Pablo & Davies available for the weekend, Ash still injured while Ki is ineligible to play against parent club

Swansea still sweating on fitness of skipper, but should have a number of players returning to the squad for Sunderland game this Saturday

We're almost through this long, drawn out international period. Well, there's still the small matter of Belgium vs Wales tonight, but with Neil Taylor likely to be the only current Swansea player on show (excluding Jazz Richards who's on loan at Huddersfield) we can be forgiven for casting our eyes forward to the weekend.

Pablo Hernandez has been sidelined since before we played Valencia with a hamstring injury, but has been in full training for a little while now and should be available, while Ben Davies is rumoured to have recovered from his own hamstring strain suffered at Southampton. If he's ok in training this week he may well be in the team on Saturday.

Elsewhere, De Guzman should have also recovered from his own injury problems by the weekend after picking up a groin strain which saw him ruled out of international duty for Holland, and Garry Monk is returning to training today after he injured his knee in the Capital One Cup defeat to Birmingham.

One player who looks set to continue watching from the sidelines though (for the time being at least) is Ashley Williams. The imperious Swansea skipper played through the pain barrier against Crystal Palace but we haven't seen him since, and despite not officially being ruled out it's unlikely the club will recall him to the team if there's any risk attached. Get well soon Ash, you're missed. Big time. 

With Sunderland looking to turn their season around, new manager Gus Poyet has already spoken of his determination to return from the Liberty with all three points. 

'It's a big contrast. We have a few problems. We have changed a manager and we have got a new group of players, but at 3pm, it's 11 v 11, one referee, two linesmen. It's about what you do in those two hours. 

'It doesn't matter what's happened before. Swansea are in a better balanced position, yes they are, it's true, but that doesn't mean that they are going to win. 

'We will go there to win. We need to win football games. We cannot go to places looking to get just one point.' Gus Poyet

http://www.swansea.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=335461#ixzz2hmHhDyaP

Saturday's match against Sunderland has the potential to be a cracker. They need a win to turn their season around, while Swansea are looking for their first home win since we beat Newcastle in the aftermath of our Capital One Cup win - some eight home games ago.

A home win would boost the squad's confidence, and it's the first overtly "winnable" game we've had at the Liberty in the League this year. In the Europa League we've fared well - winning 4-0, 5-1 and 1-0, but in the league we've managed a draw and two losses - although our opponents in those games were Liverpool, Manchester United & Arsenal respectively.

I firmly believe if we were to deploy Leon Britton and Jose Canas at the base of a three-man midfield we'll out-pass any team in the league, and what's more we'll get more purchase through the middle of the park. Of late we've struggled to penetrate teams and Wilfried Bony has cut an isolated figure. Feed the bull, and he will score.

Whether Laudrup goes with such a formation is up for debate - if I was a betting man I'd wager he goes with Canas, Shelvey & Michu again - however this just hasn't looked efficient enough against quality opposition. While Sunderland aren't in the same weight-class as the teams who've visited South Wales so far, you can bet they'll be fired up for this one and will come flying out of the blocks. It's up to the Swans to get an early goal which would go a long way in dampening their enthusiastic attempts to impress their new manager.

One player who won't be featuring for Sunderland is Ki Sung-Yueng, on loan from the Swans and ineligible to play against his parent club. Speaking about how not playing on Saturday could affect his chances of selection for South Korea, Ki said it was "disappointing" he'd not be able to play against the Swans. I hope he means purely because it hinders his international chances!

“I can’t play against Swansea which is disappointing, but I hope the boys can play well. Hopefully I will be back in the team for the Newcastle game. I feel much better now after playing a few games.

“I think I’ll be stronger when we start again after the international games too. I’m pleased to be back in the Korea squad and I’m enjoying playing against some good teams.

“I haven’t been in the squad for a long time, so I’m trying my very best. We didn’t need to be very disappointed after Manchester United because we played well. The points will come for us if we play like that.” Ki Sung-Yueng

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/ki-hoping-absence-swansea-wont-6186136? 

Personally I really hope Ki is back with us next year. He's got unfinished business, and sources at the club have indicated they expect the South Korean international to still be a Swansea City player next season. That being said, Gus Poyet likes to play good football and Ki is likely to have a lot more fun playing for the Uruguayan as opposed to fiery dictator Di Canio. I can't imagine Di Canio would have been too happy about the perceived "sideways passes" that people unfamiliar with possession football accuse Ki of making.

Hopefully Ki shows everyone what he can do this season. If he can smash in a few goals similar to the ones he scored for Celtic Swansea fans will be clamouring for him to return to SA1, as goals from midfield is something we've been lacking in recent times.

Ki Sung-Yueng to be Swansea City's stand out midfielder next year? You heard it here first.

Swansea players in international action (inc. Wales highlights)

How did our boys get on in their respective matches?

With the Swans accruing more and more current internationals, it seems we're going to have to get used to our players featuring in international friendlies, qualifiers and competitions, and while the latter is generally of no concern (as they usually fall in the summer months) extra games can sometimes take their toll on a squad. It's important players' game-time is managed well and that they don't "burn out" as the season goes on, but to the players themselves it must be a great honour to represent their country, and I doubt they'd ever want to be substituted in order to "save their legs" ahead of a club fixture. With Europa League football now guaranteed for a while to come, Laudrup will be forced into rotating his squad as the games pile up. 

Ashley Williams & Ben Davies

Laudrup had previously bemoaned Ben Davies and Ashley Williams playing the full 90 minutes for Wales in their friendly against Ireland, which fell just prior to the season starting, but he can have few qualms about the boys featuring in competitive fixtures.

Both Ash & Ben played 90 minutes for Wales last night as they went down 2-1 to Macedonia. Yep. 2-1 to Macedonia. You have to love being from Wales - in the same week it was confirmed the most expensive footballer in the world now hails from God's country, and yet we manage to lose to a side who are 89th in the FIFA ranking system. Wales are joint 46th, if you were curious. 

In a sign of things to come, Chris Coleman couldn't fly out with the squad as he'd lost his passport, and had to go to Newport (it's a bloody handy thing the passport office is in Wales, eh?) to sort it out before meeting up with the squad in Macedonia. Not the most auspicious start, and so it was that Wales fell behind to Trickovski's opener. Aaron Ramsey managed to earn and convert a penalty to restore parity to the tie but Trajkovski scored late on to seal the win for the home side.

I still don't know what to make of Chris Coleman. Sometimes I think I like the way he's trying to get the team playing football, but the main problem for me is the lack of an out and out striker. Let's hope someone produces a quality forward in the next few years, as Wales do seem particularly toothless at the moment.

Moving on...

Michel Vorm

Vorm was preferred in goal to Kenneth Vermeer, and considering Vermeer holds the Dutch record for the longest streak of international matches without conceding a goal (link) he's done well to get in ahead of the Ajax 'keeper.

The highlights seem to indicate that there was little Vorm could do about either of the goals - that Vassiljev looks a player eh? That second goal was outstanding! A great run, and a great finish - Vorm didn't do anything wrong there I think, 99 times out of 100 in that situation the player is going to shoot low(ish) and he was covering his angles well. You can't plan for that kind of finish!

Holland had Robin Van Persie to thank as he rescued a point for them late on from the penalty spot, but at the other end of the field it's good to see Vorm getting games. If he's getting picked at international level it's only going to increase his stock, and his confidence, and it's also something which could aid in the Dutchman sticking around for a long while to come. If he wasn't getting picked for Holland - perhaps because Swansea aren't yet viewed internationally as a "big team", he may look to move to a bigger club to help his international aspirations, but if he's being preferred to the Ajax keeper that's clearly not the case. Good on you, Michel, you've earned your chance.

Amat & Tancock in Under-21 action

Both these young defenders featured for their respective international sides this week, and they had very differing experiences. Tancock played 90 minutes for Wales U21's against San Marino, and they have clearly been taking after the first-team as they contrived to lose 1-0. To San Marino. 

Amat however had a very different time of it. He enjoyed a 6-2 Spanish U21 victory over Austria U21's, and from all the match reports I've read not one mentions him. To be honest, as a centre-back if you play 90 minutes and no journalist mentions any mistakes you've made throughout the game you've done well, so I'd say it's a case of "if you don't notice him, he's doing well". 

Possibly an optimistic take on a lack of information, but you need a bit of blind optimism in your life every now and again!

Ben Davies: "Ash is worth £10million", Amat explains why he signed & the Swans to drop interest in Wilfried Bony?

First up today is Ben Davies chipping in with his tuppence worth on the protracted rumour surrounding Ashley Williams' future. It's been reported for months that Arsenal and Liverpool are interested in signing the Welsh captain, however it seems neither club are even remotely interested in meeting the Swans' valuation, believed to be around the £10million mark.

Davies alongside skipper Ashley Williams

When you're a club the size of Arsenal or Liverpool (or any other club with CL aspirations, for that matter), you have to expect to be paying these kinds of prices for established Premier League players. Ash just finished his second PL season, drawing plaudits from all corners while helping his team to (another) improved league finish, along with their first ever major silverware.

He helped secure Europa League football for next season, so to me if Arsene Wenger wants Ash, he wants him because he believes he can compete in the Champions League and he'll have to pay the going rate to do that. Name another established first-choice Premier League centre-back who you'd back to compete in the CL, who you could pick up for less than £10million? I don't think that's an exorbitant fee, and Ben Davies clearly agrees:

"Last season I would say Ash was one of the best centre-backs in the Premier League, I cannot think of many who were better than him. The job he did was incredible.. 

"A price of £10m or more to sign him is completel justified. You see some of the money that gets spent in this league on players who are unproven in the Premier League. I think £10m is more than a fair price. 

"Ash gave me a lot of confidence on the pitch and the transition from Swansea to playing for Wales was made a lot easier as I played with him every week. He is a great player and a great captain, he is always there to talk to, and if you have to say something he is happy to take it." Ben Davies

Jordi Amat - "Swansea style the reason I signed"

The latest in an ever expanding procession of Conquistadors to make their way to SA1, Amat adds to an already healthy Spanish contingent, and acknowledges that with numerous countrymen already at the club making the switch to the Liberty was an easy decision to make:

This picture of Amat was worth including
purely for the kit he's wearing. Epic.

"I think I can settle into the club straightaway, especially as we have Spanish players here already. I know Pablo Hernandez and Michu already, while Chico and Angel Rangel are very important players here. I also played against Jose Canas last season in La Liga, so I know a lot about him, but it's not just that, or the fact Michael Laudrup is manager, it is the way in which the club play. The style here is perfect for me — it is the way I play. 

"I am very happy to join Swansea. One of my dreams has been to play in the Premier League, and I can do that here. I am very grateful to the chairman and Michael Laudrup for giving me this opportunity and showing a lot of faith in me. My target now is to repay their faith and do everything I can to help the team. 

"I watched Swansea last season — what the club achieved was incredible. To finish in the top half of the Premier League and win a trophy is a massive achievement. In Spain, Swansea are very famous now. They talk a lot about the club and how they have become a successful team in the Premier League with an attractive style of play. 

"The club has a great set-up — the stadium is lovely and I know it's full every game, and I can't wait to run out in front of the supporters for the first time."      Jordi Amat

When Jose Canas came out with similar comments regarding the Swans, it was greeted (outside SA1 at least) with a small amount of mirth, given that the more hirsute of the two recently arrived Spaniards claimed Swansea were "the most famous team in Spain". While I don't think we could go that far, it's unlikely there's any kind of corroborated charm offensive being utilised by the Swans in terms of pitching the club to Spanish players, so it's likely they're not just making this up, and we are developing more of a following in Spain. Nothing wrong with that, and it'll only be of benefit to the club both financially, through increased shirt and merchandise sales, and in terms of how easy it is to attract players to the club in future.

Swansea to drop interest in Wilfried Bony?

With Huw Jenkins having gone on record as expecting to hear something regarding the Swans' bid for the Ivorian before the weekend was over, it seems the Swans' chief is losing patience with his current club, Vitesse Arnhem. It's believed the Swans have tabled a bid worth around £10million plus add-ons, and when the Swans put that kind of money on the line I can't imagine they'd be willing to hang around too long waiting for an answer. Huw knows that he can't, and won't be drawn into a bidding war, and while I don't feel we can rule out this deal being completed just yet it's more than possible we're now looking at other options in terms of a new striker.

Nacer Chadli. Tricky.

There've been two names which have appeared in the last 48 hours. First, Christian Benitez (once of Birmingham - remember him?) - the Ecuadorian has excelled for Club America in Mexico over the last couple of seasons and has reportedly drawn interest from Tottenham, amongst others. I'd say it'd be very hard to draw any conclusions on a striker's efficiency by comparing the Mexican league to the Premier League, but if the club feel he's worth a bid they know a lot more than I do.

The other name which has been linked with the Swans in the last few hours is that of FC Twente striker Nacer Chadli. The 25-year-old Belgian scored 16 goals in 32 games (in all competitions) last season, and from what I'm reading he's very much in the Scott Sinclair mould - a tricky forward who operates on the left hand side, but is actually right footed. He's only 23, and would apparently cost slightly less than Bony at around £8.5million, however given Bony's scoring record it's hard not to feel like we're accepting second best if we miss out now. That being said, Chadli has been featuring for the Belgian side and given the wealth of talent they have in attack it's clear that the powers that be rate him highly.

One issue may be the reported interest of Aston Villa. With fellow countryman Christian Benteke enjoying such a prolific breakthrough season in the Midlands, it's possible Chadli will decide to opt for the Villains over the Swans. With information on Chadli scant, the best I can do is link a video from youtube:

The guy has clearly got technique in abundance and I've no doubt he'd be a good addition to the squad, but he definitely seems like more of a winger than an out and out striker. Is there anything in this one? We'll have to just wait and see...

Neil Taylor vs Ben Davies - a statistical comparison

Return of ex-Wrexham defender Taylor gives Laudrup food for thought for next season

When Taylor was struck down with that horrific ankle injury against Sunderland early in the season, most Swansea fans will no doubt have been wondering who would fill the void left by the marauding full-back. Few, if any Jacks will be able to say they backed Ben Davies, as green around the gills as you can get, to have such a positive impact on the side after staking his claim early on.

Still only 19 (he's 20 a week yesterday), Davies has gone on to make 37 appearances so far this season, and he's adapted to life in the Premier League with aplomb. With the impending return of Taylor, should Davies keep his place? Granted, next season will require a lot more squad rotation (assuming we qualify for the group stages of the Europa League), so it's likely both will play a lot of games, however you always feel there will a "preferred choice" so with that in mind I thought I'd have a look at some stats...because, you know...stats prove everything...right?

Ben Davies

Davies celebrates his first Swansea goal.

So far this season he's started 28 league games (with three more appearances as sub) and for a long time he was on top of the Premier League "tackle completion" table, coming out on top in more than 70% of his challenges. His pass completion is slightly below the team average at 83% (1096/1317), and he averages 42.5 passes a game, but with youth on his side I'd say this is still highly impressive.

Only one goal isn't surprising given he only attempts a shot once every three games, and one accurate cross every other game (leading to two assists) indicates he could still improve going forward, but there's every reason to believe that will happen given time. He does, however, manage two successful long balls per game (an indication of how our playing style has changed with Michu in the team) and a "key pass" every other game, so the stats back up what I'd have said in the past about Davies, in that he's always looking forward, however the final ball isn't always quite there yet.

In defence his stats are more impressive. He averages two and a half successful tackles, five successful clearances, and 1.7 interceptions per game - it's nice to see a player who clearly likes defending, and the fact he's only dribbled past on average once a game shows he sticks with his man. One area that some fans feel he needs to improve quickly is his aerial game. He only averages one 1.5 successful "aerial duels" per game, and teams have been looking to target Davies in this respect as a way of getting in behind the Swans. While some teams have seemed to benefit from this, you feel that again, given time this aspect of his game will improve.

Neil Taylor

Neil Taylor - clearly concentrating.

Neil Taylor secured his position as first choice left-back for the Swans after a rise which, while it wasn't as meteoric as Davies', was impressive nonetheless. In the interest of a fair(ish) comparison, we'll only look at his stats from last season (so that all the stats are based on Premier League appearances), and interestingly, the first comparison we can make is in terms of attacking threat. As opposed to Davies goal and two assists, Taylor managed only one assist all season last year (and no goals), which would indicate that Davies is actually more effective in getting forward to support the attack.

Taylor made 36 appearances in the league last year, and completed on average 40.5 passes per game, so again only a slight difference there (and it's possible any differences could be down to a change in playing style under Laudrup), but interestingly from the stats I've found online it appears he only completed 81% of his passes (1461/1785); if correct Davies is actually better at retaining possession it seems, which may surprise some fans. Aerially Davies seems to come out on top too - throughout last year Taylor averaged one successful aerial duel every two games (three times less often than his younger counterpart) which, again, was very surprising to me.

Defensively he managed one successful interception, and two completed tackles per game (73.6% tackle completion), and while his tackle completion was excellent this does seem to further reinforce that Davies is more solid in defence. As stated, Davies clearly loves defending - a very rare trait in a modern footballer - and I'm really looking forward to seeing both of them in action next season.

There should be more than enough games to go around next season, so it's unlikely Taylor or Davies will have to go any length of time without starting a game, but it'll be interesting to see who starts the first game next year. Taylor has declared himself fully fit as this season draws to a close, and he'll undoubtedly get a great reception from fans when he makes his long-awaited return from injury.

Personally, I really like Ben Davies. I think with youth on his side he just edges it for me - he's adapted to life in the PL so well that I can only see him going on to bigger and better things, and while Neil Taylor is a fine player, it would be very harsh to relegate Davies to "second fiddle" after such an impressive debut season. Either way, having two outstanding young Welsh left-backs is in no way a bad thing, especially given that Taylor has played at right-back in the past, and with both full-backs fit it also raises the possibility of a Welsh lineup with three of the four defenders playing their club football at Swansea City. Good for club and country, that is.

If only we had such impressive competition for places in every position...

Vorm says Arsenal are scared of the Swans...

Brave, and possibly foolhardy words from the Swansea keeper

Arsenal bowed out of the Champions League despite an
impressive 2-0 away win at Bayern Munich.

Before Arsenal travelled to Munich to play Bayern, Arsene Wenger hinted that the upcoming match against Swansea is actually the bigger game. Whether he'd have said that if they hadn't failed so dramatically first time around against the Germans is another matter, however the fact remains he clearly had one eye on the Swansea match as he rotated his squad heavily for the second leg of the Champions League game with a view to keeping players fresh for their trip to South Wales. One thing to note is that in 2013 Bayern had only conceded four goals in ten matches prior to the Gunners' arrival, so a 2-0 win, only losing on away goals, was impressive from an Arsenal team which has been heavily criticised of late.. 

Arsene Wenger “Swansea is a massive game this weekend and qualifying for the Champions League is massive. We want to be in there and I don’t envisage anything else. That’s why it was so difficult for us to lose at Tottenham.  

“It means more because it was Tottenham, but it was the impact for us in the league which was the worry for me. Every player wants to play in the Champions League. You want to play at the top level and the Champions League is the top.”

If Arsenal fail to secure Champions League football for next season then the growing unease within the Arsenal camp will surely rise to previously unseen levels. The constant departure of the club's best players cannot be ignored if the players brought in to replace them fail to at least maintain the standard of the squad. In recent years Song, Fabregas, Van Persie, Flamini, Ashley Cole *shudder*, Thierry Henry and Samir Nasri have all moved on, and other than the emergence of Song, and Van Persie's breakthough [read: managed to stay fit] season, the players that have been brought in to replace them haven't improved the squad. Fans must hope that with Walcott starting to look a very decent finisher, and Jack Wilshire clearly an outstanding talent, a few good signings and Arsenal will once again have a squad capable of challenging for major honours.

One Swans player clearly not in awe of the current Arsenal squad is keeper Michel Vorm. Whether Vorm thought he'd try a bit of the old mind games is up for debate, however I don't really like players coming out with this stuff before matches. Why bother? There's massive potential for egg on your face and in my opinion it's completely unnecessary. Every team in the Premier League now knows that Swansea are, on their day, capable of competing with anyone and Swansea's performances against Arsenal, in particular, emphasise that point.

Michel Vorm: “A lot of teams are fighting for those top four places – but I don’t think Arsenal are going to make it this time around. They don’t like to play against us because they know what we are capable of. If we play to our best we can beat anybody. 

“Arsenal is a game that suits us as we aren’t afraid of anybody. It’s more that they are afraid of us because they know how well we can play. And they also know they can’t lose games now as there are a lot of good teams around them.”

Now, I know Vorm was probably baited by a journalist in order to get that quote ["Are Swansea afraid of Arsenal?"] however with the media the way it is they were always going to have a field day with that. Just give it the old "They're a good team, we'll treat this game like any other" and get back to the training field!

Michu wants to find the Loch Ness Monster!

Really. 

“I want to visit Scotland. I want to be the one to find the Loch Ness Monster. I can do it.” 

“I have no time at the moment - but I want to know Wales and Manchester and London. And Loch Ness.”  Michu

As long as he keeps banging goals in, he can do whatever he wants...

Swans trio called up to Wales squad

Ben Davies, Ashley Williams and Jazz Richards have been called up to the Wales squad, and all will have been fairly automatic choices for Chris Coleman's side, having performed superbly over the last couple of weeks. Hopefully Jazz will get a game, as he's been doing well for Crystal Palace whilst on loan (see my report on his loan so far here) and it'll add further confidence to a player who could be useful for the Swans in the future. Ash recovered almost immediately from a couple of errors in his very first few games and has gone on to have an outstanding season, receiving praise from all quarters to the extent where he's now being linked with Arsenal and Liverpool. It seems like he wants to stay, so here's hoping. 

Ben Davies has been the surprise package this season and he goes from strength to strength. Still only nineteen, Davies has adapted remarkably well to life in the Premier League and (until Neil Taylor is fit at least) he can surely consider himself Wales' first choice left back. Quite a debut season, and it's not over yet. Good luck to all the Wales players involved in the upcoming World Cup Qualifiers against Scotland and Croatia, but more importantly just don't get injured!