"Swansea can win the Europa League"

Malmo captain Jiloan Hamad gives Swans his backing

For a while now I've been wondering how long it was going to be before I saw someone touting us to win the Europa League. What I didn't expect, however, was that it would come from an opposition player - in the aftermath of our first match no less.

Malmo captain Jiloan Hamad

Now, it would be all too easy to write this off, and at best it is purely one player's opinion, but Hamad is someone I was very impressed with over the two legs, and who looks like a very tidy footballer indeed.

With Malmo's preference for passing football, their players can appreciate better than most what the Swans are trying to do/did to the Swedes over two legs, and while I'm very much taking this with a heap of salt it's still nice to hear an opposition player backing your team to do well:

“If they play at their top level they can go all the way. They are a really strong team. If Atletico Madrid can do it then so can Swansea. 

“I’m a winger so I look at their wide players and I like Dyer and Routledge. They are two fast wingers, while I also have to mention Michu. In fact, both of their strikers because Bony is so strong and they fit so good together. 

“You can see they have thought a lot about their transfers and they can do well.” Jiloan Hamad (Malmo Captain)

One player who has been quick to point out the Swans would do well to keep their feet on the ground is goalkeeper Gerhard Tremmel. The trusty German is developing a cult following amongst Swansea fans after some impressive performances last year, and he's been quick to point out he's got prior experience in this competition:

“I know a little about this competition. I was in it twice with Hertha Berlin, although I didn’t play and I played for Red Bull a few years ago, so I know it as I have travelled a lot to different places and you know that in this competition you can lose against any team. There is no team in it where you can say ‘right, we are going to beat them and go on.’  

Swansea goalkeeper Gerhard Tremmel

"You can lose to anyone, but you can also have some good experiences. With Red Bull, we drew twice with Juventus – 1-1 at home and then 0-0 in Turin where the final is this year. It will be in a different stadium now but it would be great to go back. It will be very difficult but hopefully we can go a long way in the competition – especially for me because it will mean more opportunities to play. 

“We talk about the final but to get anywhere close to that is a long, long way. If we get there the group stage lasts about three months and if you progress you are still only in the last 32 so we can see already there are a lot of games. It’s almost like a league; it will be 19 games. 

"That’s more than half a season. So, of course, I would hope that I could play in Europe, and although I don’t know what the gaffer’s plans are, there was a reason why I signed another contract here and that was because if we get to the group stage I think we will have around 32 games already by Christmas.  

"You simply cannot play all these games because then your battery will be off by the end of the season. You have to change players so that means you will definitely get your games and I hope to get as many as possible.

“In all fairness Malmo probably were not as big a threat as we thought they might be when the draw came out. When you looked at it, it was one of the hardest teams we could get at this stage but we kept them away from the goal, and you are always happy with a clean sheet and over the two legs I don’t think they had many shots on target. 

“I was not in the action much, but you have to concentrate and it’s still not easy. In these games, against organised teams in Europe, little mistakes can make a big difference, but I think our squad is very, very good this season compared to the last two seasons. There is a lot of competition which can only help us.”  Gerhard Tremmel

Some of those quotes are quite telling to me - Tremmel is clearly saying "I signed a contract because I expect to play in cup games". To rob him of that opportunity (there's been no reason to believe that would happen yet, I only say that as Vorm is still clearly regarded as no1) this season would be awfully harsh, given his reliable performances last year, and I think Gerhard is suffering in that he's simply a little bit too old to have any resale value. If we drop Vorm to the bench and make Tremmel no1, Vorm's value will drop massively. Reverse the equation and, with Tremmel approaching 35 years of age, it wouldn't make much difference given the slim possibility of attracting a fee for the German stopper.

As he also points out though, and quite rightly so, the Europa League final is a long, long way away. First up is a visit from Petrolul Ploiesti, the Romanian cup winners who travel to South Wales the Thursday after we commence our league campaign against the reigning champions. Despite Malmo generally being regarded as more of a challenging proposition than Petrolul, it's unlikely the goalkeepers will enjoy as easy a ride as they had against the Swedes in the last round. The Romanians have a young squad full of technically gifted players, and the Swans will have to be on top form to control the game from the off.

For now though, Manchester United are firmly in the foreground and all thoughts of Euro successes have to be put on the back burner. Six days to go...

Barcelona reportedly join race for Vorm signature

Catalan giants join list of rumoured suitors which already includes Liverpool & Arsenal

This is the rumour, circulated amongst the press (albeit on April 1st) that Barcelona are looking to add Michel Vorm to their squad in the coming transfer window. Barca stalwart Victor Valdes seems set to depart as he doesn't look likely to extend his contract, which would leave a massive void that the Catalans would have to fill post haste, and it seems that their radar bleeped when passing South Wales as they cast their net in search of a replacement.

It's long been mooted that Arsenal and Liverpool are both admirers of the Dutch international, and with an impressive debut PL season behind him it's no wonder. See for yourself:

Vorm joined from FC Utrecht as a relative unknown, but his star has soared higher and higher since moving to South Wales and he now finds himself coveted by some major players, and in all honesty I'd be tempted to cash in. For me, since succumbing to injury in the Man City game earlier in the season, Tremmel has been the better keeper. 

I know Vorm's has been nothing but excellent since arriving, and his deal was a bargain, but from what I've seen Gerhard has performed to a higher standard when called upon this year, and given he's not 35 until November (and his performances to date) I see no reason why he can't do a job for at least another year or two. One possible issue is Vorm's sell-on clause, which is rumoured to see Utrecht getting 30% of any transfer fee, but with figures of £7million plus being mentioned it would still see the Swans receive a tidy profit.

A quick look at the stats tells me Tremmel has kept 3 clean sheets in 11 starts, and Vorm 5 in 20, but with Tremmel conceding 11 goals and Vorm conceding 29 there's clearly a difference there. Something I think I've noticed too is that with Tremmel behind them the back four seem more organised - the German stopper seems to have a calming influence on the Swansea defence which could possibly have made a difference against Spurs on Saturday. Another statistic plucked from the internet is that (when I asked Opta a few weeks ago) Tremmel had the best "saves to shots ratio" in the Premier League. Couple that with the fact that he's (on average) faced 14 shots per game, two more than his Dutch counterpart, and his statistics continue to impress. 

Now, I'm aware that you can prove anything with a statistic, however I feel this is more a case of backing up a point. His performances, I feel, have been evidently good, and the statistics merely serve to reinforce the point.

Another reason I wouldn't be displeased if Vorm were to be sold for a profit is that a few times now he's been in the press, essentially criticising the level of performance from his outfield team-mates. While there's nothing wrong with a bit of honesty from a player, when it's the goalkeeper it seems a little hard to swallow, unless the keeper is the undoubted star of the show. Last season, for example, I'd have had no qualms about it at all as Vorm was consistently excellent, however this season I don't feel that's been the case, so it seems a bit rich that he's come out with the following:

Vorm in action last year

“We are frustrated as you would be when you lose three in a row, especially when you then start as we did against Tottenham because you make it so hard for yourself. Against opposition like Spurs, or Arsenal, you have to be at it from the second the game starts and we weren’t. 

"When you do that, teams can kill you and that’s what happened. The frustration is there because maybe we could have done something but you have to be there from the start or you lose matches. We weren’t awake this time but it’s not us easing off – everybody knows the season isn’t over. 

We have seven games to go and even though we have 40 points we have a lot to play for, but I think all the players have to look in the mirror and be honest with themselves and ask ‘have I really done everything to make this season end well?’'. I think I can look at myself and say I have done everything I can and if everybody is able to do the same then we can finish the season well.”              Michel Vorm

Does that strike anyone else as a little patronising towards the rest of the squad? I'm possibly being a bit harsh as he missed a chunk of the season through injury, but I don't feel his performance level is as such that he can make comments like that.

Vorm went on to look ahead to the Norwich game:

“It’s a very important game for us because we remember we had the same problem at the same stage last season when we got to 39 points. Now we have to make sure we have a good week’s training and go there with no option: we cannot lose. 

Swansea once again lose to Norwich

“After losing three in a row that has to be the mentality, one we have shown all season to beat almost everybody, and it is about looking in that mirror and doing everything to win the game. OK, Norwich are no Spurs or Arsenal but they are a side we haven’t won against for the last three games so we know they are a very difficult opponent, but there is no option: we can’t lose. 

"Norwich are a good side, strong as a team. They have a good record against us and it is hard to say why because maybe they aren’t a top, top team but they work hard all the time and we have to start with that. They have beaten us quite easily before so we know we have to start well and have 100% focus on scoring that first goal or making sure we don’t concede. We have started well in games and if we score the first we tend to be OK – but we haven’t by the start of the second-half we can struggle. 

“We must work hard as you have to against every side and it will not be easy. But we will not think about Norwich’s record against us. Everybody knew at the start of the season our results at QPR were bad (before Swansea won 5-0) but that is all in the past."

While you'd have to agree with Michel in that Norwich aren't a Champions League level team, I don't think it's any surprise why they keep beating us: They've had our number for a while now. Even the 3-0 Championship victory (where Gower and even Tamas Priskin scored) was, in truth, a very flattering scoreline, as Norwich were at least the Swans equal in that match-up. The Swans will have to finally figure out how to get one over on their East Anglian counterparts as a loss will be the fourth on the bounce, easily the Swans most dismal run of form since hitting the Premier League.

Back to Michel Vorm though: would he be that big a loss? An undoubted shot-stopper, and it is nice to have a keeper known as "the penalty killer", but given the fee being bandied about I feel we could definitely secure an excellent young keeper in the amount of time Gerhard Tremmel has left at his current level of performance. I seem to be in the minority on this one, but I'd have no objection to the Swans accepting a decent bid in the summer, although I've obviously got no objection to him staying on too.

Just as long as he stops chirping up in the press...