to make a stupid joke.

Regular readers may have noticed that over the past few months my Swansea City blogging activity has been a lot less frequent than in previous years. The reason for this is simply that my workload has increased and other writing commitments are eating into my time.

A few weeks back this began to frustrate the hell out of me because - as you will know - I love the blog. However, with limited time, I am not giving it the attention it deserves.

So I've made the decision to open the doors to a small team of hand-selected contributors - all passionate, witty Swansea City experts who I am hoping will provide a couple of superb, exclusive blog posts a month.

In my new role ForzaSwansea editor I will still be writing as often as before, but under this new regime you should see more frequent and varied posts. I have created a contributors page where you can meet the new ForzaSwansea team.

I'm also open to new writers and guest posts (providing you are genuine Swansea City fans - i.e. no agencies), so if you have an original article idea and think you have what it takes to write for this award-winning website, leave a message on the contact form.

Stay tuned - new posts coming very soon!

Chris

From Landore to London: Swansea City Champions!

Once again we came, we saw and we conquered Wembley!

Swansea City are champions of the Capital One Cup 2013 - quite a feat for Michael Laudrup's first season in charge!

 

Around 30,000 Swans fans made their way from South Wales along the M4 to London for their second Wembley final in three seasons. After a frosty early start, the beer (on my bus anyway) was cracked open at around 8am, along with chants, singing and a hefty case of sausage sandwiches!

We made it to Harrow at around 11:30am and continued drinking in the warmth of The Moon on the Hill, which was rammed with Swans fans. Maybe a little too rammed, so we eventually moved to the slightly more manageable one a few streets away - The Junction. The atmosphere was superb - I can't imagine the Bradford-designated pubs were as loud as our ones!

I made my way to Wembley via tube and arrived at 3pm and found my seat which had a great view. Only as I sat down I realised how cold it was... any energy I had left was knocked out by the icy chill that swept the stadium. I knew I should have bought a half/half scarf...

The interesting opening ceremony was atmospheric as you would expect, as were the fireworks and dramatic music. And the flags left on the seats were also a nice touch.

With the long build-up over, the main event - the 90 minutes of football - was actually a bit of an anti-climax for me. Not the five goals or Swansea winning, but the actual feel of the match. It felt more like the first round of the cup, only at Wembley.

Unfortunately this was down to Bradford not really turning up. Unlike their fans - who were superb throughout, out-singing Swansea at times and celebrating until the end - the actual team seemed burned out and/or overawed by the situation. Probably the case of one massive game too many. Even though I wanted Swansea to win, a couple of nerve-wracking Bradford chances - similar to the play-off final vs. Reading - would have made for a little more excitement. But it felt a little bland.

Still, 10,000/1 at the start of the cup, Bradford surpassed the expectation of their fans to get to the final, but it was always going to be Swansea City's day and the team thoroughly deserved to lift the cup.

From what I remember, Swansea dominated possession and territory, outplaying Bradford in every aspect. Take nothing away from Swansea though, who would have probably beat any opposition yesterday, such was the quality of football they played.

The goalscorers were a little unexpected. At no point did I have Dyer to be on a hat-trick - I don't think many would have. It's a shame he didn't get his third goal. It's undecided whether de Guzman should have surrendered the ball to him for the penalty, but de Guzman was in his right to want a goal on a plate at the final and therefore was probably right to take the kick.

Ashley Williams lifting the trophy with Garry Monk was another nice touch of the day - both men deserved it for their service to the club.

We shuffled out of the stadium and found the way to the mini-bus that would take us back to Swansea. Five hours later we arrived - knackered, hungry, cold but happy! A great day and one which may not be topped for some time!

Europe, here we come!

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Check back soon for an important announcement about the future of ForzaSwansea.com.

The Wembley Preview

Remember this?

My view last time - slightly closer to the halfway line this time around!

Well it's time to relive it once again. We're off to Wembley!

For most of us it means cracking open a lovely can of beer at 7am while sailing down the M4 on a bus that smells like anticipation and (if you go with the bus company I do) a little bit of urine.

There will be plenty of beer and plenty of anticipation on Sunday. Hopefully more excitement than nerves like the last time the Swans were at the stadium. While the 5-0 hammering by Liverpool last weekend wasn't ideal preparation for Wembley, rest assured there is nothing to worry about on Sunday.

While a heavy defeat isn't cause for celebration, it does clear the air. It gives the team - the whole squad - a shake up. One thing Swansea City definitely won't do now is swagger into the final and slip-up by being too casual.

In theory, Swansea should win comfortably on Sunday. Despite no obvious striker (excluding Michu), the Premier League team should wrap this historic cup final up in the first half - again, in theory. But, as we know, the cup loves an upset and things rarely go the way we plan.

Remember, Bradford are not in the final because they have been poor in this competition. They beat other Premier League opposition (including Arsenal) to claim their Wembley spot and won't have any fears about being up against Swansea. Their fans believe, their players believe, the Dalai Lama believes, and sometimes a little belief goes a long way.

But against a mid-table League Two side, this is only Swansea's game to lose.

Michael Laudrup played a second string side against Liverpool, ensuring some of his top players were rested (some may say unnecessarily), so his strongest eleven will be out on Sunday. Laudrup is taking this cup very seriously. Let's face it, his time at Swansea is likely to be short, and he knows that if he is to go down as a Swansea City legend in such a brief time-slot, a cup final win will be the way to do it.

Tremmel will have to start in goals. Not just because he has been this cup's designated keeper, but because his overall form has increased dramatically, with some fans insisting his performances have been better than Vorm's in recent weeks.

Unfortunately, the consistent, fiery ponytail of Chico Flores won't be fit in time for the final. So, more than likely, lining up with Ashley Williams and wearing the captain's armband will be Garry Monk. He's by no means a Chico Flores, but he is the club captain and his cool head will be vital. We all know what he can do at Wembley. Most of us are still confident that, had Monk not put his body on the line for the club against Reading, Swansea would not be in the Premier League today.

Either side of the centre two will undoubtedly be Angel Rangel and Ben Davies. It will be a big occasion for Davies, but he's handled himself well in the past year in Taylor's absence and will cope with the pressure and whatever Bradford can throw at him.

Onto the usual headache in Swansea City's game-plan - the midfield. Starting with the wings, I'd go for Pablo Hernandez and Wayne Routledge. Nathan Dyer hasn't been as electrifying as he has in the past, but will be a superb little sub, should Swansea need him in the second half.

Leon Britton is first for me in the middle, and is probably your first choice too, despite Laudrup occasionally overlooking him. De Guzman and Ki would make up the other two for me.

This leaves little option up front apart from Michu. This isn't particularly a problem - he can score against Arsenal, he can score against Chelsea so he should be able to score against Bradford.

Despite Bradford giving it their all I can't see any other result than a Swansea City win in normal time. It won't be an easy 90 minutes but Swansea will win 3-1 (though I do see Bradford netting the first goal).

It's odd, Swansea being outright favourite... there's something a little unsettling about it. Or is that just me? It's probably just me. Swansea will win.

Let's get ready to make history - see you in Wembley!

Beware: The Curse of Swansea City

Danny Graham is the central figure in the current 'I want to leave Swansea City' rumours. Though nothing is confirmed, he's clearly not happy starting behind Michu every week and it looks like he wants out.

In Laudrup's defence, Graham hasn't particularly wowed recently.
In Graham's defence, he is a footballer who wants to play football (we assume).

Can we blame him? If he really wants to play, maybe Swansea isn't the best bet for him at the moment. Then again he may just want to go for the money, like so many others have done in recent years. But be warned Graham - bad things tend to happen to those who leave Swansea, especially for the money.

To commemorate this event, and the closing of the transfer window, I'm dedicating a blog post to look at some victims of the satisfying curse:

Scott Sinclair
This is the best one for me. Greed and nothing more led him away from Swansea City. Sinclair clearly had visions off knocking the likes of David Silva to the bench and cementing himself as one of Man City's starting wingers. However he was the only one in the whole country who could not see he would be a reserve player and nothing more. For a man who spent much of his career hopping clubs, he clearly made a massive mistake - but he'll receive no sympathy from us.

Joe Allen
Local-boy-makes-good Joe Allen was one of the key figures in Swansea's midfield last season. However, he was very quick to follow Brendan Rodgers out of South Wales to Liverpool. Unfortunately for Allen he hasn't really shone under Rodgers the second time around and has seen more of the bench than he probably wanted to. And, with Rodgers on the hunt for new midfielders, will he have much of a chance to impress at Liverpool in the future?

Darren Pratley
There was plenty of hoo-hah (finally managed to use that phrase) surrounding Pratley's departure but he officially left the club for Bolton on a free transfer, immediately after Swansea reached the Premier League. He now plays regularly for the Championship club which sit in an uninspiring 16th position. After his amazing halfway-line goal against Nottingham Forest, getting relegated with Bolton must have been a little anti-climactic.

Dorus de Vries
If there was ever a case of why you shouldn't leave Swansea for reasons of greed, The Cautionary Tale of Dorus de Vries is one people should tell their grandchildren. The highly-respected goalkeeper was adorned by Swans fans for many a season, including his awesome promotion-winning final season. On his departure, De Vries said: "Wolves are going into a third season in the top division and ... the difference for me is that while Swansea will hope to maintain their Premier League status, Wolves will expect to survive."

While Swansea are now 9th in the Premier League, Wolves are currently 18th in the Championship, and de Vries is a reserve player. While we can't hate him, we can chuckle at the fact that he may be sitting on the bench for a League One team next season.

Brendan Rodgers (not a player, but still...)
Rodgers ditched a place where he was loved, to join a bigger club where he was initially hated. Fans have warmed slightly to him - from hatred to indifference - but with Liverpool off the mark and Swansea heading for another Wembley final, Rodgers must have some regrets now. Not that he would admit it. Okay? Okay.

Alan Tate
Just joking - Tate's loan move to Leeds was the right decision for everyone involved and he is welcome back at any time.

Out of all these players, can we really be that bitter? The answer is no. They all helped Swansea get to where they are today in one way or another, and their exit made room for an even better successor to come in. Still, there should be no guilt in smiling at their misfortune.


This post was kindly sponsored by XLSMedical.co.uk

Swansea City: Historic semi-final and a boy with a ball

Another trip to Wembley looms after Swansea City hung on to a 2-0 aggregate victory over Chelsea at the Liberty stadium last night. The game certainly had its share of drama, but the important thing is a cup final is now just a month away and a trophy is just 90 minutes from that.

Swansea performed very well over two legs - first nicking a good win at Stamford Bridge, then playing their away game at home, with deep defending and exciting counter attacks, absorbing Chelsea's limited pressure.

Ashley Williams and Chico Flores were both outstanding and deserved to share man of the match (though Williams took the award himself). Gerhard Tremmel showed why he has made first choice keeper throughout this cup. Leon Britton was rapant as usual, despite the golf ball sized lump on his head after an accidental elbow. Wayne Routledge was, again, brilliant - he has really found his stride and has been consistent for so many games. Overall there were no underachievers last night.

But, annoyingly, most of the post-game chatter wasn't about Swansea's historical feat of a Wembley league cup final. Instead talk was shadowed by #ballboygate. And it seems this blog post will be overshadowed by it too...

Firstly, I don't believe Hazard should have kicked the ball boy, no matter how frustrated he was. But looking into it, 'ball boy' (whose real name is Charlie Morgan) is not an innocent child as we all first thought. He is 17 - and he actively planned to time waste. Check his Twitter account for the full confession.

I feel a little sympathy for Hazard, despite him being a diver himself. It wasn't the 'Hazard kicks a child' scenario we all thought at first, but more 'a 22-year-old kicks a 17-year-old for interfering with the game.'

The ref had no choice but to red card him, but I can see why Hazard was frustrated. Ultimately, ball boys aren't there to interfere with games, they're there to assist - no matter what the team, no matter what the competition. I may take stick for saying that, but it's what I believe.

I'm not complaining as such - Swansea had an easier ride after Hazard was sent off - but the truth is Swansea didn't need time wasting from an adolescent to see them through. They were doing a fine job of making their way to Wembley by playing good football. 

The only other things of note in the match, I felt, were a few of the Swans' chances were wasted. Many was the time that players (notably Ki and Hernandez) had an opportunity to uncork a shot at the target but hesitated and/or passed. Sometimes a shot is worth taking, even if it is way off target. It's not always easy to pass it in, like in the Championship days (remember those)?

Onto Wembley next month for a certain cup win against minnows Bradford! Not so fast - Bradford aren't in the final for no reason. It'll be a tough game, but the Swans certainly have to fancy their chances now. Favourites going into a final - who'd have thought it!?

Swansea City: one week, three competitions

It's been a busy few weeks of footballing action for Swansea City over Christmas, so what better way for the team to rest and recuperate than with a... well, another grueling week of football.

The Swans are about to embark on a week which will see three intense games, against three quality sides in three different competitions. Naturally all three are big games, but which should Michael Laudrup make priority?

Arsenal
First up is the FA Cup match against Arsenal on Sunday. This jumps out at me (and probably to 99% of you) as the one game, if any, that doesn't particularly matter.

Don't get me wrong - it would be nice to see Swansea progress and win the FA Cup, but with a demanding league and another cup run in progress, this is the last thing on anyone's mind this week.

I don't see Laudrup throwing David Cornell in goals, or feeding Kurtis March or young Henry Jones (that's a good old fashioned name) to Arsene's lions, but he may replace some of the key players with the fringe men. You'd hope he would.

Prediction: Swansea lose


Chelsea
Next we have Chelsea on Wednesday in the Capital One Cup semi-final. Despite being a cup match, this is important. A semi-final is the furthest Swansea have ever come in the competition and, with another Wembley trip in view, the Chelsea game should be taken very seriously.

Swansea have the goods to emerge victorious at the end of two legs and certainly have the advantage playing at the Liberty Stadium in the second leg. We all know how unlucky the Swans were not to take all three points against Chelsea last season (after the annoying last minute equaliser), and drew 1-1 with them again earlier in this season.

With a team who are now stronger and more able to score goals (apart from when facing Villa...), and providing they are able to keep themselves in the tie at the end of the first leg (ideally a win, draw or no more than one goal deficit), there is absolutely no reason why Swansea can't book a place in the final!

Prediction: Swansea draw


Everton
Finally Swansea will play Everton the following Saturday. The Premier League is the overall priority this year, but let's be realistic - are Swansea likely to be playing in the Championship next season? Not with the likes of QPR, Reading, Wigan, Southampton, and Aston Villa already battling it out for a spot in the doomed three. That's not to say Swansea are safe, but survival is much more certain this time around. I'd say a few points could afford to be dropped on Saturday.

However, a strong team will be needed if Swansea are to come away with anything against in-form Everton.

Prediction: Swansea draw


What the @ForzaSwansea Tweeters say:

@swinney30

Premier league, it's all about money these days and that's where the money is.

@chippie77

Going to have to say points in the league everytime, but a trip to Wembley in a major final would be nice.

@71_alec

Chelsea two legs for me... we will not go down this season and have never won anything worth winning... need to win in this cycle!

@aberdarejack

Chelsea is the one I'd like us to win, beat them 1-0 over 2 legs!! Great chance to win a trophy.

@Spideyjones1

Chelsea - lets go and win something. 

@swansea320d

Chelsea for me. Our best ever chance of a major cup final.

What do you think? Cup final? Points? Another Arsenal scalp? Leave your opinions below!

Swansea City: 2012 Review

2012 - another eventful year for Swansea City.

From securing a second season in the Premier League, to a dramatic managerial change and the addition of some of the best players Swans fans have ever seen at the club.

Here is my brief (as brief as I could make it) snapshot of the club's centenary year, highlighting the best bits and worst bits that have made 2012 so memorable.

Though I've checked and re-checked, I would appreciate a comment below if you spot a glaring omission or silly inaccuracy... it happens to the best of us.

Happy New Year!


January 2012

Swansea started 2012 well under Brendan Rodgers (remember him?). The team kicked-off with a 2-0 away win against Aston Villa, before the outstanding 3-2 victory over Arsenal, where the Swans came from behind to beat them - the first big scalp of the debut Premier League season.

Then, despite thoroughly deserving it, Swansea were unable to take all three points away from the first home game against Chelsea. Swansea drew in the worst possible way with an injury time equaliser from Bosingwa (deflected off Neil Taylor), which made the 1-1 scoreline feel like a 4-0 defeat.

Meanwhile, David Cotterill left the club after his contract was cancelled by mutual consent. Swans fans across the globe shrugged their shoulders.

The Swans were also dumped out of the FA Cup by Bolton in January.


February

An international break saw relatively little Swansea City action this month. The highlight was a 2-1 away win at West Brom (and that's scraping the barrel!), with a low point being the 3-2 home loss to Norwich.

Also in February, Brendan Rodgers signed a new three-and-a-half-year contract that was set to keep him with the club until July 2015. We all know how that turned out.


March

A good month for Swansea City - three wins in a row, comprising three clean-sheets and six goals.

However the one goal everyone will remember from March is Luke Moore's header which secured a superb three points against eventual Premier League champions Manchester City. The only thing that could top the euphoria of Moore's goal was the close up of Sian Massey as she flagged Micah Richards offside to deny him an equaliser in the dying minutes of the game. Brilliant!

However, the winning streak stopped at the end of the month with a 2-0 home defeat to Everton. Typical.


April

A poor run for the Swans, with three back-to-back losses against Spurs, Newcastle and QPR; conceding eight goals and scoring just one.

The last game of the month saw Swans fans welcome back Dorus de Vries to the Liberty Stadium, who started the game for Wolves. Brendan Rodgers' new 3-4-3 formation looked to be working wonders with Swansea heading into the break 4-1 up. No-one is quite sure what happened next as we witnessed Wolves score three in the second half, turning a without-doubt win into an unsure draw. Entertaining, but annoying.


May

What can we say about May... one thing is for sure: Brendan Rodgers played a big part!

Firstly we said goodbye to Swansea City's first Premier League season with a 1-0 win against Liverpool in front of an Elvis-themed Jack Army - the wishes of Brendan Rodgers. This was a superb end to a superb season. It was also Brendan Rodgers' last game as Swansea City manager.

Swansea ended their debut Premier League season in 11th place - outstanding considering the odds against them.

However, the joy soon turned to shock as two weeks later Brendan Rodgers silently left the club for Liverpool. Twitter broke down with Swans fans unsure of what to do next. It was truly the end of an era. A very bitter end at that.

My blog post on the issue was well received and worth checking out again to relive the heartbreak.


June

If May was a month of heartbreak, June was a month of uncertainty. We all brushed ourselves off and began the search for a new manager.

After many names - Poyet, Zola, Bergkamp, Holloway... even Monk - were thrown around, one seemed to stick: Michael Laudrup. Soon the rumours became reality and Swansea City were in possession of their new manager. Some (including myself) were unsure, but most fans were euphoric with the high-profile Dane. Either way he had the full support of Swans fans everywhere.

June was also the month Adidas unveiled Swansea City's centenary kit, to the joy of many who felt the previous year's had been a little bland. This truly was a kit to celebrate the club's history.

Elsewhere, injury-riddled Ferrie Bodde was released by the club in June.


July

New prices for a home Premier League ticket were revealed by the club to the disgust of many fans - £45 seemed to be blatantly taking advantage. The ever-confusing revisions of the Jack Army membership scheme didn't help the club's case either.

In July Gylfi Sigurdsson left Swansea and signed for Spurs, joining Steven Caulker who returned home after a successful loan spell with the club.

Michael Laudrup brought some real talent on board, signing Michu from Rayo Vallecano (for around £2m), Chico Flores from Genoa (around £2million), while Jonathan de Guzman joined the club on a season-long loan from Villarreal. 

Swansea City began playing again, with the traditional Port Talbot derby (Swans won 5-0), before a more glamorous trip to the good ol' USA to play friendlies against Colorado Rapids Ventura, County Fusion and San Jose Earthquakes.


August

Swansea were heavily tipped to be heading straight back to the Championship by most bookies and FourFourTwo predicted Swans to be rock-bottom come May.

However, FourFourTwo looked to immediately eat their words as Michael Laudrup began his reign with two amazing Premier League wins and eight goals (five of which coming from the opener against QPR)! The winning continued with the first Capital One Cup match - a 3-1 win against Barnsley.

Elsewhere, Swansea made two record breaking signings this month - Ki Sung-Yeung from Celtic for a fee of around £6m and Pablo Hernandez from Valencia for £5.55m.
In August we also said goodbye to Joe Allen, who followed Brendan Rodgers to Liverpool for £15m, and Scott Sinclair, who left to sit on the bench at Man City for a fee which would amount to around £8m. In retrospect, this was great business! 

Other players leaving the club were fringe players Andrea Orlandi and Stephen Dobbie, who both went to Brighton.


September

September was much more sobering, and the defeats came heavily. Swansea failed to win any Premier League matches; losing three and drawing against Sunderland. However the Capital One Cup progress continued with a 3-2 victory against Crawley Town.

Swansea also signed Itay Shechter on a season-long loan from Kaiserslautern in September, while Dwight Tiendalli was signed on a free-transfer until the end of the season after being released by FC Twente. Tiendalli was set to replace Neil Taylor who fractured his ankle this month, in Swansea's 2-2 draw with Sunderland.

This was also the month that the club celebrated 100 years of football, since the first professional game against Cardiff (...boo) in 1912.

Elsewhere, ForzaSwansea.com claimed the title of Best Sports Blog in Wales at the 2012 Wales Blog Awards. I was thrilled and very proud (I still am).


October

Swansea were unable to take a deserved point against Man City at the Etihad, but more worrying was the sight of Michel Vorm being stretchered off. Step forward Gerhard Tremmel.

The club also came up against Brendan Rodgers for the first time since he left, in the Capital One Cup on Halloween - Swansea travelled to Liverpool and beat them 3-1. We all cheered. 


November

Alan Tate did the unthinkable and left Swansea City on loan until January to Leeds United.

Brendan Rodgers and Joe Allen re-visited the Liberty Stadium for the first time since May, and took a point back to Liverpool following the 0-0 draw. 

No points were dropped this month, with three draws - including another 1-1 home draw with Chelsea - and two wins against Newcastle and West Brom. Gerhard Tremmel certainly proved himself in Vorm's absence and contributed greatly to the good month.


December

A month packed with football for Swansea City - seven games in all.

December began with two late Michu goals, which gave Swansea a 2-0 away victory to Arsenal - a wonderful feat which would set them up well for the... that's right, the 3-4 loss at home to Norwich.

The Swans then progressed to a semi-final clash with Chelsea in January after beating Middlesbrough 1-0 at home.

Back to the Premier League and, after a lacklustre performance and a 1-0 loss away to Spurs, the Swans came back to claim an incredible point against current leaders Man United at the Liberty Stadium. The exciting 1-1 game almost ended in tragedy as Robin van Persie was close to being killed by a ball to the face (as exaggerated by Sir Alex Ferguson...). Needless to say, van Persie survived and culprit Ashley Williams wasn't arrested for attempted murder.

Swansea ended the year with an edgy 2-1 away win against Fulham, using a team with seven changes. The club begin 2013 in 10th place in the table. Take that FourFourTwo.

An exciting end to a year full of drama. Phew.

ForzaSwansea Team of 2012

Vorm

Rangel, Williams, Caulker, Taylor

Britton, Sigurdsson, Michu

Routledge, Graham, Dyer

Subs: Tremmel, Davies, Chico, Allen, Hernandez


Agree? Disagree? Leave your Swansea team of 2012 below!

Swansea City 1 - 1 Man United: A Winter Warmer

"Glory, glory Swansea City!"

Okay, not quite 'glory' in the traditional sense, but a victory of sorts for Swansea, who have now taken points from all the "big" teams in the Premier League. A 1-1 draw against Man United see the Swans celebrate the festive period 11th in the table.

I'll keep this short as you'll all want to be over-indulging in festive cocktails and/or mince pies.

Swansea started very brightly today and we saw some impressive fluid football from the men in white in the first ten minutes. However the confidence seemed to vanish as soon as Patrice Evra scored from his head on 15 minutes. A soft goal, and another conceded from a set piece. Leon Britton was ultimately to blame as he moved from his position on the far post, but it shouldn't have reached him in the first place. Swansea do need to improve on set-piece defence, but we'll leave that for now.

Thankfully heads only dropped for about ten minutes, when we saw a wonderful pass from Routledge through to de Guzman in a great onside position, whose rebounded shot fell for Michu (who else) to tap in. A deserved equaliser and a goal that sees Michu crowned the current top goal scorer in the Premier League with 13 goals.

The second half is where it all kicked off. Really good, exciting, frantic football. United seemed a lot more likely to nick the second goal, with a few slaps of the cross bar and forcing a few good saves, but Swansea held on well and created a few chances themselves.

We saw a not-so-seasonal scuffle between Ashley Williams and Robin van Persie, after Williams kicked the ball against the head of a floored van Persie (accidental or not is still undecided, depending on who you support). I can sympathise with van Persie mainly because... well, it must have hurt. But that's football. Alex Ferguson claimed afterwards that the incident could have killed Van Persie - that's a little extreme. No, that's very extreme. I've had many balls to the face (not a euphemism) when playing football and I've never died. It was not attempted murder - relax Ashley, no jail for you.

Thankfully no-one was killed and the fight added some extra heat to a cold afternoon in South Wales.

Agustien won man of the match - well done Kemy, you deserved it. Dwight Tiendalli also made himself known today - a definite competitor for a first-team spot even when Rangel/Taylor come back from injury. He made a good go of attacking and placed some great balls into the box (even if they weren't met by anyone).

It was nice to see Michel Vorm back in action. It may be difficult for Gerhard Tremmel to accept, as he has been superb in Vorm's absence, but Vorm showed why he is first choice on a couple of occasions today.

For Swansea to claim a point again the most recognised team in the world is another testament of how far the team have come, and another thing to tick off the list of success.

Today's festive frenzy of football was the perfect build up to Christmas and a point was a justified gift to the team and the fans.

Happy Christmas!

Swansea City: Capital One Cup, Man United and Villa (David, not Aston)!

It's been an eventful week for Swansea City, so let's sum it up in a best bits blog!


Swansea City vs Chelsea - Capital One Cup semi-final

After Chelsea eventually bettered (and battered) Leeds 5-1 in the Capital One Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday night, they seemed destined to be Swansea's semi-final opponents.

From what I can see, reaction from Swans fans is mixed. Some would have preferred to play Aston Villa or Bradford, while some are happy to get Chelsea out of the way first.

I agree that it may be less daunting for the Swans to play Chelsea over two legs. As long as Swansea keep themselves in it during the first leg at Stamford Bridge, they will have a brilliant advantage with the home crowd for the second game.

Then it is just the case of brushing Bradford or Aston Villa aside in another Wembley final! Or, as one tweeter wrote this week - ‏@NeathJack1 said: "We'll probably beat Chelsea and then lose to Bradford in the final!! #TheSwanseaWay"

The first leg at Stamford Bridge kicks-off at 7:45pm on Wednesday, January 9th.


Welcome to Swansea, David Villa?

In my last post I said Swansea needed a new striker, but I didn't expect Barcelona's David Villa to be the first (or anywhere) on the list. However it seems to be quite a solid rumour at the moment and, with odds being slashed from 40/1 to 8/11 on Wednesday, everyone has gone mental!

We all know that bookies slash odds all the time and it comes to nothing. They panic and lower odds when they notice a big surge of bets on one particular outcome. Or perhaps they know something that we don't. Either way it is very interesting and enjoyable to hear these rumours.

Would he really give up the beauty of Barcelona for the sobering sight of Hafod? I guess if the money is right and regular football is on offer, he may consider it.

This is where it becomes unrealistic though - can Swansea City afford Villa's wages? At probably £100,000+ a week it's unlikely, unless he fancies a severe pay cut.

However it's certainly one for Huw Jenkins to mull over - we know Villa is a more accomplished goal scorer than, say, Shefki Kuqi was. He would be the goalscorer the club are in need of to take the strain off Michu. With Villa leading the way, Swansea could actually set their sights on a top four finish!

Either way, at least now these crazy rumours have some element of believability to them, which is always good news for Swans fans.


Swansea City vs Man United

With so much going on, it's easy to forget the fact that Man United will visit the Liberty on Sunday for just the second time. Last time round Swansea were on the verge of sharing a point with United, but a Michel Vorm mistake gave Chicharito his first goal in Wales.

This time Man United will pose the same threat. Sitting comfortably at the top of the Premier League table, Man United don't seem to have wowed much this year, but are capable of winning game after game, as everyone expects of them.

It's safe to say United are favourites for Sunday's festive football, but Swansea always have a chance to take something at the Liberty Stadium, regardless of who they play.

The unfortunate factor for Swansea are the injuries - Taylor is still out, while Vorm and Rangel are fighting to be fit ahead of the game. Meanwhile, Michu says he's willing to get hurt again against Man United. I like the commitment but hopefully Ferdinand doesn't see this as an excuse to break his leg.

Whatever happens, we will need a better, more enthusiastic performance than the game against Spurs. Swansea shouldn't give Man United the respect the deserve. If they are up for it on Sunday, I will go for a 1-1 draw!

Swansea City 0 - 1 Spurs: I came back for this?!

Today I make my triumphant return to blogging!

Now, this may sound selfish - but I'm sure other sportswriters will agree - it is sometimes easier to blog when your team are doing poorly than when things are all rosy. So today was a good time to rejoin the blogosphere with a dull performance from Swansea City.

It's not a massive surprise. The Swans were without several key players - Angel Rangel and Pablo Hernandez have both been superb recently, but both were injured today and that cut some of Swansea's power going forward. Add Michel Vorm and Neil Taylor's lengthy injuries and Swans were lacking in defence.

However, despite the defensive injuries, it wasn't really the defence that was the problem against Spurs. The back four did well to absorb the consistent pressure of Spurs attack, while Gerhard Tremmel made some good saves. Ashley Williams played very well and deserved his man of the match award, while Chico Flores was as fiery as ever.
 
It was the midfield lacking today. Ki Sung Yueng looked tired and elsewhere for much of the game, while de Guzman was also poor. Even Leon Britton was off at times. Casual passes and poor touches cost Swansea any momentum going forward and getting the ball up from defence to midfield was a struggle. Dyer and Routledge both produced little to get excited about either.

Kemy Agustien came on, shortly followed by Luke Moore, shortly followed by the goal for Spurs. We can't blame Moore for the goal though. Then came a bit of attacking force for Swansea, but Spurs stopped much of it with little hassle. Finally, we had an annoying end where Michu was accidentally taken out by Hugo Lloris, and then everything kicked off. And then it was game over.

The stats say it all really: Swansea had no shots on target, while their possession was just 39% for the whole game. Spurs had 24 shots in total, compared to Swansea's four.

Not a festive result for Swansea, but White Hart Lane is a tough place to go, Spurs are a top side and Swansea were understrength.

The Swans remain in 10th then, which - let's be honest - is better than any of us would have predicted at the start of the season. They'll take on Man United on the 23rd at the Liberty Stadium where anything other than a loss will set us all up for a good Christmas!

Finally, before you all leave for other websites for a more in-depth analysis, I'm asking the question 'what does Laudrup need to focus on in the transfer window'?

I'd say a real effort to seal a capable goal scorer is needed. This is not to disparage Danny Graham, Luke Moore or Itay Shechter, as they all try to put in a shift when on the pitch, sometimes scoring, but not often. Recently the goal scoring duties seem to have fallen to Michu. This isn't a bad thing, but giving someone else the pressure to score goals would allow Michu to roam where he likes, which is when he scores his goals.

It's similar to a time a few season's ago, where Scott Sinclair was relied on for everything. If he fell injured, or dipped in form, the whole team would suffer. Let's hope that doesn't happen with Michu, but if he is out for any reason Swansea need another capable scorer to smash them in. All budget should go there because every other area is pretty much oozing with talent.

Please use the comments section of this post to add your desired (and realistic) striker for the January transfer window!

BOOK REVIEW: "Ashley Williams: My Premier League Diary"

I was a big fan of Adrian Mole and his nerdy, awkward diaries when I was growing up (as a nerdy, awkward teenager myself I could sympathise greatly with Mole). So, as an adult, I was pleased to see Ashley Williams' new book was written in my favourite format.

It's not often that football fans will have the chance to catch a day-to-day glimpse of what football is like behind the scenes (unless you can stomach watching Being: Liverpool) and even rarer that you will see such a detailed view of the inner workings of Swansea City FC.

In the new book, Williams - in conjunction with Swansea sports writer David Brayley - takes us through all the highs and lows of life in the Premier League. We see honest humour in the form of dressing-room banter and pre-season antics, alongside great sadness when Williams opens up about his grief over the loss of Gary Speed in November.

It's also nice to read that footballers - despite the millions in the bank and copious adoring fans - are, in fact, real people, with everyday worries and problems.

After a foreword from his mate Rio Ferdinand, Williams begins the book in July 2011 where he reminisces about that day at Wembley (and the reason why Nathan Dyer was nowhere to be seen immediately after lifting the trophy). He then takes us up the Alps for the club's pre-season trip before the Premier League kicks off, where he describes (occasionally in excessive detail) the tests each game posed and the jubilation/disappointment of winning/losing games.

As you may know from reading an excerpt published in the Evening Post last week, Williams highlights clashes with Luis Suarez, among others, as the season goes on. He ends the book in May this year, with his joy at Swansea securing an 11th place finish and the uncertainty that came with Brendan Rodgers securing a job at Liverpool.

It's a hefty purchase at £14.95, but certainly worth it for a genuinely interesting, entertaining and insightful read from one of Swansea's most consistent players over the past few years. Check it out!

Available now in book shops and online from Amazon.

Blogger out - back in a few weeks!

Just a quick note from me to say that I will be relatively quiet on the blog over the next few weeks.

Currently a mixture of work and exam revision is taking up a lot of my time and I'd rather leave the blog alone for a few weeks instead of churning out some half-hearted attempt at something that nobody wants to read and I don't want to write!

Naturally, if something BIG happens (Alan Tate joins Cardiff, the Liberty Stadium burns down, etc), expect a reactionary post, but for now I suggest checking out the links page on this blog for a host of other brilliant Swansea City blogs during my short absence.

If you're new here why not check out some of my past posts - there are two years worth to dig into!

See you soon,

Chris

A letter from Zimbabwe!

As most of you will know, I always try to put emphasis on bringing Swansea City fans from around the world together - and it's a much easier task now the Swans are cruising in the Premier League.

Despite often speaking to fans from America, Australia, Korea and much of Europe, I was surprised when I was forwarded a handwritten letter, sent from a Swans fan in Zimbabwe (that's Africa for those who failed geography).

The 16-year-old fan, Chimanga Maponga, writes the letter to reach out to Swans fans, asking them to get in touch with him and send him a little team news and share some stories about the most exciting team in the Premier League!

If you have a spare five minutes, why not get in touch with him? Send him an old match programme from a match or a photo of the vetch.

Go on - help out a Swansea fan who can't just pop on the bendy bus to the Liberty; I'm sure he would love to hear from you!

His address - and a scan of the letter - is below. Cheers!

Chimanga Maponga
HSE No. 922
Shumba Street,
Karoi,
Zimbabwe

Ok? Ok? Ok? - OK!

You may think I've gone mental, or my blog been hacked into, but no - the title is just a light-hearted jab at Brendan Rodgers (whose time on Being: Liverpool has exposed him as a religious user of the word 'ok').

It seems like just yesterday we all felt the jolt of panic when we sensed unrest in the Swansea City camp - Brendan Rodgers being linked with Liverpool, Brendan Rodgers being confirmed with Liverpool, Brendan Rodgers leaving for Liverpool. Then came the cliche-riddled letter to the Evening Post. Then he was gone.

We soon wiped away the tears. Some of us turned angry, others remained unsure whether or not he was the new Martinez. However, he soon confirmed his place on the Swans fans hate list after looking to poach players like Ashley Williams and Michel Vorm, and then succeeding in taking Joe Allen.

Tomorrow, for the first time, Swansea City come up against Brendan Rodgers in the Capital One Cup.

We probably won't see the usual cup match tradition, where most Swansea fringe players will be aired out - we would hope for (and I'm sure Laudrup will deliver) pretty much a first team squad, with a few exceptions.

With the Man City game taking one of Swansea City's most valuable players in Michel Vorm, Gerhard Tremmel will really need to rise to this occasion. He has look flaky in the past and even struggled against Barnsley, but Laudrup has confidence in him. Still, I guess he is a better option than David Cornell.

Elsewhere Angel Rangel is suspended, but it's not the end of the world as I'm sure Rangel needed a bit of a rest. Dwight Tiendalli or Jazz Richards may well get an airing out, while Alan Tate or Garry Monk may make an appearance somewhere in defence at some point.

Maybe we'll see Luke Moore start up front or on a wing, though Danny Graham and Nathan Dyer have both been bench-warming recently, so I'd be surprised if they don't start.

Of course, this is a cup match - if Swansea lose it's not the end of the world. Ultimately the Premier League is still priority, but it goes without saying a win would be more than just a win.

Rodgers has the advantage of it being in Anfield and has the 'bigger' players advantage - we know what Steven Gerrard, Louis Suarez and, of course, Joe Allen can do on a good day. However, it's likely they will be rested - which is good news for the Swans.

I'm not sure how the travelling Jacks will respond to Rodgers... okay, they won't be applauding him. We all know what Rodgers did for the team, but it wasn't just his doing, as some of the lazier media outlets like to insist. We have plenty to thank the Irishman for, but enough to be bitter about too.

While the Swans fans at the game will surely vent plenty of anger, it will hopefully be our (well, Michael Laudrup and the team's) football that will do the talking.

(Meanwhile, this is an interesting article I found on the origin of the word Ok). Ok?