Sunday, 6 October 2013

Southampton vs Swansea - Live commentary/blog

Refresh the page to stay up to date with the action, and tweet @TheSwanseaWay to have your tweets featured!


15:21
FULL TIME Southampton 2 - 0 Swansea
Game over. Saints will feel they did enough and that would be true, but we had enough chances to get something out of this. Professional display from Pochettino's men, but some Swansea fans' concerns are unfounded. Southampton will surprise a lot of people this season.

 15:20
Just not clinical enough from the Swans today. They can't complain as they had their chances, but they didn't take them.

 15:18
We're into the four minutes of injury time, and Saints have a corner.

 15:14
There's been very little through the middle today. Bony & Michu haven't linked well enough, and they've had little to no joy out of Lovren & Fonte.

 15:13
That's likely game over. Less than five minutes left, and we haven't fashioned enough chances in the second half to play with the belief we'll get something here.

 15:10
GOAL Southampton 2 - 0 Swansea (Rodriguez 82')
Despite the presence of Amat and Chico Jay Rodriguez manages to collect a high bouncing ball and scuff a finish across Vorm and in. Poor, poor defending. Simply not good enough.

 15:08
Dyer puts a decent cross in from the right, but Michu couldn't get past Clyne to direct his header on target. Goal kick.

 15:07
Wanyama booked for a foul on Dyer. Swansea free kick - Shelvey to swing it in... but again it's cleared out - this time by Boruc. Chico then attempts a bicycle kick when it comes back in - that's the second time in two games he's tried that...

 15:06
We are so bad at attacking set pieces...

 15:05
Surely the Swans must now rally and go in search of an equaliser? Pressure in the Saints box ultimately leads to a Swans free kick on the right hand side. Ben Davies to take...

 15:02
DISALLOWED GOAL
Canas gives the ball away and it leads to an attack first down the right through Lallana, who produces a cross which drifts to the back post. Another corner is given, and it's in after a mumbled finish. Nothing wrong with the finish, but the ref gives a free kick to the Swans, probably because there's no way it was a corner in the first place. Bloody dodgy officiating, but at least it worked out fair...

 15:00
Swansea are firmly camped in the Southampton half at the moment. Jose Canas did, however, just play a pass to no-one and it's a Saints throw.

 14:58
The ball comes to Schneiderlin but his effort is high, wide, and not at all handsome.

 14:57
Jose Canas is on a one-man defensive mission. He blocks out a prospective cross from Clyne (I think) and it's a corner to Saints, but it's cleared back out to Lallana who'd taken it. It's deflected out for another corner.

 14:56
Still 1-0, and the longer it stays like this the more confident Saints will become. Despite how deep they're sitting we haven't really tested them so far in the 2nd half.

 14:53
Substitute Ward-Prowse almost collects a back-post cross but Rangel snuffs it out for a corner. It's cleared out and Davis lashes a shot over on the volley. Pozuelo comes on to replace Routeldge.

 14:52
More Swansea pressure but Dyer's cross is deflected and Boruc collects easily.

 14:51
Southampton are sitting so deep here. The Swans need to make the most of this.

 14:49
Jose Canas just played a 15 yard pass with his chest. Epic.

 14:49
Swansea looking the team in the ascendency here...

 14:44
14:40
Contentious. Bony is brought down on the edge of the area, and both Saints centre-halves have been booked. They'll have to be careful from now on...

 14:39
Rangel crosses it in from the right but Bony's header is high and wide. There is no way this is going to finish 1-0. Both sides seem intent on scoring goals.

 14:38
A lovely passing move sees Dyer gets flicked through by Routledge but his effort is sliced and goes out for a goal kick.

 14:37
Swansea get a freekick after Routledge is fouled by Clyne. They take it quickly and it comes to Jonjo Shelvey, but his cross-shot is weak and collected by Boruc.

 14:35
Swansea look up for this...

 14:33
Osvaldo down. Seemed fairly innocuous, but replays show Canas did indeed clatter him somewhat.

 14:31
We're back underway.

 HALF TIME TWEETS!








14:18
HALF TIME Southampton 1 - 0 Swansea
Much better from Swansea after they'd got up to speed, and they caused serious problems for the Saints defence in the second half of the first period. Hopefully they'll come flying out of the blocks.

 14:17
Osvaldo just made a comical attempt to earn a foul with an exaggerated dive. Shameful.

 14:16
Routledge gets into the box but his cross is snuffed out.

 14:13
Another sliderule pass from Rangel plays Dyer into the box, but Nathaniel Clyne blocks Routledge from getting to the ball at the back post and it's out for a corner. It's cleared away, but the Swans collect and

 14:12
Some Trundle-esque skill from Routledge there. Baller. It leads to Dyer swinging a ball in from out wide, and Bony's header produces a wonderful save from Boruc. Swansea corner, but Saints scramble it clear. Swans' pressure is building.

 14:09
Despite the occasional defensive frailty the Swans have been a lot better this last 10 minutes. As I type, Routledge fouls Osvaldo out wide, and Saints have another chance from a free kick.

 14:08
Dyer nails Fox moments after Davies is similarly clattered by Clyne. Neither challenge results in a card.

 14:06
So close! Dyer darts through several challenges and unleashes a stinging left footed drive which beats Boruc at the near post but cannons off the inside of the post, across goal and away. Best chance for the visitors yet.

 14:05
A couple of times Saints have played men in behind the Swans, and this time Lambert finds himself in behind the defence. His centre hits Amat and almost finds it's way into Vorm's near post. Home claims for a penalty for handball are dismissed.

 14:04
Shelvey manages to fall over onto the ball. Yep, he just did that.

 14:03
Free kick out wide. Shelvey delivers but in truth it's another poor delivery, and Chico can't direct his effort on target.

 14:02
A good burst by Shelvey through the middle sees the ex-Liverpool man find Bony, whose snapshot is weak. Boruc collects. Swans looking a bit better at the moment...but as I type we give the ball away. Won back though, and Davies almost finds Routledge bursting through.

 14:01
Vorm scrambles it away. Saints take a quick throw and pump it into the box but it's cleared away.

 14:00
Canas penalised for a pretty good tackle, if you ask me. Free-kick for Saints about 35 yards out, which Lambert clearly fancies...

 13:59
Great knock from Rangel finds Dyer bursting through, and his centre is collected by Boruc with Bony lurking. More good play from the Saints keeper.

 13:58
The Swans come again, and Shelvey produces a snapshot which draws another save from Boruc. We hold possession for a minute before Davies and Routledge confuse themselves and give the ball away, but Davies tracks back and puts it out for a throw.

 13:57
Rangel puts a cross in for Michu, and Boruc makes a great save. Corner, which Shelvey wastes.

 13:56
A nod-down for Lambert should find Lallana but he can't quite get to the ball. If he'd have gone for a header then it wouldhave been 2-0

 13:55
Lallana produces an effort which flies past Vorm's left hand post.

 13:54
The Swans need to wise up here. If they play like this for 90 minutes they won't get anything, and could concede more goals.

 13:53
Ben Davies goes on a surge down the left, but he's outmuscled by Wanyama. That guy is a monster.

 13:52
Routledge does well to win a corner, but Boruc collects.

 13:51
Ben Davies fouled, but Shelvey's free kick is very poor. The Swans are now back playing the ball around their defence...

 13:50
GOAL SOUTHAMPTON 1 - 0 SWANSEA (Lallana)
It's been coming. After more sloppy Swans defending the ball falls to the Saints winger, who creams a finish across Michel Vorm. The keeper got a touch but he wasn't stopping that.

 13:50
Swansea sitting very deep at the moment. Against a team like Saints that's very dangerous.

 13:47
Lallana fails to collect a pass when well placed. Let off...

 13:43
Saints corner after Amat closed down Lallana well, but Vorm eventually collects after some penalty area pinball.

 13:40
Swans coming under some pressure here, but Davies is climbed all over competing for a header and the Swans have a chance to clear.

 13:39
Swansea fans in good voice, coming through loud and proud on the stream I'm watching.

 13:37
First real chance. Sloppy play from the Swans sees Osvaldo get played in, but a scrambled tackle from Chico forces him to put his shot wide. Shaky from the Swans' backline.

 13:35
Bright start from the Swans, pressing high up the field. Ben Davies just struggled to keep the ball in after a lovely knock from Shelvey.

 13:30
We're underway at St Mary's...

 13:23
A pretty tasty stream:

http://livesport4u.com/stream1.html



 13:15
Why is Ashley Williams on the bench? If he's not fit enough to be in the team he should be resting. Weird.

 13:01
@Matt_The_Jack on twitter has just posted this pic of Michu, complete with new headgear:


 12:57
Apparently Michu will be doing his best Petr Cech impression today, wearing a scrumcap to protect his head after needing stitches to a headwound sustained in the match against St Gallen. The guy is a warrior.

 12:56
Despite the rumours Bony would be on the bench, he's starting, and I'm so glad about it. Backing him for a big performance today.

 12:52
TEAM NEWS

Southampton: Boruc, Clyne, Fonte, Lovren, Fox, Wanyama, Schneiderlin, S. Davis, Lallana (c), Lambert, Osvaldo

Swansea: Vorm, Rangel (c), Amat, Flores, Davies, Shelvey, Canas, Dyer, Michu, Routledge, Bony


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Saturday, 5 October 2013

Who are we, Jack Army?

Swansea's increasing status within the game has seen a growing number of overseas fans taking an interest...with the Jack flag even flying in Kathmandu!


Since their promotion to the Premiership in 2011, Swansea City's flag has flown higher and for longer than ever before. By claiming their first major silverware and securing a third successive season where they can dine at football's top table they must now surely have eclipsed the achievements of the 80's side which featured Curtis, James et al, and every season we spend at Premier League level increases our fanbase not just at a local level but also worldwide. This serves the club well in terms of increased revenue through commercial ventures and even ticket sales - as we saw with countless Korean fans visiting the Liberty to see their beloved Ki strut his stuff.

When I started the site back in February, one of the things I was most excited about (and yes, I know this  is rather sad and geeky) was the ability to track pageviews by both the source of the referring link, but also by the country the viewer resides in. This allows me to get an insight into where interest in the Swans is taking hold, and it's been interesting to see viewers from different countries starting to have more and more of an interest in the team. For example, in the first few months pretty much all of the views were coming from the UK, the United States and Denmark (no doubt thanks to Michael Laudrup - the Danes do love him), but as time has gone on there's been a shift and it seems we're now attracting more attention from Germany, China & Australia - check out the graphics (below) to see what I mean.



This first graphic shows pageviews in the last month. You can clearly see that Germany produced the third most visitors, followed closely by China & Australia. Next up, let's have a look at the "all time" stats (from February until now), to see how that tallies.




Quite the difference, eh? As I was saying, we've had a lot of interest from Denmark since Laudrup was appointed manager, but almost half the views from German visitors have come in the last month alone, and a nod to the monthly stats shows how overseas interest is increasing rapidly. 

Obviously, there's always going to be fans of other teams interested in the Swans prior to matches, but that doesn't account for all of the visitors, I'm sure. I've spoken to numerous foreign students in Swansea in the last few weeks who have an interest in football in general, and almost all of them were able to tell me something about the Swans, even if it was only, in one fan's case, that we're known as being a team who have "crazy fans who sing a lot". Not my words, the words of Karl the German. 

When you compare that to my experience of living and working in Ibiza, dealing with multinational tourists from all sorts of places, it contrasts remarkably. I can honestly say that in three years spent working there, around 80% of all Europeans I spoke with were completely unaware of Wales. Yep, Wales. I often ended up chewing their ears off about how we have a flag, a language, we probably play you in football every so often...but it really did surprise me that so few Europeans had heard of Wales. Scotland and Ireland, sure - perhaps it's something to do with an exportable stereotype. Scotland has haggis, kilts and whiskey, whereas Ireland has leprechauns, Guinness and St Patrick's day - as a result they appear on the mental maps of overseas residents whereas Wales is a little harder to place. 

The rise of the Swans, and now Cardiff, serves well to introduce Wales to the world, and long may it continue. I'm sure the guys at VisitWales.com will be able to back that up with stats about increased tourism based on the exploits of our football teams, and there were also a load of articles published which showed Swansea's Premier League status was worth countless millions to the local economy - at the moment that's much-needed revenue for an area with it's fair share of economic problems, but for the time being it seems Swansea are set to continue plying their trade at the top level of British football, which is no doubt music to the ears of any business which relies on the Swans for part or all of their trade.

Perhaps the most bizarre example of overseas Swansea fandom I could find was the appearance of a "Swansea Fans XI" at the nattily named "Foreign Leagues Fan's Cup Football Tournament" in Nepal (link). They managed to get to the semi-final, and despite there being scant information online I can say they didn't beat their opponents (fans of Manchester United) as the final was contested between Man Utd & PSG fans. In attendance was the Nepali team manager as well as other footballing dignitaries, and it shows how far we've come that Swansea's name is being mentioned along with Manchester United & Paris Saint-Germain some 6,300 miles away. A far cry from 10 years ago...

The continued success of the Swans seems set to help further expand our fanbase to all corners of the world. I've spoken to Spaniards who love how many of their compatriots ply their trade in SA1, Koreans who love Ki (and who are probably now supporting Sunderland) and it seems our Dutch following is also growing, but let's not forget our new fans hailing from Wales. It's important we build a solid fanbase that will ultimately merit stadium expansion, and the club are making great strides at building a community feel by running numerous "football in the community" initiatives, as well as bringing Lee Trundle in in a combined coach/ambassador role, so they deserve credit for that. 

If we can carry on improving both on the field and off it, we'll continue to see interest from all over the world, which can only benefit Swansea City, making sure the Jack flag flies high in previously uncharted territory. Long may it continue. 

Are you reading this somewhere other than the UK? What's your story? Get in touch and let us know how you came to support the Swans, and whether you've noticed an increase in awareness of our team where you live in the last few years. Either use the comment section below, the forum (link at the top of the site) or tweet @TheSwanseaWay


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Southampton v Swansea match preview, team news, statistics & analysis



The Match


Southampton are a team high on confidence right now. Good early season results see them sitting in sixth place, having only lost one game all season. Pochettino has instilled a "never say die" attitude at St Mary's which is a bit reminiscent of how Manchester United have operated in the last twenty years, and they'll be confident of a result at home to a Swansea team who were occupied by European exploits just three nights prior to this matchup. 

Swansea got back to winning ways on Thursday despite the best efforts of bumbling Portuguese referee Duarte Gomes, and they'll need to play with the same grit and determination they displayed in that encounter if they're to get anything out of this one. With a couple of injury worries, it's likely that other than enforced changes Laudrup will revert to what he considers as much of a "first XI" as he can muster, and he'll be hoping to pick up a confidence-boosting win before we head into the two week international break.

Prior Form (Most recent at top)




Team News - provided by Physioroom.com's Ben Dinnery


Swansea City travel to St Marys this weekend to take on Southampton in the early afternoon kick-off on Sunday. Jacks fans will be sweating on the fitness of a number of key players heading into this fixture, none more so than forward Michu who was left needing stitches after a nasty looking head injury in Thursday nights’ Europa League win over St. Gallen.  However the good news is the Spanish playmaker is expected to be fine.

Michael Laudrup must make a decision on whether to risk Pablo Hernandez, despite training for over a week the boss does want a recurrence of the hamstring injury which has kept him out for almost a month. Ashley Williams is expected to miss out with an on-going ankle ligament problem, rest and recovery will be the best remedy for the big defender but with his recent call-up to the Welsh national side expect a “club versus country” row to erupt very soon. Watch this space!

Finally, full-back Angel Rangel could be in contention having just missed out midweek, the defender has an ankle injury but was seen training by himself on Thursday suggesting a return is not far away.

For Southampton and manager Pochettino their injury status is looking pretty healthy at the moment with the Italian having the luxury of an almost fully fit squad. Full-back Luke Shaw is the only doubt because of illness.

Completely guessed lineups




Statistics & Trivia


  • With only seven goals scored in six matches featuring Southampton, games involving the Saints have produced the least goals per game of any team.
  • They've only conceded two goals so far, and as such no team has put more than a single goal past their defence.
  • The Swans' last victory at Southampton was a 4-1 win in March of 1953.
  • A clean sheet for Southampton would mark the first time they've not conceded in four games for ten years.
  • The last time Saints conceded two goals in their opening seven games (which they'll achieve with a clean sheet against the Swans) they went on to finish second in the league (behind Liverpool in the early eighties).
  • Conversely, a Swans win would mark the first time we've won three Premier League away games on the trot.
  • Southampton are tied as conceding the most fouls so far this season, but have picked up the least cards. Go figure.
  • Saints are yet to score in the first half of a match this season.
  • The Saints have allowed a league-low 14 shots on target in their six Premier League games so far this season.
  • They've also only scored one goal from open play.
  • Swansea have lost all three games this season in which we've conceded the opening goal.

Straight from the horse's mouth


Swansea manager Michael Laudrup said he thinks Southampton are "the best of the rest", when asked about Southampton's claims to be aiming for a top-four finish:

"It's always good to be ambitious but, of course, I think there are better teams than that. I like the team they have. It's a team who can be in the top 10. Those spots - eight, nine and 10 - are the maximum for them and us in terms of what we can go for.

 "I still believe you have all the big sides. The Manchester clubs, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool and Everton. That's seven. In my opinion, the rest of us play for eighth position and down."

"We have to take things step by step. We've had a very difficult start. We've played some of the top four and the big teams in the first six games, but this is a good test for us on Sunday because Southampton is absolutely one of the best teams of the rest.

 "It will be a tough test for us."
http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11661/8957697?


Saints boss Mauricio Pochettino thinks comparisons can be drawn between his and Laudrup's coaching style:

'I faced against Michael Laudrup as a player and a manager in Spain. As managers, we share a simple philosophy about how our teams play,'

 'Swansea have had enough time to recover from their Europa League match. We expect them to be a very competitive side.

 'Every manager is different, every club has their own brand of football. Swansea are playing very good attractive and attacking football.'

 Read more: link

Analysis


This is going to be a tough one. At present, the Saints are most definitely marching on and the Swans will have to be at our robust best to stop a team which includes the formidable midfield pairing of Wanyama & Schneiderlin. Those two form, for me, one of the most scary-looking midfield duos in the Premier League at the moment, and I hope Jose Canas fancies a rumble as he's definitely going to get one. Jonjo Shelvey, too, will need to keep a cool head as he's definitely going to be getting in-your-face treatment for the entirety of the match.

I know I've kept banging on about it, but we miss Ash so much. A match like this, I fear, will show how much of a leader of men he's become as without him I think we do always look shaky at the back. The win on Thursday was gritty and a big encouraging step forward, however we did manage to give away a penalty and St Gallen also had numerous other opportunities which they failed to capitalise on - Southampton aren't likely to be so forgiving and with Osvaldo and Lambert both netting their first goals from open play last weekend they're both likely to be in confident moods.

I'm not confident about how much we're going to be able to get in behind at St Mary's. In Lovren they've got a hell of a defender, and the league-low "shots allowed" stat shows how effective they've been in maintaining an organised defensive structure so far this season - I think we're going to have to rely on a bit of individual magic from Bony or Michu and make sure that the rest of the time we keep our shape and don't give away silly free-kicks. They've got some height to their team so I don't fancy our chances if we come under siege from a maintained aerial bombardment.

If we can maintain possession early on, and look to feed Wilfried Bony (who at times has cut an isolated figure) I think we can get something out of this. All the stats seem to point to a 0-0, but I think someone will crack under the tactical pressure there's sure to be in this matchup and there'll be an early goal either way. Let's hope it goes our way and that we can use it to push on and continue our fine away form, which has seen us win our last two matches away from the Liberty whilst also keeping clean sheets to boot. That would be nice, wouldn't it?


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Friday, 4 October 2013

(Highlights & Match Report) Swansea 1 - 0 St Gallen - That wasn't very Swiss...

Rowdy visitors deliver a decidedly non-neutral performance which pushed the Swans close




Pre-match, if anyone had been asked to put some money on whether the game would be a feisty affair, they'd have had some serious doubts. The Swans have acquired a reputation as exponents of the beautiful game while St Gallen...well, they're Swiss! There are plenty of stereotypes I could lean on here, but none of those would lead you to believe that we were in for a bit of a kicking. 

A nod to the pre-game stats, and we are now all aware why St Gallen are both the third lowest scorers and have the meanest defence in the Swiss Super League. They set their stall out to harass, harangue and get in the faces of their more esteemed opponents, and they did a damn fine job of it, if we're being honest. 

In the first half, we really struggled to get going. Laudrup had gone with Leon and JDG at the base of the midfield, and I had some reservations about that combination's ability to withstand a physical onslaught. The diminutive duo struggled to gain a foothold in the game, and on numerous occasions St Gallen managed to break forward with intent. So it was, that in the 12th minute Dwight Tiendalli handled a cross and the visitors had a chance to put themselves ahead from the penalty spot.

A combination of a very, very poor penalty from Goran Karanovic and Gerhard Tremmel guessing the right way kept the scores level, and the Swans responded with renewed vigour in attack - Ben Davie's free-kick found Jordi Amat and somehow the ball stayed out before Pozuelo waited too long when well placed which allowed a defender to get in an excellent saving tackle. The emerging star of the show though, sadly, was Portuguese referee Duarte Gomes.

The Iberian official had doled out 16 yellows and 2 reds in his previous two domestic games, and you can see why. Erratic, officious and oft incorrect, he managed to miss Michu getting kicked in the head (studs first, I may add), which saw the Spaniard require eight minutes of treatment to a bloodied head. He'd go on to go through five shirts, such was the profuse nature of the blood flowing from his head for the remainder of the night. At one point the ref wandered over to Michu on the sidelines, before seemingly giving him a telling off. You tell him, ref... Thanks to @TheDevilWe4rsMe on Twitter I can show you the incident:


At another point he booked Ben Davies for an excellent sliding tackle, where he clearly got the ball first, but I'm done talking about poor officiating now as no doubt the guy loves his name being mentioned and I don't want to give him the satisfaction of further reference.

We made it to half time at 0-0, and came out for the second half with a renewed sense of vigour and purpose. Seven minutes later, we were in front. Pozuelo fed Bony, and despite the ball being a touch heavy his shot across keeper Daniel Lopar (who I thought was excellent all night) squirmed through his clutches before rolling to Wayne Routledge, who had the simple task of tapping home at the back post. 

It would be unfair to mention that St Gallen striker Karanovic himself was in the wars. Going for a high ball in the first half, he was absolutely clattered WWE-style by Gerhard Tremmel, and it's reported on his way down the tunnel at half time he asked what team he was playing, and whether he'd missed a penalty earlier in the match. Yes you did son! Ha. Gutted, and I'm glad I wasn't the one to break the news to him.

Substitute Keita almost managed to restore parity, taking an exquisite first touch from a high ball before attempting a lob, but sadly for the Guinean international it went just over Tremmel's bar. Some goal that would have been. On the hour mark Laudrup had replaced goal-scorer Routledge with Nathan Dyer, and ten minutes later Alvaro came on for Bony, and he almost made in immediate impact. Sprinting clear down the left, he cut inside before curling a shot just wide of the far corner. Very, very close, and that would have been a nice way to announce yourself to the Swansea faithful.

Alejandro Pozuelo was the final man replaced, with Jonjo Shelvey coming on to shore up the midfield, but Nathan Dyer was next to trouble the keeper - Ben Davies' cross from the left found the wee man at the back post, and his uncharacteristically well-struck volley unfortunately went straight into the legs of Lopar and away. More of that please, Nath! While I'm on it, Ben Davies was outstanding again last night. He's fast becoming my hero. Just putting that out there.

There was still time for St Gallen to muster another opportunity, substitute Nater's long range drive cracking the outside of Tremmel's left-hand upright and going out for a goal-kick, but by that point the Swans had successfully drawn all of the sting out of the visitor's game. The last few minutes saw the Swans finally start to knock the ball around at will, but in fairness the second half performance was vastly improved on the first. They got in their opponents faces and refused to be bullied off the ball, which was what was needed against a fired up Swiss team who had previously gone twelve games unbeaten. 

The personification of this effort was Miguel Michu, bloodied and sodden, who gave his all from first to last and did well to not rise to both meaty challenges and lax officiating. It would have been very easy to retaliate somehow and earn himself a soft yellow, but he showed true professionalism and just got about his business - albeit in a very teeth-clenched manner.

Last night once again showed how much we miss Ashley Williams, but the boys did well. They did get lucky with the penalty save in the first half, but the grit and determination displayed last night should give the Swans renewed confidence heading into this weekend's game with high-flying Southampton, as well as going a long way to securing progression into the next round of the Europa League.

Top of the group, maximum points, and no goals conceded in two group games. This Europa League lark is pretty easy, isn't it?


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Thursday, 3 October 2013

Swansea vs St Gallen - Match preview, team news, statistics & analysis




The Match


Swansea are enjoying an up and down time of it so far. Four excellent performances in a row had fans waxing lyrical, before defeat to Birmingham in the League Cup was followed up by a home loss to Arsenal. The latter isn't something to be sniffed at though, and it was only a momentary lapse in concentration which proved the difference between the two teams, so the Swans will be looking to forget the fact they haven't won at home in the league since March and concentrate on the fact that so far in two home Europa League games they've scored nine goals. That's a much more positive outlook, eh?

St Gallen are proving tricky customers in the Swiss Super League so far this season. Short on goals but stingy in defence, they're sitting in fourth position with a game in hand on the leaders, and they're only four points off top spot. Since losing their opening two league games, they've gone unbeaten in twelve in all competitions, so this isn't going to be a walk in the park. You can "bank" (ha! Swiss joke...) on St Gallen being a team high on confidence and their ability to knuckle down and grind out results could yet see them spring some shocks in this competition.

Prior Form (Most recent at top)



Team News 


Swansea could welcome Pablo Hernandez back after a few weeks out with a hamstring injury he picked up prior to the Valencia game. Roland Lamah is out with a toe injury, while Neil Taylor should also be fully fit now after featuring against Birmingham in the League Cup. Angel Rangel is a doubt with an ankle injury which kept him out of the Arsenal game (and faces a late fitness test), but Ashley Williams is unlikely to feature as he's still struggling with his own ankle injury. He played through the pain barrier against Palace and it seems his availability is set to cause a bit of a club vs country row. Given there's only two teams in Wales playing at any kind of high level, you'd think the FAW and Coleman would be looking to appease them as much as possible. Burn your bridges with the South Walian clubs and you'll find yourself in a bit of trouble, Cookie...

St Gallen will be without Sven Lehmann who has a fracture of his tibia. Ilija Ivic is a long term absentee with a cruciate tear, while Dzengis Cavusevic did his cruciate ligament more recently than his team-mate and will also be on the sidelines for the foreseeable future.

Completely guessed lineups

I'm basing the St Gallen lineup on their last league match...

Swansea City
St Gallen
Vorm
D. Lopar
Tiendalli
S. Besle
Chico
M. Mutsch
Amat
P. Montandon
Davies
I. Martic
Britton
K. Nushi 
Canas
M. Mathys 
Michu
S. Nater
Pozuelo
S. Wüthrich
Routledge
E. Lenjani
Bony
G. Karanović

Statistics & Trivia


  • Since losing their opening league games, St Gallen have gone 12 games unbeaten in all competitions.
  • Despite lying fourth of ten teams in the Swiss Super League, St Gallen are the third lowest scorers (11 goals in 9 games).
  • They do, however, have the second best defence, only conceding 7 goals in those 9 games, and have kept five clean sheets.
  • Striker Goran Karanovic already has nine goals in all competitions so far this season.
  • Despite eight home games domestically without a win, the Swans have put nine goals on their opponents in just two EL home games so far.
  • Michu has scored in three of his last four starts.
  • Swansea City completed the most passes (715) of any other side in  the first round of Europa League games
  • They also had the best pass completion rate (92.9%).
  • St Gallen have lost only once in six Europa League games (W3 D2).
  • Swansea's Wilfried Bony has scored four goals in his last four Europa League matches, and previously finished top scorer in the competition.
  • No player attempted more shots (including blocked) than Wilfried Bony on the first matchday of the Europa League proper (nine).
  • Swansea ended a run of eight games without a clean sheet in European competition (excluding qualifiers) when they beat Valencia 3-0. 

Straight from the horse's mouth


Swansea manager Michael Laudrup has acknowledged his side's oppnenents are, to an extent, an unknown quantity:

"I've seen their game against Kuban Krasnodar and against Spartak Moscow in the play-off - they don't have the big stars but they really work hard. They were underdogs against Spartak, a side who have played in the Champions League.

 "They drew in Switzerland and were 1-0 down after 51 seconds in the second leg and were then outplayed for 20 minutes, but suddenly they went 3-1 up, so it shows they have a lot character, it will be a difficult game and a game where even if we're doing well we have to keep an eye on the spirit in their squad.

 "They play differently than us, a little more direct at times, but they have really done well against the Russians so I want to repeat we have to be careful.

 "We are at home, we have to try and control the game, but be aware of counter-attacks and their spirit." 


St Gallen boss Jeff Saibene went on something of a charm offensive, possibly trying a bit of the old mind-games:

"For us this is a huge challenge, we are playing against an established Premier League team who are technically excellent. We are outsiders in this game, but we have come here to give it everything. The Valencia win was a surprise, it was a very convincing win and that shows the strength of the team. 
"Maybe Valencia were not on form at the time, but that result shows the high level at which Swansea are playing at. They are favourites to win the group. 
"It wasn't just the game against Kuban that has given us confidence [to do well in Europe], we also had two games against Spartak Moscow. When the draw was made we weren't really given much chance of getting through, but we beat them in a good way and that has given us confidence. 
"Now we've had 12 games unbeaten, so obviously we'll go out there and show what we can do. We do have to adapt to our opponents, we can't be that naive. We've done lots of research and we've seen lots of videos, but we are going to go out and play our own game."
"They don't play like a typical British team, they are more technical - maybe that's down to Michael Laudrup's influence. They are a very good team, I think that's been proven so far. We are not going to fear anyone, although we respect the whole team. 
"Michu is a good player and Swansea are very good going forward. We just have to concentrate on our own game. Our team will be quite hard to judge by the British public. The Europa League is unpredictable and anyone can beat anyone."

Read more: http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/story-19881151-detail/story.html?#ixzz2gdtpIF15 

Analysis


Once again, a lack of knowledge about our opponents means predicting too much would be an exercise in futility. The Swans should have a more or less full team to choose from though, with the exception being Ashley Williams. Hopefully St Gallen don't cotton on to just how important Ash is for us, as if they throw the kitchen sink at us early on it's likely they'll get something for their troubles, such has our defence been without our inestimable leader.

In midfield it's really a case of horses for courses - depending on how much Laudrup knows about his opponents he could try to match his midfield to how he thinks St Gallen will line up, but it's likely he'll back his side to be the superior footballing outfit and simply put out what he considers his strongest eleven. That would seem to me the best bet, as after demolishing Valencia there's every reason to be confident - St Gallen manager Jeff Sabiene has rightly claimed we're now favourites to win the group and a victory tonight would go a long way in achieving that.

The Swiss side's frugality both in front of goal and in defence means I'm not going to predict a goal feast here. If we score early it's possible that the visitors will wilt, but their recent results lead me to believe they're a team high on self-belief and motivation, so I can't see us disposing of them as readily as we did Malmo or Petrolul.

1-0 or 2-0 with Bony to score has a nice ring to it. I think I'll go with that...
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Wednesday, 2 October 2013

Laudrup: "Is Pozuelo left-footed or right-footed? We don't know yet!"

Swansea manager admits that Spanish youngster's technique is on another level to any other player in the squad


So far this season, I'd argue our two most impressive signings were both made from Real Betis. Stand up and be counted, Jose Antonio Canas & Alejandro Pozuelo. The former has proved to be as astute a signing as he is hirsute a man, putting in tireless performance after tireless performance as he beds in the Swansea squad seamlessly, while the latter has had slightly less time to impose himself.

Restricted to substitute appearances in the league, he's had to make do with starts in the League Cup and Europa League as he bids to showcase his skills, and from what we've seen so far there's reason to be positive we've signed an absolute gem. For a paltry £500k(rumoured) in compensation, we've signed a player who had been once linked with Manchester United & Barcelona (read a profile I put together a few months ago here: LINK), and despite seeming to lose his way at Betis it looks like he's set on taking British football by storm.

He announced himself immediately, scoring on his debut against Malmo with a really tasty strike - thanks to Youtube we can go all multimedia and relive it here - it's the fourth goal (at 2min 23secs) but I love watching Michu's opener - damn that boy is cool.




From what we've seen so far Pozuelo looks a very accomplished footballer indeed. His ability to create has caused havoc when he's been subbed on late in matches, and I look forward to seeing what he can do once he's completely bedded in to the squad - despite operating in an almost exclusively attacking role whenever he's featured he's got a pass completion rate of 87.8% - to me that seems very very high for a player who has blatantly been looking to create every time he's received the ball.

In his five PL sub appearances, he's played three "key balls" which led to opportunities for teammates, and in the Europa League he's already got two assists to add to that goal he got against Malmo, as well as getting another goal against Petrolul. Something else worth mentioning is he's registered as having made 1.4 tackles per appearance in the Premier League - not bad considering he's averaged just twenty-four minutes per showing and it's actually more than Michu's made so far (1.2), so perhaps he puts in more of a shift than I'd realised.

Personally, Pozuelo is the one signing of the summer I'm really excited about. I bloody love Jose Canas, and I think Wilfried Bony will score, as an Australian would say, "heaps" of goals, but the level of technique the man now simply known as "Alex" has shown he possesses is something akin to having Lee Trundle back at the Liberty. "All aboard the showboat", as it were.

Michael Laudrup clearly agrees we've acquired a real talent in Pozuelo:

"I think Alejandro can do here what Coutinho has done at Liverpool. I remember when Coutinho arrived. He came from Inter and he had a lot to learn, but now he is one of the most important players at Liverpool. 
"With time, Pozuelo can do the same here because he has the same ability with the ball. He can find space, he is good one-on-one and has two good feet — we don't know if he is right-footed or left-footed. He also has very good vision. 
"He has a lot of talent. He's a player that you can see is still young, but he has so much quality with two feet. We have to bring him forward and that's what we will do. He still has to learn a lot of things, but he is getting better and better when we don't have the ball.
"He's not that tall, but he's quite strong. He needs to learn to use his body better, but with a player like that who is only 22, we have to bring him forward slowly. Then he will be another very important player for us." 
Read more: http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/story-19873683-detail/story.html?#ixzz2gYIVvwQB 

With the Swans in Europa League action tomorrow night against Swiss side St Gallen, it's likely he'll once again get a chance to impress as the Swans go in search of a victory which would go a long way in securing progression to the next round of the competition. 

Alejandro Pozuelo 7/1 first goalscorer, you say...


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Tuesday, 1 October 2013

Michu: Has he changed his game from last season? A statistical comparison

Do the stats back up what we've been witnessing?


Last season, I felt that at times with the inclusion of our floppy-haired flamenco-loving virtuoso at the head of a midfield three we actually lost something in terms of playing "The Swansea Way". I felt his ability to link play was somewhat limited, and although his goals obviously led us to a League Cup win as well as another improved league finish, there was sometimes a bit of a disjointed feel to our attack as Michu, Pablo, Dyer & Routledge all tried to adjust to each other's games. 

This year, we've been witnessing a much improved, more team focused Michu, and I've been wondering if the stats back up what I've been thinking in that he's become a much more effective link between midfield and attack. Luckily, I compiled a load of statistical data from last season so I can put together a fairly accurate comparison - although obviously it's early days yet in terms of how his "average per game" statistics pan out this season.

In the entirety of last season, Michu managed two assists in the league (and 18 goals, in case you'd forgotten). So far this season, whoscored.com are crediting him with one in the league, and when you consider he managed three further assists in the Europa League to date it seems he's definitely looking to play his team-mates in more often. Whether that's indicative of him receiving more support in the final third is up for debate, but to me it looks like he's been taking some advice from Laudrup, who made a career of unpicking defences with cute and/or outrageous passes. Evidence of this can be found in the match against Crystal Palace, where an exquisite turn was proceeded by a lovely through ball for Alvaro Vazquez, before he squared for Dyer to slot home.

He's playing the same amount of passes per game (32), while his pass completion is also slightly up on last season (79.7% - exactly 1% better than last year), and his shots per game has also remained at around the same level (3.0 as opposed to 3.1 last year). He is making less headers, though, winning two aerial duels per game as opposed to 3.3 per game last year. Defensively, they've got him listed as having made 1.2 tackles per game (1.3 last year) and 0.5 interceptions (0.9) this year, but it's not quite that clear cut as he's made 2.3 clearances a game so far this campaign, compared with only 1.1 last year. Those contrasting statistics tally nicely with how I see Michu's defensive game - a bit erratic, full of effort, but not always successful. 

His ball retention has also seen an improvement. Last year he gave the ball away on average 1.1 times per game, and that's marginally down to a nice round 1.0 now, but he's only been dispossessed 0.3 times per game this season as opposed to 0.9 times per game last season - considering we've played United, Liverpool & Arsenal at home, as well as Spurs away, that's not a bad average! He's also having a cheeky dribble more, averaging one per game as opposed to his meagre 0.2 per game average last season. 

I started putting this blog together confident that the stats would back up what I've been seeing with my own eyes, but I had started to become dubious it would indeed turn out like that. That is, until I found the "key passes" statistic. Last year he averaged one per game, but so far this season he's managed a whopping 2.5 - quite a marked improvement and seeing as last year's stat is an average based on a season's data, it's fair to take that as an indication of a change in how he's operating. Often, team's over-zealous marking of Michu allows others to find space, and it seems he's becoming increasingly aware of this and using it to Swansea's advantage. The slightly weird "through ball" statistic is up on last year too, with 0.5 per game showing a rise from 0.1 last year. That can't be right...

It seems that after a slightly shaky start the stats do indeed seem to indicate that Michu is operating in a much more creative manner, and that his fulfilment of the link-man role is vastly improved on last season. Long may it continue, as with a hectic schedule over the next few months we'll need the goals to be coming from other areas of the team, not just from the wizardly left-food of Miguel Michu. 


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