"Rift" over transfer kitty - pure speculation?

Is anyone else growing increasingly tired of the constant speculation surrounding Michael Laudrup, which seems to be mainly driven by the Evening Post? The problem is that given almost all of the quotes we are reading are invariably taken out of context, it's hard to actually discern what the hell is going on at the Liberty.

At the moment I'm choosing to stay positive. If you ask any manager "what would happen if you don't get sufficient funds to invest in the squad?" they're likely to respond with something akin to "well if that was the case, I'd have to assess the situation and see what the best options are", and in truth that's the only quote which seems to have driven the current wave of conjecture regarding Laudrup's transfer kitty this summer.

I thought an interesting exercise would be to strip away all of the journalism surrounding the quotes, and see what we're left with. Who knows, maybe we're worried about nothing. Here are as many as I could find:

Laudrup's agent - Bayram Tutumlu;

“Michael Laudrup, just now, is very happy at Swansea City. Of course Michael has had offers from elsewhere. Other teams can wait one or two years. We know Michael is going to train the big teams but this is not the moment. 

“Michael doesn't think about other teams because he promised to the players and the fans he wants to stay in Swansea. When we expanded the contract of Michael Laudrup, we spoke with the board and the chairman that they're going to make a really good team for Michael. 

“A good team is no problem. If they don't have the possibility of making a good team, I don't know what can happen. Michael needs good players. We don't want to have the same experience as Newcastle for example. He told the board and the chairman that [Swansea] need a very good squad this year.”

Huw Jenkins:

"It's been a long season and when the time is right we will sit down with Michael to talk more about next season in a professional manner"

Before...

"I will not comment on this story."

Huw had previously gone on a charm offensive;

“I think it’s important what we’ve done with Michael. We’ve touched on players staying here and it’s the same with Michael. He wants to stay here so it wasn’t a difficult discussion to renew his contract. 

“He wants to stay here and test himself with new challenges in the Europa League and the Premier League. With Roberto and Brendan moving on, we’ve showed that we’ve been doing things in a good way. 

“We’ve enhanced many managers’ careers over recent years and I think we’ve provided Michael with that lift and stability to raise his profile.”

Michael Laudrup

From the BBC;

"Unless we find a couple of hundred million pounds I think last season we achieved nearly the maximum we can in terms of the table. There are always things you can improve, but there are not many higher positions we can look at. 

"Even consolidating is going to be very difficult. Some of the teams below us this season will invest heavily; West Ham, Newcastle, Aston Villa. 

"They are huge clubs who want to take the place where we are right now."

 From Skysports;

"I wanted to stay because the club said they were going to strengthen their team. Of course we need to do that, but I'm sure they will keep their word about that, and then I want to stay for the fans and also for some of the players - they came for me so I can't just leave them after one season. 

"We don't have so much money compared to the rest of the teams so we have to do it like that [shop clever], but we'll have to strengthen our team just to try to keep where we are right now, consolidate as a mid-team, because there are a lot of teams, bigger clubs, below us who will spend big money. 

"We've already seen West Ham with Andy Carroll, I think Newcastle and others will do the same so we'll have to be very good in the transfer market to compete."

So, what are we looking at here? It all seems centred around the transfer budget, and it appears that assurances were given when Laudrup signed his new contract that he'd be given ample funds to improve the squad. If there was a number mentioned, you'd have to hope the Swans honour that (and I have no doubt they would) whereas if there wasn't, it's possibly been a case where the two parties have distinctly different perceptions of "ample funds".

One thing bothers me with this story though - who exactly is suggesting the Swans aren't willing to stump up in the transfer market this summer? There's been the vague rumour that the Swans are interested in Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang, but that we won't (or can't) meet the asking price, but in truth I'm still not comfortable about signing a £10 or £11million pound striker - more for the contract demands that would surely come with such a player. No doubt the board will play hard-ball, but you'd be hard pushed to find an £11million pound striker who'll accept less than £40kpw.

Aside from that, there's been no indication the board have reneged on any kind of agreed transfer fund, and given that the transfer window is closed and Laudrup is currently on holiday it seems hard to fathom just why there is a constant stream of speculation coming out of SA1. I'll reserve judgement for now, but if it turns out this was just newspaper speculation it'll have severely marred the relationship between the local rag and the club, and it may be that we see reduced press access as a result. That may not be a bad thing to be honest.

Personally, while I'm a sucker for a good quote I still don't think there's anything in this. Whatever the issue is, I find it very hard to believe that it can't be resolved in an amicable manner, and that Laudrup will be backed in the transfer market as well as the club can afford, without jeopardising it's financial footing one iota.

And that's the way it should be.

Dyer, Routledge & Hernandez - A statistical comparison

With Laudrup's adoption of the "three wingers" formation this season, I thought it would be interesting to see how they fared when you take a look at their respective statistics. For a start, it's impressive that they all made 30+ appearances - Pablo with 27(+ 3 off the bench), Routledge with 30(+6) and Dyer with 25(+12). It's interesting that while Dyer was clearly fit for the entire of the campaign, he started the least games and seems to have been used as more of an impact sub. In fairness, his style of play is ideally suited to that, as his pace and close control are a nightmare for tiring defensive legs.

Routledge has kicked on again this season, and he has played in a central role before under Rodgers with varying degrees of success. The difference under Laudrup has been the rotation between the three wingers, and it's worked to great effect on many an occasion. I'm still of the belief that until we have some more defensive muscle (Canas?) it's risky playing that system against a high-class 4-4-2 however we did alright at Man Utd, so what do I know?

In the goals department, both Pablo and Dyer have 3 each while Routledge has 5, and as far as assists go Dyer and Routledge both have 4 while Pablo has 6. It seems fans have been quick to lambast Pablo but while his playing style does have a frustratingly lethargic style to it he is effective, and with an improved understanding of his role in the team, and a full pre-season behind him, I think he could be a much livelier player next year.

I looked at stats for "aerial duels won per game" but none of the three win any, it seems (one every five games?), so let's move on to passing stats. Given that, despite differing playing styles they're all expected to provide a similar contribution to the team, it's a fair comparison I think. Routledge plays on average 32.6 passes per game, Dyer plays 32.9 while Pablo weighs in with a whopping 43.3. When you consider his pass success rate is the same as Routledge's at 80.4% (although it's nowhere near Dyer's 86.8%) it again seems some of the criticism against the Spaniard has been unfair, especially when he plays 1.8 "key passes per game" - double the frequency of Dyer (0.9) and slightly more than Routledge (1.6).

Wayne Routledge. 

They all play on average one successful cross every other game (not the best for a trio of wingers...) however a look at successful long balls and again it's Hernandez who comes out on top - he plays 2.5 per game to Dyer's 0.5 and Routledge's 1.5. Dyer attempts the least dribbles per game with 0.7, with Routledge at 0.9 and Pablo attempting a nice even one per game. A pattern is definitely developing here. Routledge attempts 0.8 shots per game, Dyer 1.4 and Hernandez 1.6, so in front of goal the Spaniard is again the busier of the trio.

Ball retention next. I'm using statistics from "Whoscored.com" so forgive me if some of the terminology is a bit "whack" - the two terms they use for losing the ball are "turnovers" (losing the ball through poor control etc) and "dispossessed"(tackled without trying to dribble past the opponent).

Dyer is "turned over" 1.5 times per game, and dispossessed with the same regularity, while Routledge is only turned over 1.3 times per game, however he's mugged slightly more often at 1.7 times per game. Guess what? Pablo comes out on top again. He's dispossessed 0.8 times per game and only turned over 1.3 times. I'm the first to admit I've been critical of Pablo in the past, but it seems he must be doing a lot of things I'm not seeing, as you can't fake statistics like this over the course of a season.

In defense it's no real surprise that Nathan Dyer makes the most tackles, with 1.3 per game (compared to Routledge's 1.1 and Pablo's 0.9), however interceptions is another story. Clearly a footballing brain makes a difference, as Pablo makes 1.5 interceptions per game - over double Dyer's 0.7 and treble Routledge's 0.4. He makes the most clearances too (albeit marginally) with 0.6 per game (Dyer has 0.4 and Routledge 0.5) while all three are dribbled past with roughly the same frequency (0.6 times per game for Pablo & Routledge, and 0.4 for Dyer).

Pablo scores the equaliser against Chelsea

It seems there's a recurring theme throughout here. All three wingers have performed admirably this season, but it's impossible to ignore the fact that Pablo has received a rougher ride from fans than he possibly should have. With time on his side I'm sure he'll go on to win over all but the most embittered of fans, as he's clearly a class act.

Worth mentioning is Roland Lamah, who has looked tidy when we've seen him but hasn't really had a chance to make an impact. He should have a goal to his name but the linesman incorrectly ruled his effort against West Brom out, however his loan period runs until next summer so we've time to assess him yet.

With four options at wing already, it's unlikely we'll sign anyone to play in that position surely? If someone outstanding comes up, then maybe, but with decent cover out wide central midfield seems more of a priority.

How long until the transfer window opens?...

Jazz looking forward to Playoff Final, Shaun MacDonald on winning promotion from League One & the latest transfer target to emerge in the press

Current and ex-Swan hoping Crystal Palace gain promotion to Premiership

This is, of course, the Championship playoff final, to be played out this afternoon between Crystal Palace and Watford. Ian Holloway is looking to guide Palace past Gianfranco Zola's Watford team in what will no doubt be a frenetic display of committed football. Crystal Palace will sadly be unable to call on a man who is starting to become somewhat of a Playoff legend - Stephen Dobbie. The Scottish attacker is ineligible due to being on loan from one-time playoff rivals Brighton. Remarkably, he's played in three consecutive Championship Playoff Finals - winning two before losing to West Ham with Blackpool last year, and he'll be disappointed he can't add to his four goals at Wembley. With both teams favouring attack to defence we could be in for a great game.

Jazz started out well at Palace, enjoying a good run of form which was no doubt aided by the fact that regular right-back Joel Ward was out injured. Once Ward returned to fitness, it was only a matter of time before he reclaimed his first team berth from Richards and of late Jazz has had to watch from the bench as his team-mates have put together a six-game unbeaten run which has led to the Championship showpiece in London. He's spoken to the Swans official site about what it's like to be involved in such a big game at Wembley:

“I was part of the squad when we got to the Play-Off final two years ago and to have been part of winning that game – for my hometown club – was a dream come true,” said the Wales international. Even though I didn’t get off the bench, just being involved in the warm-ups and looking up at the 80,000 or so in the stadium was a memory that will live with me forever. It’s a really special occasion.  

“It’s a mad day, too. You are trying to be as focused as possible, while the manager is trying to keep the tension and emotions under control, but as soon as you turn the corner and head into the stadium, you get this rush of adrenaline and it hits you – this is for a spot in the Premier League.  

Jazz in action for Crystal Palace

“It was massive for us at Swansea when we beat Reading. The club hadn’t been in the Premier League before and it was new territory for us, but it means just as much to everyone here at Palace. The club should be in the Premier League, and we are just one game away from it., and when I look around at the squad, we have a great mix of players.  

"The gaffer can call on the experience of Mile Jedinak, Damian Delaney, Danny Gabbidon, Peter Ramage and Kevin Phillips while we have youngsters like Wilf Zaha, Yannick Bolasie and Jonny Williams who can spice the game up and express themselves on a pitch like Wembley.  

“It’s going to be a fantastic match for the neutral, and I hope everyone back in Swansea will be rooting for Palace today because it’s a fantastic club. I’ve had a great time at Palace. I’m very grateful to the club for the opportunity they have given me. I’ve been away from home for the first time, played with a different group of players, and I’ve got 11 games under my belt so far. “I got a regular run of games under my belt, then I found myself out of the team -but I’ve still learned from that, and those experiences will help me progress as a footballer, but hopefully I will finish my loan spell with a win. To help Palace to the Premier League would be a great achievement for me.”  Jazz Richards

It was recently announced that Stephen Dobbie is joining Palace on a permanent basis once the transfer window opens. Good luck to him at his new club, but more importantly good luck to both Jazz and Palace today as they look to secure a win in a match worth, apparently, £120million. Remarkable that when we went up just two seasons ago it was worth "only" £90million. Football is bonkers. On to another ex-Swan who has gained promotion then...

Shaun MacDonald helps AFC Bournemouth gain promotion to Championship

Swansea youth product MacDonald came through the ranks and was highly rated as a youngster. Alan Curtis revealed a few years ago that the young midfielder had earned the nickname "Zidane" in training, due to his excellent close control and ball retention in possession based exercises. Sadly, it never really worked out for Shaun during his time in South Wales - fourty first team appearances (with a large proportion coming off the bench) and five loan spells at Yeovil later he joined Bournemouth for around £80k (although the Swans have a large sell-on clause in place) and happily things have worked out a little better on the south coast. 

MacDonald in action for AFC Bournemouth

At first it must have all seemed a bit familiar for Shaun, as he saw two managers depart in quick succession before Eddie Howe was brought in, but times are better now and the midfielder was rewarded with a new three year contract in January. MacDonald, once capped by Wales, has helped his team to the unlikeliest of promotions this year - and they came within a whisker of winning the League One title - being held 0-0 at Andy Robinson's Tranmere Rovers on the final day of the season. That was enough for Brian Flynn's Doncaster Rovers to snatch the top spot (although it wasn't enough to keep Flynn in the job), but Bournemouth had, up until that point, been on a club record run of eight consecutive league wins, so it seems they came good at just the right time. 

MacDonald is clearly enjoying his time at Bournemouth, and sees no reason why the team can't push on:

'I don`t think any other club suited me the way it did the first day I came here. I look back and have no regrets. We got promoted, we have a special manager and a special team and it`s worked out well. I feel now that coming to Bournemouth was the best decision of my career so far. 

"I am gutted that Cardiff got promoted, Not only are they Swansea`s rivals but now there are no Welsh teams for us to play against in the Championship. Getting to the Premier League is now the next step for us to look forward to, so then I can face them. 

"Being successful in the Championship is the goal and if we carry on like we did this season, there is no reason why we won`t be." Shaun MacDonald

Assuming Bournemouth retain their Championship status for at least one year, and that Cardiff don't make a load of clever signings, he may not have that long to wait to play against the team from the capital.

Swansea linked with Alejandro Pozuelo, in what is starting to look like a raid on Real Betis

This is, as yet, an unsubstantiated rumour however it's a bit of an exciting one. Pozuelo is a creative attacking midfielder, and as seems to be the norm for Real Betis players he has excellent hair. There's scant information online, but it seems a number of clubs have been keeping tabs on a player who excelled for Real Betis B before his promotion to the first team in October 2011. It seems his progress has been somewhat stunted by an incident following a game against Espanyol a year later, where Pozuelo came in to the changing room after the game mouthing off regarding negative team tactics costing Betis the game (source: LINK). Apparently he was at fault for a crucial goal, so his outburst was possibly a little misguided, but it shows he's passionate and if there's one thing you can't say about the Swans this year it's "that we played with negative tactics". 

Meanwhile, Jose Canas has, through his agent, refuted allegations that he's been taking it easy since agreeing a move to the Swans. 

“Jose has done very well this season, even though he is leaving. He wanted the club to receive money for him but that was not possible.  

"Jose has given Real Betis everything but maybe the fans don’t understand that.” Canas' agent Alvaro Torres

I'd say given the amount of talk regarding this particular transfer, and these latest quotes from his agent, it seems Canas is now surely a done deal. Hopefully there'll be an official announcement soon, but until then we will just have to sit patiently in anticipation of imminent transfer dealings.

If anyone would like to read a profile of Jose Canas which I put together a while back (nb: the stats will no longer be up to date), click here.

Laudrup "I'm going nowhere" (despite sensationalist media headlines)

Over the last few days we've seen a number of different newspapers run the story that Michael Laudrup is concerned that he won't have a sizable transfer budget this summer. I could be wrong but I think the Evening Post were the first to go with this story, and the general tone of the article was "If I don't get a good transfer kitty I could be off". Given that, as with most stories of this type (remember the "discord in the Swans camp" rumours before Christmas?) there were no direct quotes and the story came from "club insiders", you could certainly have been forgiven for taking the story with a pinch of salt, and it seems that any doubts surrounding Laudrup's commitment were ill-founded.

The Dane has moved swiftly to quash any murmurings at the Liberty, stating he's confident the board will back him in the transfer market:

"We don't have so much money compared to the rest of the teams so we have to do it like that [look for bargains], but we'll have to strengthen our team just to try to keep where we are right now, consolidate as a mid-team, because there are a lot of teams, bigger clubs, below us who will spend big money. 

"We've already seen West Ham with Andy Carroll, I think Newcastle and others will do the same so we'll have to be very good in the transfer market to compete. 

"I wanted to stay because the club said they were going to strengthen their team. Of course we need to do that, but I'm sure they will keep their word about that, and then I want to stay for the fans and also for some of the players - they came for me so I can't just leave them after one season." Michael Laudrup

No smoke without fire? Pfft...

It's still early days but we're already being linked with a number of tidy players, with Arouna Kone being one I'm more in favour of. 12 goals for Wigan isn't a bad return for a striker playing in a relegated team, and I think he'd fit the Swans' system well. Who would you like to see brought in? Get in touch via the comment section, Twitter or on the forum!

Huw insists Arsenal have made no contact over Ash, while Michu (unsurprisingly) wants us to sign a striker

Huw: "No Arsenal bid for Ash"

Ashley Williams. "You what??"

With the increasing speculation surrounding Ashley Williams's future, it seems it's now only a matter of time before a bid is made. Huw confirmed yesterday that there had been no contact from Arsenal regarding a transfer, so if they do want to speak with him they had better put some money on the table first. As mentioned before, the Swans are likely to value their captain at around £12million, but Arsenal are likely to start a lot lower than that, and it may well be that £10mil ends up being enough.

I'm still unconvinced that we'll be able to replace such a vital component in the team without suffering a loss of form. Ash has been here so long now, and made such an impact during games, that it's almost impossible to replicate what he does for the Swans - and his statistics bear testament to this; he made the most interceptions and clearances of any player in the PL this season. That kind of impact on a game is very hard to replicate, although Chico seems to be doing his best, so it's possible if Ash does leave we could sign someone more "Monk-esque" and go back to having one organiser and one bruiser.

One motivating factor for Arsenal may be that in recent times Thomas Vermaelen has found himself on the bench at the expense of Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny - the Belgian needs to be playing first team football so unless he's given assurances about his role in the squad he may well be off, at which point the signing of Williams becomes even more important...and may add a little onto the price tag.

Liverpool were reported as being interested, however with Kolo Toure set to complete a move to Anfield that seems to rule out Ash teaming up with Rodgers again, so it looks like it's Arsenal or bust. Whether a bid materialises we'll have to wait and see, but a friend has pointed out this bears more than a passing resemblance to Gary Cahill's proposed move to Arsenal. Wenger didn't stump up then, and ended up missing out. Will he this time? I wouldn't bet on it.

Michu wants a strike partner for next year

This is the (old) news that Michu prefers playing in a "second-striker" position, as opposed to up front on his own. Why he feels the need to keep reiterating this I don't know, as everyone is more than aware he prefers playing in a deeper role (even if some of us think he's more effective up front), however it does seem likely he'll get his wish with a number of potential candidates mooted. Romelu Lukaku, Iago Aspas, Arouna Kone & Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have all been linked with the Swans of late, so it seems we've now moved on from shopping at the footballing equivalent of Lidl to the reduced section at Waitrose. Why pay top dollar when if you sniff around you can pick up top quality goods at a knock down price? Wigan in particular have a number of players worth looking at, and you'd better believe we'll have scouts knocking around the North-West seeing who's worth a cheeky bid during the close season.

"I don't know if I will score more than 22 goals next season. You never know but I hope so. It's difficult to score that many goals but I think the club will sign new strikers in the summer. 

"My team-mates next year will score, so there won't be too much pressure. I prefer to play behind the striker but, if the gaffer asks me to play anywhere, I'll play there." Miguel Michu

There is a tactical consideration regarding the signing of a new striker, however. For large swathes of this season, Michu has led the line, with three midfielders behind him (be it two CM's and a winger, or three CM's), but on occasion he has dropped back to play in the advanced midfield role. Now, while I do think Michu is effective in attack in this position I think the overall effect he has on the midfield is a disruptive one - disturbing the normal crisp rhythm the Swans engine room operates with. I think this is largely due to the lack of a physical element to the Swans' central midfield options - with Michu at the head of a midfield three any two of Ki, Leon and JDG always seemed a bit lightweight to me and liable to be over-run by a physical, organised midfield, and this is in exacerbated by Michu's tendency to wander.

The Swans' system is based on the players adhering to positional guidelines strictly, and if one player drifts it then throws the whole midfield out of whack, which has happened on numerous occasions this season. Hopefully, with the signing of a dedicated defensive midfielder it'll mean we can play with a striker and Michu, in what is starting to become something more akin to a 4-4-1-1 formation. I'm not averse to this at all, it's just I feel with the players currently at our disposal there were numerous occasions we'd have been better off playing three central midfielders in an attempt to maintain midfield supremacy. 

Who we'll bring in remains to be seen, but the names mentioned are exciting in that they seem to indicate the level of player that we'll be looking at. It doesn't make sense to jump into the market too soon as players may yet become available, but Laudrup no doubt already has a long list of targets which the board will be vetting and inquiring about. With the Swans' boss stating that, if all current players were retained, he'd like to bring in 6 or 7 players, it looks like we're in for a busy summer in South Wales. Get your bargaining hat on Huw, you're up!

Michu vs Lukaku - A statistical comparison

With Swansea rumoured to be looking to bring the Belgian striker to South Wales, how did he compare with Michu this season?

Romelu Lukaku. Age:20 Height: 6'3"

I'm still very skeptical regarding our prospects of landing Romelu Lukaku on loan next season. Ok, so certain things do add up; Lukaku himself has stated that he'd like to go out on loan next season again if he's not going to be regularly included in the Chelsea squad, but for the life of me I can't figure out why he wouldn't be. Europe's highest scoring teenager this term, it's remarkable to me that more attention isn't being paid to a player who finished the season by scoring a hat-trick against Manchester United.

It's possible that as the summer unfolds more clubs may come in for him, but with Chelsea looking set to appoint Jose Mourinho it's likely he'll fancy bringing in his own striker from elsewhere, so it may well be that Lukaku finds himself looking at another loan move. While West Brom do play a slightly more direct style of football than the Swans, looking at his performance this season against Michu's isn't that much of a squiff comparison as, for the second season running, the Swans finished the season in very close proximity to the Baggies. When you consider that Michu hit 18 goals to Lukaku's 17, it would seem to indicate that the team's around them also fared similarly.

Miguel Michu. Age: 27 Height: 6'1"

Michu made 35 starts in the league, and while Lukaku made the same number of appearances 15 of those were off the bench, so he's starting to look good already.  His pass completion is 72.1% (averaging 16.3 successful passes per game) to Michu's 78.7% (32 PPG), but in fairness to the Belgian he plays the same amount of key passes per game as Michu (1) and has four assists - double that of the Spaniard. They both average around three shots a game (Lukaku has 2.8 and Michu 3.1), but when you look at dribbles again the former Anderlecht man comes out on top, successfully going past his man 0.9 times a game to Michu's 0.2. In fairness to Michu, no-one is expecting him to go on a mazy dribble and beat five men...

Interestingly, when you look at defensive stats it seems Michu puts a shift in. The Spaniard makes 1.3 tackles per game to Lukaku's 0.2, and 0.9 interceptions per game to the Belgian's 0.1. That does result, however in Michu fouling his man more than twice as often - 1.4 times per game as opposed to Lukaku's 0.6, but a foul a game isn't that bad a thing. Keeps the defenders on their toes and all that. Michu also makes 1.1 clearances per game - again a much bigger number than the 0.3 managed by Lukaku - but to be honest I'm not that fussed on our striker tracking back and putting himself about. When you look at goals scored v minutes played, Lukaku has 17 goals in 2146 minutes while Michu has 18 in 3171 - the Spaniard has played around 50% more football so for the young Chelsea striker to have got 17 goals in a mid-table side is truly an impressive achievement. It works out that Lukaku has a goal every 126 minutes, while Michu has one every 176. 

It seems in every department (apart from defense, but we don't want him doing that) Lukaku really is a class act, and seeing as he only turned 20 ten days ago there is a whole load of room for improvement too. As has been stated, Europa League football could be the clincher but that's assuming no other club who've qualified for Europe come in for him, which seems a stretch of the imagination. That being said, the only other suitor being mooted at the moment is West Ham, which, as I mentioned yesterday, I don't think we have to worry about. Big Sam? Ha. 

All in all, a very impressive set of numbers from the Belgian. Obviously, you have to watch him play to know whether he'll fit the team but from everything I've seen of him he seems a class act, and what's more I've also heard he's tee-total and very much a good egg. Only Van Persie, Berbatov and Benteke had better "chance conversion rates" than Lukaku this season, who converted 21% of opportunities presented to him, and it's likely with increased game time and experience his level of performance will kick on again, and I for one would have no objection to that happening in South Wales.

Michu & Lukaku up front? Yes please. Sign him up!

Tiendalli in Dutch squad, Leon to have hernia op & West Ham enter Lukaku race

 

Tiendalli offered new contract & called up to Holland squad!

Swansea full-back Dwight Tiendalli

Quite a bit of news today; let's start with Dwight Tiendalli. The Surinam-born former Ajax youth team player will surely have a grin on his face at the moment, as he has recently been the recipient of two bits of good news. Firstly, he was offered a new deal by the Swans, which was no more than his performances this term have deserved. Every fan I've spoken to has been a fan of the marauding full-back, and his European experience could be very handy next year. Within the space of a few hours it was also confirmed that Dwight would, for the first time, join up with the Holland squad as they travel to play friendlies against Indonesia and China. While the opponents are far from auspicious, playing for your country is a privilege few will enjoy during their careers, and he will no doubt be excited at getting an opportunity to showcase his abilities on the international stage for the first time. He'll be in good company too, as teammates Michel Vorm & Jonathan De Guzman have also been called up, so at least there'll be some friendly faces in the squad. Incidentally, Ajax have three players in the Dutch squad too - can you imagine being told ten years ago that the Swans would have the same amount of players representing Holland as Ajax? Incredible stuff!

Tiendalli himself seemed unsure as to goings on as of Sunday, however it seems things have now progressed and we may see him sign on for at least one more year in the very near future.

Leon to undergo double hernia operation

Fresh from coming out with a plea for Ashley Williams to stay in SA1, it's been announced that Leon will have surgery, after playing through the pain barrier in order to see out the season.

"My groin has felt quiet tight, but I wanted to play through the pain and finish the season. I missed parts of training in that time but it was necessary to ensure I was available for the games, although I did struggle a little bit in the last four to six weeks. I've had one hernia since December, and a scan around four weeks or so ago showed I had another one."

"I've had a hernia operation before, around 2005, so I know the procedure. It means I will come in during the summer to do some rehab which will make sure I'm ready for pre-season training.

"Next season will be huge for us as we will be involved in four competitions, so I want to make sure I'm fit and ready when we report back for pre-season."            Leon Britton

It seems that Leon has been keen to further his "Jack Bar Steward" reputation by grinning and bearing pain in the name of the cause, but the indication is he should be fine for next season. Despite picking up the odd recurring injury over the years Leon should be a firm fixture in the Swansea City midfield for years to come; news which will no doubt please Swansea fans to a man.

West Ham reportedly enter race for Romelu Lukaku's signature

I mentioned this as more of a joke than anything else. It's been reported for months that the Swans are interested in signing the Belgian teenager, however rumours resurfaced recently indicating there may yet be something in this, despite Lukaku seemingly being "out of Swansea's league" as it were. European football will no doubt help if we are in for him, however I will be absolutely amazed if he decided West Ham was the best available offer for the 2013/2014 season. They have just agreed a fee for Andy Carroll, and play nasty, nasty football; while a partnership featuring the two would be one of the more physically imposing in world football it's unlikely anyone will ever have to defend against it. Lukaku to West Ham? No sodding chance...

Leon Britton - "Swans must retain Ashley Williams"

So, the season has drawn to a close. Over the next few months journalists, bloggers and reporters will be sniffing around for stories as the lack of competitive action impacts upon the amount of content available to fill column inches, but for now at least there's an abundance of post-season analysis and comment available for our perusal.

First up is Leon's interview where he stated his belief that the Swans should pull out all the stops in a bid to retain Ashley Williams services for next season.

"It is vitally important that we keep someone like Ashley. He has been fantastic since he joined us and he is the captain now. He has been absolutely brilliant, and it's no surprise he has been linked with Liverpool and Arsenal.

"It is a testament to the player because he has been outstanding, but hopefully we can keep hold of him. We would all love him to stay and we will see what the summer holds but hopefully come the start of August he will still be here."

"I think it is important we spread the games around the squad. We have seen this season with the likes of Newcastle and Stoke - two teams who have done well in the Europa League - that you can struggle a bit in the league.

"It can take its toll, but I am sure the management and staff have plans in place to bring players in."  Leon Britton

People have been using Newcastle as an example of what can happen if you try and compete in Europe with a fairly thin squad. They finished last season with 65 points - a massive twenty four more than they accrued this term. Granted, there were other factors involved in their dismal form this year but ultimately it seems the extra games really affected their league performance. Given that Newcastle enjoyed some success in the Europa League and actually had a crack at it, their experiences are likely to be more comparable to Swansea's impending Euro adventure than Stoke's the year before, where Pulis didn't really take it seriously and put out a second team against Valencia (the Potters unsurprisingly went down 2-0).

Laudrup has stated that if (and that's a big if) the Swans retain their entire squad (minus players he wants to ship out) he'd like to sign six or seven players for next season. He's also hinted that some of his transfer targets would "get fans excited" so it seems we may be in for a surprise or two over the close season. As for Ashley Williams, would he go? Liverpool seem set to sign Kolo Toure on a free, which would seemingly make Anfield an unlikely destination for the Swansea captain, however with Arsenal consistently rumoured to be interested you feel a bid is now imminent. Would he go? It would be hard, if not impossible for him to turn down such a move, but you never know. 

As I mentioned in a previous blog here, it's not always sensible to cash in. Ok, the Swans could probably get £10mil, maybe a bit more, but we don't necessarily need it and selling Ash would rip the heart out of the defence, the team and the dressing room. He's been exceptional since signing for us and has come on so far; I remember when he was still rough around the edges - any time he came for a header I winced because generally he'd fly past the man and miss the ball, but I think playing alongside Garry Monk has made Williams into the defender he is. He now has a greater appreciation of how to read the game and despite the incessant abuse he doles out to Monk you feel he appreciates how much playing alongside him has helped his game. 

If he wants to go, then obviously we can't stop him. That's the one thing no-one knows and you won't find many Swansea fans who'd begrudge him his chance at playing for an established Champions League club. If and when he does move on, it's going to be one hell of a task replacing him, and the Swans are probably already keeping tabs on options in case he does up sticks. Leon clearly agrees that selling Ash would leave a massive void and it's always questionable whether you can fill such a void without suffering on the pitch. So far though the Swans higher-ups have performed miracles in terms of player recruitment and I don't expect that to stop now. Onwards and upwards, eh!

Swansea 0 - 3 Fulham - Moving swiftly on...

I thought it best to ponder yesterday's match for a while before writing anything about it. Pre-game, the atmosphere in and around the stadium was great. The sun was shining, everyone was looking forward to the game and most people were confident of at least a point. As it turned out, it wasn't to be...

The game itself was a fairly timid affair, and definitely had an end of season feel to it. I don't feel there is much point in over-analysing the game yesterday, and to be honest I don't want to either. The first Fulham goal seemed like it was due to some overly zealous defending on Chico's part, the second saw Berbatov running free after no pressure was put on the passer (and in my opinion Vorm went down too easily), while the third was a tap-in from a rebound with only seconds remaining.

All of the goals can be considered disappointing, while another thing worth mentioning was the performance of Lee Mason. He endeared himself to Swans fans by disallowing a perfectly good Roland Lamah goal at the Hawthorns earlier in the season, and made sure no-one could accuse him of favouring the home team yesterday, allowing a series of fouls on Swansea players without caution before deciding to break the yellows out when the Fulham players got fouled instead. Ok, he only booked two Swans' players however I felt it was a particularly poor show yesterday. A perfect summation of his performance was when, deep into first half injury time (which had arisen due to extended play-acting from Emmanuel Frimpong) he blew the half time whistle with the Swans attacking the Fulham box. You rarely see referee's blow up there, but Lee Mason isn't your average referee.

I can adequately compare my feelings about the game yesterday to the experience of trying to buy a pint at half time. I don't like missing any of the game, so I waited until the half time whistle, before nipping to the gents and then trying to queue for a pint. With minutes left until the second half kicked off I'd progressed about a third of the way through the queue, and what's more (as you all know) your lager option is Carling - and whether it's poured straight from a can or from a tap it's a nasty, nasty drink. Service at the stadium has to improve - at present the club are literally throwing money away as people are growing frustrated with what is a very unprofessional level of service. I know it's subcontracted, but there's no urgency about the staff at the food and drink kiosks in what should be a frenetic working environment.

Anyway, rant over. As stated I don't like to criticse too heavily given the team's exploits this season. It's understandable performances dipped after winning a cup, but to finish 9th is a great achievement and will have seen us pick up a bit of extra TV cash to boot. With the season now over, attention will turn to transfer wheelings and dealings, and the forthcoming Europa League draw. I for one can't wait, and with Laudrup hinting that some of his transfer targets will excite Swansea fans we could be in for an exciting summer yet...

Swansea v Fulham - Match preview, team news, statistics & analysis

The Match

Swansea are looking to end the season with bang after an impressive performance last time out in an emotionally charged affair with Manchester United. A number of improved performances have seen the Swans take a point from Man City, beat Wigan away and push United close, so they'll be looking to take three points from Fulham to end the season on a high. The Swans are already guaranteed 9th place, however a win over Fulham (and a West Brom loss to Man Utd)  would see the Swans finish in 8th place - a remarkable result given pre-season apprehensions.

Fulham have hardly produced inspiring football of late, however with Premier League safety assured they're likely to play with a freedom that's been missing over recent weeks. They've lost six of their last seven games however, and Fulham fans will hope their players have one last effort in them as they attempt to bring some points home from South Wales. The Londoners haven't kept a clean sheet since March though, so goals are a distinct possibility this Sunday.

Last time out

Fulham 1 - 2 Swansea City

The Swans came out on top at Craven Cottage thanks to goals from Danny Graham and Jonathan De Guzman. Graham gobbled up a rebound after Nathan Dyer had forced David Stockdale into a save (we wanted to buy him once, remember?), before Pablo capitalised on a poor clearance from the keeper to feed in De Guzman, who put the Swans two up. A late goal from Bryan Ruiz saw Fulham pile the pressure on late on, but the Swans were good value for the three points.

Prior Form (most recent at top)

Premier League                 Man Utd        2 - 1  Swansea

Premier League                 Wigan           2 - 3  Swansea
Premier League                 Swansea      0 - 0   Man City   
Premier League                 Chelsea         2 - 0  Swansea
Premier League                 Swansea      0 - 0   Southampton

Premier League                Fulham          1 - 3  Liverpool
Premier League                Fulham          2 - 4  Reading
Premier League                Everton           1 - 0  Fulham        

Premier League                Fulham          0 - 1  Man Utd
Premier League                Fulham          0 - 3  Man Utd

Team News

Swansea welcomed Chico Flores and Michu back against Manchester United, while Neil Taylor made his first start since overcoming his ankle injury. Ki Sung-Yeung (dead leg) and Michel Vorm (concussion) should both return to the squad after missing the Wigan game.

Fulham will be without Keiron Richardson after he came off 15 minutes into the Liverpool game last week, suffering from a hamstring injury, while Simon Davies (thigh), Ashkan Dejagah (ankle) and Mahamadou Diarra (knee) all look set to miss out.


Trivia (courtesy of various other sites);

• Swansea have won 35%, drawn 45% and lost 20% of their last 20 home games.

• Swansea have kept a clean sheet in 30% of their last 20 home games.

• In their last 20 home games against teams positioned below them in the table, Swansea have won 12, drawn 8 and lost 0 of these matches

• Fulham have won 20%, drawn 35% and lost 45% of their last 20 away games.

• Fulham have conceded in 80% of their last 20 away games.

• Fulham have failed to score in 45% of their last 20 away games.

• Fulham have lost 6 of their last 7 games, have currently lost their last five games in a row.

• Swansea have beaten Fulham in all three of their Premier League meetings, conceding just one goal.

• Swansea are one of only two teams this season yet to win a penalty (alongside Tottenham). Charlton in 2004-05 were the last side to go a whole Premier League season without winning a penalty.

• Just 11% of Swansea's goals (five of 47) have come from set-pieces this season, which is the lowest ratio in the Premier League.

• Swansea have scored the highest percentage of goals (70%) in the second half of matches in the league this season.

• This is the 63rd meeting between the sides. Fulham have won 30 times, Swansea 22 and there have been 10 draws.

• Fulham have lost five successive Premier League games. They have only lost six in a row once before in the competition - between February and March 2002.

• Eleven of Dimitar Berbatov's 14 league goals for Fulham have come before half-time. Only Clint Dempsey has scored more goals (17 last season) in a single Premier League season for the club.

• They have thrown away 23 points from winning positions and gained just five from losing positions this season.
• Only Robin van Persie (12) has scored more goals at home than Michu (11) in the Premier League this season.

Completely guessed lineups

Straight from the "horse's mouth";

Michael Laudrup was effusive in his analysis of his debut season in the Premier League:

"We are 100 per cent sure of finishing in the top ten, things will have to go very badly for us not to be ninth and we even have a possibility of finishing eighth. Hopefully Manchester United can do us a favour and if we then beat Fulham, we would be eighth.  

"That would be like winning the championship — that's the maximum for us when you look at the seven clubs above. We can say now that we will probably end up first or second in what I would call our league. When you add that to the cup win, that's an amazing season."

Martin Jol responded to speculation about prospective movers and shakers in the Fulham camp ahead of the close season:

"If people make up a little story and I speak about new players coming in, of course you need a little bit of money. They associate us with the chairman and he has to give us the funds, but we are healthy club. We will try to get some players in so there is no story. I am very happy. It is 10 minutes from my house, my girl is going to school and she loves it there. She had her first competitive match yesterday against another school and they beat them. She was happy, I am happy, the missus is happy and hopefully I can make the fans happy again as well."

Analysis

The time has come for the Swans to play the last match of the season. The exploits of Michael Laudrup and his band of unassuming players have surpassed what any of us would have expected, and with the legendary Dane set to continue as Swans boss next year and European football to boot there's plenty of reasons for Swansea fans to look forward to the coming campaign.

Swansea seem to have turned the corner after a poor run of results, and will be looking at this as a more than winnable fixture. They haven't won at home since beating Newcastle 1-0 (thanks to a late Luke Moore goal) on the 2nd of March, however three of the four games which have passed at the Liberty since then have been Arsenal, Spurs and Man City, so to criticise would, as I've said before, possibly be a little on the harsh side. That being said, performances had dipped and Laudrup admitted that we'd possibly been "over-performing" earlier in the season, so it's pleasing to see performance levels increase once again as the Swans look to finish the season with a bang.

A lot of people I've spoken to seem to think this could be a bit of a dead rubber, however I'm not sure. Both teams play an attractive brand of football, but in all honesty there are quite a few players in the Fulham squad who I know next-to-nothing about. The obvious threats will be Bryan Ruiz, Dimitar Berbatov and Alexander Kacaniklic - if the Swans can starve this trio of possession it will go a long way to assuring victory. I fancy the Swans to have too much for Fulham, especially with a boisterous home crowd eager to see a home win for the first time in two and a half months.

Question marks remain about Vorm and Ki's fitness - I'm hoping the Korean is fit enough to play some part but it may well be that De Guzman is selected ahead of him as he seems to have been preferred of late. I'm hoping Gerhard Tremmel retains his place, he's been excellent for us and deserves another start after missing out on games once Vorm regained fitness following an earlier groin injury. Whether the Dutchman is fit after suffering concussion in the Wigan game remains to be seen, but whoever lines up between the sticks is likely to put in a quality shift so we don't have to worry too much there.

On paper, I'd have thought that defensively Fulham would be alright given the calibre of both Brede Hangeland and Aaron Hughes at centre-back, however a run of five straight defeats (and 6 in 7) clearly indicates something is up in South West London. Hopefully they won't find a way of remedying their own bad run as a win for the Swans would continue a recent upward curve which saw us hold Man City to a draw and beat Wigan away in a game which saw Wigan display just why they were relegated.

Shocking defending aside, you've got to put the chances away when they're presented to you and the Swans did just that. With mid-table rivals West Brom entertaining Man Utd the Baggies need to win to guarantee they'll hold on to 8th place. A Swans win would see them finish the season on 49 points - two more than they managed last season, and a win would also see them finish the season with a goal difference of 0 or better. Quite a feat for a club the size of the Swans.

There is of course the possibility that the game could develop into something approaching a lethargic chess match, but I don't think the crowd would stand for that. It's the end of the season, and everyone will be in party mode - goals are required. Can the Swans deliver? I think so. If we go with the three wingers I can't see Fulham being able to keep us out, however I also can't see us keeping a clean sheet (Hangeland from a corner?). I'm going to be in the North Stand for the first time tomorrow - it'll be interesting to see what kind of noise the travelling fans generate. If the Swans score early, they could be in for a torrid afternoon.

Let's hope it's sunny at least...

Iechyd Da.