Ravel Morrison – risky business

So we are interested in signing Ravel Morrison, one of the most promising young attacking midfielders in the British game, sounds good so far….but then this is one of the most controversial talents British football has ever produced either. Last year Swansea were in the international footballing headlines at least twice for non-footballing related issues – fighting in training essentially – and many still talk about the likes of Leon Knight and his trouble-making antics. Interestingly Garry Monk was at the club at the time of Knight, so he’ll know how much of a problem it really was, plus of course he saw all the troubles last year (didn’t one of the issues involve him, chico and a bowl of Coco-Pops?).

Why sign Morrison – apparently we could get him for 4 million pounds, and he is incedibly talented. The sort of attacking midfielder we lack. A player with the ability to open tight defences and make goals out of nothing.

Why not – traditioanlly he’s been a problem kid, and we have a young manager

Tricky. I hope the kid has changed. We all deserve seconf chances. Here though the question is can Morrison really change. Maybe, as a smaller club we have to take the chance on such risks, as its the only way we’ll ever compete. Let me know your thoughts, and we can get the debate flowing, as this is a particularly interesting one.

Tom Ince Reportedly Signing in January

It is being heavily reported that the Blackpool and English U21-star Tom Ince is signing with us in January, with various transfer fees being cited around the seven million pounds mark. Now Tom Ince would make a wonderful signing for us, a fast winger with an eye for goal and plenty of as-of-yet unfulfilled potential, however when your remember that he is out-of-contract at the end of the year isn’t seven million a bit high.

Tom Ince is one of the most gifted wingers in the UK at the moment, and he will almost certainly improve going forward, particularly at a club like ours. At present he is a little off the bigger clubs’ radars, due to an influx of exceptionally talented English wide-men. In Ravel Morrison, Wilfried Zaha, Raheem Sterling, Jess Lingard, Nathan Redmond and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Tom Ince finds his path to his eventual dream of representing England regularly somewhat blocked, particularly if he remains in the Championship. If you include the likes of the more experienced heads like Theo Walcott, Ashley Young, James Milner, Aaron Lennon, Stewart Downing, Adam Johnson and current wonder-kid Andros Townsend, his need to move onto a bigger club looks even more pressing.

At Swansea he would get the opportunity to play at the highest level – European competition must look particularly appealing to him I imagine – plus he’d get regular game time and the patient coaching that a kid of his age really requires. Whatever he does I hope, for his sake he doesn’t join too big a club, and Wilfried Zaha is a great example of why not, as that kid is regressing at Manchester United. Indeed, I wouldn’t at all mind us making a move for Zaha in the loan window, as surely David Moyes would improve his investment with 6 months down at the Liberty. Either way, we need to improve our wide play, with goals from out wide a particular need. Until then I’d like to see Roland Lamah get an extended run in the side, as he impressed in our last European game.

Leon Britton – The Perfect Defensive Midfielder

I’m not going to fire a load of statistics at you, but trust me this is true, Leon Britton has one of the highest pass completion rates in the Premiership. If you don’t believe me look it up, it is true. When Leon is playing we seem to control the tempo of the game better because we are controlling the tempo of the game better.

Leon is a great defensive midfielder, not by being a crunching tackler but rather with his positional awareness. He never ventures forward, unless someone else is covering, or the attacking risks are minimal, which in itself gives the defenders the confidence to play more expansive passes themselves.

I am not saying Canas should not play for us, because I rate him highly too, and this doesn’t mean I think we should rotate them every other game as we seem to be at the moment either, as I think both can play allowing the rest of the midfield to express themselves more fully.

Infact I think England (not that I’m a fan, being Welsh) should bring him into their midfield, because with Leon in there doing the unglamorous stuff the likes of Wiltshire and Ravel Morrison would be free to attack a little more. Leon Britton is the sort of unappreciated midfielder England have missed since Owen Hargreaves played for them….at least Swansea haven’t missed such skills, and to think we brought him to the club as a winger!!

Good Point Secured Against West Ham…Should Have Been 3

So we secured another point, and against a decent West Ham side, who lets remember beat Spurs 3-0 and are talented enough to have a player with the skill of Joe Cole on the bench!!

We dominated possession, a really should have secured a victory, but I can’t help but feel pleased we didn’t lose this one. West Ham’s victory over Spurs shows them to be a very talented side and in Ravel Morrison they have the form player of the Premeriship (English anyway).

Which of our lads impressed,? Both Chico Flores and Ashley Williams looked good, as I wasn’t that impressed with Michel Vorm today (despite what I said about potentially playing him ever game last week). Leon Britton once again demonstrated to Michael Laudrup that we should build the team around him. Britton controls the tempo of the game so effortlessly. West Ham must have been kicking themselves that they ever let him leave.

I was also really happy to see Pablo Hernandez back out wide, he is the perfect type of winger for Laudrup’s system and suddenly gives us the realistic goal scoring threat that this system should see on each flank.

Worries:- Vorm looked shaky and Vazquez really looked poor – is Vasquez really any better than Lita or Luke Moore?