Monk: "Michu great but it's teamwork that'll keep us up"

Swansea boss glad to reintroduce Spaniard, but acknowledges team effort is required to halt slide

There are various theories as to why we've fallen apart in the second half of the last two league games. I think against Palace there's only so much analysis to be done as we were at the tail end of a crazy run of games, but against WBA the manner in which we surrendered control of the game was alarming. 

Jon Trew did a very interesting piece yesterday (link) where he suggested that in order to regain possession the Swans should actually have dropped deeper, and opened the pitch up. In the first half, Ash spent a large amount of time in the deepest section of the pitch, but in the second half he was active much further forward. It was then pointed out on Twitter that after Michu came on for Jose Canas Ash didn't spend ANY time in the deepest section of the pitch for the remainder of the match. 

I'm not saying Michu was at fault - he's clearly not going to be match fit and it was the way the whole team was trying to operate. We lost our cohesion in midfield and our pass completion dropped ten percent compared to the first half - a dramatic dropoff and must unlike what we've come to expect from the Swans.

Given his prolonged absence, it's understandable that a large section of the support are hoping Michu can fire us to safety now that he's back in contention for a place in the lineup, but Garry Monk is a bit more pragmatic about things:

"A few of the other boys have been chipping in with goals while Michu has been out, and of course that has to continue. If he can come in and add his quality and get a few goals then great, but it's a team effort. 

"They were difficult circumstances — ideally it would have been nice to bring him on in a better situation. Maybe if we'd been controlling the game, Michu could have had more of an influence, but it's great to see him back fit and those minutes on the pitch will help him."  

http://www.southwales-eveningpost.co.uk/Swansea-City-expect-Michu-says-Garry-Monk/story-20822351-detail/story.html#ixzz2wIu4LRom

It's totally understandable why Monk brought Michu on against the Baggies. With the Swans suffering from extreme opposition pressure, bringing Pablo on for Jose would have been a ballsy move, given West Brom had been harrying our central midfield all game. Michu offers a much more physical threat, but sadly he wasn't able to affect proceedings that greatly.

The problem we face now is that Bony & Michu haven't actually played together on the field that much. Bony was introduced slowly after missing a large portion of pre-season, and by the time he was regularly included Michu had succumbed to injury. I don't think we've got time for them to build a partnership, as using both in the starting eleven would drastically alter the dynamic of a typical Swansea team.

I think given Bony has shown over the last few months he's more than capable of leading the line for us, for now Michu should still be reintroduced slowly. I think since Monk's come in one of the big positives is how much more of the pitch we're using, and by replacing Bony with Michu - or even putting Michu behind the Ivorian - I think it would result in our possession game being played more towards our own goal. With Bony (despite a couple of iffy performances) being able to hold up possession that much further up the field it stretches the game in Swansea's favour, and that gives our midfielders room to run into.

For now we should stick with three proper central midfielders and Bony up top, and if you're looking for an impact player off the bench to replace Bony I don't think you could do much better than Miguel Perez Cuesta. He could do with building up his match fitness slowly (much has recently been made of shortened recovery periods leading to recurring injuries) and I think by taking Bony off on sixty-five/seventy minutes you could arguably get the best out of what both strikers can offer you at the moment.

Firstly, Bony can run that much harder knowing he doesn't have to make the full ninety minutes. Considering how much of a handful he is for centre-halves anyway, that really is an intriguing concept. Secondly, the same can be said of Michu - if he's only got a shorter time period to play then he can charge around like a bull in a china shop (I tried to think of a toreador pun for ages but sadly failed) and cause chaos in the ranks of tiring opposition defences.

This idea is probably going to be met with dismay from a large section of the support who'd favour Michu returning to the starting lineup as soon as he's physically up to it, but I do think we've looked a more balanced team in the last few months. Ok, results haven't improved but we're just a lucky break away from a good result. Against Palace & WBA Bony had chances which on any other day could well have gone in, and those goals would probably have seen us pick up an extra five points - which would be absolutely massive right about now.

So, Michu super-sub then? For now, at least...

Birmingham 1 - 2 Swansea - The Wilfried Bony show!

Ivorian predator again shows his worth with two-goal rescue mission at St Andrews

Another rainy day, and by all accounts another outing which threatened to be another damp squib of an afternoon for Swansea fans. Thankfully, we seem able (for the time being at least) to rely on the goalscoring prowess of one Wilfried Bony, who's now got six in his last five games. Not bad for a player who "doesn't run enough".

It's been much commented that Ash had a bit of a tirade in the first half when he felt performance levels weren't good enough, apparently telling Alvaro (loudly) that they needed more from him, but Bony's introduction in the second half thankfully paved the way for two goals in two minutes, and all of a sudden we're in the next round of the FA Cup.

I think the less said the better about that match other than Bony's fantastic finishing, but I would like to give two players a mention. Firstly, Roland Lamah was involved in both of Bony's goals, but if you watch the first goal closely it appears to be Jordi Amat who took the ball on and drove at the defence. Given he's taken a somewhat reluctant bit of criticism for his midfield displays (with fans acknowledging it's not really his fault if he's not cut out for a midfield role), it was good to see him taking the ball on into a dangerous position, and retaining possession whilst creating an attacking opportunity which ultimately led to a goal.

I'll leave it at that for now, but keep your eyes peeled for a Fulham preview upcoming later today, and before that there'll be blogs looking at the latest transfer news as well as the all new Swansea City podcast - TheJackCast. Exciting times!

Wilfried Bony goes a long way in proving himself to doubters

Ivorian's two-goal haul should prove that given time, he can succeed at Swansea

 

Since his arrival at Swansea, there has been a noisy section of the Swansea support which seemed hell-bent on seeing Bony fail to live up to both his price-tag and his free-scoring reputation. "He doesn't run enough" they cried, "he doesn't get into goalscoring positions enough" they protested. Well, last night's performance should go a long way in refuting any of those statements, as he was outstanding from start to finish, and easily our best player on the day.

I can only remember him losing the ball in the first half once, when under pressure from multiple Man City defenders, and apart from that he was involved in everything good the Swans did. He went close with a long range drive,  and linked well with his midfielders, at one point flicking the ball on coyly which allowed De Guzman to be played through - though the Dutchman couldn't produce the finish the move deserved. His first goal was the result of a great ball in from De Guzman and Bony got between the centre-backs (and was lucky to not be flagged offside - even if it would have been marginal) before heading past a flat-footed Joe Hart.

The second half sadly saw Bony involved much less as Man City upped the ante. It was no surprise that without the ball making it's way to the figurehead of the Swans' attack, we looked massively less likely to break through the opposition defence - but we must remember the calibre of the opposition we were facing. Having said that, I can only remember Bony getting two opportunities in the second half - and both times he found the target. The first was a snapshot which forced a save from Joe Hart and the second was an absolutely fantastic hit which swerved away from Hart and into the bottom corner. A great finish, and hopefully that's got the camel off his back.

Personally (as any regular readers of the blog will know all too well), I believe Bony will come very good. He's now got six goals in nine starts (plus a further six sub appearances) in the league, which really isn't that bad. I know he cost £12million, and that's a grotesque figure considering where we've come from in the last ten years, but he should be judged on performances - not his price tag. We signed him for the player he is - not because of how much he was valued at.

Anyway, I'm in Thailand and it's too damn warm to keep typing - I'm off for a beer. I'll endeavour to keep the site updated but given internet access issues it's unlikely I'll be able to blog much before heading home on the 15th. Expect an inundation of blogs when I get back as no doubt there'll be plenty to discuss.

Is Wilfried Bony the biggest bargain in the PL so far this season?

In terms of strikers, anyway...

A little while ago I did an article looking at Bony's stats, and how they compared to other striker's in the Premier League (read it here: link), and after a bit more pondering - plus seeing a bit more of other team's star acquisitions, I'm starting to wonder whether he's proving to be the most effective big-money centre forward signing of the summer. Drawing on a transfers list I found on the official PL website (link), I thought it would be interesting to compare how the £12million recruit from Vitesse stands up when his goal return is put alongside other Premiership strikers acquired this past summer.

I could ramble on about it, or I could just stick a load of stats in a spreadsheet. The latter seemed likely to involve less thinking, so I did just that. All statistics are courtesy of www.whoscored.com.

Two things strike me straight off the bat when looking at those statistics. Firstly, you get what you pay for and secondly, you can spot a team's playing style fairly clearly. Long ball merchants - low pass completion. Short passes to feet, high pass completion. When looking through players for fantasy football (join The Swansea Way league here) I noticed Steven Fletcher had the lowest pass completion of any outfield player to have played a significant amount of games (fifty something percent), but I still think he's class, so whether you can read too much into a striker's pass completion I don't know. It could perhaps be seen as more of a reflection of a team's playing style than anything else, but I do think that if Bony, for example, was underperforming it'd show up more, and that his pass completion would be significantly lower.

I'll keep this short and sweet. It's no secret I'm a massive fan of Wilfried Bony, and it's now starting to look like this season could be more of a case of him bedding in and getting up to speed with the league and the level of fitness expected of a Premier League centre forward. In the meantime, his goal tally more than stands up against any of this summer's big money signings, and he's only recently got a decent run in the team in front of three proper central midfielders.

Whether he'll feature against Norwich is doubtful given his exertions in the Europa League, and with Michu rested it's likely the Spaniard will lead the line. Having two players capable of bagging themselves ten plus goals a season will always, always see you a long way to securing another season's Premier League football, and over the last few weeks I'm sure I've noticed a thawing of previously frosty opinions of the Ivorian on Twitter in particular.

With plenty of games left to play, who knows how many goals our two forwards will bag themselves. How many do you think Bony and Michu will score? Get involved in the comment section below or tweet  @TheSwanseaWay!

Bony has 10 in 13 starts, but how does he compare to other PL strikers?

Fans have been slow to warm to the iron-thighed Ivorian, can his stats help win people over?

First off (as any regular readers of the blog will know) I'm a massive fan of Wilfried Bony. For me, ten goals in thirteen starts is more than enough to warrant any striker retaining his spot in the team, but as I say it'd be interesting to see how "similar" players stack up statistically.

Bony has 4 Premier League goals in ten PL appearances (although he's only started five times). That gives him 533 minutes on the field of play, which works out to 133.25 minutes per goal. In all competitions his rate actually gets even better, with ten goals in eighteen appearances (thirteen starts) at a rate of a goal every 118.1 minutes. Not bad for a player some have accused of...well...just about everything negative you can shout at someone you're supposed to be supporting.

When compared with other strikers (and you include assists in the build up to goals), Bony is involved in a goal every 106.4 minutes (17th best in the league) - and honestly, the players with better figures than that are unsurprising in their stature. Directly above him are Giroud, Negredo, Lukaku & Sturridge, while the list is topped by others such as Podolski, the Ox, Suarez & Aguero. If you filter out players who've made minimal appearances (Podolski, Lamela, Oxlade-Chamberlain and, remarkably, Pablo), Wilfried Bony rises to 13th best in the PL. Not bad considering the competition, and the amount of stick he's been receiving.

Furthermore, Bony is dispossessed on average once a game, and gives it up through poor control on average twice per ninety minutes. When compared with Sturridge (2.9 & 2.5), Suarez (2.3 & 2.8) and Aguero (2.8 & 2.6), it really isn't that bad, and fans should get off his back if he attempts a flick which doesn't come off. He's got the ability, but if he's berated any time he tries anything other than to retain possession with a five yard pass he's unlikely to score many goals, such will be his reluctance to actually try to create something.

Ok, so I've plucked some random stats out and if I really wanted to make an argument for Bony to improve based on numbers I could probably have done so, however his statistics back up what I've been saying for a while - he's doing alright. Once properly "Premier League fit" and bedded into the side, he will score lots of goals. My main concern is he will get fed up of the vocal minority who clearly don't understand his game, and sling his hook in the summer - my gut instinct tells me that next season will be his break out season and I for one want him to spend it in SA1.

Wilfried Bony - understated, underrated and under-appreciated. I quite like that...

The reason fans will take time to warm to Wilfried Bony

Most fans, myself included, simply don't know what to expect from a top-level striker over ninety minutes

So far this season, there has been a vocal minority (what other type of minority is there?) who have felt it prudent to lay into Wilfried Bony both during matches and at any other juncture they can get their point heard. What good people expect to achieve by screaming obscenities at him while he's trying to score goals for us I don't know, but it's still happening. Even after he scored twice against Stoke, some fans were still reportedly giving him grief, and that to me is simply mind-boggling.

I've been thinking for a while that maybe there's an underlying reason he's coming in for stick. The only other striker who has received this level of criticism from Swansea fans in recent times was Jason Scotland, and let's be honest, he did well for us. Frustrations about him "not running around enough" were in my eyes laughable, and similar accusations are now being levelled at Bony.

Here's my thinking. I'm 27, and spent my formative years watching the Swans battle it out at various levels of lower league football - however we spent most of the time playing poor football with little quality up front. Let's have a look at some of the strikers I grew up watching. Steve Torpey, Aiden Newhouse, Tony Bird, Walter Boyd, Tommy Mutton, John Williams, Steve Watkin, Mamady Sidibe, Kevin Nugent... the list goes on, but it goes on without really inspiring. Giovanni Savarese was a cut above the rest, and Lee Trundle was obviously...Lee Trundle, but if we're being honest apart from those two none of the strikers in the list above were particularly likely to wow fans with their goalscoring exploits, much less put on a masterful display of centre-forwardery. 

We can look back further. Since the Swans fall from grace in the early eighties, it's likely to have been much of the same. I can't speak from experience as I wasn't alive/in a position to witness many of these seasons, however it seems unlikely we had a top-level striker plying his trade in the number 9 or 10 shirt. This all leads me to the conclusion that for a good twenty years (or thereabouts), fans will have been used to watching their strikers spend more time chasing lost causes into the corner than pulling a rabbit out of a hat and stuffing one in from 30 yards.

This is exemplified by the criticisms of Bony and Scotland before him. "Run around more", "get into him", "move about some more" - these are all things I regularly hear shouted from the stands but I disagree completely. I've stated my tactical reasoning before - we have one striker and if he did spend 90 minutes chasing shadows we wouldn't have a focal point to build off when we do regain possession. I'm pretty sure we didn't spend £12million on a striker only for him to "run around a lot".

My point is though that, myself included, it's unlikely many Swansea fans know what a top level striker looks like in the flesh for ninety minutes. Do they charge around like a bull in a china shop for the entirety of every match? No doubt some do, but I'd wager more operate like Bony - cerebral, and capable of doing nothing for large swathes of the game before popping up with some important goals.

I don't know what Robin Van Persie does for ninety minutes. I never saw Ruud Van Nistelrooy in the flesh. I've no idea what fat Ronaldo used to for most of the match, but I'd wager all had a habit of simply biding their time before their opportunity arose. By playing in this manner, it also allows them to retain extra energy to deploy as and when needed. No point shooting your load too early. Ahem. 

Let's have a look at Bony's stats. He's started thirteen games and come off the bench five times, and he now has ten goals. Not bad eh? When you take into consideration that, in the Premier League, he's now got a goal every 133 minutes (8th best of any player) it appears criticism has been unfounded. He's clearly still gaining a degree of match fitness, and is still adjusting to his new team, but his performances so far give reason for us to believe we could have signed an absolute gem. Don't forget he missed most of our pre-season too - AND had to adjust from what is a bit of a joke league to arguably the best league in the world. For him to have racked up this many goals (albeit, four of his ten have come in the Europa League) deserves credit in my opinion - not abuse from the stands.

Much like Wilfried Bony is adapting to a new style of playing, we as fans are still adapting to top level football. It's not our fault if we're not used to seeing an actual quality centre-forward - but the least we can do is give him the time he needs to succeed.

Improvement needed, but lay off the histrionics

Swansea need to improve, but we're still better than a good few teams in the Premiership

Over the last few weeks I've commented on an increasingly frustrating level of performance from the Swans. We know that the players who now pull on the coveted white shirt are capable of putting on spectacular displays of football, however so far this season we've flattered to deceive and I feel the 4-0 victory over Sunderland helped mask the underlying issue. 

We're simply not operating anywhere near the limits of our abilities. To me, we've been playing at around 60%, and of late it's almost started to resemble the football we were playing under Paolo Sousa, such is the lack of invention in the final third of the field. With the players we have at our disposal it's clearly not a case of lacking quality, and I believe it's entirely down to team selection.

This summer we signed Wilfried Bony for £12million. We also retained Michu, who'd been heavily linked with a move away from the Swans, and given his performances last season it would take a brave, brave man to bench him in favour of anyone - no matter if they were signed for a club record fee which doubled the previous figure. So it's been that Michu is, in my eyes, still regarded as the focal point of our attack, and I feel that's largely the reason we've been misfiring so far this season. I've likened trying to fit Bony & Michu into the team at the same time to trying to fit two round pegs into one square hole. Frustrating.

Towards the tail end of last season - in fact, since we won the Capital One Cup, we haven't played anywhere near as well as we did in the first half of last season. Thankfully, we'd managed to rack up a healthy points total which saw us retain a top-half finish, and despite some committed performances which gained decent results early on this season we still haven't reached the heights I, and most fans, feel we're capable of.

The main issue I see is we're drifting away from the team-focused football which has stood us in such good stead for such a long time now. I'm a massive fan of Laudrup and not for a minute do I want to see anyone else in charge in SA1, however I'm starting to feel his tactics seem more suited to Manchester United than Swansea City. It seems he expects his players to be able to replicate the individual feats of brilliance he himself was (and still is) capable of, which is all well and good. It's important though that these flicks, tricks and more come on top of our structured passing game - not instead of it.

Ok, we still retain possession at will. There's no doubting that, and we're adept at swinging the ball from left to right to evade opposition clutches, however the intricate passing which previously saw us undoing opposition defences simply isn't there, and I can't remember any of our midfielders presenting Wilfried Bony OR Michu with a clear-cut chance which it would then be up to them to mess up. Strikers at other clubs with far inferior players are given much better service, and it's something we need to improve on. 

With Michu at attacking midfield, the issue is exacerbated. The Swansea way is based on having three midfielders who can pass their way through any opposition midfield and while the players we're selecting in the three central positions are no doubt capable of that style of play Michu's natural game is to wander all over the park, which then leaves the other two midfielders short of an option to relieve pressure with a forward pass. Instead, we go backwards and sideways every time, and we're not able to build play in close enough proximity to our centre-forward to be able to provide him with any kind of meaningful service.

With Michu having picked up an injury against Cardiff, it seems we may finally see three "specialised" central midfielders playing behind a traditional centre-forward. I've argued for a long time that doing just that will bring a balance to the team which allows every player to play his natural game, and see a swift return to attractive, penetrative football - if not winning ways. Who knows, maybe we'll even see Leon & Jose Canas line up alongside each other.

For me, the problem is deeper-rooted than results. We need to start playing the Swansea way again, because as soon as we do, we'll start taking teams apart. If we were managing to outplay "Champions League level" midfields with Mark Gower, Leon Britton & Joey Allen in the middle, we should damn sure be able to do it with Leon, Jose Canas & Jonathan De Guzman in their place, and you can interchange Jonjo Shelvey & Alex Pozuelo with any of those three in my opinion. We have the players we need to succeed, it's just a case of figuring out which eleven players in which system is best suited to getting us results.

With Bony sure to get a few games up front without Michu behind him, this could be where Swansea's season turns around. Let's get back to what we know boys - pass, pass, and pass some more, and the rest will come. With Stoke visiting the Liberty in our next league fixture (after a cheeky Thursday-night jaunt to Russia for the Europa League), it's the perfect opportunity to put this theory to the test.

Come on boys, you're better than you've shown of late. Show everyone what you can do.

Wilfried Bony splits fanbase much like Jason Scotland did...

With a growing number of fans appearing unhappy with the performance levels of our record signing, just what is it they're complaining about?

There's a reason I started this website. I grew sick and tired of reading the same arguments played out time and time again on all the other main websites/forums populated by the Jack Army, as all too often I found myself become both frustrated and involved in heated debates regarding certain Swansea players. Jason Scotland was a prime example of this. Despite scoring hatfuls of goals whenever he was selected, some people just couldn't get past the fact that he didn't spend ninety minutes chasing shadows and as such, he "clearly wasn't working hard enough".

Now, there's a very good reason an ideal Swansea City centre-forward doesn't spend ninety minutes chasing anything that moves. In case anyone hasn't noticed, we play with one striker. I know, shocking, right? For large swathes of last season it could also be argued we actually played without a recognised striker, given Michu's preference for a deeper role and his tendency to wander. 

When you operate in the manner the Swans do, it's vitally important we have an outlet who maintains a central position throughout the game. By doing this, he allows the team to rotate around him while constantly being available for a pass, and the team can stretch play to maximise the benefits of this style. The problem is it's been so long since we had a striker capable of playing this role (going back to Scotland, in fact) that I think we've forgotten how to get the most out of a quality lone striker, and what we're seeing is as much an adjustment from the team as it is an acclimatisation on Bony's part. If Bony was consistently hitting the corners, he wouldn't be in the middle to supply the finish. Simple.

Some of the comments on fans' forums are absolutely ludicrous. Were they even watching the game? Some were saying "Bony was isolated" in the first half - he was constantly surrounded by Michu, Routledge and got knows who else, and the effect was he had absolutely no space to operate in and plenty of opposition defenders nearby to close him down. Another said he "gets knocked off the ball too easily" - err...WHAT!? I'm sorry, you clearly haven't been watching the same games as me, as Bony looks to be the strongest player I've ever seen pull on the white shirt of Swansea City, and possibly the strongest player I've ever seen! Once he sticks his arse out, he's not losing the ball. End of.

Someone else coyly remarked that if Bony spent 90 minutes running around like Adrian Forbes, then fans would have taken to him instantly. Probably true, but would you rather have Forbesy or Bony up front for you in the Premier League? The guy scored a ridiculous amount of goals for Vitesse last season, Laudrup rates him enough to start him in the Premier League and we've spent £12million on him. What's the point of getting on his back this early in his Swans' career? Watch the Valencia highlights again and look at his flick in the buildup to one of the goals - it's an exquisite first touch and anyone who's accused him of lacking just that is wrong, in my opinion.

Don't forget, he's jumped to a higher league, and missed a large part of our pre-season due to his late arrival. The official site published a statistical analysis of his performance against Sunderland which confirmed what I thought - pretty much every ball that was played into him stuck, and that's such a novel thing to be able to say about a Swansea City centre-forward after a few years of, if we're being honest, makeweights. I was as big a fan of Danny Graham as anyone else, but Bony is a difference class of striker. 

We have seen far from the best of Wilfried Bony, but he's still our top scorer. Give him time, and he will reward us with goal, after goal, after goal. Of that I'm sure. 

Vorm: "Bony is a monster - he shoots so hard, it's not normal!"

Dutch 'keeper reveals he doesn't relish trying to stop the Ivorian frontman's efforts in training

With record signing Wilfried Bony still acclimatising to South Wales, some fans have started to get a little frustrated by a perceived lack of effort, but, as most people would agree, he's already shown enough for us to believe he has the potential to be a very good player for Swansea City indeed. 

Speaking to Dutch paper De Telegraaf, 'keeper Michel Vorm gave his new team-mate a massive vote of confidence:

"In the dressing room you see just what a monster he is. Physically he is bizarrely strong. He can really scare you senseless. He is still not playing as much as he would like, but he has already scored six times. In training you see he is a real goal machine but he goes about his business very quietly, and he shoots so hard, it's not normal. 

"When I think about Robin [Van Persie] I always think about ballet. Everything he does is so graceful. Bony is a very different player, a powerful African, but also has good technique. 

"If he plays every week he will score 15 or 20 goals. I'm 100 per cent sure of it." Michel Vorm  (Link)

Well, if he was talking to me it would very much be a case of preaching to the choir, but I hope this helps some fans who have been having difficulty warming to big Wilf. So far his game-time in the league has been extremely limited, but personally I've been quite impressed. I think he's going to go on to do amazing things for us, and I expect him to start hitting the back of the net soon. I'm expecting a big performance one of these days, where everyone sits up and realises we've acquired a player of real quality. 

I'd previously called Bony "A bull with ballerina's feet", and while Vorm didn't quite echo that sentiment he clearly rates his team-mate. Seeing as he's in charge of stopping the guy in training, he'd know. 

Swansea thrash Yeovil 5-0, Dyer to sign new contract & Swans waiting on Bony work permit

The Swans come out on top at Huish Park

I have to say I'm liking this new technologically-savvy approach from the Swans; all summer we've had lots of videos from the tour to Holland and they've been pretty good at uploading the highlights of the friendlies within a day or so of the game taking place. Quicker than we're used to from SwansPlayer...

Wow. Rory Donnelly! While his goal was easily the pick of the bunch, you can understand why numerous people have stated Pablo was the standout performer - his through ball for Michu's goal was top class, and he combined with his team-mates brilliantly throughout the match. I'm expecting big things from Pablo this season, and at present I've no reason to think I'll be disappointed come May.

Yeovil manager Gary Johnson was effusive in his praise for the Swans after the match, repeatedly stating how the South Walians are "world-class" which, considering we were operating at the same level as Yeovil only a few short years ago should help gauge how far we've come in such a short space of time.

Dyer close to agreeing new contract

A few weeks ago I was talking Swansea with a mate, and we realised Nathan Dyer's contract was due to expire at the end of the season (remarkably the only first team player of which that can be said). Given how other players had been tied down before it got to this stage, we started to worry whether there was something going on which we weren't privy to; however any such ideas have been firmly dispelled by Huw's announcement that a new contract is in the final stages of negotiation.

"Nathan is in the last year of his contract, but we are well on the way to sorting that situation out with Nathan's agent." Huw speaking to the Evening Post

Nathan Dyer. Great selection of hats.

While Dyer's end product isn't perhaps as good as Routledge or Hernandez's, the efforts he's made to improve this aspect of his game can't be ignored. When he first signed for the Swans the Jack Army quickly got used to closing their eyes whenever Nath was bearing down on goal, such were his finishing capabilities; indeed stories abounded of fans going to the open training sessions and coming away bemused at his inability to get shots on target. Not any more, though. It's obvious Dyer has put hour after hour in on the training ground, and seeing him place finishes past the keeper in the Premier League is truly a sight that makes my heart glow with pride; not only is it a goal for the Swans but it's a triumph of hard work and dedication.

Hopefully this will be tied up soon and we'll be seeing Nathan Dyer in a Swansea shirt for years to come yet. He seems to like it here, and if the Swans progress any further he must surely be in with a shout at representing England, given he's still (amazingly) only 25. Don't forget, he's also British which, at the moment, is an attribute we drastically need our players to possess given regulations surrounding "homegrown players". I for one am more than pleased Dyer is looking to sign back on; he's been an excellent servant so far and let's hope he can kick on again and go on to write his name firmly into the annals of Swansea history.

Bony still training with Vitesse as he awaits work-permit decision

This is the rather disappointing news that club-record signing Wilfried Bony is still in Holland pending a green light from the powers that be. You'd hope this is nothing more than a frustrating formality, but the sooner he can make his way to SA1 the better - especially with the weather like this! If we're to sell Swansea as a location, it seriously, seriously helps when the sun is shining; Laudrup remarked in a video from training that last July was "horrible, just horrible...rain, rain and more rain", and the prospect of spending a good few years in South Wales must surely gain a touch of gloss when you're shown the beaches of the Gower. A touch of the Toshack, as it were.

Laudrup is clearly looking forward to the Ivorian international arriving:

"The club are still working on Wilfried's work permit. He's still in Holland and we gave him permission to train with Vitesse because otherwise it would be too many days without doing anything. It's something we have to cope with as he is a player from outside the European Union. 

"He hasn't been to Swansea yet, but I hope he will be here next week. I heard from the club and they hope it will be during this week. It would be nice to have him back for training on Thursday. It's best to have the player here. Now we've signed him it's not so good if he is only in Holland. We want him here." Michael Laudrup

You're not alone, Michael... 

Bony officially signs!

Ivorian ace finally pens 4-year deal, while the Swans are reported to be talking to Esteban Granero & Wakaso Mubarak

Well it's finally official! The club's website has been in overdrive the last few days; posting updates of the tour and interviews with new signings, so it's understandable that it took over 24 hours after photos emerged of Bony in Swans attire for his signature to be announced on the club website. This is likely due to the fact that the deal was originally agreed verbally, so no doubt the club were erring on the side of caution in regards to announcing a club-record-breaking transfer.

One thing to note is that whilst playing for Sparta Prague, Bony finished top scorer of the Europa League - bagging nine goals in the process, and having another crack at European competition is clearly something which he's looking forward to;

"This move has been talked about for quite some time, so I am delighted it is all completed. Now it is important that I focus my mind on the challenge ahead because I hope to make the Swansea fans very happy.

“I watched Swansea a lot last season on TV. They have some good players and I like the way they play. I appreciate the style, which is similar to the Dutch way, and I think being at Swansea will help me develop as a player.

“I believe it’s the right step for me; the perfect move. I had a lot of offers from all across the world, including England, France, Ukraine, Russia and the UAE, but I chose Swansea because it is a good club with a corresponding style, a great manager and, of course, playing in the Premier League.

"I considered everything and Swansea came out on top. I had my best season last year at Vitesse with 36 goals in all competitions. It is going to be tougher in the Premier League to score goals, but I will try my best. Everything is possible.

"Now it is important that I focus my mind on the challenge ahead because I hope to make the Swansea fans very happy. The Europa League is my first focus - I enjoy playing in Europe and I'm used to it.

"I am looking forward to joining the training camp out here in Holland as a Swansea player and building up good communications with the team and coaching staff as quickly as possible." Wilfried Bony

Bony seems a powerful finisher very much in the mould of Didier Drogba, and that's a type of player we've been sadly missing in recent times. Michu did his best to address that problem, but he clearly didn't enjoy being battered by, normally, a pair of burly centre-backs and much prefers making late runs into the box - it's high time the Swans had a player capable of retaining possession up front, because to be honest since the departure of Jason Scotland we haven't really had a striker capable of both building play, and scoring lots of goals.

Here's something to whet your appetite...

Swansea in talks over Esteban Granero

This has been rumoured for quite a while, and it seems there's now something to this. His agent has been quoted by Skysports as saying Swansea is an "acceptable destination" for his client:

"The two clubs are talking about a transfer, it's true. Michael Laudrup knows him very well from their time at Getafe, where together they had a great UEFA Cup campaign.

"Swansea are also looking at many Spanish players and play in Europe next year, [so] the destination would be absolutely acceptable to Esteban."

In true impartial style, Skysports neglected to include the bit at the end where the agent said "...but his preferred destination is Italy" - but let's be honest why would you let some words affect a potential rumour?
Personally I think we're loaded up on midfielders now, and if he comes in surely someone else may be departing? Ki seemed out of favour at times last season, and I sincerely hope that he won't be a casualty of Laudrup "building a side in his own image".

Swans told to up their offer for Wakaso Mubarak

As mentioned a few days ago, it seems we're interested in bringing Espanyol winger Mubarak to the Liberty. While it seems we were originally offering a fee of around £3.5million, it looks like closer to £5million will now be required for the Swans to get their man. They didn't specify who it was who'd had a bid turned down, but it's widely believed to be Swansea City:

"We have received an offer from a European club but we will not sell on these terms." Espanyol director Jose Luis Morlanes

A full Ghanaian international, he's impressed for his country of late and has scored a few absolute screamers; notably this one: (I've linked it before but it deserves another watch - it's Villareal's third goal).

For less than £5million, if he can indeed compete at PL level that's a pretty decent bargain for an attacking winger. Let's be honest, I wouldn't spend that on Stewart Downing...

Swansea agree £12million deal for Wilfried Bony

The Swans smash their transfer record by verbally agreeing a deal which could reportedly rise by another million or two including add-ons

After what seems to have been an age it looks like we've finally got our man. We're still awaiting an announcement from either club regarding the move, however a picture of Bony with Huw has surfarced on Twitter:

Bony with Huw Jenkins and, I assume, Bony's representative

I'm sure that Huw, Laudrup and Bony himself will be keen to get on with things now, and with the Swans on tour in Holland it's worked out rather swimmingly. Hopefully he can join up with his new team-mates in the next 24 hours or so, but with the next friendly coming against NAC Breda tomorrow it's unlikely all the work permit gubbins will be tied up in time (although I have a feeling that wouldn't matter in a friendly?) for him to feature. A distinct possibility, however, is that he'll be available to line up against ADO Den Haag this coming Saturday, so we may not have to wait too long to see him in a Swansea shirt, as opposed to holding one...

Welcome to the club Wilfried! May your time here be goal-laden.

Swansea kick off their Dutch tour, while talk of Bony finalising a move intensifies

Swansea pick up wins in their first two friendlies as they look to get up to speed ahead of the new season

As suspected, I spent the entire weekend on the Brighton promenade, hawking the wares of my friend's clothing company, and as such I was unable to catch any of the sport. I didn't time that one too well to be honest, missing the Lions smashing Australia and Murray becoming the first British winner of Wimbledon in donkey's years, but in truth I spent more of my time wondering how the Swans had been getting on in Holland (and whether a certain striker had agreed terms). 

They kicked off their pre-season shenanigans with a match against FC Gravenzande - very much an amateur side and the Swans seemed to take their time about things, using the game to get up to speed and get their passing game going. The game was a bit of a dead rubber, but finished 2-0 to the Welsh side thanks to goals from Ki Sung-Yueng & Pablo Hernandez. The Spaniard was pleased to get off the mark so early on in pre-season:

"Considering it was our first game, we enjoyed good possession.It wasn't easy because we are not 100 per cent fit. It's always better to win, but more important for us now is the hard work we do to ensure we start next month 100 per cent fit and ready. 

"Obviously I am happy to score in the first game, but the goal is secondary to me. It's the work that comes first." Pablo Hernandez

The game saw the inclusion of many of the club's new signings, as did the second game - against Excelsior - who despite supposedly being a class above the Swans' previous Dutch opponents took a bit of a pasting 5-1, with the goals coming from Lamah, Donnelly, Pozuelo, Gorre & Dyer. Good to see some different names popping up on the score sheet, but notable for me was how much Ki seemed to be getting forward. Is it possible he's trying to make a point in pre-season? With attacking midfield options secured in Pozuelo & Shelvey, it's imperative he sticks his head above the parapet in the next few games if he's any hope of figuring in a more advanced mifield role this season.

Another player who's hoping to force his way into the first-team reckoning is Jazz Richards, who's spoken to the official site regarding his plans for the new season:

"I went on loan to gain experience and get some game-time so you can return and push for a spot in the team. Obviously Angel is going strong and doing very well, but I hope to be a part of things this season. I don't know if I will go out on loan again, but you never know what can happen during pre-season. 

"Just look at Ben [Davies]; he was among the best players we had in pre-season last year, and he went on to have a great season. When Tayls got injured, Ben went straight in because he had a great pre-season and was fit, sharp and ready. 

"That's what it is all about. You go into pre-season, get your fitness in and show the manager what you can do. Then it's up to the manager. So that's what I'm hoping to do." Jazz Richards

Personally I thought he did very well when he featured for us in the PL, and as a right-back I think he could have a good future at the club. With youth on his side, he's got plenty of time to add a bit of defensive savvy to his name, and with a decent first touch, good passing ability and a great engine he's a tidy player to have kicking around the squad. While it seems Tiendalli won't be retained (which is a shame as he was excellent for us) I think Jazz will seize this opportunity with both hands and we'll see more of him this year.

Swansea expected to finalise £13million deal for Wilfried Bony

It looks like it's finally happening. Fingers crossed, touch wood and all manner of other superstitious sayings are no doubt being rolled out across South Wales as Huw & co try to iron out the creases in what would be a record signing for the Swans, and a record fee received for Vitesse. The transfer is believed to be over £10million up front, with £13million being the top end fee if all add-on's come to fruition, and it's a real, real statement of intent from the Swansea board.

"Until it is signed we cannot speak about an agreement, but there are only a few details now. We want it done by lunchtime [Monday] or so. We have the last few details to sort with his representative, but that won't be a problem. 

"He will have his medical in Holland before joining up with the team." HuwaJenkins speaking to Dutch paper De Telegraaf

Quite a few people were sniping cynically for weeks and weeks about how the lack of ambition in the transfer market could cost the Swans dearly, however in pursuing Bony they've shown that (if they believe the player is right for the Swans) they have no problem spending money to get him. One thing that can't be said of other clubs too, is that as fans we know that if we're bidding £13million, it's because we can damn well afford it. How much remains in the Liberty coffers remains to be seen, but with around £20million spent (assuming the Bony deal goes through) hoping for further big-money signings may be futile.

Of all the strikers we've been linked with this summer, Wilfried Bony seems to be the one that excites the fans, and his goal return also far exceeds that of any of the others too. Stay tuned as it seems we could be hearing something imminently - but then again, we have been hearing that all weekend...

Bony transfer very much back on, and the Swans bid for Tom Ince

Huw reported to have met with Ivorian striker's representatives today

There's been a lot of talk that the Swans' chairman has today tried to iron out the finer details of a £10.2million transfer for Wilfried Bony, in what had started to look like the typical protracted Swansea transfer saga. Thankfully, it appears that won't now be the case, as if a bidding war had broken out you can bet your bottom dollar Huw would have got on the first plane home (if he allows himself the frivolity of air travel) and wouldn't dream of moving from what he felt was a fair price.

I get the feeling that all of the stories we've seen in the last two days regarding other strikers we may make moves for have been serving a purpose, and that purpose was to let Vitesse know we weren't going to stand around while they waited for a bigger offer from, say, Newcastle or Chelsea. The player himself has come out and said he wants to join the Swans, and with everything pointing to this being tied up soon we could well be seeing a new addition being unveiled very shortly. 

If this comes off, Huw will have played a blinder.

Tom Ince latest player to attraction the Swans' attention

Skysports are reporting that we're now involved in a battle for the signature of Tom Ince, who's currently playing for his father at Blackpool. That lends nicely to some mad quotes, the type of which you don't see that often:

"Cardiff have come in massively for Thomas and the chairman has accepted their offer, but Thomas loves it here and has told me he's in no rush to leave the club. 

"I think it's 50/50 at the moment. It's a tricky one for me. Ideally you want your son to be playing in the Premier League, but you also want him to be playing for you." Blackpool boss Paul Ince

I'd say the Swans must surely be a more attractive opposition than Cardiff, despite all the money that's been spend on Cardiff Bay over the last decade, and if we match their offer you'd be fairly confident that (if Ince wants a transfer) we'd get the man. The Independent seem to think between Ince and Bony we'll be spending £20million, so the fee for a player who last year set the Championship alight could well be more than the £8million which was reported as the going rate a few weeks ago.

I for one was a little disappointed we weren't going after Ince earlier in the summer, as I felt he was one of, if not the outstanding player in the Championship last season - and what's more one who's ideally suited to playing for the Swans. Fast, tricky and eager to break the line, he'd rejuvenate a forward line that seemed to lack a spark towards the end of last season, and with the possibility of Bony charging around the place too we could well see a vastly changed Swansea attacking unit. Ince, Routledge, Hernandez, Bony, Michu, anyone? Yes please!

Swansea hoping to learn more on Bony this weekend

Dutch media reporting Huw is getting tired of waiting for Vitesse to come back to us

The latest twist in the will-he-won't-he transfer saga that's currently surrounding Wilfried Bony is that Huw Jenkins is hoping to hear back from his Dutch counterparts before the weekend is over. It seems likely that Vitesse are now stalling in the hope of a bidding war emerging - if that does happen you feel that would almost certainly end the Swans' interest in the striker, given the lofty fee already being proposed.

You can hardly blame them for hanging on in the hope of maximising the deal, however when the player himself wants to come to Swansea then you can only stand in the way so long. For his part, the Ivorian is clearly keen to play his football in South Wales:

'The clubs are now talking to each other, Swansea has made Vitesse a bid and I hope it's good,' 

'Swansea is a wonderful club. It's my chance to play in the Premier League and they also play attractive football. 

'I understood from my agent that Swansea want to pay €12 million [£10.2m] for me and that is what Vitesse want to receive, so I hope there is some good news soon.' Wilfried Bony

Despite Swansea director John Van Zweden claiming that the club and the player were "way apart when it comes to agreeing on wages", it seems that Huw himself is still confident of agreeing a deal, even if the latest news from Holland seems to be he's growing tired of waiting for a response. Bearing in mind that has been translated using Google (sadly, Dutch isn't a language I'm fluent in), here's what Huw had to say on the matter:

"We have not the slightest progress. We've offered twelve million offered, plus on top of that different bonuses, but we are still waiting for a response from Vitesse. Hopefully they let us know something in the weekend"

So, if these latest quotes are to believed the fee is around 12million Euros plus, probably, add-ons in the form of sell-on clauses. This really is big money now! My gut instinct is that Bony himself won't be the problem - and that's also backed up by Huw (again, apologies for the translation):

"That is absolute nonsense. First, the clubs are out, then we talk only with the player on his salary. I can not imagine that this is going to be a problem.

"His style of football fits perfectly into our system. Bony is physically strong and very smart. He also has the right age and may continue to evolve. Finally - his character would fit well at Swansea. Bony really wants to come to our club."       Huw Jenkins

That's all rather encouraging, eh? Still a case of wait and see, but it seems we'll know something before the end of the weekend. If we don't, it could well be back to the drawing board as we search for a striker to relieve Michu of his goalscoring burden.

The Swans sign Jordi Amat, but there's still no agreement regarding Wilfried Bony

Skysports are also reporting we're close to agreeing terms with 17 year old Slovenian 'keeper Gregor Zabret

Coming as it did at a time when all the talk was of Wilfried Bony's much reported transfer to the Swans, Jordi Amat could be forgiven for feeling like the announcement of signature was somewhat underwhelming. Perhaps a better indication of the potential bargain the Swans have picked up is that his name was still trending on Twitter long into today. Whether that indicates a lot of people were talking about him or that it was a slow news days day we can't say.

If you'd like to read a bit more on Jordi Amat, I put together a profile HERE with a load of stats for your perusal. Something which is a lot easier to digest though is this; his only goal of the season last year.

While we can hardly expect him to do that kind of thing with any regularity, his stats suggest he's got an eye for a pass and can rival Ash when it comes to pinging one out to the wingers - that'll give us greater threat on the counter-attack and won't go unnoticed by the Swansea coaching staff.

Swansea close to signing Gregor Zabret

According to Skysports, the young Slovenian spent time with the Swans in January and is going to be finalising a deal over the weekend, before joining up with the club's pre-season tour of Holland. Honestly? I've never heard of the guy and there's scant information online, but I'll have a look at some point to see if I can dig up any information online. It seems he's highly rated, and he's already made quite a few appearances in the first team for NK Domzale, who finished third in the Slovenian league last year, so hopefully in time he'll turn out to be a useful addition to the squad.

No news regarding Bony move

The latest on this is likely to come down to whether you believe what you read on Twitter or not. Some sources are claiming he's asked for £80kpw in wages, which I struggle to believe, but Swans director John Van Zweden has been quoted in the Dutch press as saying the club and the player are "way apart" in terms of agreeing a deal at the moment. 

Hopefully they'll agree something, because with all the fanfare now surrounding this move it would be a real shame to miss out - and it's also possibly something which could leave fans panicking that the club will be short a striker come the beginning of the season. It's not panic stations just yet, but everyone knows the Swans need a frontman and if it comes down to the wire they may well find that clubs stick an extra few million on any proposed fee. 

Which probably means we won't end up signing anyone, thinking about it...

Wilfried Bony set to sign for the Swans! (According to his agent)

Club are still yet to confirm deal, but agent claims a 12million Euro deal has been agreed

Wow. If this is true, I did not see this coming. Speaking to De Gelderlander, Bony's agent Francis Kacou has stated that Bony has agreed terms with the Swans, and will swap Holland for South Wales imminently.

I won't be the only person who is borderline flabbergasted that the Swans have stretched to a fee of this size, but if we're doing it you can guarantee it's because we can afford it. Heady times indeed. Here's a video of Bony in action last season, where he scored 31 goals in 30 games for Vitesse, finishing top scorer in the Eredivisie:

Seems the real deal eh? Hopefully we're getting a player who'll replicate the exploits of Ruud Van Nistelrooy as opposed to Alfonso Alves, but with a goals to game ratio exceeding that of any player I've come across in Europe this year I'm pretty confident we've signed a real star in Bony.

Since I posted this article, Vitesse have claimed that no agreement has been reached, but Wilfried Bony himself has broken his silence on the matter:

"The clubs are now talking to each other, Swansea has made Vitesse a bid and I hope it's good. Swansea is a wonderful club. It's my chance to play in the Premier League and they also play attractive football.

"I understood from my agent that Swansea want to pay €12 million for me and that is what Vitesse want to receive, so I hope there is some good news soon." Wilfried Bony

Well, that's encouraging isn't it? Hopefully it now won't be too long until we announce his signature...