The two types of football supporter

How do you view football?

Wilfried Bony cost £12million. That was, and is, a club record which actually doubled the prior record, and if the board and Michael Laudrup deem him good enough to be worth that kind of money then that's sure as hell good enough for me. When you couple that with the fact that he's scored six goals in eleven games, you'd think he'd be making a positive impression all round, however within minutes of taking to the field from the bench against Arsenal some fans could be heard berating him, and the usual accusations are that a) he's not running around chasing shadows enough and that b) he hasn't "produced the goods in the league yet".

Now, let's consider both of those points. Firstly, I'd wager my entire (meagre) bank balance that anyone criticising Bony for not sprinting into the channels willy-nilly was also guilty of hounding Jason Scotland for the same reason. You know, the same Jason Scotland that ignored all criticism to bang in countless goals for us. I often thought that those criticising him were firmly rooted in the Leighton James school of football - ie. get it to a winger, run like hell, and cross it in for a galloping centre-forward to latch onto. Very 1970's, and far from how we play. 

Secondly, Bony has played a cumulative 228 minutes of Premier League football - so anyone saying "he's played five games and only scored one goal" is ignoring the fact that he's either been withdrawn early or come off the bench at various junctures. He has clearly, clearly got an eye for goal, so why oh why should he be getting any kind of stick this early into his Swansea career?

A wise man once said "I'm not a negatist, I'm an optometrist", and this brings me neatly to the point I want to make, as alluded to in the title of this piece. There appear to be two distinct sets of fans in modern football - those who'd rather assume everything is going to fall apart so that a) they never risk having any egg on their faces if the player/team they're backing ends up being a bit of a dead rubber, and b) that they don't get their hopes up only for them to be dashed, and then there are those who will always back the team and provide positive support at all times, until the absolute last possible moment.

Personally, I'm definitely in the latter category. Now, I know that both of those attitudes are far from perfect - an ideal take on things would be to be firmly planted in the realist camp, while also maintaining a healthy optimism about how things may work out, but football inflames passions to the point where rationality often goes out the window, and that's what makes the game we all love so special. Without the drama and speculation that surrounds modern football it would no doubt lose some of it's intrigue, however I fail to see what good berating your own players achieves.

When has open negativity ever, ever brought about any kind of positive response? Ok, some players undoubtedly respond to criticism in a bid to prove their doubters wrong, but that percentage must surely be minute and on the whole a structured supportive approach is always going to reap more rewards than what you'll achieve by slagging off your own team. I grew tired of criticisms of Jason Scotland long before he made his move to Wigan, and my new worry is that if any one player becomes a target for fans' discontent, it could be we'll see that player move on before he's had a chance to show us what he can do.

I feel I should point out I have only heard a small minority criticising from the stands, and that generally most fans have faith in the manager's selection (along with the players on the field), but I do hope that Bony smashes in a load of goals in the next few weeks to silence those who do feel the need to heckle. It would get hard-to-please fans off his back for now, but it seems if I'm right the attention would just pass on to someone else. Try something positive, eh guys? (and girls - check me out with the equal opportunities blogging). 

This seems to have developed into a bit of a rant, but I think it's an interesting debate. How do you see football? Do you think it's fair (and constructive) to criticise your own players or do you support the team through ninety minutes before providing constructive feedback wherever possible? 

Answers on a postcard.

(Or in the comment section below...)

Swansea City: A design for life?

Fiscal prudence and continued success go hand in hand in South Wales, but could the non-football world learn a thing or two?

Over the last decade, we've seen the Swans grow from a club plying their trade in the lower echelons of the league in a decrepit (but oh so lovely) stadium, to Premier League middleweights renowned for their fine football on the field, coupled with strict financial control off it. 

I often try to draw analogies between football and the world at large, as I believe the huge amount of attention football gets in the public eye means it's an effective medium through which to get across any kind of important message - the anti-racism campaign "Kick It Out" is an example of this, although for me by simply trying to "rid the game" of any malevolent element you're missing the big picture - surely we should be trying to rid society of racism, as opposed to football alone? 

The news is constantly full of depressing stories about triple-dip recessions, rescue packages and all sorts of other financial doom and gloom, and when you consider how heavily most big clubs are propped up by rich backers is football really in a better state? There are very few clubs operating in the manner the Swans are, and those who do stand to benefit if the whole financial pyramid comes crashing down. The continued increase in, well, everything associated with football simply cannot continue, and at some point the bubble must surely burst.

This is why I love the Swans so much. Ok, I've always loved the Swans, but to see them operating so responsibly in a sea of shady back-handers really is heart-warming. In an age where, in football and society alike, people spend beyond their means looking for the big new shiny object of affection, they have shown that by knuckling down, working hard, and believing in what you're doing it's possible to achieve just about anything. 

UEFA are currently assessing clubs according to their "Financial Fair Play" regulations which are due to come into effect, however how they're going to go about enforcing that is anyone's guess. Do you really see them turning around to Manchester City, Real Madrid & Paris Saint-Germain and saying "Sorry guys, I know you're a large part of why people pay for Skysports and all that, but you're not competing because you don't break even as a club"? Unlikely, and as long as there's massive media interest in huge transfer fees and star signings it's hard to see anything changing.

That's why Swansea City continuing to compete at the highest level is so impressive. They've done it through hard graft and sheer bloody-mindedness, and the honesty of the approach is a refreshing ray of light through an increasingly dirty window.

Swansea City - A design for life? You betcha.

Swansea 1 - 2 Arsenal - What a difference a cutting edge makes

Arsenal's superior finishing is enough to see off the Swans

It says something about yesterday that until Ben Davies scored in the 82nd minute, the most excited I'd been was when I found out the Riverside Lounge have Doombar on tap. Hopefully that means I'll never have to pay money for the "lager" they call Carling ever again.

Yesterday we lined up without Ashley Williams, Angel Rangel & Leon Britton. Anyone who's familiar with the Swans knows that those three players have been integral in keeping the Swans playing "the Swansea way" for the last few seasons, and something I've been banging on about of late is that without Leon Britton we struggle to control the midfield. Yesterday that wasn't the case as we retained the ball at ease, but without Williams and Rangel we looked exposed at the back. Normally, Chico's erratic lunges forward are counter-balanced by Ashley Williams' reading of the game, and the continuity Rangel provides. Yesterday, time and again Arsenal drifted forward and it was all too easy for them to evade the first challenge, before creating something dangerous.

As mentioned, ball retention wasn't a problem. The Swans enjoyed the lion's share of possession, but simply couldn't do anything with it. Some of Laudrup's team selection's of late could start to be questioned - Ashley Williams missed a second match in a row after playing through the pain barrier against Crystal Palace while Wilfried Bony had to make do with a place on the bench after playing 90 minutes against Birmingham in the League Cup midweek, and until the Ivorian's introduction yesterday the Swans looked pretty toothless.

The first half was essentially a sparring match. Both sides threatened to create but in truth it was lots of huffing and puffing with little in the way of blowing the house down. The best chance of the half came late on when Giroud was played through, but he dragged his shot across Vorm and out for a goal-kick, and so it went into half time at 0-0. 

Neither side made changes at half-time, but I detected a decrease in confidence from the Swansea team after the break. Laudrup has described the four-minute period where we conceded two goals as a "lapse in concentration" and while that's true by the time we came out of our slumber we were two goals down, so for all the pomp and verve we played with after that unless it resulted in a point (or three) it's all rather redundant. 

The big difference was the manner in which both teams broke forward. When Swansea broke - normally through Nathan Dyer or Wayne Routledge - it seemed they'd break to a point, before pulling up and waiting for support, which was normally slow to arrive. Arsenal, on the other hand, showed the power of breaking in numbers, and when they bombed forward it was with a sense of intent which almost always saw them produce an effort on goal. Again, the lack of Ashley Williams was palpable as they found space in front of our back four with ease, and the Wales skipper must surely have watched on in frustration as the man he's swapped the Welsh captaincy with slipped youngster Gnabry in to finish with aplomb. 

To make matters worse, Ramsey (booed throughout) then went and made it two-nil. Given how little we'd created until that point, it was almost certainly game over. Michu was cutting an increasingly frustrated figure, and Dwight Tiendalli in particular was wasteful when well placed - by my count he shanked at least three crosses when we had players in support in the area, and at one point Michu could be seen ranting to no-one in particular for a good few seconds. Frustrated indeed.

For his part, the tall Spanish striker did play well and was always offering himself as an outlet - it's just a shame the rest of the team didn't play with the same sense of urgency and industry he displayed. Two players who did impress however, and have done so all season, were Ben Davies and Jose Canas. Back in February I put together a profile on Canas when we were rumoured to be interested in him (Link) and I called him a hairy Leon Britton. I think now, with all due respect to Leon (of whom I'm a massive fan) it's a disservice to Canas, who's showing he really is an outstanding footballer. Mesut Ozil has enjoyed an outstanding season so far but the Spaniard marked the £43million German out of the game. 

Ben Davies, meanwhile, managed to get himself on the scoresheet again. He's showing a growing knack of being in the right place at the right time, and he was also the only Swansea player who seemed to want to run beyond the last man. Late on, he linked excellently with Bony before managing to improvise a finish past Szczęsny, and he really is looking some player. Neil Taylor isn't getting a look in at the moment, and for good reason. Time and again Davies has played out of his skin, and his ability to not dive in to a tackle should be applauded, especially when he finds himself up against players like Jack Wilshire. He stands his man up so well, and it's very, very rare someone gets in behind him.

The introduction of Bony did see the Swans find an extra gear. As mentioned, he got the assist for Davies' goal and also managed to fashion a couple of half chances for himself - one in particular the Arsenal defence did well to block after he'd turned his man and seemed set to pull the trigger. Given how clinical he's been so far, from that range you'd have banked on him finding the target.

A note on Bony - why do some fans seem intent on him being useless? Get a grip is it? We've spent a massive amount of money on him and berating him from the stands when he'd just attempted to do something we hadn't really managed to achieve up until that point - have a shot - is going to help no-one. You simply cannot argue with how many goals he's scored already, and it's pretty obvious the guy is a very good player. Give him a chance, and he will surprise you. Just because he doesn't chase shadows for 90 minutes doesn't mean he's not worthy of our patience. 

Overall, yesterday showed the difference between a top side and one aspiring to that level. Ben Davies and Jose Canas & Michu played with no fear, and the rest of the squad could learn a thing or two from those boys. We shouldn't bow our heads to anyone, and need to believe in our ability to out-pass and out-think even the top sides - after all, we've enjoyed results against almost all the big teams now and if we're to succeed to any degree in Europe we'll most certainly need to show more creativity in front of goal than we did yesterday. 

That, and let's hope Ashley Williams is back sooner, rather than later. 

Swansea City vs Arsenal - Match preview, team news, statistics & analysis

The Match

Swansea found form last week before being humbled by Lee Clark's Birmingham side on Wednesday. They'll be looking to put that result swiftly behind them and get back to winning ways against a side they've enjoyed playing of late, picking up some excellent results in the last few games between these sides. Last time out, goals from Monreal & Gervinho were enough for the Gunners to claim a 2-0 win at the Liberty, so Laudrup will no doubt be looking to avenge that result this weekend. 

Arsenal needed penalties to see off West Brom (although they had put out a very young side in the midweek cup game) after some excellent early-season form saw them dismiss any speculation surrounding their ability to compete this season. They're on a run of eight straight wins, and the signing of Mesut Ozil lifted a club which seemed to be set to embark on a league campaign without any improvement in the quality of the squad, and his early-season form, coupled with the re-emergence of Aaron Ramsey as a serious, serious player will have given Arsenal fans hope that this season could be a lot more successful than they'd previously thought.

Prior Form (Most recent at top)

Team News - provided by Physioroom.com's Ben Dinnery

Swansea entertain Arsenal on Saturday night as part of SkySports early evening coverage of the match at The Liberty Stadium. The disappointing news for Swans supporters is that playmaker Pablo Hernandez remains out with a hamstring problem despite being expected to return. The Jacks may also be without the services of captain and key central defender Ashley Williams. The Welsh International has been struggling in recent times with an on-going ankle problem which manager Michael Laudrup insists is not serious but “rest” is the key to his recovery. Williams will face a late fitness test, however, the prognosis is not good and he is expected to miss out.

Arsenal have their own injury concerns, well documented throughout the season Arsene Wenger has had to contend with further additions to the treatment table after the in-form Aaron Ramsey reported to have a minor thigh injury while Frenchman Mathieu Flamini is struggling with a “slight shoulder” issue. Both players will be assessed nearer the game but they are expected to be included in the match-day squad. Saturday will come too early for Czech midfielder Tomas Rosicky who has just returned to training, the midweek Champions League tie against Napoli midweek is more likely. The Gunners are also without the services of Santi Cazorla, Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Lukas Podolski and Yaya Sanogo for the trip to Wales.

Completely guessed lineups

Statistics & Trivia

• The Swans have conceded only one goal away from home, but have leaked six in two matches at the Liberty so far.
• Arsenal are looking to continue their run of 11 consecutive away wins - already a club record.
• Swansea have the best pass completion rate in the Premier League (87.3%) and have also played the most passes (2860).
• Arsenal only have one clean sheet in five PL matches.
• Swansea have had four players booked for dissent already - the most in the league. Not good, and that needs to stop!
• The Swans' early goals against Palace & Liverpool are the two fastest goals scored this season in the PL.
• Arsenal are yet to score from outside the area in the PL this season.
• Arsenal just edge the Swans in terms of average possession, with 56.2% as opposed to 55.9%.
• Arsenal have the best shot conversion rate (20.4 per cent) and shooting accuracy (61.1 per cent) in the Premier League.

Straight from the horse's mouth

Swansea manager Michael Laudrup was surprised by Mesut Ozil's move to North London, and believes Arsenal will give his side a stern test:

"I have to admit I was very surprised when I saw he had left Real Madrid as he is a fantastic player. Arsenal is a great club too but with Real Madrid you are playing in the quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals of the Champions League.

“I was also surprised with the way it happened on the last day of the transfer window as I did not imagine a player with his quality would be changing team at the last moment

"Even before signing Ozil, the strongest part of their side was the midfield with Jack Wilshere, Santi Cazorla and after adding Ozil there is so much quality. Fortunately Cazorla can not play against us, but they are still very good in that area.

"They lost the first game and experts were saying they would have a tough year, but now they have won games including a difficult Champions League game. It's a fantastic start.

"It will be difficult for us as their midfield is strong and Olivier Giroud has shown Wenger he wants to repay the faith he has shown in him, and Aaron Ramsey has also had a great start to the season.

"I'm looking forward to an exciting game, but also a difficult one."  

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/341344/Swansea-boss-Michael-Laudrup-Mesut-Ozil-and-Arsenal-are-NOT-Champions-League-contenders

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has been impressed by Michael Laudrup's stewardship of the Swans:

“What he’s done is absolutely fantastic,” he said.

"Overall they buy well, they play attractive football. Swansea are a very, very good team.

"Swansea are a team now where the level of expectation is higher than the year before, so of course everybody wants them to be performing in the top seven or eight, what I think they have the quality to do."

Read more: http://www.southwales-eveningpost.co.uk/Wenger-Michu-Swansea-City-s-Bergkamp/story-19854972-detail/story.html#ixzz2g7ct631u 

Analysis

Swansea will really, really be hoping for a win from this one. Four excellent performances in a row didn't stop Birmingham romping away in the second half on Wednesday, and Laudrup will have to make sure his players put in a much better shift this time around.

In fairness, he'd made ten changes to the side which beat Crystal Palace and it's likely most of those changes will be reversed for this one, with the possible exclusion of Ashley Williams, who's evidently starting to feel the effects of missing only a handful of games in his five years at the club. His dedication is enviable, but playing ninety minutes against Palace is now starting to look possibly a little short-sighted, as he was clearly feeling the effects of the ankle injury which kept him out of the Valencia game and needs rest if he's to recover fully.

Wenger is sweating over the fitness of midfielders Flamini and Ramsey, and for good reason. Before departing for more money, Flamini was easily Arsenal's best player that year, while Ramsey has started this season on fire. He's got seven goals in his last eight games - a remarkable feat for a player who'd only scored eleven goals in his five previous seasons. With those two anchoring the midfield they will undoubtedly test Swansea's own deep-lying midfielders, but as they both face late fitness tests it's possible even if they do start, they won't be 100%.

If that's the case the Swans need to capitalise and let Arsenal know they're there - but with the Swans engine-room likely to contain Shelvey, Canas & Michu I think that was always a certainty. Those boys do like an extended sprint followed by a big sliding tackle. Considering the lack of bite in our midfield last year, it seems if anything we've overcompensated! Canas has settled in incredibly well, and with Shelvey showing growing signs of maturity we could well test Arsenal's possession game and hold onto the ball effectively.

The lengthy injury list at Arsenal is likely to be the biggest thing going in the Swans' favour. That being said, they are still likely to line up with a team including Mesut Ozil, Jack Wilshire & Olivier Giroud - the Swans back-line will have to be wide-awake from the off and Arsenal's three set-piece goals against Stoke indicate that we will have to guard against corners and free-kicks stringently too. Previously a weak area of Arsenal's attack (and Swansea's defence) it seems the presence of Ozil has remedied an ailing area which Wenger had been looking to improve for a while. It really is a shame Ash is likely to miss out...

With Nacho Monreal possibly being deployed in an advanced role it's likely whoever is playing on the right-hand side will have limited joy, so the Swans could spend a lot of time attacking down the left. Get in Wilshere's face and get at them boys - a look at the predicted lineup (if it's anything near correct) would seem to indicate we'll fare better by doing that than by trying to go through the middle or down the left, and I'm hopeful Wayne Routledge gets a chance to attack Wilshere & Sagna. The formerly-nomadic wideman has looked a different player under Laudrup, and keeps improving - hopefully he can make a mark against a club he'd no doubt love to score against given his time spent at their North London rivals Spurs.

Definitely one for the purists (god knows how many times that will be said in the media this weekend) this match is certainly one to keep an eye on. Last time out at the Liberty we came away disappointed, but had the small consolation of Wales thrashing England in the rugby directly afterwards to console us. This time, there's nothing to shift the focus and a positive result would serve as another confidence boost for a squad starting to gel and find their feet, but more importantly it would mean another three points on the board.

By my maths, if we maintained that rate (10 points after 6 games) we'd finish the season on around 63 points. I'd take that...

Birmingham 3 - 1 Swansea - Back to earth with a Brum-p

Lee Clark's Blues prove too much for Swansea's second string

Well, that was rubbish wasn't it? Pre-match, Lee Clark's effusive comments about the Swans seemed, to me, of the type that would normally unsettle his charges, however he obviously knows better as tonight Birmingham rode off into the distance after a much improved second half performance which saw them claim the win, and advancement into the next round. 

Laudrup made ten changes to the side which drubbed Crystal Palace on the weekend, and by all accounts it showed. There'll probably be limited highlights on the League Cup show later, but it seems profligate finishing in the first half cost the Swans dear. Bony then Pozuelo hit the woodwork in quick succession, while apparently Roland Lamah also missed a gilt-edged opportunity when Doyle saved with his legs.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but it's possible that with no game-time so far this season, starting Garry Monk was a big risk. I'm as big a fan as anyone, but Birmingham away in the League Cup is a high-tempo affair, and with pace not being one of Garry's strong-points he was always going to be up against it. Strange as it may sound, it's likely he'd be much more suited to a European match against St Gallen or the Russian team I can't remember, as you'd imagine we'd have a bit more time on the ball and wouldn't be pressed so high up the pitch. 

Birmingham went with two up top, and once they'd weathered the first half Swansea storm they quickly found their feet in the second half, with two goals in four minutes. Centre-back Dan Burn headed in after Swansea couldn't clear a corner, before Matt Green and Tom Adeyemi made sure of things. Wilfried Bony got a late consolation, but it didn't really matter. Out of the League Cup at the first possible opportunity...well at least it'll help the fixture list with European advancement a distinct possibility thanks to the humbling of Valencia. 

Positives? Err...no-one got injured? It seems that we ran the first half and missed a good number of opportunities before taking our foot off the gas in the second half. Against Palace we could have scored more, and it's important the squad learns to take chances whenever they occur. No mercy, no surrender! As I've not seen the match this is all mostly speculation, but one plus point is that the players who come back into the squad for this weekend's match with Arsenal will be looking to restore the pomp and swagger we'd started to become used to. 

I'll try to find some extended highlights to either put a fuller report up or link to, so until then I'll refrain from commenting further. That is, apart from to point out once again that we're still in the Europa League.

You never know...

Birmingham City v Swansea City match preview, team news, statistics & analysis

The Match

Birmingham come into this matchup buoyed by the goalscoring exploits of loanee Jesse Lingard, who scored four goals on his debut against Sheffield Wednesday on the weekend. That win was much-needed, as prior to that the Blues had taken only four points from their first seven league games, and must surely have been low on confidence. They'll have to find inspiration for this one from elsewhere though, as Lingard and on-loan Swansea defender Kyle Bartley are both unavailable due to the conditions of their loan deals.

Swansea are likely to be about as confident as they have been since their promotion to the Premiership back in 2011. Scintillating performances against Valencia and Palace have left both the team and their fans confident of success against any opponent, so the chance to start off their cup defence against a team in a lower division, and who are struggling for form, should be welcomed with relish. It's likely Laudrup will rotate his squad heavily so it'll also be a chance for fringe players to stake their claim for a place in the first team.

Prior Form (Most recent at top)

Team News

Birmingham will be, as mentioned, without Kyle Bartley and Jesse Lingard for this fixture, while David Murphy is likely to be rested after only returning from a long term injury lay-off on the weekend.

Swansea should have Neil Taylor back from injury after recovering from a badly bruised thigh, but Ashley Williams is liable to rested after seemingly aggravating an ankle injury against Palace. Pablo Hernandez remains out with a hamstring injury.

Completely guessed lineups

Statistics & Trivia

• Despite their lowly league status, Birmingham have actually conceded less goals per game so far this season, with 1.38 compared to Swansea's 1.4.
• The Swans have won five of their last seven away games in the League Cup, losing the other two.
• Swansea are unbeaten in four matches (in all competitions).
• Birmingham's first and second round matches both went to extra time, with the 2nd round match against Yeovil needing penalties to decide it.
• Birmingham won the League Cup in 2011, and have won five of their last seven in this competition against PL opposition.
• The Swans have won only once in their last seven games against Birmingham.
• Conversely, we're unbeaten at St Andrew's in three. Go figure. 
• The Swans have averaged 1.4 goals this season, compared to Birmingham's 1.0. 

Straight from the horse's mouth

Birmingham manager Lee Clark is philosophical about his sides chances, admitting it's a big ask to get

"We've got a tough game on Wednesday. In my opinion, it's the hardest tie outside of the (Premier League's) top six for various reasons. Swansea's a club on the up, not just the team as it's been a club on the rise for many years. They are the holders of the competition and they're sweeping everybody aside at this moment in time in no matter what competition they play. 

"I was at West Brom and Swansea won that game comfortably. They went to Valencia, not an easy place, and won that game comfortably and then they did the same at Crystal Palace over the weekend. They will make changes but I think their squad is that strong and the philosophy of how they want to play never changes that we know it's going to be a tough game." 

Read more at http://www.bcfc.com/news/article/20130923-the-preview-blues-v-swansea-city-1072697.aspx?#moetES1lOxTeJTIs.99 

Swansea 'keeper Gerhard Tremmel is keen to embark on another cup adventure:

“This is the start of the journey for us. Hopefully we will be in the next round of the draw on Wednesday night. It’s a dangerous game because they are a Championship team who are targeting a scalp from the Premier League. But we know what this cup is all about and what it’s like to win it. Lifting the cup at Wembley was an amazing experience. No-one can take those memories away from us. 

“Those memories have made me hungry to get another trophy. Yes, I have won the first one of my career but now I want more. I want the feeling of lifting a trophy again in front of a big crowd because that was an amazing experience – one I will never forget.” 

Read more at http://www.bcfc.com/news/article/20130923-the-preview-blues-v-swansea-city-1072697.aspx?#moetES1lOxTeJTIs.99 

Analysis

Since bodging the image together for predicted lineups (on Paint, I might add - I'm classy like that) I've learned that Birmingham goalkeeper Colin Doyle is likely to replace Randolph in goal. What that means to the Swans...I've got to be honest I've not much of an idea. I feel bad that I've lost touch with the Championship given our three year stay, but in truth I found myself surprised to see Birmingham struggling down towards the foot of the table. We've lent them a player and all!

If you read the full article linked in the quotes above, Lee Clark is clearly trying to get his team playing some football, but he doesn't appear to be having that much success at the moment. In fairness to Brum, their losses have come against teams you'd expect to be there or thereabouts come the end of the season, so it's possibly harsh to judge too much by their league standing, however it can't have done their confidence levels much good.

The danger with trying to play any kind of passing football against the Swans is you're likely to get butchered unless you're better than us at it. Clark has acknowledged we're superior in this regard and has also spoken of the need to get in our faces, but given he's trying to instil a footballing philosophy at the club it's probably not something which will come as first-nature any more (doing the whole "they don't like it up 'em" thing), and my gut instinct is we should be able to told on to the ball very well. If that's the case, we could well see another in what's been an excellent run of results, and it would serve as a nice confidence-booster heading into this weekend's clash with Arsenal.

We could see quite a deal of squad rotation, and it's also possible Rory Donnelly will get a run out. I've got a growing soft-spot for Donnelly and hopefully he'll get a goal the next time he gets a chance, as for a young striker there's nothing better than a goal to boost your self-belief. Fingers crossed. Elsewhere, Leon Britton could start after only seeing 20 minutes off the bench against Palace, and Alejandro Pozuelo could also be in for a start.

In defence I'd really like to see Garry Monk get a game. He doesn't appear to be anywhere near the first team at the moment and games like this are perfect for him - he's still more than capable at this level and will let no-one down, of that you can be sure. With Neil Taylor and Dwight Tiendalli likely to feature, along with (you'd imagine) Jordi Amat, his organisational skills and leadership qualities will be more than useful if we're to keep a clean sheet.

Last but not least, let's hope Gerhard gets a game. The guy was outstanding, and I mean outstanding, last season and I feel it's such a shame he didn't come to the Swans five or six years ago - if he did I think Vorm would have to worry about his place a lot more but as it is, his place as no1 stopper is assured. That being said, Tremmel will be keen to show what he can do and if given a chance he'll be looking to put in a calm, composed showing and to show that he can distribute the ball effectively.

Much like the Palace game, I'm pretty confident heading into this one. Let's be fair, if ever a Swansea fan was going to be confident, it'd be right now, so I'm predicting a Swansea win, with a clean sheet to boot. More of the same please, lads!

Was that the best week in Swansea City's history?

Three excellent performances in the space of seven days has left Swansea fans with broad grins on their faces

This past week, we've seen our beloved Swansea City put in a rousing display at home to Liverpool (and claim a credible 2-2 draw - their first dropped points of the season at the time), before two away performances that have had the footballing world drooling - and for good reason, too. The first, a complete demolition of Valencia in the Europa League, gave the squad a much-needed confidence boost and they carried that form into Sunday's match with Crystal Palace, which, in truth, was just as one-sided - albeit not aided by a sending off like the match in Spain.

Ok, now I know we won the League Cup, and that promotion to the big-time (both times around) brought forth quite the party, but I'm struggling to recall a time when it feels so good to be a Swansea City fan. The way we've played in the last three matches gives real hope we can kick on this season, after some (myself included) had become concerned with our league form - although that was mostly due to how we finished last season as opposed to anything we'd done this season. 

There are numerous things you could pick up on over the last few games - and you'd be hard-pushed to look past our floppy haired flamenco lover Miguel Michu. A recent article in the national media asked "Is Michu the best player outside the top four?" and if he's not, I'd be interested to see who is. His turn which led to the second goal against Palace really was exquisite, and he's added so much to his game compared to last season that I'm no longer worried about ball retention between three dedicated central midfielders - with Jose Canas looking like a truly excellent acquisition I think a midfield of Canas, Michu plus one other from Shelvey, De Guzman & Britton is only going to get better and better.

I'd still like to see a bit more solidity deep in midfield against bigger teams - maybe Canas and Britton until Shelvey properly gets his head around the way we play and cuts out the extra-Hollywood stuff, but who am I to argue with results? If we continue to play like we have in our last three matches there's real reason to be confident about the forthcoming season, and that we can now go on to string a couple of positive results together. We've just won back-to-back away games for the first time since November last year, and with a run of home fixtures coming up - after Birmingham away in the League Cup 5 of the next 6 will be played at the Liberty Stadium with opponents including St Gallen, Sunderland & West Ham - I'm fairly confident we'll see a number of wins over the next few weeks.

It's been repeated time and time again that, above all else, it's the style of football in particular that's winning admirers the world over. With progress through the group stages in the Europa League now looking more likely, coupled with the continued growth of the Premier League, "The Swansea Way" could quickly become as synonymous with good football as Arsenal or even Barcelona are. Yeah, I just said that. One man team...cold night in Stoke... yada yada yada.

The future's bright. The future's black and white. Come on you Swans!

Highlights & match report - Crystal Palace 0 - 2 Swansea City - "It's just like watching Valencia..."

Swansea dominate in South London as feelgood factor returns to Laudrup's squad

Heading into this game I did have a quiet sense of confidence about the fixture, but I didn't anticipate it turning out like this. From the first to the last Swansea dominated and this game could have ended a lot more heavily in Swansea's favour had it not been for some profligate finishing. 

Laudrup lined his team up with Alvaro Vazquez leading the line and Bony rested, and in fairness he can have had little complaints as within two minutes Michu had put the Swans ahead. We could get used to this early goals thing! Routledge and Shelvey were heavily involved but it was Michu who fired in for his third goal in three games, all with his right foot! Unbelievable, Jeff.

The first half continued in much the same vein, if I'm honest. Palace occasionally threatened to break out but every time they were undone by a poor piece of control or a wayward finish. Swansea, on the other hand, were a lot more composed in possession, it was just their finishing that let them down. It really should have been 2-0 a lot earlier, but we had to wait until the beginning of the second half to double our lead.

At half time Palace had lost centre-half Delaney to an injury sustained in a meaty challenge on Vazquez, so they had to rely on Jedinak to fill in with no defenders on the bench. He didn't enjoy the best of starts to the second half, however, as Dyer repeated Michu's trick of firing in a goal very soon after the referee started the half. More good work...nay, excellent work from Michu saw him turn his man and play in Vazquez down the right, who got into the box before shooting from a tight angle. The rebound came back to him and he just about kept the ball in play on the byline, before squaring for Nathan Dyer to fire home. 2-0 early in the second half, and a massive uphill task for Palace from here on in, which they never looked likely to achieve.

Swansea were so comfortable in possession throughout, that it's fair to say that despite Michu's brilliance and Routledge's lung-bursting runs we rarely got out of third gear. Third gear of a currently well-oiled machine, possibly, as the Swans were working hard to create gaps and angles throughout - Ben Davies again excelled throughout and his rampaging qualities are becoming more and more marked. Time and again he burst forward and if he can maintain the enthusiasm with which he's currently playing he's going to be a top, top player.

Jose Canas had been preferred to Leon in midfield, with Shelvey alongside him, and in fairness it was another really good performance from the Spaniard. Neat and tidy in midfield, at one point he started a move, broke into a sprint then stopped dead to hold his position as a defensive midfielder. Much, much better from a man I first thought was a little wild in terms of positioning. Another great performance came from Ashley Williams, who was clearly playing through the pain barrier for the majority of the match. As long as he's not doing himself more damage, that's fine by me, and mighty impressive too. Captain Marvel, and all that.

Another example of tactical discipline came when Routledge strode forward into space, and with acres to galavant into he decided to play a simple pass backwards and retain possession instead. No doubt all the fans who were lamenting Bony against Liverpool for "not working hard enough" would have hated that, but anyone who understands the importance of possession in our system will have had a broad grin on their face. 

Swansea made good substitutions too, to keep the focus on attack and possession. De Guzman came on for Vazquez (which meant Michu went up top) while later Pozuelo replaced Dyer & Britton replaced Canas. Fan favourite Britton instantly set about showing why we love him so much, tackling anything that moved and keeping play ticking over nicely, while Palace had also made their own subs to try and get something out of the game. At half time centre-half Delaney's injury had forced them to bring on Campana, while later they brought on Dwight Gayle and Jerome Thomas for Barry Bannan & Cameron Jerome. The two later substitutes did almost fashion a decent chance between them but Gayle's effort was deflected wide.

Beyond that it seemed the result had already been accepted by both sides. For all Palace's drive they couldn't produce anything of note, while the Swans were perhaps guilty of complacency in front of goal during the closing stages, but that being said they were so comfortably retaining possession that perhaps they knew they didn't have to score again. With games coming thick and fast letting the ball do the work for 20 minutes is of massive benefit to the squad's fitness levels.

Another great win then, and on to Birmingham in the League Cup as we look to defend our cup. How mad does that sound? Awesome. Remarkably, that'll make it 6 of the last 7 matches played away from home. It's very much a case of swings and roundabouts though, as I just checked and beyond the Brum game 5 of our next 6 are at home! Given how well the team has performed in the last few matches we could be coming into form at the right time, with Arsenal, St Gallen, Sunderland, Kuban Krasnodar & West Ham all due to visit South Wales in the near future.

One last mention must go to Michu. The floppy-haired wonder seems to have added so much to his game over the summer, and his link play, which wasn't always the best last year, is massively improved. As mentioned earlier he's scored his last three goals (in three games) with his right foot, and I'd say it's fairly clear he's been getting some tuition from Laudrup. Long may it continue, as if he carries on playing like he did today he'll at least come close to matching last season's tally of goals, which will also go a long way to ensure the Swans stabilise as a mid-table Premier League club. 

Crystal Palace v Swansea City - Live Matchday Blog

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Crystal Palace v Swansea City - Match preview, team news, statistics & analysis

The Match

Crystal Palace find themselves heading into the game looking to replicate the kind of form which saw them topple Sunderland 3-1 a few weeks ago. Their solitary win so far this season, they'll be hoping they can turn a corner and spring a result against a team their manager is a big fan of - going on record as having modelled his new take on the game on the Swans. Whether he'll be able to inspire his charges to victory remains to be seen, but any time we now take on a Holloway team I get a distinct "master against apprentice" vibe. Feelings like that seldom last forever, however, and he'll be keen to get one over on us after only picking up points in one game out of four in the league so far.

Swansea come into the game off the back of arguably their biggest win of all time. A complete dismantling of 10-man Valencia will go a long way to restoring confidence to a side who had a poor end to last season, and a difficult start to this one. Normally 3 games in 7 days would sap the energy reserves of any squad, but the adrenaline and feelgood factor surrounding the most recent win is likely to cover any shortfall in fitness, and when you couple that with the rousing second-half display against Liverpool there's reason indeed to be confident of a positive result.

Prior Form (Most recent at top)

Team News - Provided by Physioroom.com's Ben Dinnery

Ian Holloway has struggled all season with injuries, his side currently sit top-of-the-pile with no-less than nine first team squad members occupying space in the clubs treatment room. However there is light at the end-of-the-tunnel as The Eagles can expect a number of returners over the next week or so. Summer signing Jerome Thomas has returned to training after a preseason ankle injury and could force his way into tomorrows’ plans, although a spot on the bench is more likely. Midfielder Jonathan Parr is also pushing for a return after completing 60 minutes for the Development squad midweek. Sundays’ game is likely to come a week too soon for Yannick Bolasie (hamstring) with a late decision to be made on defender Joel Ward (calf); however he is considered a major doubt.

Swansea travel to Crystal Palace on Sunday on the back of a European performance which some have heralded as the greatest in their history.  Skipper Ashley Williams missed out midweek and is considered a big doubt due to the ankle injury picked up against Liverpool on Monday night, but Michael Laudrup will give the big defender every chance to prove himself with a late fitness test tomorrow. Once again the Swans will be without full-back Neil Taylor who is edging closer to a return while this weekend will come too early for Spanish playmaker Pablo Hernandez who is currently side-lined with a hamstring problem. Leon Britton was suspended for the trip to Valencia, will return.

Completely guessed lineups

Statistics & Trivia

• Palace haven't scored in their last four outings against the Swans, losing the last three.
• Swansea have leaked four goals before half-time this season - the same as Villa and currently the most in the league. 
• Palace have created four chances from counter-attacks so far this season, also the most in the league.
• They have, however, only delivered four accurate crosses - the least in the league.
• Last year Swansea won only one of six games against newly promoted sides (W1 D4 L1).
• The last 41 Palace games in the Premier League have featured 22 penalties (14 for 8 against), while last season there were 19 in their 46 Championship games.
• The Swans haven't been awarded a penalty in the league since the 2011/12 season. 
• The last time Palace and the Swans were in the same league (2010/11) the Swans won both fixtures 3-0. 
• Palace have only scored 13 in their last 16 games, and have failed to register nine times in the same period.
• They have only lost 2 of their last 26 home games, however.
• Swansea have, so far, the best passing accuracy in the PL, completing 87.1% of their passes.

Straight from the horse's mouth

Swansea winger Wayne Routledge is looking forward to facing the team with whom he started his career:

"It is going to be special for me, knowing I get the chance to play somewhere where it all began for me. Hopefully I can be involved and we can get a good result, but for me to go back is a big occasion for me personally. 

"It's just worked out that it's the first time I actually get to go and play there since I left. It's just the way my career path has gone and how they have done, now it's just so happened it's finally lined up so I can get to go back for the first time. 

"Probably only the kit man still there from my days, but the owners have done a great job and Ian Holloway is a good manager so hopefully they can do well over the season and hopefully stay in the Premier League for a few more years. 

"Palace taught me everything and I owe them more or less everything and I don't know where I would have been without them."http://www.teamtalk.com/swansea-city/8933094/Routledge-relishing-Palace-return?

Palace manager Ian Holloway was typically rambunctious when asked for his opinion on the upcoming match:

"I am glad we have a couple more days than Swansea to prepare, we have some fantastic options in the squad. They were playing on Thursday, not thinking about us, whereas we were thinking about them, and we have to make sure we take advantage of that. 

"Swansea are an excellent side. Having watched them during my time commentating you can see how well they pass, attack and move the ball. They will have a lot of possession, they will look to play it around and I am looking forward to dealing with that challenge. I cannot wait for Sunday to go up against it." 

"I'll be looking at sitting in, counter-attacking and trying to hurt teams. There won't be too many better than us at parking the bus across the goal, but I have also got to get those counter attacking instincts back. We're showing signs of growing, getting better and improving and putting all of the elements together."http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11095/8933411/?

Analysis

This game has the potential to be an absolute rip-roarer. With Holloway's open affection for the way the Swans play you can be sure that any game between the two sides is liable to be an open affair, but his comments about sitting deep seem to indicate that he may try a slightly more reserved approach.

In the past, his Blackpool team showed all the pluck and verve which you'd associate with a fine footballing team, but they were completely useless at the back and the lack of defensive solidity cost them dear. This time around, he's clearly looking to play a more structured game and it's possible we'll find it very difficult to break Palace down if they carry out his instructions to the letter.

The battle for midfield should be won, you'd expect, by Swansea's midfielders but it's important they remain patient, as Palace have a lot of pace they can utilise when breaking forward. Angel Rangel in particular will have to guard against Dwight Gayle getting in behind him, while despite years of derision from Arsenal fans Marouane Chamakh has the ability to cause problems. 

Laudrup is likely to restore a couple of players to the starting lineup after shuffling his pack for the Valencia game, and Ashley Williams faces a late fitness test on his ankle injury, so we may see Jordi Amat keep his place, but even so I'm pretty confident heading into this one. I think while Holloway's attitude of keeping it tight and playing good football on the break is admirable, against a side like the Swans - especially fresh from a 3-0 win over Valencia - it's very dangerous. We knock the ball around for fun, and finding gaps is normally simply a case of biding your time until you drag someone out of position.

So, an efficient exciting performance and another three points? Sounds tidy. It'd also be our first set of back to back away wins since last November, too. Most welcome indeed.

Highlights & Match Report: Valencia 0 - 3 Swansea

I spent a good twenty minutes sat in front of my keyboard wondering how to start this article. The reason for my consternation is/was simply that I didn't feel I could do what I witnessed last night justice. On top of that, I watched the game in London as the minute it finished I was off to the Brixton Academy to see Soundgarden play - one of my all-time favourite bands and if you ask me, one of the best "alternative" bands in the last 30 or 40 years, so from the start the night had the potential to be very very good indeed. So, with the epic introduction suitably sidestepped, let's get on to the match itself.

It had been rumoured pre-game that the Swans would be lining up with more Spaniards in the first XI than Valencia, and so it was that SIX were selected for the club's first ever fixture against Spanish opposition - two more than the hosts. How much of that decision was tactical is debatable, but one change was forced with Jordi Amat coming in for Ashley Williams, who's picked up an ankle injury.

The game started in the manner you'd expect - the Swans tried to get comfortable and looked to retain possession, but the main talking point early on was obviously Rami's red card. Pre-match I'd mentioned one of the only players I knew anything about was Ever Banega, a tasty defensive midfielder, and serendipitously it was him who created problems for his side - his pass was blocked and then his weak header was collected by Wilfried Bony, who knocked it past Rami and looked to be in on goal. The defender couldn't resist making a challenge, and clipped the Ivorian who then went tumbling to the ground, and the referee had no hesitation in giving the centre-back his marching orders. Possibly harsh, as there was another defender coming across to cover, but you won't find any Swansea City fans complaining.

And so, with nine minutes on the clock, the Swans found themselves clear favourites to go on to win the match. With Valencia coming in on the back of their worst start to the league in 14 years they really, really could have done without that and the look of abject dismay on their players' faces when the Swans took the lead shortly afterwards says it all. They are a team bereft of confidence and they need to do something about it soon, because it simply wasn't good enough for a team like Valencia.

That's enough of that though; the Swans were well worth the three points. From the start they played expansive, patient football and Jose Canas once again dominated the midfield - ably assisted by Jonny De Guzman. OK, it's a lot easier to play against ten men but you can only play what's in front of you and it's not entirely uncommon for a team short on numbers to put in a heroic display and rescue something - not so in this case. The opener came on the break; a lovely deft touch from Bony found Pozuelo, and he in turn fed Michu who burst down the left before squaring for Bony, who'd made tracks and found space just inside the area. His powerful shot took a deflection off a despairing defender and rocketed into the net despite the flailing arms of the goalkeeper. 1-0, and the home fans were not happy, but they had worse to come.

In truth, it could and perhaps should have been both over as a contest a lot sooner, as the Swans passed up numerous good chances to put the game to bed. Nathan Dyer hooked his shot when clean through and bearing down on goal, while Bony & Michu both missed good opportunities, but while we were perhaps slightly profligate in front of goal we remained in complete control of proceedings throughout. Depending on what website you believe, we had between 65% and 68% of the possession against a team who 13 years ago contested a Champions League Final. Away. Incredible.

As it turned out, we had to wait until around the hour-mark to get the second goal which put the final nail in Valencia's coffin. Good work from Pozuelo saw him slip Michu in after some slick passing had freed up a little space, and he duly dispatched a right-footed finish past the keeper at his near post. That's two in two with his right foot - and there was me saying he didn't even know he had one!

The goal that wrapped things up neatly came four minutes later, and again it was Pozuelo who created the opportunity when his neat turn proved too cute for Banega, who fouled the Spaniard giving De Guzman a chance to test his free-kick ability. He was quickly regretting that, I'll tell you, as JDG proceeded to smash a 30 yard free-kick across goal and into the top corner. Great, great finish, and the perfect way to seal victory.

There are so many positives you can take from this match that it's almost redundant harping on about them, but for me my main hope is that Bony's performance will get some "fans" off his back. When I first saw videos of him I knew he was always liable to fall foul of the section of support who believe that unless you're sprinting around for 90 minutes, then you're no good as a footballer, but he's proving to be a bull with ballet dancer's feet - his touch in the build up to the first goal shows he's "getting his eye in" now and four goals in four European games, plus one in the league, isn't to be sniffed at, but against Liverpool I heard lots of people laying into him for, basically, being like Jason Scotland. Yeah, he was pants for us, wasn't he? Jeez.

Bony, Michu & Pozuelo seem to have a fair bit of chemistry going on between them when they're on the field together and they look like they enjoy playing alongside each other, too. I'm sure before the end of the season we'll see lots more sexy football as they continue to adjust to each other's games, and if it produces results like last nights' then Swansea City stand to have a remarkable season. We're now 5th favourites to win the Europa League, by the way...

Oh, and Soundgarden were incredible if you were wondering.