Monk: "Michu has a chance of being ready for WBA"

Spanish forward could finally return from a protracted injury layoff

Since seemingly injuring himself against Cardiff in November it's been a hard slog to get back to fitness for Michu. At first he was out for just a few games, but after missing four games he only managed ninety minutes against Hull and seventy-four against Norwich before he again had to receive treatment on persistent knee and ankle problems. It seems he'd been playing through injury for a while, and we've seen with Ashley Williams in the past that as much as we love the idea of a player wanting to play through injury, it's possibly not in the best interests of the club in the long term, given how likely it is that doing so could exacerbate the existing injury.

For his part, Michu has retweeted a post from the official Swansea Twitter feed showing him in training, and Garry Monk seemed fairly positive when asked about the possibility of the Spaniard featuring on the weekend:

"I would say at this stage that Michu has a chance. He trained both days over the weekend and then had a rest on Monday, but he will be working from now on, and if he trains well over the next few days, he has definitely got a chance of being involved. He won't be starting I wouldn't have thought, but you never know. 

"We will have to see how he is in training. In this situation, a lot of it comes down to how the player feel as well. He said the pain he has been feeling has gone now, but we have to make sure we don't rush him.

"I will speak to Michu over the next few days and we will go from there." 

http://www.southwales-eveningpost.co.uk/Swansea-City-boss-Garry-Monk-optimistic-Michu/story-20791180-detail/story.html#ixzz2vds9Bu3z

.@Michuoviedo ready to give #Swans a major boost ahead of weekend clash with @WBAFCofficial >> http://t.co/Pw5zaNOhnw pic.twitter.com/eAj7N49Zrl

— Swansea City FC (@SwansOfficial) March 10, 2014

I very much doubt that he'd come straight back into the team, but I'm really excited about the potential partnership of Michu & Bony. If we can get those two working together on top of playing crisp passing football there won't be many teams who can live with us, and for Monk the challenge is now trying to fit all his best players into an eleven man side whilst still ensuring his side can produce the passing football which has served us (and will continue to serve us) in such good stead.

I think part of the problem we've had in recent times is the team had become too attacking-midfielder-centric, as it were. Since Jason Scotland we haven't had a striker who, in my opinion, was as good in his role within our system as everyone else in the team. Danny Graham did very well for a spell, and I think given more time he could have worked even better, but obviously we didn't get to find out - in the meantime though we firstly signed Gylfi Sigurdsson, before Michu came in and occupied roughly the same role in the team.

I'm not against a goalscoring attacking midfielder - far from it! I feel though that at times it became harder for our centre-forward to be involved in build-up play, as so often the ball didn't get past the attacking midfielder. Graham's goals dropped off after Gylfi came in, and obviously last season Michu was our main outlet, so when Bony came in I think it was completely natural it took us a while to figure out how to use him. We haven't operated with an effective "sticking point" that far up the field in a long time, and now that it's finally starting to work it'd be a shame if we reverted to isolating the striker. 

That's why it's crucial when Michu is bedded back into the team he pays close attention to how Monk is setting the team up. There were things that clearly weren't working for most of the season (as well as things that were, granted), but if Michu can figure out how to play off Bony we will have absolutely no problem scoring goals for the foreseeable future.

Fingers crossed Michu is back sooner rather than later, as he's an excellent option and with Bony currently without a worthy understudy if the Ivorian was to get injured Michu would undoubtedly deputise in his absence. You can bet your house on him doing a better job than Vazquez, that's for sure.

Swan This Day: March 11 2012 - Moore goal enough to down Man City

On this day two years ago...

These days, Luke Moore finds himself playing for Major League Soccer side Chivas USA, but two years ago today he was busy endearing himself to Swansea City fans by scoring the only goal in one of our most impressive wins to date in the FA Premier League.

2012: Swans shock league leaders Man City at the Liberty, Luke Moore's 83rd min header giving Rodgers' men a 1–0 win pic.twitter.com/8yFMn7fXsZ

— Swan This Day (@SwanThisDay) March 11, 2014

Our first season in the Premiership saw us impose our brand of passing football on pretty much anyone we came up against, and that season we'd go on to beat Arsenal, Liverpool & Man City at the Liberty, but the Man City game in particular was a real turn-up for the books. Liverpool were at the time yet to be rejuvenated by Rodgers (because he was still in charge of us), while Arsenal were...well, Arsenal are pretty unpredictable aren't they? Man City though, they were as now - a team of galacticos expensively assembled who would go on to win the Premier League that season. That's what made the result all the more impressive.

Post by ‎Football mondial الكرة العالمية‎.

That first season saw us announce ourselves on the big stage, and fingers crossed we'll be sticking around in the Premiership for a long time to come. It's more than possible that we could go a long time without beating Man City again, so this result really will live long in the memory and I'll always have a bit of a soft spot for Luke Moore as a result. Thanks Luke, and good luck in the MLS.

Swansea only need 35 points to avoid relegation

With the bottom half of the table so tight, an unusually low points total could be enough to see the Swans (and others) to safety

With the Premier League now over twenty years old, there are certain things which have become ingrained in the collective consciences of football fans. No matter how many teams seem liable to vie for the Champions League spots it seems we always see talk of a "Big Four", no matter how much money they spend it seems pointless backing Spurs for the Champions League, and any team that gets to the fourty point mark is safe from relegation. 

How much truth is there in these accepted pieces of football wisdom though? As for the two former, well to be honest it doesn't really effect us so let's look at the latter. Do we need fourty points to stay up this season? 

A quick recap of the season so far would seem to suggest not. With the bottom half of the table as congested as at any time in recent memory points really have been at a premium this season, and it seems the disparity between the "elite" clubs and everyone else is growing. With most clubs having around ten games left to play and eleven clubs on thirty-one points or less, it's distinctly possible that this season we could stay up with a much lower points tally than is traditionally needed. 

Key to how things pan out between now and the end of the season is the fixture list. Who has the tougher run in? Let's have a look.

*games yet to be arranged

As you can see, I've been busy! Now, I know there is absolutely no science behind me doing predictions in that manner and I'd agree that given how many variables are in play it's almost a futile exercise, but in truth I did it more to get a feel of if anyone had a particularly hard run-in - and by my reckoning Norwich clearly have the most grueling. Their last four games are Liverpool, Man Utd, Chelsea & Arsenal - at that stage in the season those are not teams you want to see on your fixture list.

I was rooting around online and I came across this graphic on the Football365 website, calculating a final table based on clubs' performance so far this season:

http://stats.football365.com/dom/ENG/PR/runin.html

Maybe there is something in my predictions after all! They have the same three teams to go down as me, though they think they'll get a couple more points than I've given them credit for. Who's right? Well, to be honest it doesn't really make much difference, as the reason I was looking at this is to try and work out how many points we'll need to stay up - and even if we go with Football365's higher total it's still a paltry thirty-four points - possibly even thirty-three! 

Given you're supposed to need fourty points to stay up, potentially doing so whilst winning two games less than usual points to just how many more points the big teams are taking off their "lesser" rivals, and how much tighter things have been this season. If either of these predictions are correct, the Swans only need to win two games between now and the end of the season to stay up - and with West Brom, Norwich & Aston Villa all to come to the Liberty you feel that our Premier League fate is firmly in our own hands.

It remains to be seen who'll occupy the three relegation spaces come the end of the season, but if we can secure anything over thirty-five points I'm fairly certain that'll be enough for us to avoid relegation.

Fairly certain...

Swan This Day: March 10 2007 - Trundle sees red in 2-0 victory

On this day seven years ago...

Tranmere 0 - 2 Swansea (Robinson, Trundle)

Go back to this day in 2007, and the Swansea team had a very different look to it. Roberto Martinez had just taken charge, and the Swansea lineup was notably different to how he'd have the team lining up in the coming season. Gueret, Amankwaah, Tate, Iriekpen, Painter, Britton, O'Leary, Craney, Robinson, Trundle & Abbott took the field, with Tranmere old boy Andy Robinson & Lee Trundle scoring to keep the Swans in touch with the playoff race. Trundle saw red for two bookings (one of which was for overly-zealous celebrations) in the 59th minute, but the Swans held on to claim the three points.

2007: Lee Trundle scores and sees red as Swans boost their League One play-off chances with a 2–0 win at Tranmere pic.twitter.com/B3wibl1mnM

— Swan This Day (@SwanThisDay) March 10, 2014

Sadly we missed out on promotion that season, though what happened the next season will go down in Swansea history, with the Swans winning the League One title and beginning their climb to the top tier of the British game. Few could have guessed just how far we'd rise in such a short space of time, and looking back at games like this makes you appreciate how lucky we are that we now get to see our local team competing against the best players in the world week in, week out.

What are your memories of when Martinez first took charge? Has there been one moment in particular where you've had to pinch yourself to make sure you weren't imagining things? Use the comment section below to sign up and get involved.

Swansea again linked with Jefferson Montero

South Wales club rumoured to be back in for Jeff

We do now have some excellent names kicking around in the Swansea squad, don't we? We've a Wilf, a Dwight, Roland, Leon, Wayne, Jordi, Michel, Marvin...the list goes on. I am a fan of a player with a good name (or good hair), and that's why back in June when we were first linked with the man who wears Jeff on the back of his shirt a childish smile crept across my lips.

I was looking at some odds on the football section at 888sport.com when it got me thinking - aside from Montero (assuming there's an element of truth to the speculation) who else would we like to see brought in this summer? Montero is a flying winger - when I mentioned his name on Twitter some Swansea fans came forward with memories of his performance against us for Betis in a pre-season friendly, saying he was absolutely lightning quick. I have also heard his end product isn't the best, and do we really need another winger? It's possible - Lamah is off in the summer (likely) while Pablo doesn't seem to be able to stay fit for any prolonged period, so it could be prudent to add another wide player to our squad.

I'd say a young physical striker with a good first touch would be top of my shopping list if I was in charge of our transfer dealings. With Michu out, any time Bony hasn't been on the field we've looked very blunt and if we'd have had another option we could well have picked up more points - even if if was that option arriving off the bench against tired legs. We simply haven't had a second effective option up top this season, and that's something that should be addressed.

With De Guzman's loan expiring (and like Lamah it's unlikely he'll be here next year) bringing Ki back will be central to our transfer dealings this summer. If he wants to stick around that should give us enough cover in the middle, but if he doesn't he'll be sold early doors and we'll have to bring someone else in. You never know - we might even use that cash to try and sign De Guzman permanently? Who knows. Either way, if Ki & De Guzman aren't here next year we'll need another midfielder to go with Jose Canas, Leon, Jonjo & Michu. 

In defence it could be argued we need another right-back, but that really depends on how much faith Monk and the Swans hierarchy have in Jazz Richards & Dwight Tiendalli. The latter was bemusingly given a three year deal after trying to get a better deal elsewhere last summer, while for many the jury remains out on both our reserve right-backs. Personally I think Jazz is more than capable of developing into a replacement for Rangel, but whether he'll be able to get the game-time needed to do that is another thing. If either of these two isn't regarded as a good option when Rangel is unavailable (and what's more the Spaniard isn't getting any younger), then it's possible we'll see someone else brought in.

There is always the possibility of Taylor playing at right-back, but it doesn't seem to be a favoured option for the Swans and I can't remember us operating like that ever if I'm honest. Given Taylor's agent was pushing for a move to Fulham in January it's again possible he could be the subject of interest from other Premiership clubs, but I'd be surprised if he moved on now. He's likely to get more action under Monk I feel, and I think more rotation at left-back can only be a good thing.

That's about it for me. I think a young striker who can learn off Bony, plus Ki to replace De Guzman (or another player to replace both if the Korean ups sticks), as well as possibly a right-back depending on how the rest of the season goes and we should be absolutely fine. Who would you want to see brought in? Should we sign another striker or will should we be concentrating on wingers and a midfielder? Sign up and get involved in the comment section below.

Goalkeeping comparison - who wins more games?

Which of Swansea's goalkeepers has the higher win percentage?

Following on from yesterday's blog, (looking at the Swans' win percentage with & without Leon in the team) another suggestion from the same tweet asked if I could look at Swansea's goalkeepers, and whether there was anything to be noted by comparing their win/loss statistics. 

It seemed an interesting exercise, and seeing as the only news kicking around is tenuous links with Jefferson Montero - AKA "Jeff" - it made sense to get cracking and have a look. For ease of analysis I put a table together (below) - have a look, it makes for interesting reading!

As you can see, in the first season our overall league performance echoed Vorm's (given his almost constant presence), but the statistics do seem to back up what many fans - myself included - were saying last season, that at the time Tremmel seemed to offer a safer pair of hands. There was never any doubting that Vorm was a superior goalkeeper but as well as seeing us through our Capital One Cup run Tremmel excelled in the league when called upon.

That's why this season is such a mystery. What's happened Gerry? One win in eleven games? Ouch. I'd love to be able to say that these nasty statistics were simply down to poor team performances, but I do remember numerous occasions where I thought the goal conceded was a bit soft from a goalkeeping point of view. It's far from being exclusively his fault, and he has been unlucky on a number of occasions - I've lost count of the amount of times Ash seems to have deflected the ball past our keeper this season - but you live and die by the sword and you can't argue when the final whistle blows. 

In the overall statistics Tremmel does fare better, but that's largely due to our Capital One Cup run last season. Five league wins in twenty four outings across three seasons is far more telling, compared with twenty-five in seventy-nine for Vorm. I know who I prefer between the sticks right now. 

It seems after enjoying a purple patch last season Tremmel's form has faded, and it's been echoed in the results. This season in all competitions Tremmel has won four of twenty-one games, whereas Vorm was won nine of twenty-two. A quite staggering difference given how the German has performed in the past, and a bigger disparity than I'd ever have anticipated. What's more, he's lost twelve games this season to Vorm's six. Quite remarkable that he's lost double the amount of games and won less than half the amount managed by his Dutch teammate. 

I'm sure the Swans' analysis team are aware that we've only won once with Gerhard between the sticks this season, though what they make of these types of statistics we can't say. What I can say though, is that I've got my fingers crossed nothing happens to Michel Vorm between now and the end of the season.

Swan This Day: 2010

On this day four years ago...

Today's installment is from more recent memory than yesterday's. This match was actually Swansea's 20th clean sheet of the 2009/2010 season - Dorus De Vries would go on to break Roger Freestone's clean sheet record that season - and at this point we'd scored the least goals in the Championship (31), as well as conceding the fewest (23).

2010: Sousa's Swans strengthen their grip on a play-off place, winning 1–0 at Watford thanks to a Shefki Kuqi header pic.twitter.com/WOwA5SKb4D
— Swan This Day (@SwanThisDay) March 9, 2014

We won this game thanks to a Shefki Kuqi header, but in truth it was also thanks to some heroic defending that we came away with all three points - Ashley Williams cleared from under his own bar, and De Vries produced a wonder stop on the way to the Swans collecting the victory.

Were you at the game? What are your memories of the Sousa era? Use the comment section below to sign up and get involved.