Fulham bid for Taylor rejected, N'Gog talks continue

I suppose we can't win them all...

Swansea reject bid for Neil Taylor

With both transfer stories which seem to have a semblance of truth about them being rather undesirable for your average Swansea fan, it seems there's been a bit of positive news at least - we've rejected Fulham's bid for Welsh international full-back Neil Taylor. Fulham have confirmed they're interested in Taylor, with Rene Meulensteen claiming he's been impressed by Taylor since his time at United:

“We have put a bid in. It’s on the table. It’s simmering. I rate him. I rated him when I was at United. 

"The boy was very unfortunate. He had that horrific injury at a time when he was really playing at his best and he had top four qualities.”   

http://hereisthecity.com/en-gb/2014/01/24/tmb-meulensteen-reveals-bid-for-swansea-left-back-has-been-lodge/? 

The bid is reported to be around the £4million mark, and to me that's waaaay too cheap. Given the market I'd say we should be aiming for a shade more than £6million at the least. Taylor is homegrown, has proven himself in the Premiership and could clearly operate well for almost any club in the PL. 

We stood by Taylor when he was injured and I think that, while I'd never suggest I feel he "owes us" anything, he could at the very least see out the season in SA1. It's looking more and more likely Laudrup is off to pastures new in the summer, and it's more than possible Tayls could find himself first choice left-back next season if whoever comes in prefers his full-backs to defend rather than gallivanting down the wing.

Fingers crossed his agent doesn't get his wish and spirit him away to London, no matter how much the Cottagers are craving him. See what I did there?

Bolton confirm Swansea interest in David N'Gog

Christ. Dougie Freedman has confirmed we're in for N'Gog, and some sources have quoted him as saying he "expects him to join the Swans". Given our relative superiority over Bolton, it's hard to see him turning the move down - even if he is likely to spend the rest of the season as a super-expensive bench warmer. Why, though? Why do we need him? With Michu coming back to fitness, and Alvaro Vazquez still on loan, why do we need another striker - especially one with a poor track record and who'd command wages of £20k+ a week? It really doesn't make any sense to me, especially given our history of avoiding permanent deals in the January window.

Surely there is someone out there who would fit the bill, but on a loan basis? By signing N'Gog now we're a) automatically paying over the odds given it's the January transfer window, b) filling another squad place with a "non home-grown player" and c) spending money that could be spent in the summer. To me at least, it literally makes no sense. If someone could explain to me how indeed it does make sense, it'd be much appreciated.

In other news...

The Swans have had plans to increase the capacity of the Liberty to 33,000 approved, with the work taking place in stages over the next three years (if everything goes to plan). I'll put together some information and get a blog up related to that later on...

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...

Neil Taylor vs Ben Davies - a statistical comparison

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

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

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

Ben Davies

Davies celebrates his first Swansea goal.

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

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

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

Neil Taylor

Neil Taylor - clearly concentrating.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Swans agree pre-contract with Canas (rumoured), Taylor inching closer to return & Williams on Norwich result

Good afternoon all. This was supposed to be a nice early Monday morning post to give you all something to read, but, well, I've got a week off work and I've been enjoying doing a whole load of nothing, so you'll have to forgive a touch of tardiness. Bit of a slow news day (in terms of official announcements), so first up is... 

Swansea City agree pre-contract with Jose Canas

As yet, there has been no official word from the club regarding Jose Canas, however the Mirror last night broke the story that Jose has agreed a pre-contract with the Swans, rejecting offers from WBA and others that were rumoured to be worth twice what the Swans had offered. I did some digging and put together an in-depth profile of Canas earlier this year (blog available here), and if this news is true then it'll bring a massive smile to my face; and not just because the Premier League needs more players with good hair. 

Canas battling with Cesc Fabregas.

Canas looks like he possesses all the attributes required to be a very good player for Swansea City, but with a couple of months left on his contract it's unlikely we'll know anything more regarding his signature until Betis know where they're likely to be finishing in the league. They're currently chasing European football, so they won't want the disruption which could be caused by the announcement of one of their leading lights leaving; indeed given Betis' position in La Liga it's even possible that if he does sign for the Swans, it's possible he could play his former employers in the Europa League next season! 

Stranger things have happened, but all in all if these rumours are true it's excellent news for the Swans. One signing down, and no doubt more to come...

Neil Taylor set to feature for U21 side away at Brentford

Following appearances for the Swans' development side away at Bristol City and home to Colchester United, Neil Taylor could possibly play his first full ninety minutes today since breaking and dislocating his ankle at the beginning of the season. His comeback has surprised everyone, given the severity of the injury, and it's testament to both the player and the staff around him that he's managed to get himself back in contention in record time. 

Taylor in action for Swansea

The game is being held at Brentford's "Jersey Training Ground" (exotic...) and even with free admission it's likely there won't be many people in attendance, which will probably suit Neil as he looks to keep his head down and continue to work hard in pursuit of a first-team return. It's more than possible he'll be fit and available before the end of the season now, so a good showing here could see him come into the reckoning for the Southampton game on the 20th. Whether Laudrup thinks he's ready remains to be seen, but no doubt Neil will be chomping at the bit to make a competitive appearance before the season is over.

Good luck to the Swans U21 side, too. They've won the last two games on the bounce, so hopefully O'Leary's boys can keep up the good form as they look to finish the season on a high. I can't find any news on Kenji Gorre, and he's not included in the squad for today, so it's possible his trial period has finished; as soon as I find news on that you'll all be the first to know. [As it turned out, the game had finished by the time I'd finished typing this blog. The Swans went down 2-1 to Brentford, with the Swansea goal coming from Rory Donnelly. No info available on how long Taylor managed].

Ash refutes suggestions of Swansea "taking it easy" in wake of cup win

In the wake of the Norwich game, Ashley Williams was pressed by journos as to whether he felt his side are struggling to maintain their level of performance, now that they've already secured European football for next summer. Ash was quick to shout this theory down, and realistically for good reason; robbed of a point at WBA by a ridiculous decision, the Swans then lost to Arsenal and Spurs. Oh no! Losing to two Champions League chasing clubs can hardly be considered to be "taking your foot off the gas", but that is exactly what the Swans had been accused of in some quarters of late and Williams will have been glad the Swans secured a result, if only to stop the theory growing any further.

"I'm not too fussed what people say. When you win a cup, that's the obvious thing that people look at, but we don't feel like that. We're just working hard, we're having a bit of a wobble with the three losses and we've stopped that today but it's nothing to do with feeling like the season's over. I don't think so anyway - I don't get that impression or feel like that. 

"When you have three losses, you just need to get a point - or three - to stop it and on a different day we could have won the game today. Also, at 2-1 down, facing your fourth-straight loss, I think we showed great character and hopefully we can use this today and really kick on now towards a strong finish, which is what I think we deserve for the season we've had so far." 

Williams celebrates Luke Moore's equaliser at
Carrow Road. Check out the evils on the guy
in the baseball cap!

When asked about Michu's miss in the 90th minute;

"We're never going to complain about Michu, he's scored some important goals and a good goal again today. He's unlucky that he didn't put that one away. If he did we would have got the win and gone home happy, but as I said he scored one and we're happy with that. 

"He's got goals, that's what he's all about, and I think he's performing well. He looks good when he plays with Luke, I like the pair of them together. I'm sure he's got more goals in him." 

"He's done brilliantly every time he's played. He's been unlucky in my eyes not to play more games, I think there are games where he can feel aggrieved not to have started, but he's kept his head down and played good again today."          Ashley Williams 

Luke Moore is proving an unlikely talisman with three goals in four games, and surely that warrants an extended run in the team. His link and hold-up play have been excellent but it takes a while to get up to speed, and it'd be interesting to see how he did with some games under his belt and a higher level of player around him (given that the last time he had such a run in the team we'd just been promoted from League One). You can't argue with results. and the ex-WBA man is currently delivering, so deserves his place in the team.

One recurring issue though is the Swans defence of set pieces. Now that the Swans have stopped the rot it's easy to agree with Ash that there was no reason to panic, but three losses on the bounce (regardless of opposition) generally leave most football fans thinking illogical thoughts, and with some catastrophic defending again on display when Norwich put balls into the Swans' penalty area it's clear there's work to be done. Hopefully Laudrup can use the mini-break before the Southampton game on the 20th to address this...

He won't be the first to try.

Taylor continues recovery with appearance for U21 side, & Tiendalli doesn't expect to be offered a new contract

Neil Taylor takes latest step in bid to return from horrific ankle injury

Having played 45 minutes in the last U21 match (away at QPR), Taylor was selected last night to play in their latest fixture, at home to Colchester United. The rapidity of Taylor's recovery is quite incredible really, as when footage of his ankle break/dislocation came to light it seemed highly unlikely he would play again this season, but he's surprised everyone by getting himself back into contention in record time. 

Neil Taylor. Loves it.

I previously blogged on his recovery (here), and it seems he's utilised all the tools available to him as he looks to regain his place in the Swansea first eleven. For now though, he is still returning to full fitness so it'll have been a relief for him when he came through 80 minutes last night unscathed. 

The U21 side found themselves one-nil down to their Colchester counterparts after just five minutes, but Neil Taylor impressed throughout by all accounts, forcing a save from the U's keeper and drawing a corner inside the first ten minutes. The Swans dominated possession but found themselves 2-0 down at the break thanks to a second goal from Conor Hubble. Great name.

The second half started a lot better for the Swans, with trialist Kenji Gorre collecting a Lee Lucas pass before firing home within five minutes of the restart. Gorre then proceeded to go on a mazy dribble before setting up Alex Bray for the equaliser, and then Rory Donnelly grabbed two goals for himself, seeing the Swans complete a quite remarkable turnaround. It has to be said, I like the way the development side is going - they're playing very, very young kids and promoting the brand of football well, and it'll stand us in good stead long term. 

Great news about Taylor though - after completing 80 minutes for the U21 side surely it's only now a matter of a game or two before he's being considered for selection for the firsts? The question is, in what position will he come in...

Tiendalli seemingly resigned to leaving the Swans

It seems Dwight Tiendalli is making plans for life beyond SA1. You can't blame him given the Swans' continued silence on his contract, and he can realistically feel a bit hard done by given the level of his performances this year. With the emergence of Ben Davies, and the continuity Angel Rangel provides, it seems he will, with the return of both Taylor and Jazz Richards for next season, find himself even further on the fringes. Tiendalli had this to say when speaking to local media:

Tiendalli takes on ex-Swan Joe Allen

"I don't think I will be here next year. I have only a one-year contract and I haven't heard anything from the club — the facts are there. I hear nothing from them when I only have a year contract, so that's why I think I won't be here next year." 

"I don't think it's about my agent going to the club. If the club want me they have to say they need me next year, not that I have to get my agent to call them. I am just concentrating on my games, on trying to perform well. I know what I can do and I think I've shown it in the games I've played. 

"The club have said nothing. I have a one-year contract and the facts are I am not staying here next year unless anything changes. It's up to the club, not me. They know who is running out of contract and who needs to be spoken to about extending. It's not up to me." Dwight Tiendalli

If he does move on, it will be with no lack of affection from the vast majority of Swansea fans, and it really is a shame for Dwight the way things have worked out. Given Swansea's need for four "homegrown players" for the Europa League next year, Jazz Richards will very likely by included in the first team squad, so you'd have Taylor and Davies for left-back, and Rangel and Richards covering right-back. Given Laudrup's repeated calls for squad-trimming and to only have two players per position, it seems unlikely Tiendalli will be offered a new contract.

His performances for the Swans will no doubt have caught the eye of potential suitors, so let's just hope that in a year's time we aren't rueing letting him go. With Taylor's ability to cover right-back, and with Jazz Richards looking very good indeed for Palace, there's no cause for concern; we are more than covered at full-back, but it does seem a shame to let go a player who has most definitely played well during his time at the club.

Whatever happens Dwight, I'm sure every Swansea fan will wish you luck wherever you end up.

Just don't sign for Cardiff...

Neil Taylor "weeks away from being available for selection"

Very exciting news regarding the return from injury of Neil Taylor

Neil Taylor & Leon Britton watch Theo Walcott skip past.

Anyone who witnessed, or subsequently saw footage/a photo of Neil Taylor's horrific injury against Sunderland on the 1st of September last year wouldn't have been surprised if, like many players, he was out of the game for a longer period of time than first anticipated. Three fractures and a dislocation of the ankle is a very serious injury, and there have been those with worse luck for whom this kind of injury would be career-ending. Not so for Neil, it appears. The man from Ruthin has enjoyed a miraculous recovery, utilising all the resources at his, and Swansea City's disposal, as well as showing the grit and determination which allowed him to step up to the Premier League with aplomb. This has resulted in Taylor potentially being back in contention months earlier than first anticipated, which can only be good news for a Swansea squad which needs quality competition for places.

Soon after falling victim to injury, Neil spoke about how watching the Paralympics was inspiring him in his bid to regain full fitness:

“I’m obviously devastated about the injury, but if those athletes can overcome what they’ve had to face, then who am I to moan? I have to show the same determination and do it for myself.  

“I’m mentally strong, which helps, and I’ve got the support of my family and a beautiful and healthy wife and daughter. Some other people haven’t got that and I owe it to them to battle my way back.  

“In fact I want to come back fitter and stronger. I’ve got a year to work on strengthening other parts of my body and come back like a new signing raring to go.’’  Neil Taylor

When he first succumbed to injury, he clearly thought that he'd be out for nigh on a year, but less than six months later Neil seems fit and itching to throw his name back into the first team hat. Last week the Premier League posted a video on their site showing Taylor utilising the St George's Park training and recovery centre - a specialist complex which works with the PFA to ensure footballers get the best medical care available. He's had the chance to work one-on-one with trainers in a bid to come back fitter and stronger than ever before, and judging by the video he's doing pretty well too.

See the video of Neil's sessions at St George's Park

Alan Curtis. Legend.

Key in Taylor making a full recovery was Paul Williams, Morriston Hospital's foot and ankle orthopaedic surgeon. On club duty the day Taylor was struck down, he managed to put the dislocation back in while Taylor was still at the ground before a renowned surgeon, Professor Pallister, carried out the operation which, it was agreed, went as well as it possibly could have. It seems Neil is very positive about his chances of playing again this season, and when pressed on the matter, Alan Curtis had some encouraging words to say;

"He's literally only a couple of weeks away from being available, but he's got this huge challenge ahead now of Ben Davies in front of him." Alan Curtis

It seems that we're going to have an interesting dilemma once Taylor regains full fitness. The proof will be on the training pitch, day in, day out, but you do wonder if perhaps one of Davies or Taylor may soon be switching position. Personally, I feel Ben Davies could, long term, become a pretty tasty centre-back, and likewise Taylor had shown increasingly (before his injury) that he was very comfortable bombing forward. Davies, too, has indicated he enjoys his forays into the opposition half so it remains to be seen if there is room in a Swansea XI for both Davies and Taylor. I would say "don't forget Taylor played right-back in the Olympics" but, for me, both the overall performance of the Team GB football team and Stuart Pearce's tactical nous left a lot to be desired.

Both left-backs have shown their attacking prowess, and how effective they are in joining in with their team's flowing passing moves, but it remains to be seen who will win the battle for the coveted starting position they'll be fighting for. Either way, these are the types of problems we want at Swansea City. Better to have two quality players than none, eh?