Players We Should Get – Part IV

Following on from the recent series of articles – https://passingpashion.wordpress.com/2014/04/30/players-we-should-get-part-iii/ – I’ve decided to add a very quick update on the jewels that are sitting rotting on the QPR squad.

I know your first impression might be – “we don’t want them lazy mercenaries” – but lets remember the old adage “class is permanent, form temporary”.

Who are these dusty gems, I hear your scream?

Shaun Wright-Phillips – we all know him but what might surprise a few of you is that he’s only 32 years old and he hasn’t been blighted by particularly terrible injuries. His main curse recently has been palying in a very poor, top-heavy QPR team that has sucked his confidence away. For a reasonable deal I am sure we can help him get his mojo back. He is out of contract.

Alejandro Faurlin – the talented Argentinean midfielder, who is also available on a free this summer, unfortunatley injured himself at the end of 2013 (due back around now though, so a medical will probably give him the all-clear). He is the sort of tidy passing midfielder that thrives for us, and considerably lighter on his feet than Canas…more Leon than Canas.

 

Players We should Get – Part III

As a confirmed Premiership side in 2014/2015, that plays nice attractive football, Swansea City have some additional kudos in our search for extra players come the summer. This article continues a theme of recent pieces, following on from my previous recommendation that we try to sign Emyr Huws ( https://passingpashion.wordpress.com/2014/03/05/players-id-like-to-bring-in-next-season-even-if-its-just-on-loan-emyr-huws/ ), Adam Matthews and Kenneth Omeruo ( https://passingpashion.wordpress.com/2014/04/08/players-we-should-get-part-ii/ ). Once again I’m looking to preserve the purse strings as much as possible, hence my focus on players who’s contracts are running out in the summer, hence essentially free from transfer fee (obviously signing bonuses and heightened wages have to be taken into account, but all the same it is these players that I am drawing your attention to).

Jeremy Menez, the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder, is out of contract in the summer and due to the log-jam of oil-funded players that joined PSG last year he hasn’t had much of an opportunity recently, but this creative French midfielder is incredibly talented. Not only is he a very technically gifted but he also possesses excellent pace and a goal scoring touch rarely seen from midfielders (except for the likes of Michu). Having played over 20 times for the full French team, of course, he is far from a hidden-gem, but maybe at a stretch would could compete for his signiture, we’re the sort of club that would ideally suit his talents at least.

Bafetimbi Gomis – another French player that is out of contract in the summer, and one we have all heard a lot about already, as we went for him hard last year. Still, of course, has the talent, but the key question is how much wonga he will demand. Worth an inquirey though.

Marc Albrighton – this talented English midfielder has plenty of tread left on the tyres, at just 24, but looks like he needs a fresh impetus to get his career back on the exceptionally promising track it showed a few years back. Like Gomis and Menez his contract is up this summer and although Villa are confident he will sign a fresh deal ( http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/aston-villa-boss-paul-lambert-3457601 ), for the help of his career he might be tempted to look at the team who just beat his own 4-1 ( https://passingpashion.wordpress.com/2014/04/28/safety-its-a-beautiful-feeling/ ) for salvation.

…..more to follow, and please let me know your thoughts on the above.

Safety, its a Beautiful Feeling

Prince William, Nigel Kennedy, David Cameron, Mervyn King, Benjamin Zepphaniah, Ian Bell, Floella Benjamin, Black sabbath, Tom Hanks, Amy Winehouse, “your boy’s took one hell of a beating!”

Swansea City 4 – Aston Villa 1 …. it reads easier than it was, but thanks to Jonjo Shelvey’s brilliance, Wilfried Bony’s graceful calmness and Garry Monk’s discipline we are safe. The theosaurus suggests the following alternatives to the word ‘safety’: secureness, security, safeness, invulnerability, unassailability, harmlessness, innocuousness, clear sailing, snug harbour, anchorage, but oddly makes no effort to capture the beauty and relief in the word. We are safe. Yes that’s right Swansea City will be in the Premiership in the 2014-2015 season, its a beautiful thing and a gorgeous feeling. Every Swansea City fan in the land can celebrate as we further cement our Premiership future.

What we do next: potential signings; players we should rest/blood against Southampton/Sunderland; whether or not Garry Monk should become our permanent managers; plans to expand capacity at the Liberty….all of these topics will be dealt with in detail, shortly, but for now let’s just crack open the proverbial champagne and enjoy life. Swansea are still in the Premiership.

… (famous Aston Villa fans, I kid you not http://www.astonvilla.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=7504448 )

Fingers Crossed Ahead of the Villa Game

The old heart is pumping, a vital three points against a fellow relegation-fodder is up for grabs this weekend, and I am so pleased it is at home. We have a terrible near year-and-a-half run of not being able to put back-to-back wins together, which I’m hoping we can break versus the Villa.

Lets hope the Swans are back to their slick passing best on the weekend, I’m hoping for a midfield three of Jonjo, Leon & JDG, as they play nicely together, with Routledge and ….. I’m going for Hernandez out wide. The rest of the team essentially picks itself.

Once again the subs bench will be interesting. I hope we go for Dyer and Lamah, Roland becasue he has the ability to grab the odd goal, plus probably Lita (rather than Vasquez), Bartley and Taylor….I’m not too unhappy with that collective, and I’m very hopeful of three points….(fingers crossed).

[Congratulation on Corey Francis, Tom Atyeo, Joseph jones, Alex Samuel and Connor Roberts on being offered contracts for next season, the future’s bright – the future’s black and white http://www.swanseacity.net/news/article/youth-contracts-offered-1506630.aspx ]

Michu Likely Out For The Season

Sad news has come out this week, that last season’s leading scorewr Michu is likley out for the season, robbing us of a key source of goals and an inspirational player on the field.

Michu has not been Michu since the early stages of this season, however, my guess being that a combination of burn-out, the pressures of finally getting picked for Spain and his injury all combined to quell our former leader.

I am confidfent, however, that the Michu of 2013 will return next season to lead us. He’s a great player, simple as.

This Managerial Experience, for Giggs, Could Be Of Benefit To Wales

News that Wales, and Manchester United, midfielder Ryan Giggs has got the managerial position at Old Trafford, on a temporary basis, could be of long-term value to Wales. Although current incumbent Chris Coleman currently sits atop the Welsh managerial tower, and I fully support his ongoing tenure, if Coleman doesn’t qualify for the now expanded European qualifying pool (for France 2016) his position will come under pressure.

Previously, in these pages, I’ve cited the possibilities of Tony Pulis, Craig Bellamy, Kenny Jacket, Dean Saunders or Ryan Giggs as next potential Wales managers, and they all have their relative strengths/weaknesses – my personal next favourite being Pulis – but the allure of Ryan Giggs has always been great. He exuberates calm “greatness”, and you just get the gut-feeling he’d succeed. What, in the past, has held back the arguments for Giggs, in my mind, have been his lack of managerial experience.

Being given the ropes of one of the greatest football clubs in the world, a position Manchester United have suggested is only temporary whatever he achieves (  http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/27114788 ), Giggs will address this concern of “lacking experience”. He can only soak up incredibly valuable experience in this temporary role, something he could potentially apply to Wales in the future…..of course, my preferred option is that we qualify for France 2016, under Coleman, we certainly have the talent; eradicating the need for a managerial change. 

Swansea Battle For Vital 3 Points

Wilfried Bony’s brace, on Saturday against Newcastle, secured an absolutely vital 3 points, that although not yet enough to guarantee safety cerainly took some serious pressure off my poor ticker.

I know Newcastle have struggled recently, but lets be honest so have we, thus Bony’s last minute winner lifted me to the rafters. We really needed a win, and an away win all the better. Now we can go into this weekend’s game against Aston Villa, at home, reasonably optimistic that we can get a result against one of our fellow strugglers.

…and finally, its worth noting that Canas and Pozuelo we not even on the substitutes bench against Newcastle, raising if anything the possibility that rummours that they were chief culprits in the recent dressing room descent had soem truth in them. Fingers crossed Monk’s dealt/dealing with that one!

 

Youth Team Show How It Can Be Done

Swansea City’s youth team showed their older colleagues how it CAN be done, with a stunning 6-1 victory in the FAW Cup final, yes you read that correctly 6-1, SIX goals to one, and this is the third successive year we have won this trophy.

http://www.swanseacity.net/news/article/academy-faw-youth-cup-final-1487918.aspx

I was really impressed with that lad, Adam King, we signed from Scotland, plus Josh Sheehan and Ryan Hedges also looked really good. There were times last night that I was thinking a few of these kids should be brought into the first team squad, they really showed glimpses of looking that good. If I had to find one tiny criticsm of the team it would be that we sometimes seem to overly pass the ball, when a longer ball forward or a run might prove more constructive, ahh well I say that about the first team often enough anyway.

Cameron Toshack perhaps also demonstrated he has a bit of his dad’s magic – I’m not wishing an ill-wind on Garry Monk but maybe that’s the next Swansea City manager is already in the building, a certain Mr. Cameron Toshack. In his interview with the media, after the game, he game across very well. An obviously studious coach, with a very calm manner. Hopefully kids learn something from their father’s mistakes!

 

Player Bust-Up

So the worrying news has broken of a player bust-up in training, before the Chelsea game. In rummours reminiscent of the Chico-Monk barney, it turns out that various players were fighting in training. Now I don’t want to blow such reports out of proportion, as aggression can spill over in any sport (I’ve done it myself), the key is now is how they have dealt with it afterwards and if any grudges have been maintained/established/worsened. The fact that we played so well against Chelsea leads me to think that morale remains strong (if anything its building), but the worrying lack of certain players from the bench Sunday worries me as to who might have been involved.

No Michu, Pozuelo, Canas, Vasquez or Lita on the bench, versus Chelsea, now looks increasingly interesting. My sources tell me that Vasquez, Poz and Canas were involved, with less credible sources also citing Ashley Williams and Chico, but until these stories are confirmed they remain purely speculative fluff and shouldn’t be used to jump to any conclusions. Football is a physical game and sometimes a little bit of a dust-up can lift the tension, particularly if certain cliques have been formed. It is absolutely key in all of this that Garry Monk doesn’t take sides, rising above the problem. He needs to be the boss and nobodies friend, its always hard at work when one of the lads becomes boss, in my experience it only really works if they break away from their old group. Hopefully the management team can use this spark to light a fire under some of the underperforming members of the squad and bring us all together….we wait (with nervousness) for news on this.

Gutted, Versus Chelsea

I’m really struggling, since we lost to Chelsea on Sunday, as I personally felt Chelsea twisted the law on referees – his decision is supposed to be independent, but he took forever in deciding whether or not to send of Chico, and was constantly being badgered by Chelsea players (with John Terry admiting after the game that he told the referee to send of Chico)…..no great surprise the referee was so star-struck he sent off Chico. Yes Chico deserved to be sent off, but I honestly don’t think the referee originally thought that way, he simple reacted to the pleas of the Chelsea squad – this isn’t right, but we have to shrug it off and march forward.

 

Positives:-

* I thought the players tightened it up considerably, after Chico left the field, and we really desrved a draw

* The team spirit looked good

* Jordi Amat played very well, as did most of the squad

* We shoudl go into the Newcastle & Villa games confident we can/should win both

Negatives:-

* He should stick that whistle up his ar*e