Cup o' coffee and the Swans (Sunday Catch-up - 17th May 2015)

There are not many Sunday's remaining this season and as you read this Swansea are hours away from kicking off their penultimate game of their 2014/15 campaign against last season's Premier League champions (...unless you got up too late and have missed the match, in which case Swansea won 6-0!)

Either way, grab your cleanest cup, fill it with the strongest coffee and read about what's been happening this week at Swansea City.


Swansea City vs Manchester City

While there's one fixture left after this, today is the final home game of the season. And what a way to end, with the chance to cause the second big upset in a week against second place Manchester City.

I had a good feeling about the Arsenal game and was right - Swansea defended like hell and came away with a well earned three points, taking full advantage of the new goal line technology.

At home against the big spenders who are more clinical it may be a tougher ask, but a draw is surely not out of the question. My prediction for today is 1-1.

The biggest talking point will probably be if a) we see Wilfried Bony take the field, and b) if he scores. He's said in a recent interview that he wants to score against his old club - let's hope that doesn't happen (although I have put a few pound on Bony to score last... just in case he grabs the winner).


Goodbye Gerhard?

It looks like the popular, but certainly not Premier League-confident Gerhard Tremmel will be leaving the club in a few weeks as his contract runs out.

There's little chance he'll stay as the Swans have apparently lined up the 25-year-old Swedish international Kristoffer Nordfeldt as a replacement.

Whatever happens we'll always remember the huge part Tremmel played in the Capital One Cup success of 2013 - undoubtedly his greatest period with the club.


Lawro eats his words

It seems Mark Lawrenson finally admits he was wrong about Swansea. This week he was reported as saying that the Swans had 'stuck a pie in his face' after constantly predicting failure for the club.

His predictions, like many pundits, were based around the departure of Wilfried Bony in January, with Lawrenson expecting Swansea to 'sink like a stone'. But, in his own words...

"[Swansea] have done the opposite and have gone higher than probably even they thought possible, with a top-six finish within their reach. That is very different to their position in the league table based on my predictions. By some distance they are the team who I have been the most wrong about, so I am sure their fans will be pleased rather than annoyed that I am going to tip them to lose again on Sunday"

Ten years since the Vetch

Last Monday (11th May) marked a decade since the Vetch closed its gates for the last time, following the FAW Premier Cup win against Wrexham in 2005. Just in case you didn't know.

Have a look at this Swans website for some great nostalgic photos of the Vetch!

Cup o' coffee and the Swans (Sunday Catch-up - 1st March 2015)

It's the first of March, it's a Sunday and that can only mean one thing - it's time for a cup of coffee and a look at the week gone by for Swansea City:

(P.S. Happy Saint David's Day)


Burnley 0 - 1 Swansea City

Despite it not being the most enthralling game (last on Match of the Day of course), yesterday's 1-0 victory against Burnley away from home secured Premier League safety for Swansea City... in February!

That's 40 points from 27 games, which is Swansea's best ever return in a Premier League season. And it's a great achievement considering we lost our best striker last month, we've been unable to score consistently and that there was even talk of a relegation scrap earlier in the year.

Good keeper.

So a good result, with a very scrappy own-goal being scored in the 64th minute by Kieran Trippier. Monk stuck with his diamond formation, which seems to be working quite well. Gomis missed a few good chances, Routledge had a penalty shout (but so too did Burnley), while Fabianski once again put in a solid performance and kept out a string of good attempts from the home side.

It's a shame we are out of the FA Cup as that would have been a great competition to focus on now safety is achieved, but it'll be good to see how far Swansea can go this season. Europa League position perhaps?


Bad Swans #1

Unfortunately the usually very-well behaved club have made the news for all the wrong reasons this week.

Firstly Swansea City's Dutch director John van Zweden came under fire earlier in the week for reportedly calling his fellow countryman Louis van Gaal 'an arrogant b******' (...that's 'bastard' if you can't decipher my code) following the Swans' win against Manchester United. However he has since defended himself, saying he didn't actually use the word 'bastard'.

But yesterday morning it emerged that van Zweden had posted a photo of a winning betting slip which had Swansea to beat United 2-1. The Sun reported that the director is being investigated by the Football Association, as any bet made by someone so close to the club would be a direct breach of FA rules. However van Zweden is insisting it was not his betting slip in the first place.

I can't see either of these things going much further, but it's probably wise for the charismatic director to keep his head down for the next few weeks!

Naughty keeper.

Bad Swans #2

And finally, Swans' reserve keeper Gerhard Tremmel was also in the news for some dodgy behaviour. Last week it was reported that the German shot stopper had been given a six month driving ban by Swansea magistrates after failing to reveal to police who was driving his car, after it was caught speeding along Mumbles Road twice last year.

But his ban has now been lifted, with a fine and penalty points awarded instead. Slow down Gerhard, you're not on the Autobahn any more!

Swansea vs Wigan: Not must-win but must-not-lose

With the Wigan game on the way this Saturday it has just occurred to me that I've not heard any Swans fan - online or otherwise - mention “getting one over on Martinez”.

It's actually refreshing to concentrate on the game in the wider scheme of things instead of it being headlined as a match to show the former boss what he's been missing.

Chances are he already knows what he's missing!

Despite a more mature approach to this game by the fans - a sign of how far Swansea have come this season - the same question is there for a different reason: is this a must-win game?

I put this question out on Twitter last week and the response was mixed. Some say it is, some say it isn't. Some don't know. Perhaps the best response was: “It's not a must-win game, but it is a must-not-lose game”, a statement I very much agree with (thanks to @twm88 for that).

While a win is certainly desired (when is it not?) a draw would do fine. A loss on the other hand would make it three in a row and a meagre four points in seven games - not a good confidence boost before the Man City game next weekend. In fact, Swansea don't have the easiest set of games in the coming weeks with an away trip to Fulham, followed by Everton (home) and Spurs (away) soon after. You can see why it could be seen as a must-win game to some.

The good news for Swansea is Michel Vorm is likely to be back between the posts. Unfortunately Gerhard Tremmel - despite the polite words from the team - played a big part in the Stoke loss. He didn't ooze confidence during that 90 minutes. I'm aware he was called in at short notice, but a second keeper is probably the most likely reserve to be needed at short notice. It's a little bit 'Catch-22' - he needs more game time for confidence, but the game time he gets is not boosting his confidence (for the record, I haven't read 'Catch-22' so I may or may not know what I am talking about).

A regrettable loss is Kemy Agustien - out again following ankle surgery, which is something likely to keep him sidelined for a few weeks. Elsewhere Joe Allen and Ashley Williams should both feature after playing in the Wales international on Wednesday. The Swans set-up should be similar to that against Stoke, though I'd still like to see Routledge start and Sinclair come on later.

Saturday's game will be refereed by Andre Marriner. I found this article on a Wigan fan site outlining why he is likely to be booed by the Latics fans. Makes interesting side-reading.

As for bets this week I am holding off on any correct score prediction as my last few have been well off the mark and I don't want anyone to follow my lame guesses and waste money (like I do). However, Swansea to win the match is 2/1 (PaddyPower) and I think that is one bet my money will be on this Saturday afternoon.

So, while it's not officially a must-win game, let's hope for it. Otherwise things start getting a little uncomfortable. Also - it'll be nice to get one up on Martinez!

Remember to check me out on Twitter @ForzaSwansea for blog updates and general Swans discussion!

Swansea City's Transfer Deadline Day: digested!

An exciting event in the football calendar, transfer deadline day sees men (and women of course) from across the globe fixated on Sky Sports News, Twitter and other news feeds to see if their club managed to sign the one over-paid primadonna they were after.

What's that you say? You didn't sit inside all day watching the television because you have better things to do? Well I don't, so here's what happened for Swansea City.

To start with, throughout the day, Swansea were linked with several players who, for one reason or another, didn't end up near the club, such as Romaric (Sevilla), Adrian Mariappa (Watford), Matthew Bates (Middlesbrough) and a last minute loan bid for Fabio Borini, among others (including several wind-up rumours such as Stockport's Ryan Fraughan and a last-gasp bid for Marcos Senna).

Eventually the window slammed shut and Swansea were left with:

Gerhard Tremmel (free from Red Bull Salzburg)
Completed earlier in the day, the signing of Gerhard Tremmel was unsurprising, yet welcome news. The trialist impressed more than Jose Moreira in pre-season friendlies and will add strength to the important area that is goalkeeping. We hope Michel Vorm will remain fit throughout the rest of his career with Swansea; if not, Tremmel is an adequate backup.

Darnel Situ (£250,000 from Lens)
The most exciting signing of the evening for Swansea, the France u19's captain was signed for £250,000 from French club Lens. The 19-year-old seems to be a “one for the future” signing, and isn't expected to make a direct impact on this Premier League campaign, but the centre back looks promising!

Rafik Halliche (on loan from Fulham)
On loan until the end of January 2010, the 24-year-old centre back will be cover for Ashley Williams and Steven Caulker, and another defender to temporarily add to the bench – an area Swansea have been lacking in for some time. I'm yet to see Halliche in action but, by all accounts, Fulham fans are glad to get rid of him, which is never a nice thing to hear about your new signing. He made just one appearance for Fulham, from the bench, but he has had 21 caps for the Algerian national team. Don't expect wonders, he's nothing more than cover it seems.

Fede Bessone (free from Leeds)
Earlier in the day, rumours were strong that an old face would be joining the Swans again. Scotland? Gomez? … Trundle? No, we were all wrong – it was Fede Bessone. The 27-year-old left Swansea for Leeds in 2010, making just six appearances, before being loaned to Charlton Athletic. Now he's back with the newest Premier League club on a two-year deal.

I know it's frowned upon to moan about players, but I know I am far from the only one who sees this as a backwards step. He was surplus to requirements at a Championship club, so I'm not sure what impact Rodgers believes he will make in the Premier League? I hope I'm wrong; I hope Bessone returns as a new, fast, Rangel-esque wing back, but will that really happen? I'm sure Ashley Richards would've provided as much cover. Still, it's an option on the bench. Mustn't grumble.

There were no players to leave the club on deadline day, though a rumour that Blackpool were interested in Stephen Dobbie circulated through much of the afternoon. Probably a feasible rumour, but not in Swansea's best interests. Dobbie has only had half an hour on the Premier League pitches – while he hasn't yet impressed, there is more to come from Dobbie this season I am sure.

Another end to a slightly underwhelming transfer deadline day for Swansea City – apart from loan signings the team is now ready to continue their Premier League campaign, barring any exclusions in the 25 man squad (announced shortly).