Bony hoping to complete clean sweep for Swansea's internationals

With Michu, Vorm & Neil Taylor all involved in wins in their internationals last night, Bony will be hoping to send Ivory Coast one step closer to the World Cup

I thought I'd do something of an "international watch", seeing as we've got very little to talk about this weekend and a few of our players have been involved in their countries respective international exploits. Pleasingly, the three players who played last night were all involved in wins which should help instil some confidence ahead of their return to the squad, although there is still another round of fixtures to come. 

Wilfried Bony looks likely to be involved in Ivory Coast's World Cup qualifier against Senegal today, and he'll be looking to get back into the goalscoring habit after a quiet couple of weeks. Strikers live on confidence, and scoring at international level would no doubt help a player who Michel Vorm this week called "a monster". 

With three different countries already having utilised players plying their trade in SA1 however, let's have a look at how they got on. 

Wales

Neil Taylor 

Wales had suffered what must surely be a record number of withdrawals from the squad, but in fairness they produced their best performance for quite some time. Inspired by Aaron Ramsey throughout, they triumphed one-nil over Macedonia thanks to a well worked goal finished by Simon Church, although it should have been 2-0 as Ramsey failed to convert a penalty he'd earned himself.

Neil Taylor played 90 minutes at right-back, and seeing as he's been struggling for minutes on the pitch this stands him in good stead for two reasons. Firstly, and obviously, any ninety minute runout obtained by a player not currently nailed on for a first-team berth is undoubtedly good news, as match fitness is crucial at the top level, and secondly it's further evidence that, if needed, Tayls can operate on the opposite side of defence to where we're used to seeing him play, despite being predominantly left-footed. 

With Dwight Tiendalli receiving criticism for his recent performances in the absence of Angel Rangel, and fellow Wales international Jazz Richards on loan at Huddersfield (Jazz didn't make it off the bench last night, sadly) Taylor has a real chance of featuring at right-back for the Swans before the season is out, even if Laudrup has so far seemed reluctant to deploy him on the right-hand side. Hopefully Wales can put on a good showing against Belgium (gulp!), which will give Taylor & Richards some confidence before they head back to club duty.

Holland

Michel Vorm

This is the game I didn't manage to watch any of last night, and it seems it's probably one I should have! It finished 8-1 to the men in orange, and rarely will you see a more lopsided scoreline in international football between two sides who are both supposed to take this kind of thing seriously. San Marino, Faroe Islands, Luxembourg...these are all sides you'd expect to be on the end of a schooling, but given Hungary's illustrious football past (which relied heavily on Puskas, granted) this will be a result which is hard to swallow.

It's a shame that Vorm couldn't collect a clean sheet to add to his team's eight goals, but seeing as the only goal they conceded was from a penalty conceded by Jeffrey Bruma for handball, the Dutch management won't be concerned. It seems as far as easy runouts go for goalkeepers, this was a particularly unchallenging one. Still, another win and hopefully Vorm can start to cement his place as Holland's no1.

Spain

Miguel Michu

When it was announced Michu was starting, I was very excited indeed. As someone on Twitter pointed out, that meant the Swans had supplied Holland with their goalkeeper as well as current World & European Champions Spain with their centre-forward. Mental.

They were up against a Belarus side who parked the bus spectacularly. Until Xavi's opener in the 61st minute Spain had struggled to create anything and if I'm honest Michu's debut was quite underwhelming - that being said though I think anyone asked to play his position in Spain's system would have had a frustrating night. Belarus had, for large swathes of the game, two banks of defenders which included pretty much their entire team, and it surprised me Spain didn't drop deeper in order to stretch the game. They seemed intent on ploughing through the mêlée but never looked liked doing so in the first half.

Sadly for Michu, he was replaced in the 57th minute by Alvaro Negredo, so it could well be that it's viewed that Negredo's arrival changed the game in Spain's favour. Whether that was the case I wouldn't like to say, however I did feel that as Belarus tired the game would open up, and Negredo's goal (Spain's second) was exactly the type Michu loves gobbling up. Hopefully he'll get another chance to show what he can do, and with Georgia up next you'd imagine he'll get some minutes off the bench at the very least.

That being said, do we want him to score? I got thinking about this last night. First of all, I wanted him to bang in a hat-trick, but then I thought "What would happen if he did?". Big clubs would come in for him, that's what. Playing for Spain puts you in an elite class which clubs look to for new signings when things aren't going their way, and with his goalscoring exploits in the Premier League already going far from unnoticed, further success at international level could well prove a catalyst for big club interest. So it was that sad as it was for Michu I wasn't too nonplussed to see him leave the field without a goal. 

Call me selfish if you want. I'm a Swans fan not a Spaniard. 

It would have been nice to hear the Spanish commentators screaming "MICHUUUUUUUUUU!!!!", mind...

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 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!

Swansea braced for offers, but at least Michu is happy where he is...

Over the last few days Goal.com again led the way with the "news" that Arsenal representatives have met with those of Ashley Williams, for a second round of talks regarding the possibility of the burly centre-back switching South Wales for North London. Aside from the fact that meeting with representatives of another club would be a breach of Ashley's contract, without any proof I'm choosing to file this in the folder marked "yet more rubbish from Goal.com".

Ashley Williams in action against Arsenal

That's not to say the Swans aren't going to receive an offer. When stories refuse to go away there's generally
something in them, and despite the prospect of European football in SA1 next year it is nigh on impossible for a player like Ashley Williams to turn down a move to such a big club. When I say "player like Ashley Williams", I don't simply mean a player at a "smaller" club, I mean a player who's done it the hard way and played his way up from non-league football. Unlike so many young players these days who play for a big club before being discarded, Ash has never had the chance to play for one of football's giants, and few would begrudge him a move if he so desired.

Arsenal are notoriously stingy, but they'll have met their match in Huw. Losing an essential first-team player like Ash will cost Arsenal, and if they want to take him Huw will definitely play hardball. It seems Arsenal value him at £8mil but the Swans will definitely look to get significantly more than that. I'd say £12mil is a fair fee given current inflated market values. If Arsenal are buying a centre-back, they're buying a centre-back to compete in the Champions League, so I don't see why they shouldn't be paying more than £10mil...

Alan Curtis thinks a number of Swansea players may be the subject of bids from Premier League rivals, as the team's increased level of performance enhances the reputations of the players within it:

"I guess the vultures are going to be lurking above us. The fact that the players have done so well means they are attracting the interest of some of the bigger clubs. It's just a fact of life now. 

"Irrespective of where we're going to finish, we're still perceived as a small club in terms of the Premiership. We've lost managers, we've lost players - we obviously want them to stay but if it happens then we'll just have to deal with it as we normally do. 

"There are obviously bigger clubs than us. If it was up to the players they would stay because they enjoy their football, they love the way we play the game, but, obviously, if you get some of the real big clubs, then obviously it's going to be difficult for the player to turn it down and for the club to refuse them the right to play for those clubs."  Alan Curtis

One player who it seems we don't have to worry about is top-scorer Michu. The Spaniard clearly enjoys playing for the Swans, and came out recently to say that he's very happy in South Wales:

"I've seen articles on the internet, but I'm very happy here. I only think about playing next Sunday against Fulham. I'm happy on the pitch and in this team.   

"Swansea fans do not need to worry. I'm very interested [in having the opportunity] to play in Europe. I am very happy at the club and I want to say thank you to everyone at the club because we have all enjoyed this season." Miguel Michu

Another player who's been heavily linked with a move is goalkeeper Michel Vorm. After injury earlier in the season he saw Gerhard Tremmel come in and perform admirably, but after a few indifferent performances when he made his return he's now back to his best, and has put in some good displays lately. That being said, if the Swans were to receive an offer in the region of £8-10million I'm sure they'd consider it. One factor could be a rumoured sell-on clause in Vorm's contract, which would see a chunk of any transfer fee go to his previous club Utrecht. If he were to move on Tremmel is a capable replacement, and the funds received should allow us to find a seriously tidy replacement.

All  this speculation is superfluous however, as before any transfer wheelings and dealings there's the small matter of Fulham at home. I thankfully managed to get a ticket from the batch released by the Swans yesterday, so I'll be in the North Stand by the away fans for the first time. I'm hoping Ki gets a start, but I also really hope Rory Donnelly gets a cheeky 20 minutes at the end. He's scored a lot of goals for the U21's in the last few months and a little run-out in front of the home fans would do wonders for his confidence going into the close season.

Wait and see I guess, and at least until Saturday we don't have to worry about any of our players leaving...

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...

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!