Swan this day: 1998

08/03/1998 - Jonathan Coates secures point against Cardiff

In a new feature we've teamed up with @SwanThisDay, and every day we'll be looking back at a memorable event to have happened on the same day in the past. 

1998: Jonathan Coates scores in a 1–1 home draw with fellow Division Three strugglers and South Wales rivals Cardiff pic.twitter.com/8aCzOs4t7F

— Swan This Day (@SwanThisDay) March 8, 2014

How times have changed since we found ourselves battling it out with Cardiff in the Football League basement. Were you at the game? What are your memories? Get involved in the comment section below.

Statistical analysis - Win percentage with & without Leon Britton

Do Swansea City win more games with Leon Britton in the team?

With the Swans enjoying a prolonged rest period news over the last week has been somewhat slow and mostly fairly inconsequential. It makes a change to be honest - this season has seemingly been a cycle of reviewing and previewing games on a bi-weekly basis, and now that we've actually got a bit of time to take stock and assess where we are I thought I'd open it up a bit and ask you what you'd like to see analysed! Get on Twitter and tweet @TheSwanseaWay with your suggestion for an article (or even if you fancy writing an article - though I can't guarantee it would feature) and you could well see your idea thrashed out haphazardly by yours truly. 

The first suggestion I came across that seemed worth analysing was from @medwynw, who suggested looking at what effect Leon Britton had on our win/loss ratio:

@TheSwanseaWay Leon & % matches won when he's played and likewise our 2 keepers % games won and clean sheets

— medwyn (@medwynw) March 8, 2014

I'll get on with the goalkeepers another time, but let's concentrate on Leon for now. I thought the best way to look at this would be to look at the stats from the last three seasons (since we were promoted to the PL), and see if a) the absence of Leon had a notably detrimental (or even positive!) effect, and b) whether he's become more or less influential as time has gone on.

So, 2011-12 then. The season of Rodgers. It should be no surprise to learn that Leon featured in 36 of our 38 league games, so analysing what effect he had when he wasn't in the team is fairly meaningless, what with him being fairly ever-present. For what it's worth, we won 30.55% of our matches with Leon in the team, and lost 41.66%, while we lost one and won one of the games he didn't feature in. That's the league - as for the cup he played in a win over Barnsley, while he missed our two losses against Shrewsbury (urgh) and Bolton.

Statistics looking at our win % with & without Leon in the team (2012/13)

As you can see last season there was a clear disparity - we won more games
with Leon in the team.

On to 2012-13. With the arrival of Laudrup altering the rhythm of the Swansea midfield it would have been understandable had Leon featured less, but that simply wasn't the case. In the Dane's first (and subsequently only) full season in charge Leon was a regular, featuring 33 times in the league as well as making a good amount of appearances in cup competitions. Did we perform better with Leon in the team? The statistics would seem to indicate we did.

As you can see from this season's stats, even though it's marginal again we win more games with Leon in the team. What's striking is the cup performances - we only managed one win across three cup competitions without Leon prowling around our central midfield. 

Overall PL stats showing how we perform with or without Leon Britton in the team

As a self-confessed lover of meaningless statistics, I find it both pleasing and slightly worrying that we've only ever won five Premier League games without Leon in the team, however when you consider he was more or less ever-present for our first two seasons in the top flight it does seem to suggest there's not really much in that one. 

Overall though, the stats don't lie and we win a higher percentage of games with Leon in the team. As to whether you can infer a great deal from these numbers - well, that's a question that's best debated in pubs across South Wales and beyond. 

Oh, and in the comment section below...

Data used sourced from www.transfermarkt.co.uk

Loan watch: How do Ki's stats compare to the Swansea midfield's this season?

With our "Korean David Beckham" on loan at the Wearsiders, how has he been getting on?

I recently put together an article looking at how each of Swansea's central midfielders compares to the others statistically (link), and with Ki's loan spell drawing to a close and speculation surrounding his future I thought an interesting exercise would be to see how his statistics from his spell at Sunderland compare with Leon, Jose, Jonathan De Guzman & Jonjo Shelvey. 

Swansea's four midfielders so far this season (as of 25-02-14)

Ki's stats so far this season (as of 07-03-14)

As you can see his pass accuracy exceeds that of any of the Swansea midfielders, though he plays significantly fewer passes per game than all bar Jonjo. He loses possession as rarely as Swansea's safest feet - those of Jose Canas, but is dispossessed about as often as Jonathan De Guzman - who's mugged more often than any of the Swansea midfielders. This probably reflects the role Ki is playing for Sunderland - it's a kind of cross between the defensive and attacking midfield roles at the Swans - so while he's not necessarily getting assists and goals aplenty he's clearly imposing himself on games.

Defensively too he's faring pretty well when compared with Swansea's midfield, making 1.9 tackles per game which is as good as Leon (and better than any of the others), but he is only making 0.8 interceptions per game, on a par with Jonjo who nabs the ball less than any of his teammates. I think when you look at Ki's stats from last year (table below) you can clearly see he's being asked to play a more advanced role at Sunderland as his turnovers (losing the ball through poor control etc) have doubled to 0.8 while he's dispossessed over 50% more often (1.3 up from 0.8 times per game). 

The former could well be attributed to playing the ball in more advanced areas with numerous defenders in close proximity, while again for the latter if you're trying to take people on you're liable to be mugged more often. This is again demonstrated in the statistics, with Ki attempting one dribble per game - more than any of the Swansea midfield.

Swansea's midfield stats as of April 2012/13

The thing that's really impressive is the passing accuracy. It's no mean feat having an average pass accuracy higher than Leon Britton's, and to do that when you're clearly playing a more traditional central midfield role is very, very impressive. To me that just serves to emphasise why he should be brought back into the fold for next season. With De Guzman very liable to secure a bumper contract elsewhere off the back of the World Cup we'll be down one midfielder, and Monk's switch back to two deep midfielders - one of whom "goes" - should suit the Korean down to the ground. 

Overall it's pretty impressive stuff from the Korean, and I for one am very keen to see him pull on a Swansea shirt again. From a cold-hearted financial point of view too it makes great sense - the interest we saw from South Korea was mad but has completely disappeared since his departure - so if we can get a great midfielder who already knows how we play who doubles up as a cash cow that seems to make a lot of sense to me. 

Let's just hope he's not become too attached to Sunderland and it's fans, and that he fancies having another crack at life in SA1. I've got everything crossed that he comes back for another stint, and I'm sure I'm not alone. 

Should Swansea start Ki charm offensive?

Korean midfield maestro reveals he hasn't spoken to Swansea since Laudrup's departure

Any regular readers of the site will know how much of a fan of Ki I am. Last season I put together a couple of pieces (links here & here) showing that, in terms of numbers at least, some of the criticism he'd received for "not getting stuck in" simply wasn't accurate. Defensively he put in just as much of a shift as Jonathan De Guzman, and in terms of ball retention he actually lost possession less than Leon! Impressive. 

This season however, his face clearly didn't fit and he's spent the season on loan at Sunderland. The reasoning given is simply that we had too many central midfielders - with Canas, Leon, Jonjo & JDG it's likely that someone (evidently Ki) would have missed out more often than not, and we can't have predicted the injury crisis we experienced a few weeks ago where we only had one fit dedicated midfielder. There have, however, been other rumours as to his departure - stories abounded regarding the Korean demanding to play every game and of a miscommunication between Ki & Laudrup leading to the Dane losing faith in the midfielder.

The latter surrounded Ki returning home to Korea to receive treatment on an injury - it's rumoured Laudrup felt he was using this as an excuse to take it easy in the aftermath of Swansea winning the League Cup - though this did come from a dodgy translation of his dad's comments in the Korean media. In the meantime however, he's got on with endearing himself to Sunderland fans. He's done alright too.

Gus Poyet has been completely up front about his desire to sign Ki at the end of the season, but it seems that (if we play our cards right) he'll still be a Swansea player next season. For a start, every time Poyet has talked about Ki he's stated that until the Swans give an indication they'll sell he thinks it's unlikely, and secondly at the fans' forum organised by the Supporters Trust earlier this year Huw Jenkins indicated that Ki would definitely be returning to SA1 at the end of the season. He said it like he meant it too.

There is a danger though. Ki scored the winner against Chelsea in the Semi-Final of the Capital One Cup, as well as scoring the winning penalty against Manchester United in an earlier round, but it's his overall performances that will have endeared him to the Sunderland faithful. I got the distinct impression last season that despite his impressive statistics we weren't seeing the best of Ki due to the nature of the role he was being asked to play, and at Sunderland he's been given much more license to express himself. 

The main benefit of this is that when he does find himself in front of goal, he's got license to shoot and doesn't have that little voice in the back of his head saying "you should probably be playing a five yard pass here", which was clearly largely to blame for his lack of goals in his first season at the Swans. You don't go from scoring multiple thirty-yard screamers for Celtic to not mustering a goal all season unless your game has changed dramatically.

Given Sunderland's clear desire to sign Ki permanently, you could understand if we'd have contacted him to see how he was doing and to reassure him we want him back for next season, but these comments seem to indicate that (since Laudrup left at least) we haven't been in touch. Ki was asked at a recent press conference if the Swans had been in touch since the Dane's departure:

“No, there hasn’t been anything.I don’t make my future plans because I don’t know about my future. I had no idea I would be going to Swansea and this season I had no idea I would be coming to Sunderland. It was unexpected. 

“I had to make a choice to become a better player and Sunderland gave me a hand and an opportunity. I don’t know about my future, I just try to do my best in every single game I have. My life is like that. I just look to do my best.

“Maybe other footballers have a dream, to go to big clubs, but, for me, a big club is a club that wants me, a club that needs me – that is my idea of a big club. If they love you and need you, that is a big club for me.” 

http://www.sunderlandecho.com/sport/sunderland-afc/loan-star-ki-uncertain-over-sunderland-future-1-6482956

It seems fairly obvious to me that right about now we could be making a play for Ki. Jonathan De Guzman's loan expires at the end of the season, and it's unclear (and doubtful) whether he fancies another season in SA1 - couple that with Leon's advancing years and letting a central midfielder of Ki's calibre go to a Premier League rival would be a very, very big gamble. Especially when we already know Ki can operate in our system effectively.

One thing that could perhaps work in our favour is that the only thing which seemed to stop us recalling Ki in January was an oversight when it came to the loan paperwork. There was a clause which stated that if we were to recall Ki during the January window we had to let them know seven days prior to the window opening - something we didn't do which resulted in Jordi Amat having to play in midfield on a couple of occasions. That clearly showed an intent from the Swans to bring him back into the fold and hopefully that'll work in our favour. 

The danger is that as well as the Sunderland fans growing attached to Ki, the player will develop a reciprocated affinity and could end up deciding he's better off in the North East. For a player who has only spent one year with us it must be fairly "six of one, half a dozen of the other" when it comes to signing for non-Champions League teams in the Premiership, and Sunderland have a bigger stadium, probably pay bigger wages...you get the picture.  

Hindsight is a wonderful thing and there's possibly one or two things we'd have done differently if we could go back, but what's important is the here, the now, and the future. Ki is still our player for another year after his loan expires, and his comments about wanting to feel wanted by a club to me say that if we make a decent play for him between now and the beginning of next season he's happy to stick around. This is all assuming the club want him around next season of course, but I'd be surprised if they've done an about turn on their stance since the Supporters Trust meeting - especially considering Ki's performances of late.

It remains to be seen where Ki Sung-Yueng will be playing his football next season, but I for one hope and expect it will be for Swansea City. Fingers crossed.

What do you think of Ki Sung-Yueng? Would you like to see him back at the Swans? Do you think he should have been loaned out? Get involved by commenting below!

Emyr Huws - The one that got away?

Wales debutant came through Swansea ranks before being poached by Manchester City

We're all now fairly used to the Wales team containing a healthy complement of Swansea players, and normally there's a few kicking about who've played for us in the past too. Ashley Williams, Neil Taylor & Ben Davies are all regulars, Jazz Richards has a couple of caps, plus Joe Allen, Sam Ricketts, David Cotterill, Jermaine Easter and Shaun MacDonald have all had varying degrees involvement in the last couple of years. Yesterday though, a young Manchester City midfielder named Emyr Huws made his Welsh debut and looked impressively composed throughout. For a player of such tender years to be so cool in his first appearance for his country is encouraging for Welsh fans, but for Swansea City fans the name Emyr Huws will possibly always leave them wondering what could have been.

After spending the first five years of his development at Swansea City, Huws was snared by Manchester City in 2009 and apparently the mega-rich Mancs were a touch reticent when it came to agreeing compensation. While you don't get rich signing cheques, that seems a little cheap considering the means available to them, and it seems their skinflintery has come up trumps as Huws is now looking a serious player indeed. They're reported to have paid in the region of £400k for his capture which, while it's a lot for a 15-year-old, could prove to be a bargain if he establishes himself as a Premier League regular.

I've done a bit of digging on the internet to see what reports I can find of Huws, and there's quite a bit from his first loan spell (at Northampton), as well as his current loan spell at Birmingham. Here's some quotes from Northampton fans after he joined them for a spell in late 2012/early 2013.

2-0 up against Exeter at half-time and Huws has an assist already. Two great goals so far. Fantastic volley from Bayo and Huws has embarrassed their right back for the second. Clearly above league 2 level he is!

Easily the best 45 minutes I've witnessed this season. Loving Huwseeeeee and the general work rate has impressed me. 

Huws is clearly top drawer. Good passing range and intelligent on the ball. He twisted his defender this way and that to provide the cross for Langers' header. Of course though he got wacked by an Exeter dullard but that's what you expect to happen in League 2 to players that can actually play.  

http://forum.soccermanager.com/showthread.php?t=51081&page=3

Pretty encouraging stuff for the young Welshman. How do Birmingham fans rate him? A fair indicator of how he's performed so far would be that he's just been named Birmingham's player of the month (not bad for a young lad in the Championship), winning 74% of the vote (link), and obviously as mentioned his performances have led to his first international appearance, after featuring for all levels of the Welsh Youth setup.

He'd also (before departing on loan for the Blues) been given the captaincy of the Manchester City U21 side, and he's clearly a player they hold in high regard. Huws has said that moving on from the Swans was the right thing to do for his career, and that of late Patrick Vieira has told him to model his game on that of Sergio Busquets - you don't get asked to do that if your mentor is unsure of your ability.

“I enjoyed my time there but it was the right move for my career to go” 

http://www.tribalfootball.com/articles/emyr-huws-has-no-regrets-leaving-swansea-man-city-4010681#.UxgyjT-zETk 

“Patrick has been great with me. He’s been a mentor and has improved my game a lot. He wants me to play like Busquets and he thinks I can do that. I went to the Man City-Barcelona game and his awareness on the pitch was class. He’s probably the best defensive midfielder in the world.

"Yaya is one of the best players in the world, he’s a good guy and tries to help me out with advice [too]. He gives me tips in training if you ask. It can be intimidating sometimes but you just have to get on with it. I’m used to it now." 

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/emyr-huws-patrick-vieira-wants-6775624

It seems this is a lad with a big future ahead of him, which can only be good news as far as Welsh football is concerned. If only we could produce a centre-forward to go with all the classy midfielders! For Swansea City and their fans though, it will always be a case of "the one that got away".

Swansea players in international action - Roundup

Who featured for their international sides? How did they do?

With a couple of our boys in action, let's have a look to see who was involved.

Wales 3 - 1 Iceland (Ashley Williams, Neil Taylor, Ben Davies)

Interestingly, Chris Coleman preferred Neil Taylor to Ben Davies - the latter only coming on in the 88th minute for Hal Robson-Kanu. Ashley Williams managed to score Iceland's only goal by deflecting the ball past Wayne Hennessey, but other than that the Welsh defence held firm. I feel bad for Jazz not getting an opportunity, but he's definitely in the picture and if he can force his way into the Swans' first team more often he's likely to see more international action. As for the game itself, Gareth Bale had a hand in all three goals (scoring & assisting one, while his shot led to the other), and the win will be a welcome boost to the Welsh team's confidence ahead of their impending European Cup qualification campaign.

Belgium 2 - 2 Ivory Coast (Wilfried Bony)

I love that we have an Ivory Coast international on our books. I probably won't enjoy it as much when the African Cup of Nations comes around, but for now it's still making me smile, and Wilfried Bony will have something to smile about if sketchy match reports are to believed. 2-0 down until the 74th minute when Drogba got a goal back, Bony came on for Yaya Toure in the 83rd minute and his header deep in injury time was originally saved, but caused a scramble which saw Max Gradel equalise. 

Greece 0 - 2 South Korea (Ki Sung-Yueng - on loan at Sunderland)

A look at the stats would seem to suggest that while Greece had a good few opportunities the Koreans retained possession much like I'd expect any team that includes Ki Sung-Yueng to. He didn't get any goals or assists, but it's good to see him back playing for the national team after his little spat threatened to cast a cloud over his international career.

England U21 1 - 0 Wales U21 - (Lee Lucas, Scott Tancock)

As I'm looking at these games with a distinctly Swansea-centric pair of glasses on, I might as well mention that this game was decided by a strike from a player the Swans were linked with, and indeed made a bid for - Nathan Redmond. His solo effort proved the difference and it's a shame that Gwion Edwards (on the bench) didn't get a chance to feature, while Daniel Alfei wasn't even on the bench - on Twitter he said he was travelling so I assume he's fit. Pity. It seems (from match reports and statistics) that Wales were perhaps fortunate not to concede more, but considering the England team contained a raft of Premier League regulars that's no real surprise. Onwards and upwards for the lads, and they'll learn a lot by playing against players of that calibre.

Elsewhere, Michel Vorm didn't feature for Holland (though after being out through injury for a while that's possibly to be expected), while Roy Hodgson continues to ignore Leon Britton. The injustice of it. With internationals out of the way, the Swansea squad can now get to work preparing for the next league outing against West Brom, and Garry Monk & co will no doubt have plenty of ideas they'll be looking to implement during the extended "rest period". 

Thankfully, it seems everyone who did feature in internationals seems to have come through unscathed, so now they can get back to their primary focus; making Swansea City mathematically safe from relegation. Every game from here on in is a cup final. 

Thinking about it, we've done alright in finals of late...

Today 1PM: Debate with Times journalists on future of football

Get involved in their #FutureOfTheGame Google Hangout

Just a quick one before I get to work on a couple of other posts for later this week. The Times have this week released a "manifesto for reform" (link), put together by their cheif football correspondent Oliver Kay, chief sports correspondent Matt Dickinson, football writer Rory Smith and deputy football correspondent Matt Hughes. It looks at how we can safeguard the future of the game and what changes could be needed if we are to see a productive future for British football.

Today at 1PM they're hosting a live Google Hangout here: link, where you'll be able to put your questions to their team by tweeting #GoodOfTheGame on Twitter. Seems like a good way to spend Wednesday afternoon if you're free!