New kit and sponsor: Verdict?

What kind of reaction has the much anticipated new strip garnered?

If we were giving the club marks out of ten for the way in which the new kit was released, they'd definitely be pushing for a 10 when it comes to creativity. They, for some reason, embarked on a Countdown-bonus-round-esque slow reveal, where each day a new section of the photo was exposed, and to be honest by the end most fans were pretty bored of it.

Over the last few weeks we've seen numerous rumours stating the sponsor was another gambling firm, or an Asian company (given our links with Ki), but news first broke that our new sponsor was Goldenway on Swansfc.com - top work, and they've clearly got better sources than I have! Reaction to the kit has been mixed. Some have deplored the colour scheme of the away kit, with "rhubarb and custard" being mentioned a couple of times on Twitter, while the main bone of contention seems to be, in all honesty, the effect the new sponsor has on the shirt.

Given that the Swans had severed ties early with the previous sponsors 32RED, and the subsequent mystery surrounding the new sponsor, it's hard to not be a little underwhelmed in that the new official club partner is a company that most of us have never heard of - GW FX - a trading firm who specialise in mineral and precious metal trading. While that's not necessarily a bad thing, their "About Us" section of the website is worth a read, as it's clearly been translated from another language. Apparently they are "deeply trusted" by the European market...

Something which will definitely have exacerbated any misgivings fans had of the kit is the fact that Adidas managed to mess up the kit order, and weren't able to deliver adult home shirts on time. They released a statement as follows:

"Adidas wishes to sincerely apologise to the club and all Swansea City fans. Unfortunately there has been a delay with the delivery of the new 2013/2014 adult home shirt and some items from the new 2013/14 Swansea City training wear range due to a situation which regrettably adidas has been unable to rectify in time for the scheduled launch.  

 "Adidas is immensely proud of our partnership with Swansea City Football Club and we are working extremely hard to ensure this situation is resolved quickly and efficiently. We would like to put on record how sorry we are for any inconvenience caused to the fans and the club by the delay in adidas delivering these items.    

New signing Jordi Amat with what seems
 to be the only adult home shirt in the city

"The revised launch date for the 2013/2014 adults home shirt and relevant items from the new 2013/14 Swansea City training wear range will be communicated to the fans via the club website as soon as possible."                                   Adidas statement

Leigh Dineen wasn't too impressed either:

“The club is extremely disappointed that our supporters have been let down at the last moment by adidas, but the matter was totally out of the club’s control after numerous guarantees received up until today. 

"We would like to apologise to our supporters and we are currently in discussion with adidas regarding a new delivery date for adult home shirts."
Swans' Vice-Chairman Leigh Dineen

Back to the sponsorship deal though, and it seems something may have gone awry here. The deal is for one year (although apparently both parties have options on extending that), and is worth £2million. Now, while that is massively more than any previous sponsorship deal we've signed, when you compare it to Fulham's sponsorship deal with FxPro it's only worth half what theirs is per year. With European football on the table, and with the Swans choosing to pay their way out of the 32RED deal, is it possible something big fell through at the last minute? This could also account for the kit being delivered late, in that if Adidas didn't know which sponsor to print onto it they can hardly ship it to SA1!

Either way, Goldenway are the new sponsor for next season and I'm sure no-one has any actual issue with that. After all, it's only a sodding football shirt...

Swansea hoping to learn more on Bony this weekend

Dutch media reporting Huw is getting tired of waiting for Vitesse to come back to us

The latest twist in the will-he-won't-he transfer saga that's currently surrounding Wilfried Bony is that Huw Jenkins is hoping to hear back from his Dutch counterparts before the weekend is over. It seems likely that Vitesse are now stalling in the hope of a bidding war emerging - if that does happen you feel that would almost certainly end the Swans' interest in the striker, given the lofty fee already being proposed.

You can hardly blame them for hanging on in the hope of maximising the deal, however when the player himself wants to come to Swansea then you can only stand in the way so long. For his part, the Ivorian is clearly keen to play his football in South Wales:

'The clubs are now talking to each other, Swansea has made Vitesse a bid and I hope it's good,' 

'Swansea is a wonderful club. It's my chance to play in the Premier League and they also play attractive football. 

'I understood from my agent that Swansea want to pay €12 million [£10.2m] for me and that is what Vitesse want to receive, so I hope there is some good news soon.' Wilfried Bony

Despite Swansea director John Van Zweden claiming that the club and the player were "way apart when it comes to agreeing on wages", it seems that Huw himself is still confident of agreeing a deal, even if the latest news from Holland seems to be he's growing tired of waiting for a response. Bearing in mind that has been translated using Google (sadly, Dutch isn't a language I'm fluent in), here's what Huw had to say on the matter:

"We have not the slightest progress. We've offered twelve million offered, plus on top of that different bonuses, but we are still waiting for a response from Vitesse. Hopefully they let us know something in the weekend"

So, if these latest quotes are to believed the fee is around 12million Euros plus, probably, add-ons in the form of sell-on clauses. This really is big money now! My gut instinct is that Bony himself won't be the problem - and that's also backed up by Huw (again, apologies for the translation):

"That is absolute nonsense. First, the clubs are out, then we talk only with the player on his salary. I can not imagine that this is going to be a problem.

"His style of football fits perfectly into our system. Bony is physically strong and very smart. He also has the right age and may continue to evolve. Finally - his character would fit well at Swansea. Bony really wants to come to our club."       Huw Jenkins

That's all rather encouraging, eh? Still a case of wait and see, but it seems we'll know something before the end of the weekend. If we don't, it could well be back to the drawing board as we search for a striker to relieve Michu of his goalscoring burden.

Swansea confirm De Guzman returning on loan next season

Club confirm Dutchman will spend 2013/14 in SA1

News has just broken that Jonathan De Guzman will indeed return for next season, which won't be a surprise to many given how he's spoken about the Swans in recent weeks. The Canadian-born Dutchman clearly enjoyed himself last year, and there've been numerous quotes where he's stated he was open to spending another season here.

Last week JDG had this to say:

“I had a great year at Swansea,The people around the club and the fans treated me well. It was not just the results we had; it was more about showing we can also compete with the big teams. We played better against the bigger teams. 

“We played well in a lot of games. We played good football and it’s refreshing playing in a team that has a good football mind. I’m very satisfied with what happened. We did very well, we were very creative.  

“We really put Swansea on the map.”  Jonathan De Guzman

He's also put a video online of his "review of 2012/13" - worth a watch;




I for one am happy to see him back for another season as he clearly fits into the way the team plays very well. I have previously stated that his performances dipped in the second half of the season, but that could also be said of a few other players and it's possibly harsh to criticise given how well the team did last year.

Huw Jenkins hinted that if things go well we may well end up signing him permanently:

“Everyone is happy the loan is continuing, then Jonathan will review his long-term future next summer.’" Huw Jenkins

A big welcome back to Jonathan, and hopefully this is just the latest in a series of announcements which sees top players committing to playing their football in SA1 next year. With the signatures of Jordi Amat & Jose Canas confirmed, and Alejandro Pozuelo & Wilfried Bony both rumoured to be close to signing, there could well be a lot more good news to report on in the next few days.

Stay tuned!

The Swans sign Jordi Amat, but there's still no agreement regarding Wilfried Bony

Skysports are also reporting we're close to agreeing terms with 17 year old Slovenian 'keeper Gregor Zabret

Coming as it did at a time when all the talk was of Wilfried Bony's much reported transfer to the Swans, Jordi Amat could be forgiven for feeling like the announcement of signature was somewhat underwhelming. Perhaps a better indication of the potential bargain the Swans have picked up is that his name was still trending on Twitter long into today. Whether that indicates a lot of people were talking about him or that it was a slow news days day we can't say.

If you'd like to read a bit more on Jordi Amat, I put together a profile HERE with a load of stats for your perusal. Something which is a lot easier to digest though is this; his only goal of the season last year.

While we can hardly expect him to do that kind of thing with any regularity, his stats suggest he's got an eye for a pass and can rival Ash when it comes to pinging one out to the wingers - that'll give us greater threat on the counter-attack and won't go unnoticed by the Swansea coaching staff.

Swansea close to signing Gregor Zabret

According to Skysports, the young Slovenian spent time with the Swans in January and is going to be finalising a deal over the weekend, before joining up with the club's pre-season tour of Holland. Honestly? I've never heard of the guy and there's scant information online, but I'll have a look at some point to see if I can dig up any information online. It seems he's highly rated, and he's already made quite a few appearances in the first team for NK Domzale, who finished third in the Slovenian league last year, so hopefully in time he'll turn out to be a useful addition to the squad.

No news regarding Bony move

The latest on this is likely to come down to whether you believe what you read on Twitter or not. Some sources are claiming he's asked for £80kpw in wages, which I struggle to believe, but Swans director John Van Zweden has been quoted in the Dutch press as saying the club and the player are "way apart" in terms of agreeing a deal at the moment. 

Hopefully they'll agree something, because with all the fanfare now surrounding this move it would be a real shame to miss out - and it's also possibly something which could leave fans panicking that the club will be short a striker come the beginning of the season. It's not panic stations just yet, but everyone knows the Swans need a frontman and if it comes down to the wire they may well find that clubs stick an extra few million on any proposed fee. 

Which probably means we won't end up signing anyone, thinking about it...

The day I met John Hartson!

Not quite "just another day at the office"...

So there I was, minding my own business in the corner spot I've come to like, when the door suddenly burst open. Normally, you can take that as a sign that Nev (I work for Save Britain Money - the business featured in BBC3's The Callcentre) has an announcement to make, but yesterday was different. In walks Nev flanked by none other than ex-Wales, Arsenal, Celtic, West Ham, Wimbledon, West Brom, Coventry & Luton striker John Hartson.

Now, normally I'm not one to jump at the opportunity to grab a photo with a celebrity, but given I run a website about the Swans, and John is born and bred Swansea City, it seemed too good an opportunity to pass up. 

I definitely have the best tie in the office.

It's such a shame that when his star was flying highest, the Swans weren't in a position to make him an offer given their lowly status in the lower reaches of the Football League. I did once hear that towards the end of his career a move had been mooted (under Martinez possibly?) however even if there was something in that it never came to anything. 

Since his battle with cancer, John has become increasingly involved in charity work and seems to be spending more and more of his time helping others who are less fortunate than ourselves. He's got his own charity - The John Hartson Foundation, and will shortly be climbing Ben Nevis to raise money for it - click the link to check out how to sponsor him, or even to register - although time is short!

One thing you have to say about John though, is that he's a good sport...

It's all gone a bit Friar Tuck...

Wilfried Bony set to sign for the Swans! (According to his agent)

Club are still yet to confirm deal, but agent claims a 12million Euro deal has been agreed

Wow. If this is true, I did not see this coming. Speaking to De Gelderlander, Bony's agent Francis Kacou has stated that Bony has agreed terms with the Swans, and will swap Holland for South Wales imminently.

I won't be the only person who is borderline flabbergasted that the Swans have stretched to a fee of this size, but if we're doing it you can guarantee it's because we can afford it. Heady times indeed. Here's a video of Bony in action last season, where he scored 31 goals in 30 games for Vitesse, finishing top scorer in the Eredivisie:

Seems the real deal eh? Hopefully we're getting a player who'll replicate the exploits of Ruud Van Nistelrooy as opposed to Alfonso Alves, but with a goals to game ratio exceeding that of any player I've come across in Europe this year I'm pretty confident we've signed a real star in Bony.

Since I posted this article, Vitesse have claimed that no agreement has been reached, but Wilfried Bony himself has broken his silence on the matter:

"The clubs are now talking to each other, Swansea has made Vitesse a bid and I hope it's good. Swansea is a wonderful club. It's my chance to play in the Premier League and they also play attractive football.

"I understood from my agent that Swansea want to pay €12 million for me and that is what Vitesse want to receive, so I hope there is some good news soon." Wilfried Bony

Well, that's encouraging isn't it? Hopefully it now won't be too long until we announce his signature...

Transfer rumour roundup

A look at the plethora of players we've been linked with over the last few days

Well, the media circus has now gone into overdrive. As one friend has suggested, it's possible the Swans are being used by agents to drum up interest in their clients by putting their name into a sentence with "Swansea City", but it seems there's something in at least one or two of the rumours. 

Probably the most exciting name to crop up is that of Wilfried Bony. The Ivorian set the Eredivisie alight - scoring 31 goals in 30 league games (43 in 62 through all competitions), and is valued at £10mil+ by his club Vitesse. Likely? Who knows. If we're going to pay up to around £10million for a player, which I'm still not convinced will be the case, I'd rather we spend it on Bony than Bafetimbi Gomis, who is rated at around the same price but has never had a season as prolific as the man from the Ivory Coast.

One rumour which seems to have an element of truth in it is that we've made a loan bit for Matej Vydra. His agent has said that up to eight clubs are interested in his client's signature, and that Swansea are one of a number of clubs who've made loan bids for last year's Championship Player of the Season. I'll be honest, I didn't watch too much of the Championship last year but if he stood out that much playing for a Watford team littered with supposed "star loanees", picking him up without having to pay a fee could well be a really tidy bit of business. He's valued at between £8million and £10million by his parent club Udinese, but they seem willing to let him spend another season on loan as he looks to kick on again.

Jordi Amat is another name that's now been linked with the club for a while, and the Spanish centre-back is rumoured to be close to signing, while we've also reportedly had a bid accepted for Nathan Redmond - the latter is an exciting prospect, very much in the Scott Sinclair mould, while the defensive cover Amat would bring could be key if Kyle Bartley departs, as expected, on loan to Birmingham.

Last but not least, yesterday Jonjo Shelvey dropped to 1/8 to be at the Swans next season, and the press seem to be running with the idea we want to sign him for £5million. To be completely honest, I've never seen Shelvey play well and I'm really not enthused by this one, but as usual I'm completely willing to be proved wrong. There's a reason I'm not a football manager. 

Actually, there's probably a couple...

Lee Trundle re-signs for the Swans!!

Ex-Swansea striker returns to club as an ambassador/academy coach

Well, last night I won't have been alone in flapping about my house, wondering what this "big news" was that we were to expect. Could it be that the relative calm of the last week would be shattered, and that Laudrup was off? Was it that the Swans were about to smash their transfer record? Would we announce a new sponsor today?

No.

In all honesty, and as much of a fan of LT10 as I am, the news didn't live up to the billing. As someone who is constantly looking for the needle of truth in a haystack of unsubstantiated rumour, stories like this really do frustrate! It would be all too easy for me to take every rumour from Twitter and other social media and regurgitate them, however A) I don't want to and B) Even if I did I wouldn't have the time. While Trundle's return to the club is very much a feelgood event, given recent media stories fans would have been forgiven for hoping for something a little more substantial in terms of news. 

For his part, Trundle is clearly (as you'd expect) chuffed to be back. His relationship with the Jack Army surpassed the bond he forged with any other group of supporters - and that wasn't just down to his longevity in SA1. Trundle scored 91 goals during his time here in 194 appearances, many of which will live long in the memory of Swansea fans. Seems like as good an excuse as any to watch a video of him in action...

I didn't watch that video all the way through, but for anyone who decided not to watch it (for whatever reason) it's really worth watching this one of his goal in the FA Trophy final at the Millenium Stadium...

Welcome back Lee! I've personally got some great memories of him terrorising defences in the lower leagues, so it's great to see him back at the club. He's no doubt looking forward to working with both the squad and the community, and he's the ideal man to foster good an even better relationship between the local populace and the club. He's also going to be working with the youth squads, and for any young player to have someone of his technical ability to learn from is a great opportunity to have. Let's just hope he doesn't take them out to Wind St too often...

Swansea have bid accepted for Nathan Redmond

The Birmingham Mail are reporting that both the Swans & Norwich have had bids accepted for the young wide-man

Following on from the profile I put together of Redmond when news of our interest in him first broke (read it here), it seems there really is something in this story. Whether we'll get our man remains to be seen, as current Canaries boss Chris Hughton has previously worked with Redmond at Birmingham City and that may well be enough to sway him in their direction, however with Europa League football on offer the Swans have incentives of their own. 

Redmond in action for Birmingham

The rumour is that despite Birmingham boss Lee Clark's reluctance to sell his best players, the financial peril the Blues have found themselves in dictates their transfer policy. Curtis Davies has already departed for Hull for £2.25million, and with Redmond's asking price reported to be only £2million I'll be amazed if more clubs don't come in for him before the deal is rubber-stamped. As well as the Swans' and Norwich's bids, the Birmingham Mail are also reporting that a third, unnamed Premier League club have had a bid rejected - who that may be is anyone's guess but I'd speculate that with the asking price so low, an improved bid may well be forthcoming.

Another aspect of the transfer which may work in Swansea's favour is the possibility of Kyle Bartley heading the other weigh as some kind of makeweight. It was mentioned when the story first broke that this may well end up panning out, and given Curtis Davies' transfer the Blues could seriously do with a decent centre-back - and I'd say Bartley definitely fits the bill. Whatever the reason behind his continued exclusion from the Swansea first-team, I'd say it's a shame given when he's played (Liverpool away excluded) he's looked a tidy footballer, but if it results in the club signing an exciting young winger I can't say I'm that against it.

Lee Clark told the Birmingham Mail that he's already been trying to tie up some loan deals for next season:

“I have agreed terms with two players and two Premier League clubs to take a right-sided centre-half and a left-sided centre-half on season-long loans. 

“Those deals are subject to medicals when the lads get off holidays, as Premier League teams aren’t due back for 10 days to two weeks, but I hope to have those completed next week because of the agreements with the players and the clubs are in place. It’s just down to them coming through the medicals. 

“I have spoken to both players and I will be delighted to get them."  Lee Clark

If the right-sided centre-back he's referring to is Bartley, then a loan to a competitive Championship club would well be a good thing. He didn't get a look in during the 2nd half of the season, so regular game time could well see him proving himself and coming back to the Swans with the bit between his teeth - wait and see eh?

Swansea linked with Ecuador winger Jefferson Montero

Montero during his time at Real Betis

In truth, this has got a mention purely because the guy has an outstanding name. I'm all for footballers who possess either (or ideally both) good hair or a good name, and while his barnet isn't up to much his moniker certainly is. What do we know about him? Information is scarce, but apparently he did play against the Swans when Betis came to town for a friendly, during a season-long loan he enjoyed at the club. 

I'll be surprised if there's anything in this, given he's currently playing in Mexico and our scouting network is anything but extensive. He came to Europe to play for Villareal, but after they deemed he wasn't up to their standard he was shipped out to Levante, then Betis on loan before subsequently heading back closer to home to play his football in the Liga MX. 

I'll file this one in the "very unlikely" drawer...

Edit: I've just found out that Jefferson Montero wears "JEFF" on the back of his shirt. That's me sold...

Can we second-guess Swansea's new kit?

Teaser appears to show part of a set template used by Adidas on other strips

Over the last few days the Swans have been releasing slightly larger snippets of the new kit, in a style not dissimilar to the bonus round in Roy Walker's Catchphrase. Why they've decided to reveal the new kit in such a protracted manner is anyone's guess - but at least they had a go at doing it in an artistic manner by overlaying a Dylan Thomas poem on the image. Whether your average football fan give's two hoots about poetry when they want news of the new home shirt is another matter, however.

Given kit manufacturers preference (laziness?) over the last few years, we're now used to seeing the same "template" being applied to various team's kits, with colours and slight embellishments the only discernible differences. The cut and style of this shirt are invariably the same - as witnessed by Swindon fans in particular when it was revealed that their "official" merchandise was simply Swansea gear with a Swindon badge pressed over the top. 

A "Swindon" rain jacket, with a Swansea badge
clearly visible when light is shone on it

While teams being given the same style of kit isn't nearly as bad as that, it does mean that in this situation we should be able to have a good guess as to what the kit will look like when it's finally released. The teaser photo released today also revealed that the away kit appears to be purple - which goes along with the rumour that's been doing the rounds for the last few weeks; that the away kit is purple and yellow (Real Madrid, anyone?). You can view the latest image released by the Swans HERE.

The home kit has a definite black patch on the sleeve, and given that our kit is supplied by Adidas, and this year only one of the eight templates they're using has a patch like that, then I think it's safe to assume our kit is going to be a black and white version of this:

Now, I'm no photoshop whizz but I'm sure someone could knock something up quicksharp. If you do send it to me and I'll edit it in! What do we think? Personally, I'm not a huge fan but the proof is in the pudding, and I won't judge it until it's been revealed in full. To me though, I'd now put good money on our kit being, essentially, a negative of the Stoke away kit.

The question remains though... who are the sponsors that'll appear on the shirt? Rumour has it it's another gambling firm...

EDIT:

Thanks to @GavinT_SCFC on Twitter, I now have some images to go with my thinking! Here's one with the "traditionally rumoured" sponsor (even though it's unlikely).

Now, here's one based on the rumours that the new sponsor is A) Still a gambling firm and B) a Chinese company:

Not too bad looking at all! A bit 80's, but that's fashionable (or so I'm told) at the moment...

Hurrah! Swansea's academy is granted "Category Two" status..

...what does that actually mean?

While this news is obviously of the positive variety, I won't have been alone in looking for some kind of clarification on exactly what this development will mean to the club going forward. I do remember reading about the shake-up to the academy system (and that many clubs weren't happy with it), but now seems a reasonable time to have an in-depth look at it. 

The EPPP (Elite Player Performance Plan) was the brainchild of the Premier League, and was designed (seemingly) to allow Premier League clubs to pilfer youngsters from other academies without too much of a headache. I mean... it was designed to improve the standard of youth football up and down the country. Or something... 

In a nutshell, the Football League clubs had to agree to the new plan, as the Premier League had them over a barrel. If they didn't agree, the PL were going to withhold the £5million annual funding for youth it puts into the FL, but despite this the vote wasn't unanimous. They voted 46 in favour, 22 against, with three no shows and one abstention, and since the new system has come into play Yeovil, Wycombe & Hereford have all now closed their academies - stating the new system was the reason they could no longer afford to keep them operating.

That being said, it's probably encouraged many clubs (the Swans included) to up the ante in terms of youth development, as the category you're assigned ultimately determines how much compensation you'll receive if a youth player does end up switching club. The categories range from One to Four, and that the Swans have attained Category Two status is no mean feat considering that just a few years ago the youth staff at the club consisted of Tony Pennock plus one assistant.

The ongoing work at Fairwood, coupled with the recent completion of the Landore training facility, means the club have never been better equipped to provide quality coaching to their youngsters, and with the Swans keen to instill a consistent playing style from the first team right through to the youth age groups, having a first-rate base with multiple training pitches can only be a good thing as they look to create a mini "La Masia".

After what the club referred to as "a stringent inspection", they were successfully awarded the C2 classification and will compete in Development League Two, but Pennock insists this is just a stepping stone and the plan is to attain Category One status within three years. With increased PL funding coming with every improvement in category, it's definitely something worth striving for and should see the Swans produce more players like Ben Davies, who adapted to life in the Premier League so well last season.

With a proper training complex for the first time in my memory at least, this can only be a good thing for Swansea City. Pennock also talked of "match analysis and sports science" being used to help mould the youngsters, which I'm sure is a far cry from the youth teams of the 90's, whose duties were likely more laundry based than laptop. 

Onwards and upwards - hopefully it won't be long before we see a regular stream of local youth talent emerging into the first team. 

Swansea rumoured to be closing in on Alejandro Pozuelo

As previously mentioned (here), the Swans are being linked with a move for Alejandro Pozuelo, a creative player who can operate either as an attacking midfielder or in the hole behind the striker. As I found out the last time I dug around online for information, it appears he's a little bit of a hot-head, and he's actually leaving Real Betis under a bit of a cloud after a contractual wrangle. Betis claimed that the amount of appearances he'd made this term automatically triggered a one-year extension to his present deal, however after a bit of back and fore it was decided that if a potential suitor was willing to pay a compensation fee (rumoured to be in the region of £450k) then the young Spanish striker would be allowed to leave.

It seems that Betis' are run very similar to the Swans if this quote from one of their directors is to be believed. He was speaking just over a week ago in regards to the possibility of Pozuelo moving on:

 “The player has no  interest in playing for Betis and  will not play, therefore. These type of  players will not be required at  this club. I’ve said many times  that players play where they  want to be” .

Hopefully he wants to play for the Swans! Why do I think he's a bit temperamental? After coming through the ranks at Betis, he made waves in the reserve "B" team, scoring 16 goals in one season and drawing attention from Manchester United and Barcelona, before making his debut for the first team in October 2011. Tipped for a bright future, he was making steady progress before an incident which seems to have gone a long way in damaging his relationship with Los Vertiblancos. Apparently, he came on as a sub with his team in the ascendancy, before being at fault for a crucial goal which ultimately led to the game finishing in a draw. That on it's own isn't so bad, but he's rumoured to have stormed into the changing room after the match criticising his team-mates. Quite inadvisable, especially if you're a youngster trying to force your way into the first-team.

Pozuelo. Or, as I like to call him, Chachi.

How's he fared when he has played? This year he's started four games and made a further seven appearances from the bench, scoring one goal and not managing any assists. To be honest, reports that I've read seem to state that after the aforementioned clash in the dressing room, he was banished to the B team, and when you consider that the previous season he started ten games (plus another eight as a sub) it does seem to indicate he'd fallen out of favour.

Statistically, he holds up fairly well despite the limited game-time he's enjoyed this season. He completed 82.8% of his passes, and despite most of his appearances being of the "token 20 minutes" variety he managed an average of 18.5 passes per game. He also managed 1.2 long balls, and 0.7 key passes per appearance, so it seems he's got an eye for a pass, but he only managed 0.7 shots per game (registering 7 in total all season), so he definitely can't be labelled a lethal finisher. Still only 21, there's plenty of time for him to rediscover the spark which once saw a £5million price-tag placed on his head, and he'll likely be viewing a move to SA1 as a fresh start. At half a million the Swans could be picking up a real bargain. Again.

Whoscored.com have his strengths as "passing & through balls", but his weaknesses make for funnier reading. In red, at the top of the list, is discipline, before aerial duels, finishing, and defensive contribution all make an appearance in a slightly less worrying orange - everyone loves a hot head, right?

This is the kind of transfer we should always be in the market for. He's young, likely to be hungry to succeed in one of the big European leagues and more importantly, it's essentially a free transfer given the ludicrous state of today's transfer market. The one worry I do have is that the Swansea squad is very tight-knit, and it'd be a shame to bring a player in who'd threaten the harmony in the dressing room. It's more than possible, however, that he'll mature into a very fine player indeed, and I for one wouldn't mind him doing that at Swansea.

Laudrup to stay... issue over?

With no mention of the alleged "rift" in the Swans camp for days, speculation surrounding the Dane's future seems to have died down

Right, I'm aware that this article is possibly both premature and a little foolhardy, but I'm in a good mood and feeling positive so let's be having you. 

As I've stated in previous blogs, I'm not convinced there was ever any serious issue between the manager himself and the board. Laudrup went on holiday when the season ended, and the Swans had a list of targets to work on which I've no doubt they did to the best of their ability. If we didn't/couldn't sign any of the players on that list, it's because we can't afford to. Simple as. Laudrup has, in his defence, always seemed to understand this, and when he's spoken about the transfer market he's always been very careful to end his comments with something akin to "...within the financial boundaries of the club" - indicating he's very much aware of how we do things in SA1. 

Tutumlu, however, clearly had a harder time getting used to this. The Evening Post have reported that as early as the Wigan game he'd been spotted remonstrating passionately to Laudrup on the field in the warm up - what the content of that discussion was is anyone's guess but the Post seem to think it was related to the subsequent set-to over the transfer budget, and in fairness it is hard to fault that logic. The former car salesman seemed very intent on making a point in the press throughout, but once the Swans had severed ties with him it all came to a close so quickly it's left me wondering whether something was said to make him, essentially, shut up.

Any time he'd spoken to the press over the preceding few weeks, he'd clearly had some kind of agenda, and wasn't afraid to throw in some spicy comments. Ok, journalists have a way of goading people into giving juicy answers, but he's been a football agent for a long time and he knows what he's doing. Once the Swans announced they would no longer deal with him (and he'd thrown in a token indignant outburst for good measure) however, the issue disappeared. He came out saying:

"There is no problem with Michael Laudrup and Swansea City. He is staying. It is my problem, my problem with Huw Jenkins. 

"I spoke about it yesterday and I don't want to speak about it again. The issue is now finished. I don't want to speak about it anymore." Bayram Tutumlu

To me, when you compare that statement to any that went before it it's clear that either he's been told to leave it alone, or he's decided to "be the bigger man" and not cause any more trouble. I know which one I think it is. He was very careful with his wording to point out that it was his problem, not Laudrup's, which reinforces my belief that this was all just a storm in a teacup, where Tutumlu thought by throwing his toys out of the pram he might get a few more million to help spend in the transfer market. He picked the wrong sparring partner in Huw!

Of course, we can't completely rule out the possibility that there is some kind of problem between Laudrup and the board, but I'm yet to see anything which makes me think that's the case. There are still articles appearing on a daily basis with various hypotheses about the situation (mostly including PSG - the latest few seem to think they want/would have to pay £10mil to acquire the Swans' manager), but they're now appearing in dribs and drabs as opposed to the flood that we saw a week or two ago.

I won't be alone in hoping that we've already heard the last on this issue, and with talk now turning to transfer targets it seems that all is once again well (if ever it wasn't) at the Liberty.

Fingers crossed...

A profile of Swansea target Bafetimbi Gomis

Powerful frontman has attracted attention from various clubs, but is he any good?

When this story first appeared, I won't have been alone in taking one look at the £12million price being mentioned and thinking "Ha! No way Huw will pay that!". Despite the extra cash in the club's coffers, and the pressure applied by other teams interested in the Frenchman's signature, it seems that true to form the Swans are unwilling to break the bank to get their man and that £8million may be nearer the mark. 

Gomis in action for France against Brazil

At first glance, that figure is still a lot of money for a player who's 27 (28 in August) and has never scored in excess of 16 league goals in one season, but there's more going on here than meets the eye. I can't claim to be any kind of authority on Gomis or French football, however you don't have to be to spot a developing trend in the burly centre-forward's track record. As pointed out in this excellent article by Whoscored last year (also the source of the statistics I use for this blog), Gomis improves year on year and that, for me, is a very encouraging trait to have as a centre-forward. How many times have you seen a young striker go off the boil and fail to recapture the spark of youth? Not so in this case; he's clearly someone whose understanding of his role is growing and there's no reason to doubt that he'll continue to improve as time goes on. 

After coming through the ranks at St-Etienne, Gomis netted twice in his first 19 games for Les Verts before a loan spell at Troyes (where he scored 6 goals in 13 games) helped force him into the first-team reckoning, and from that point there's been no turning back for the man dubbed "Baby Drogba". He found himself thrust into the fold, and despite only scoring twice in his first full season his coaches could see there was more to come. Over the next 3 seasons he's score 36 goals in 101 games, attracting attention from, amongst others, Newcastle United (then managed by Kevin Keegan), however it was Lyon who ultimately won out, securing his signature in a 13million Euro move. It's worth noting that around the time of that transfer Gomis stated that he'd be open to a move to "England" but that Serie A was his preferred choice.

As mentioned above, there's some historical data to go off (so we can compare year on year) but how did he fare this season? 18 in 42 (in all competitions) is pretty good, but when you consider 9 of those appearances were off the bench then all of a sudden it looks a little more impressive. As there's a disparity between league and Europa League stats (which is worth looking at) all stats from this point will be league only unless otherwise mentioned.

In 37 league appearances (9 off the bench), he managed 16 goals and 4 assists - both figures which are equal to his previous best returns, and averages 2.8 shots per game. He also wins one aerial duel per game (significantly lower than Michu's 3.3, however Gomis wins 2 per game in Europe so maybe it's a French league thing), which is surprisingly low for such a big, supposedly physically imposing player. He's caught offside 1.7 times per game, which would indicate that unlike any current Swansea striker he plays on the defender's shoulder, while he plays 0.7 dribbles per game and tries to play a "key pass" with the same frequency. 

More worryingly, he's dispossessed 1.9 times a game and loses the ball through poor control/a mistake 2.4 times. These stats would stick out a mile when compared with the attacking half of the Swansea team, but stats aren't everything - and most certainly don't win you games. Goals win you games and you can't say that Gomis doesn't know where the net is, that's for sure. A pass success rate of around 75% needs to be taken with a pinch of salt as on average he only played 19.1 passes per game - as stated in a recent blog any player who joins the Swans can expect to see their passing percentages increase and I think this would be very true here, as with figures like that he's clearly not getting a lot of easy ball in to feet.

As I mentioned earlier, there's a bit of a disparity between the stats from the league, and those from the Europa League. For example, in terms of shots per game it almost doubles from 2.8 to 4.6, and he won double the amount of aerial duels (2 as opposed to 1) per game, but the fact that he only played 5 European games this year means that these stats aren't necessarily a fair reflection of his season as a whole. 

As you can see from the table above, there's been a steady improvement for a while - even if in terms of passing and ball retention he went backwards slightly this season. To be honest, if it means you'll score an extra four goals a year I'd quite happily let a few passes go astray, and with Gomis coming into what are traditionally regarded as a striker's "prime years" you'd have to hope he, at the very least, maintains his current level of performance. He'll be hoping so too, as he aims to add to his tally of 10 international caps (three goals), but to me it appears his best years could well be ahead of him.

£8million? That would be at the top end of what I'd hope the Swans would consider spending on one player, but ultimately they're massively more qualified to make that kind of decision than I am. If they think he's worth it, then they've got my backing 100% - I'm just glad that £12million figure seems to have disappeared. Oh, and it does seem that Cardiff are interested in signing him too. Not a bad way to start the summer that; getting one over on your arch-rivals...

Jose Canas: "Swansea will help me grow as a person and a player"

New signing explains why he left Betis in farewell press conference

Following the announcement that the Swans had captured the signature of Betis midfielder Jose Canas, it's all gone a bit mad in SA1 as the reported rift between board and manager/manager's agent threatened to overshadow any positive news coming out of the Liberty.

Thankfully, it seems the dust is finally starting to settle around that particular issue, and today a nice distraction appeared online in the form of Canas' comments during a press conference held to mark his departure from his current club. He clearly sees Swansea as a club where he can improve, and indicates that playing in a league where a different style of football is prevalent is something he's very interested in.

Interesting for me, though, is (if ropey translation is anything to go by) it appears the Swans were actually able to outdo Betis in terms of the wages being offered; something I wouldn't have expected if true:

"The progression in my sporting life is important. At Swansea I saw something different. In Swansea I saw a great opportunity in which I will continue to grow as a person and as a player. It’s not that I was offered more or less money. The Premier League is different and my football can be beneficial, I want to experience new things, something I could not do by staying at Betis and I had to see other things - so for my family and for my future I took this decision.

“I will not deny that they have also made a financial effort and it’s unfortunate I decided not to renew my contract but economically Betis could not get to what I think I deserve, but I understand perfectly - it was not only economical, but many other factors.

“I feel I can grow a lot at Swansea. The Premier League really catches my attention and I think my football can be beneficial there. I want new experiences and I think I will grow as a player and as a person.”

When asked about the possibility of returning to face Real Betis in the Europa League this season, he reacted positively:

“I would love that. Of course I would go back and, even wearing another shirt, playing my last match at the Benito Villamarín  to say goodbye to the fans would be nice.I lived ten years in Seville and I grew up through the ranks at Real Betis. I always wanted to grow as a player and as a person and at all times tried to give everything.

“So now that my career will continue out of this club, I can only thank all those who have been with me, with whom I have learned and enjoyed on and off the field.

"I thank the Betis fans all the love and respect you have shown me, always have a hole in my heart.” Jose Canas

A fair comparison here would be to use Joe Allen as a yardstick. Canas is a product of the Betis youth academy, and in leaving the club he's severing ties which go back more than a decade, so it's a big decision swapping Seville for Swansea. While I can't claim to know quite how Betis fan's have reacted, I can imagine there's probably a split between the fans who understand that, in this position, it's hard for the player to say no, and the other fans who view a move in this situation as an action equatable to spitting in their mother's faces.

Much like when Joe Allen left, the transfer of a player who's spent his whole career with a club (up until that point) will always split opinion, but in Canas' case having a father who was also a Betis legend probably helps to sete any fan's misgivings. That being said, he had taken a bit of stick off fans towards the end of the season in regards to what they perceived to be a lack of effort on his part since he finalised his move to the Swans; although Canas refuted this vehemently (albeit through his agent).

I'm very excited about the arrival of Canas and if everything I've read/seen so far is correct he could be just the player we need - a defensive midfielder who likes putting himself about a bit. I think you've got to go back to Ferrie Bodde before you can find a Swans midfielder who fits that bill, and even then Bodde was never one to sit in front of the back four.

One thing that Canas does have which Bodde didn't, however, is an excellent head of hair. With the rumours we're looking at Lyon's Gomis (possessor of a great set of dreadlocks) it does seem that Laudrup is a big fan of a player with great hair. Signings so far have included Chico & Michu, and with Canas now joining the "Hair Bear Bunch" (or should that be "El grupo peluda"?) is going from strength to strength.

Want to know who we're signing next? Look for the player with good hair...

All Time Swansea XI - Left Forward - Alan Curtis

Place in All Time XI always assured for man they simply call "Legend"

Alan Curtis. A name which will mean a lot to any Swansea City fan who has followed the club since the 1970s, and one which has become synonymous with the club over the last few decades. His inclusion also marks the point where I start to get creative with the formation in a bid to fit who I consider to be my All Time XI players into the team - I think I'm going to be going with an old school 4-3-3 by the looks of it. We'll see.

Alan Curtis. They don't celebrate like they did in the 70's
any more.

Nephew of former Swansea, Man City & Welsh international Roy Paul, Curtis came through the ranks at the Vetch before making his debut in the last game of the 1972-73 season against Charlton, but his first season as a Swans' player sadly saw the club being relegated to the old Fourth Division. He wouldn't have to wait long for things to start to improve though; by the 1976/77 season the Swans were a team on the up, and missed out on promotion by one point. Harry Griffiths was by this point in charge, and Malcolm Struel had been appointed Chairman - stating he wouldn't sell the best young players (as had become the norm for the Swans over the years). 

Harry Griffiths resigned in the February of 1978, claiming he felt he couldn't take the club any further, but his replacement is a name every Swansea fan will be familiar with - John Toshack. Despite the mid-season upheaval, Curtis enjoyed a prolific season (scoring 32 goals in 39 games) and his contribution was crucial in seeing the Swans promoted out of the basement division. The next season the Swans were again promoted as they embarked on their yo-yo run to the First Division and back, but at the end of the season Curtis was the subject of a big-money bid from Leeds (to the tune of £350,000). 

Sadly for Curtis (but excellently for the Swans) it didn't work out for him in Yorkshire and within 7 months he was back in South Wales - and we only paid £165,000 to bring him back. Excellent bit of business that, and he went on to help the club gain promotion to the First Division the following season, the culmination of a run which included three promotions in four seasons. What happened next is quite brilliant, as the opening day of the new season pitted Swansea (and Curtis) against his old club Leeds at the Vetch Field. Leeds, with all their pomp and history, were surefire favourites and Curtis had been somewhat harshly judged during his short stint there, so he no doubt had a point to prove. I can't possibly do justice to what unfolded next, so I'll use Youtube. It's also worth noting the debut-day hat-trick from another All Time XI inclusion - Bob Latchford:

Not good enough for Leeds? Good enough to do that!

The Swans famously hovered around the top of the table for most of that first season with the elite, before falling away to sixth as the season ended. Sadly, the next season saw them embark on a fall which was just as spectacular as their previous rise, and Curtis was sold a year later to Southampton for £85,000 with the club's financial situation critical. By this point (either side of that brief spell at Leeds where he'd scored 5 goals in 28 games) he'd already amassed 72 goals in 248 games for the Swans, but he had another trip home in him before he finished his playing career.

He stayed at the Dell for three seasons, making 50 appearances and scoring 5 goals, before a short loan to Stoke (where he only played 3 games) preceded a move to, would you believe it, Cardiff City. Curtis was clearly keen to return to Wales, and it should be taken as a mark of the man that Swansea fans simply brush over this portion of his career. Many players legacies with Swansea fans would be severely dented by playing 125 games (scoring 10 goals) for our bitter rivals, but Curt is so clearly Swansea through and through I've not once heard someone mention this disparagingly. I have, however, heard an outstanding rumour that Curtis has a Cardiff City tattoo... highly unlikely one feels.

Alan Curtis alongside current Swansea manager
Michael Laudrup

After his spell at the (now consigned to history) Bluebirds, Curtis managed one final sojourn at the Swans, rejoining not long after the start of the 1989/90 season. We went on to make 31 appearances in all competitions (scoring 4 goals) before bowing out after the last game of the season against Bolton, which took him to 482 appearances for the Swans, scoring 110 goals. All in all he scored 137 goals in 670 career games, so it would seem that in the other 200 games(ish) away from the Vetch he was never quite as prolific as when he was playing in SA1. He also gained 35 Welsh caps, scoring 6 goals, playing in a Welsh team that included many Swansea players at the time.

He went on to have roles at Barry Town and Haverfordwest before returning to the Swans where he's been ever since, enjoying almost every role it's possible to enjoy behind the scenes. Coach, first-team coach, assistant manager, caretaker manager, matchday host, possibly scout as well, you can tell when he speaks that his passion for the club will never die - he's an excellent man to have around the younger players in the team. In the last year or two a story has emerged surrounding the Hull game in 2003, where the Swans needed to win to ensure league status was preserved. Normally a man of few words, Curt "laid it on the line" (Leon Britton's words, not mine) and reminded the players just what the game, and the team, meant to the fans and the community - Curtis reflected afterwards that if he hadn't said anything, and the club had been relegated, he'd never have forgiven himself for not trying to make a difference.

As a fan from a younger generation, it pains me that I was never able to see Curtis play competitively, however I was able to see him pull on his boots during a testimonial match for Keith Walker where Aston Villa came to town. His cameo put him in direct competition with (then Wales right-back) Mark Delaney, and all I remember is watching the elder player glide past his younger opponent time and time again as if he wasn't there. I was in awe of this guy, and he hadn't played a competitive match in a decade - I remember thinking at the time that it was such a shame I'd "missed the boat", so to speak, in terms of glory days for the Swans... how things have turned out eh?

If ever there was a man assured of his place in any All Time Swansea XI, it's Alan Curtis. Swansea City through and through. 

Below is my All Time Swansea XI so far - what do you think? Agree? Disagree? Who would you have included? There's still spots up for grabs so I may yet be swayed...

Other members of the All Time Swans XI:

GK - Roger Freestone - http://www.theswanseaway.co.uk/2013/04/all-time-swansea-xi-goalkeeper-roger.html

LB - Wilfred Milne - http://www.theswanseaway.co.uk/2013/04/all-time-swansea-xi-left-back-wilfred.html

CB - Mel Charles - http://www.theswanseaway.co.uk/2013/04/all-time-swansea-xi-centre-back-mel.html

CM - Leon Britton - http://www.theswanseaway.co.uk/2013/04/all-time-swansea-xi-central-midfield.html

CF - Bob Latchford - http://www.theswanseaway.co.uk/2013/04/all-time-swansea-xi-centre-forward-bob.html

Swansea City season statistics 2012/13 (by player)

Quite self explanatory today, really. Apologies if the table below is a bit small, it was a bit of a pain making it fit onto the page. All statistics are sourced from Whoscored.com, and feel free to copy this table if you've any use for this type of stat.

In other news, Laudrup is dismissing the reported interest from PSG - again insisting that he's staying at the club. Funny that, I'm sure all the media outlets were positive he'd be off...

A profile of Swansea target Jordi Amat

Young Spanish centre-back seems to fit the bill for the Swans

The latest player to be linked with a move to SA1, Amat is a 21-year old centre-back who spent this season on loan at Rayo Vallecano (from whom we signed Michu), playing 28 games in all competitions. He only scored once, but it's worth mentioning and here's why:

Wowzers. Sign him up? Let's see. 

A product of the Espanyol youth system (where he signed on as a seven year old), and after appearing for the "C" and "B" teams he made his debut in La Liga aged 17. He's gone on to make fourty-one appearances for Los Blanquiblaus but they decided a loan spell would aid his development, and so at the beginning of the season he moved from a Catalan club in the shadow of Barca, to a Madrid club in the shadow of both Real & Atletico - Rayo Vallecano.

One thing to note is that Amat picked up 12 yellows in his 28 games this season - that's almost Cheick Tioté standard! Hopefully added experience will see him mature and stop picking up so many, as it's frustrating watching a player consistently miss games through suspension. His pass accuracy this year was 81.1%(825/1017 completed) and if you compare that to Chico's 89.3% or Ash's 86.3% it's clear there's a bit of a disparity, however 21 is young for a centre-back to be a first team regular. I'd also say that any player who signs for the Swans would almost automatically see their pass success rate increase dramatically as they adjust to the style of football we play.

In action for Espanyol

The Espanyol man won 1.4 aerial duels per game (38 in total) and again this pales in significance to Chico & Ash, both of whom had around double that figure. He makes 2.3 tackles per game (Chico has 3.3 while Ash has 1.2), and 2 interceptions to boot (Chico 3.5 & Ash 3), both pretty impressive figures, and also makes a pretty tasty 5.6 clearances per game (although again this is far from the 8.7 & 10.3 managed by Chico & Ash respectively). It seems that we have two particularly tasty centre-back's at present and using them as a yardstick is making Amat look bad, so I'll try to desist from now on. 

He only gets dribbled past once every 0.6 games, and that's a very encouraging statistic for a young centre-back, while he makes on average 37.7 passes per game - about 20 less per game than the Swans centre-backs average but again, any player who joins will see their statistics (in terms of passes at least) improve. One interesting stat is that he plays 6.6 accurate long balls per game - double Chico's average and a little more than the 5.7 Ash averages. It seems he's adept at picking out a man up top or out wide, and with the Swans preferences for outlying wingers it could be that we'd see him pinging the ball out to the wing Ashley Williams stylee.

Here's some funny stats. Spot the Spaniards. Ash averages 0.1 dribbles per game, Chico 0.3 & Amat 0.6. In turn, that would account for the fact that Ash is only dispossessed once every 0.1 games too, whereas Chico & Amat both average once every other game (0.5). Amat matches the Swans' boys in turns of turnovers too (giving the ball away through poor control) - his 0.2 per game is equal to Ash's, and better than Chico's (although only slightly at 0.3). 

It seems he's a pretty tidy footballer, and if he's available for the £2million asking price that's rumoured then it would be a very prudent signature. He's likely to hold his value at the very least for that money, but I'd say if he's performing well in La Liga at 21, a move to a possession-based footballing team in a different league could well benefit him. Huw Jenkins has reportedly been meeting agents this week in a bid to get Swansea's summer shopping underway, so it shouldn't be too long until we learn of some firm targets. Until then we're all left to speculate on what may be, but I'd say he seems a very decent prospect. 

I'm still sold by the goal. How about you?

Itay Shechter claims he "never felt part of the team"

Israeli striker inadvertently sums up his season whilst attempting to have a pop at the Swans

In action against Arsenal. He probably
got tackled here. He doesn't even look
interested!

Itay Shecter. A name which instilled fear in the fans of opposi... no, wait, that's not right. Much more likely it was a name which instilled fear in Swansea fans any time we saw it on the teamsheet - after we'd had a chance to get used to his level of performance anyway. The striker arrived on loan from Kaiserslautern a virtual nobody, and it's (to me at least) still a mystery as to how his name came up when potential signings were discussed pre-season. Nevertheless, I'm sure I'm not alone in saying I gave the Israeli international a long time to make good, but it just never happened for him.

Lethargic on the ball, he didn't help himself by consistently drifting aimlessly back towards his midfield, leaving the Swans with no outlet up top, and what's worse, he didn't even look like scoring when in front of goal. You could forgive him if he'd looked fired up and sniped constantly in and around the box, but that was far from the case for the entire season. In truth, even when he did finally manage to find the net there's no way we can tell whether his effort was initially on target, given that it was deflected and span into the corner of the net. He finished the season with eighteen appearances (7 of those starts) and as a striker you've got to be pretty disappointed in yourself if your only goal of the season came off a defender's foot after yours.

For his part, Shechter clearly feels he's been harshly treated during his time here:

“I experienced a tough season. I didn’t feel part of the team. I had to take a step back to regain confidence and enjoy playing once more. I’m really happy to be back home. 

“Perhaps I could have made more money at other clubs, but I’d rather play for Hapoel. The expectations from me would have been high regardless of my salary and I will do my all to repay the club." Itay Shechter

Aww Itay, you didn't feel part of the team? Must be hard to force yourself to mingle with your team-mates when you're being paid wages most of us only dream of. Ok, you had a tough season, but you can't blame the team. An excellent article in the Guardian a while back pointed out that Shechter had managed 4 shots on goal in his 621 Premier League minutes for the Swans, one every 155.3 minutes. Now, I'm neither a mathematician or a Premier League standard forward, but even I can work out that if you're only shooting once every 1.6 matches you're not scoring a load of goals.

"His" goal at Wigan was obviously the highlight of his Swans career, but in truth he'd already become a bit of a joke amongst Swansea fans, to the point where, when he scored, messages started appearing with the line "I was there when Shechter scored". And that's what he'll be remembered most for. Despite his protests he managed to pick up a Capital One Cup winner's medal, so he can't complain too much, but I'd imagine most Swansea fans will be wishing him well at Hapoel Tel-Aviv (his new [and former] club), whilst at the same time hoping we never cross swords with him again.

All the best Itay, just never come back!

100th blog post - thanks for the support!

It seems a long time ago now that I started a blog about the team that I love. I'd often put together "match threads" for various forums over the years (full of stats, generally), but I'd never had an outlet for something a little more creative, somewhere I could ponder all things Swansea City. That led to the creation of theswanseaway.blogspot.co.uk, which quickly became theswanseaway.co.uk, and since then I've posted all manner of things - some which have been well received, and some...not so much.

I do have a tendency to lean towards the statistical side of things, but up until now I've been hindered by two things. One, is that I am really cheap and refuse to pay for my statistics (Yep, that's you EPLIndex), and secondly my laptop is so decrepit it's a miracle it hasn't exploded in my face before now. The noise now emanating from within it resembles a cross between a hoover and an old school dial-up modem, and it's so mind-numbingly pneumatic that I've taken to listening to music on noise-excluding headphones in a bid to drown it out. It doesn't work.

That's all changing today. I've acquired a new computer which will sit on a new desk (thanks ma!), and I'm looking forward to a reduction in computer-based audio levels as much as I'm looking forward to this whole Laudrup "will he won't he" saga being over.

Back to the formation of the site, and when I started doing this in February we were about to face Liverpool in that game prior to the Carling Cup final, but thankfully I soon had something positive to write about - and in truth the article I put up following the cup win remains my favourite post to this day (read it here). Other highlights include an interview with Kevin Johns, a bit of a rant about music in stadia, a "long lost" video of Laudrup starring in a FC Barcelona pop video (featuring some truly outstanding 90's shirts - it's worth a watch just for that) and [another] rant about the lack of technology in football.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I've thoroughly enjoyed running a blog so far. I'm looking forward to a summer of (hopefully) relative peace and quiet given the events of the past few weeks, but that's not really how we do things in Swansea, is it? I'm trying to persuade myself that over the next few weeks we'll be talking more about potential signings than about a potential replacement for Messr Laudrup, but it is still all up in the air so we can't rest easy just yet.

As mentioned in the title, this site would be nothing without the opinions of other fans like myself. The idea behind this site is it's somewhere you can trust in terms of information - if something is my opinion I state it to be so and I do the same with rumours. I've no interest in creating scandal for the sake of page views; I simply like the idea that I can provide a stream of news and opinion which you can read safe in the knowledge that it hasn't been put together simply to sell a paper or attract a few clicks of the mouse. Whether I've achieved that so far isn't for me to decide, but I'm giving it a good go.

Again, thanks for the support - it's appreciated. I look forward to hopefully bringing you some new features this summer including interviews with ex-players and (who knows) possibly even a current player or two. My current angle is I speak Spanish and I'm really hairy, so I'm sure there's some kind of funny photo opportunity with Chico Flores on the cards.

Watch this space.

A profile of Swansea target Nathan Redmond

Talented Birmingham youngster has attracted a crowd of admirers

As alluded to recently, it's nice to get the opportunity to talk about something other than all that blasted speculation surrounding Laudrup's future. This story first appeared a couple of weeks ago, but yesterday the Daily Mail reported that the Swans are tracking Redmond and that Kyle Bartley may be used as a makeweight in the transfer, possibly on loan. It wasn't long ago that the young Birmingham winger was being touted as a £10million player, and that the fee mentioned by Chris Wathan in the WalesOnline article is only £3million stunned me somewhat. If that's the going rate, and if we can further reduce that by offering Bartley (who doesn't seem to be in the manager's plans despite impressing last season) then that is an absolute steal which would represent fantastic value for money - and we know how much the Swans like that.

Still only 19 (he's not 20 until March), Redmond impressed despite England's catastrophic showing in the recent U21 Championship, and he's continued to forge a reputation for himself as a great prospect. The low asking price is simply a result of him only having one year left on his contract, and can't be seen as an indication of the level of player we could be getting. I thought it would be interesting to see how he compared to our existing wingers, so I've had a look at his stats for last season. Ok, he played in the Championship but attacking potency tends to shine through, so I did a bit of digging.

Redmond in action for Birmingham

Birmingham born and bred, Redmond progressed through the youth system at St Andrews before making his debut in August 2010 as a 16 year old (he's actually Birmingham's second youngest first team player), and has since gone on to make a bit of a name for himself. He's represented England at U16,17,18 & 19 level, and recently made his U21 debut in the U21 World Championships in Israel (a weird choice for an international tournament, one feels).

Redmond played 38 times in the league last season, with 16 of those appearances off the bench, and at times I think (from what I saw of Birmingham) that his style wasn't necessarily suited to the football they were playing. Redmond is a baller, and likes to get the ball down and play. He did only manage 2 goals (Routledge had 5, Pablo & Dyer 3) and 6 assists (Pablo had 6, Dyer & Routledge both had 4) last term, and attempts 1.31 shots per game (slightly shy of Dyer on 1.4 & Pablo 1.6), with exactly half of those shots on target. Obviously, his conversion isn't great with 25 shots on target and 2 goals, however he's still young and you'd have to assume he'll improve given time and better facilities/players around him.

In terms of ball retention it's hard to find any stats below PL level. If I find any I'll update this article but there's only so much I can find if I'm honest. As stated, if the price being mooted is correct I think this would be an absolute bargain, and another terrific bit of business for the Swans. Is there anything in this? Chris Wathan seemed to think so when talking to TalkSport today, but there's been no official comment from the club so it's likely that, as usual, the Swans will do all of their business behind closed doors.

Should the Swans sign Nathan Redmond? Is £3million a fair price? Let me know your views by tweeting me @TheSwanseaWay or by commenting below this blog!