Swansea linked with second Championship player as off-field issues hit the headlines
Well, quite a few days we've had eh? Firstly, there was this: link, the Daily Mail reporting that in a training ground bust-up with Garry Monk, Chico Flores had picked up a brick and it resulted in the police being called. Now, there's since been statements from both players via Twitter and the official site stating that while the police were called, at no point did anyone pick up a brick, so someone's fibbing somewhere. The Mail story was based on the eyewitness account of a mysterious passer by "believed to be the mother of a youth team player". If true, why would someone with a connection to the club do something capable of causing so much instability?
Some have pondered whether the bust-up was perhaps partly fuelled by the rumours that the Swans are in for Rhys Williams, Middlesborough's club captain and an Australian international. Capable of operating anywhere across the back four and at defensive midfield, it's his preference for playing at centre-back which could have caused consternation in the ranks, and with both players reportedly involved in the clash also centre-backs it could be that while it wasn't the main factor, it had added a bit of extra pressure to the situation. No-one likes looking over their shoulder, and with Garry Monk returning to fitness the acquisition of Williams would mean we'd have five centre-backs. Too many? I'd say so, even if Monk's playing career is possibly starting to draw to a close.
Is Rhys Williams any good? Honestly - I don't know too much about him but I can't say I've ever been that impressed. I must have seen him play against the Swans at some point in the Championship but he can't have made an impression, and while Boro at one point fended off a £6million bid from Bolton for their captain his star has fallen somewhat - although he's not been helped by a couple of fairly nasty injuries which have kept him out for months at a time.
Of late, in fairness, it seems he's playing well despite some Boro' fans comments on Twitter ("You can have him" being the gist of most of them), and last week Middlesborough manager Aitor Karanka (when did that happen?!) denied any knowledge of a Swansea approach for the defender. Make of that what you will, but the figure mooted is £1.5million. Honestly? I don't see the point in signing someone permanently in that position right now. Our defence is almost fully fit, it's defenders we need. Would Rhys Williams be a suitable replacement for any of our midfielders? I can't rule it out, but it seems unlikely.
Moving on... David N'Gog. What? Again? It was depressing enough the first time we were linked with him, so hopefully this is just the press regurgitating something on a slow news day. As @Paulleyshon said on Twitter - "N'Nspiring". Personally I'd rather have Darren Pratley back and stuff him up front than N'Gog, who's shown he's consistently average even at Championship level, and why we'd be in for him I don't know. There must be better options out there than him, and if we aren't exploring any our scouting network needs some work.
Yes we need cover, yes we don't want to break the bank, but unless the players coming in are at least as good as those currently occupying places in the squad then we should go with what we've got. Yesterday I was told we're 5-5-2 against teams in the bottom half of the league, and if true that's indicative that once the fixture list thins out and we get players back from injury, we should be just fine.
Rhys Williams? Maybe. David N'Gog? No ta.