Jazz looking forward to Playoff Final, Shaun MacDonald on winning promotion from League One & the latest transfer target to emerge in the press

Current and ex-Swan hoping Crystal Palace gain promotion to Premiership

This is, of course, the Championship playoff final, to be played out this afternoon between Crystal Palace and Watford. Ian Holloway is looking to guide Palace past Gianfranco Zola's Watford team in what will no doubt be a frenetic display of committed football. Crystal Palace will sadly be unable to call on a man who is starting to become somewhat of a Playoff legend - Stephen Dobbie. The Scottish attacker is ineligible due to being on loan from one-time playoff rivals Brighton. Remarkably, he's played in three consecutive Championship Playoff Finals - winning two before losing to West Ham with Blackpool last year, and he'll be disappointed he can't add to his four goals at Wembley. With both teams favouring attack to defence we could be in for a great game.

Jazz started out well at Palace, enjoying a good run of form which was no doubt aided by the fact that regular right-back Joel Ward was out injured. Once Ward returned to fitness, it was only a matter of time before he reclaimed his first team berth from Richards and of late Jazz has had to watch from the bench as his team-mates have put together a six-game unbeaten run which has led to the Championship showpiece in London. He's spoken to the Swans official site about what it's like to be involved in such a big game at Wembley:

“I was part of the squad when we got to the Play-Off final two years ago and to have been part of winning that game – for my hometown club – was a dream come true,” said the Wales international. Even though I didn’t get off the bench, just being involved in the warm-ups and looking up at the 80,000 or so in the stadium was a memory that will live with me forever. It’s a really special occasion.  

“It’s a mad day, too. You are trying to be as focused as possible, while the manager is trying to keep the tension and emotions under control, but as soon as you turn the corner and head into the stadium, you get this rush of adrenaline and it hits you – this is for a spot in the Premier League.  

Jazz in action for Crystal Palace

“It was massive for us at Swansea when we beat Reading. The club hadn’t been in the Premier League before and it was new territory for us, but it means just as much to everyone here at Palace. The club should be in the Premier League, and we are just one game away from it., and when I look around at the squad, we have a great mix of players.  

"The gaffer can call on the experience of Mile Jedinak, Damian Delaney, Danny Gabbidon, Peter Ramage and Kevin Phillips while we have youngsters like Wilf Zaha, Yannick Bolasie and Jonny Williams who can spice the game up and express themselves on a pitch like Wembley.  

“It’s going to be a fantastic match for the neutral, and I hope everyone back in Swansea will be rooting for Palace today because it’s a fantastic club. I’ve had a great time at Palace. I’m very grateful to the club for the opportunity they have given me. I’ve been away from home for the first time, played with a different group of players, and I’ve got 11 games under my belt so far. “I got a regular run of games under my belt, then I found myself out of the team -but I’ve still learned from that, and those experiences will help me progress as a footballer, but hopefully I will finish my loan spell with a win. To help Palace to the Premier League would be a great achievement for me.”  Jazz Richards

It was recently announced that Stephen Dobbie is joining Palace on a permanent basis once the transfer window opens. Good luck to him at his new club, but more importantly good luck to both Jazz and Palace today as they look to secure a win in a match worth, apparently, £120million. Remarkable that when we went up just two seasons ago it was worth "only" £90million. Football is bonkers. On to another ex-Swan who has gained promotion then...

Shaun MacDonald helps AFC Bournemouth gain promotion to Championship

Swansea youth product MacDonald came through the ranks and was highly rated as a youngster. Alan Curtis revealed a few years ago that the young midfielder had earned the nickname "Zidane" in training, due to his excellent close control and ball retention in possession based exercises. Sadly, it never really worked out for Shaun during his time in South Wales - fourty first team appearances (with a large proportion coming off the bench) and five loan spells at Yeovil later he joined Bournemouth for around £80k (although the Swans have a large sell-on clause in place) and happily things have worked out a little better on the south coast. 

MacDonald in action for AFC Bournemouth

At first it must have all seemed a bit familiar for Shaun, as he saw two managers depart in quick succession before Eddie Howe was brought in, but times are better now and the midfielder was rewarded with a new three year contract in January. MacDonald, once capped by Wales, has helped his team to the unlikeliest of promotions this year - and they came within a whisker of winning the League One title - being held 0-0 at Andy Robinson's Tranmere Rovers on the final day of the season. That was enough for Brian Flynn's Doncaster Rovers to snatch the top spot (although it wasn't enough to keep Flynn in the job), but Bournemouth had, up until that point, been on a club record run of eight consecutive league wins, so it seems they came good at just the right time. 

MacDonald is clearly enjoying his time at Bournemouth, and sees no reason why the team can't push on:

'I don`t think any other club suited me the way it did the first day I came here. I look back and have no regrets. We got promoted, we have a special manager and a special team and it`s worked out well. I feel now that coming to Bournemouth was the best decision of my career so far. 

"I am gutted that Cardiff got promoted, Not only are they Swansea`s rivals but now there are no Welsh teams for us to play against in the Championship. Getting to the Premier League is now the next step for us to look forward to, so then I can face them. 

"Being successful in the Championship is the goal and if we carry on like we did this season, there is no reason why we won`t be." Shaun MacDonald

Assuming Bournemouth retain their Championship status for at least one year, and that Cardiff don't make a load of clever signings, he may not have that long to wait to play against the team from the capital.

Swansea linked with Alejandro Pozuelo, in what is starting to look like a raid on Real Betis

This is, as yet, an unsubstantiated rumour however it's a bit of an exciting one. Pozuelo is a creative attacking midfielder, and as seems to be the norm for Real Betis players he has excellent hair. There's scant information online, but it seems a number of clubs have been keeping tabs on a player who excelled for Real Betis B before his promotion to the first team in October 2011. It seems his progress has been somewhat stunted by an incident following a game against Espanyol a year later, where Pozuelo came in to the changing room after the game mouthing off regarding negative team tactics costing Betis the game (source: LINK). Apparently he was at fault for a crucial goal, so his outburst was possibly a little misguided, but it shows he's passionate and if there's one thing you can't say about the Swans this year it's "that we played with negative tactics". 

Meanwhile, Jose Canas has, through his agent, refuted allegations that he's been taking it easy since agreeing a move to the Swans. 

“Jose has done very well this season, even though he is leaving. He wanted the club to receive money for him but that was not possible.  

"Jose has given Real Betis everything but maybe the fans don’t understand that.” Canas' agent Alvaro Torres

I'd say given the amount of talk regarding this particular transfer, and these latest quotes from his agent, it seems Canas is now surely a done deal. Hopefully there'll be an official announcement soon, but until then we will just have to sit patiently in anticipation of imminent transfer dealings.

If anyone would like to read a profile of Jose Canas which I put together a while back (nb: the stats will no longer be up to date), click here.

Jazz Richards: Loan Report

Swansea youth product Richards has been on loan at Crystal Palace since January - how's he doing?

Jazz Richards being presented as a Crystal Palace player

Ever since Ian Holloway (he really does like Swansea doesn't he?) announced his intention to take Ashley Richards to South East London, we haven't really heard much from the former Wales u-21 Captain, so I thought I'd do a bit of digging around on the internet, Palace forums and the like to see how he's been faring. Originally the rumour was of a £750k transfer, but I have to say I was pleased when it turned out to be a loan, as I do like Jazz Richards, and think given more game time he can develop into a handy squad player - one capable of challenging players like Dwight Tiendalli, for example. Given both his youth relative to Tiendalli and Rangel, and the fact that Richards is from Swansea, there's good reason to believe he might be with us for some time yet.

At first glance, things weren't good. The first forum I found contained a thread announcing his arrival, however I had to trawl through 6 pages of "Jazz" puns before finally people started discussing the player himself (lots of pleasing mentions such as "he's from Swansea so you know he can play" though). Understandably, most Palace fans hadn't seen much of him so it was interesting to read through all the posts, feedback and comments seeing their opinions on him develop. One thing to note is that Palace are really pushing on in the table, and currently lie third - so it's not like he's playing for a side scrapping it out at the foot of the table. Holloway has Palace playing some great football and most of the fans seem to respect Jazz's ability on the ball, and willingness to get forward in attack.

Surely the only international captain
ever to call himself "Jazz"?

He made his debut away at Huddersfield, and reading about this game is funny given how the season has unfolded. The Eagles went down 1-0, and all the talk was of how "the season was unravelling" and "there's nothing to play for" - hindsight is a wonderful thing. Ashley Richards, however, came out with credit, with several fans posting comments to the effect of "everyone else was pants, but Richards did ok". Next up was a home debut against Charlton, and he proceeded to make an instant impact. With the game at 1-1, Stephen Dobbie's (Holloway's Swansea crush at work again) cross was deflected away, and Jazz nipped in to provide a pass for Glenn Murray, who steered the ball home for the winner; a nice way to endear yourself to the home crowd. Next up were high-flying Watford - and this was a game of two halves for Richards. At fault for the opener, he scuffed a clearance to allow Almen Abdi to steal in and prod the ball home. Young Jazz wasn't done though. With Palace trailing 2-1, he broke down the line and provided a delicious cross for Kevin Phillips to turn home. Did the Palace fans like that? Judge for yourself here.


So, two assists in his first three games - from full-back. Not bad at all! Next up were Middlesbrough, themselves occupying a play-off berth - but they were duly dispatched 4-1. Some fans seemed to think he struggled with the Boro wingers, however this is surely picking holes in a performance which was overall, very impressive. He featured again in Palace's 2-1 win over Bristol City, and at about this point fans started coming back to the forums to comment on his performances so far - and most of them are pretty effusive if I'm honest. Some think he's slightly shaky in defence, but I'd say given how much football he's played in the last few years it'd take at least six or seven games until any player was fully "up to speed" as it were. Next up were Sheffield Wednesday away, and football can be very strange in how it brings people together. Palace lost 1-0, with the winner coming from Leroy Lita - himself on loan from Swansea until the end of the season. Who are Sheffield Wednesday managed by? Dave Jones no less.

One cause for concern, despite Palace's charge up the table, was their away form - with no win coming in their last 10 outings away from Selhurst Park. This was put to bed in their next game though; a 1-0 win at Derby, where they had keeper Speroni to thank for an 88th minute penalty save - tipping Connor Sammon's effort onto the crossbar. Does anyone else think it's impressive Jazz has gone straight from playing reserve football (or "development side football" as it's probably now known), to playing every game for a team towards the top of the Championship? Ok, first choice right back Joel Ward has been out injured, but this is still an impressive effort from the Swansea youth product.

Sadly, he picked up a toe injury which forced him off at Derby, and he's missed the last two games - however he was on the bench for Palace's last match, facing Leeds at Elland Road. All of the sounds coming out of the Palace camp seem to indicate he'll go straight back into the team once fit, and it seems Jazz's arrival (along with Stephen Dobbie's from Brighton) has coincided with Crystal Palace's surge up the table. Palace fans have, tentatively, drawn comparisons between Richards and Nathaniel Clyne, and let's be honest, they'd know. It remains to be seen how the rest of the season works out for Crystal Palace, and whether they decide they want to make a move for Richards may well depend on whether they manage to secure promotion this season - however with Richards' contract set to expire in the summer it would seem prudent for them to make a nominal offer.

The Swans have been quick to secure contracts for first team players, however the fact Jazz's has run down to this extent does make me wonder whether he'll be free to move on in the summer. As far as I'm aware, for the Swans to be eligible for compensation (due to the fact that he's under 23), we'd have to offer him a renewed contract? All in all, I wouldn't blame him if he wanted to move on, as his playing time has been limited, however I would like to see him have another go at breaking into the Swansea first team. There are much-heralded players in our squad against whom the accusation "they can't make the step up" was levelled (before promotion to the Premiership), and I think this may be a similar situation. Jazz is mobile, good on the ball, has an eye for a pass and likes a tackle, and I think surely, given game time, Richards could develop into a useful utility back - a sort of "South Walian Phil Neville", if you will...

Sorry Jazz.

Jazz Richards - the Phil Neville of South Wales?