Bite-size Blog: Swansea City vs Blackburn Rovers

The bite-size blog returns! A short, swift kick of opinion, for those who don't have the time to read pages of endless drivel.

This Saturday Swansea City take on Blackburn Rovers: a team at the very bottom of the Premier League.

The opposition:

With just seven points to their name so far, things are not looking too hot for Steve Kean and his men. They've won just one game this season (a frenetic 4-3 win against Arsenal), and have 16 games separating them from their last clean sheet.

Their last match was against Cardiff in the Carling Cup on Tuesday, where they lost 2-0. Steve Kean admits he essentially forfeited the game, keeping players fresh for Swansea – a game Kean believes will “kick-start” Blackburn's season.

There aren't too many players to fear, though Nigerian international Ayegbeni Yakubu will keep Ashley Williams busy enough (probably).

Swansea focus

So is this a must-win game for the Swans? Yes, I think so.

A loss to Blackburn, who are suffering a terrible run, will not make for happy fans. If a draw at Liverpool seemed like points thrown away, a draw or less on Saturday will be an incredible waste!

I would have put my savings (all £94) on Swansea winning on Saturday, but injuries are standing in the way of pure confidence. Jazz Richards will fill in for the injured Angel Rangel, but his finesse and confidence is off the mark.

Danny Graham is also likely to miss the match, which is worrying as he has stepped up in recent games, even though the goals are still not consistently flowing. Leroy Lita is likely to stand in, though I'd be happier seeing Sinclair take the lone striker role, with Routledge and Dyer on the wings. It won't happen, but it's an idea that hasn't been explored enough.

What results mean:

Currently 13th, a win could technically see Swansea move to 8th in the table, providing the five teams above all lose, but it's unlikely (isn't it?). Let's say a good win should see Swansea back in the top ten.

Betting on the game?

Despite me, and most other fans, feeling the away win, the bookmakers are looking to Blackburn to take the points. Swansea aren't likely to score many away from home, but if their Rangel-less defence stays solid and Lita can muster up more than a few nice attempts, I think Swansea to win 1-0 (at 9/1 on PaddyPower) is a realistic bet!

A 'scorecast' on Swansea to win 1-0 with Sinclair scoring the only goal is a generous 45/1. That's worth a pound!

Swansea WILL NOT be able to deal with the might of Heskey

I hope the title of this blog has done the trick and made you scream "what is he talking about!?" - those who haven't headbutted their computer screens in anger and disbelief will know I am joking.

While Christmas is the busiest time of year for many around the globe, it's not just over-priced gift boxes containing a cheap bar of soap and a Homer Simpson flannel (£15.99? Bargain!) and excessive drinking that will take up the majority of our free time. This year Swansea City FC will essentially be juggling eight games over the festive period, which is a lot of football-watching to cram in!

As it's been a few weeks since I've been regularly blogging (holiday and exams eating up a good chunk of that), I feel a little "recap" and look ahead to the upcoming month is in order.

Let's blitz through this:

Norwich
I was in America for this one and used a 'pay-per-view' television to watch the game on. I wish I hadn't, as Swansea fell apart against fellow promotion successfuls in a game they should have won on paper. 3-1 to Norwich.

Wolves
Again, still in the USA for this one (thankfully it was free on cable this time). Swansea had the chance to hammer Wolves and record a nice away win with two early goals, but buckled and ended up allowing Wolves to score two goals in two minutes and share the points. A big waste!

Bolton
Swansea welcomed back Darren Pratley with a 3-1 win over Bolton, in a game that saw Joe Allen, Scott Sinclair and Danny Graham all score. Graham scored an own goal in the second half which seemed to give Bolton something to chase, but thankfully another 'Wolves' wasn't on the cards.

Liverpool
An enjoyable game to watch, but frustrating towards the end when Swansea should have won it - they were the better team on the day.

Man United
Another great game to watch, but Swansea seemed in awe of United in the first half and Rangel's silly mistake cost Swansea a draw and potentially (if Scott Sinclair hadn't boobed up his shot) a win over the champions.


So that's the past out of the way - what does Santa have in his sack for Swans fans?

December will be the busiest month in Swansea City's Premier League calendar, with six games, sandwiched between the Aston Villa game on Sunday and a game on 2nd January against... Aston Villa. It seems Villa will kick off and round up the festive period in Swansea then!

Aston Villa currently sit 8th in the table. Swansea are in 13th, but just two points separate the teams. With Danny Graham settled and the work-rate of the whole team one of the best in the Premier League, not to mention the home advantage, there is no reason why Swansea shouldn't win! Villa fans know this and confidence is apparently low among them. Yes, Michael Vorm will be dealing with one of football's most incredible strikers – Emile Heskey – but the three points are definitely up for grabs! My predication? A simple 1-0 home win to Swansea.

So how many points can we expect from the festive season?

I'm not going to get into score prediction, but roughly, this is how I see the win-draw-losses working out:

Aston Villa (home) - win
Blackburn (away) - win
Fulham (home) - win
Newcastle (away) - lose
Everton (away) - lose
QPR (home) - win
Tottenham (home) - draw
Aston Villa (away) - draw

14 points from 8 games.

Realistically speaking, Swansea, if they can keep up their good form, are looking at about 14 points. They could lose at home to Villa and win away at Newcastle, but around 14 points is what we're looking at achieving. This would set the team up for a great start to 2012.

The most important upcoming games are against the likes of Blackburn and Fulham who are below the club in the table and that's where we want to keep them! Same goes for Everton who are a place above the Swans in the table, so taking points off them is more important than the glamour ties.

This ends a relatively short and vague blog, but I'm going to leave you with this video I found. It pretty much sums up Emile Heskey's prowess on FIFA – not sure why I find it so amusing!

(NB: I didn't produce, edit or upload the video, and own no copyrights to anything - etc, etc, etc)

Swansea City: Man United tickets sell out... but why?

I wasn't planning to write a new post until my November exams had finished (towards the end of next week), but with my Twitter feed going mental over the Man United ticket problems I felt I had to write a small reflection.

Let's get the facts out first - as was reported by the club this afternoon:

Swansea City can confirm that all home tickets for the Premier League fixture with champions Manchester United on November 19 have sold out today.

Following a busy first day of sales on Monday, the remaining few tickets were snapped up this morning as the club sold out its home allocation for the sixth consecutive match.

It seems to be the season-ticket holders with over a certain amount of points on the Jack Army membership scheme who got hold of the majority of tickets yesterday, before the final few were purchased today (I believe these were also season-ticket holders, albeit with less points).

This does beg the question: why does the ever-infuriating Jack Army scheme give priority to those who already have a ticket to the match? (I'm not having a go at season-ticket holders by the way - far from it - instead having a go at the logic of the scheme). Naturally season-ticket holders don't need another ticket as they already have one. I'm not arguing this case too much, because the answer is probably: they are buying them for friends/brothers/fathers who, say, can't afford a season ticket usually, which is a probable scenario. I have little qualms with that.

There is the option that they are buying tickets for 'plastic' fans or Man United fans living in Swansea who just want to watch Alex Ferguson’s men instead of their home team (and there will be quite a few in the stands by all accounts). This is irritating as it fills the seat of a true Swans fan who may not be able to afford a season ticket, or who lives away and can't get to every match. However, I can write this option off as a 'it was bound to happen because its the biggest game of the season'.

What I don't accept as fair is the rumours of those who have bought a spare ticket and are selling them for a large profit, either online or on the gates. Currently these are unconfirmed rumours – I'm going off a number of comments I've noted on Twitter and Facebook. There will always be those wanting to make a profit off other people, but the worst thing about these rumours is: it is Swans fans making a profit off Swans fans!

If you think about it, only those with the season-ticket AND Jack Army membership AND priority points (essentially fans who have already spent a lot of time and money following the club) were able to buy the tickets before they sold out. Therefore, if any are exchanging hands for well over the RRP, it's a loyal Swans fan ripping off another Swans fan. As I said: these may just be rumours and come to nothing, but if you are thinking of selling your ticket on to a genuine Swansea supporter, please don't do it extortionately!

Remember, if you weren't lucky enough to get a ticket but are still intent on watching the match, it is on ESPN and in the majority of Swansea pubs with that dodgy Armenian television channel on Saturday 19 November at 5:30pm .

That's it from me, I'll be back soon with my usual brand of sketchy, irreverent (and irrelevant) blogs.

Swansea City on FIFA 12

Firstly, may I apologise to the regular readers who haven't seen a blog post for a while. It's been a busy few weeks and I've been a little pushed for time, so a couple of regular activities for me – such as the blog and AudioJacks podcast – have had to take a back seat. However, here I am returning to share a few thoughts on Swansea and FIFA 12.

The first thing we must address is the fact that Swansea are in the Premier League. If this news hasn't sunk in for you, seeing the team there in FIFA must be the proof you need! Though in real life this is wonderful, in-game some of the pleasure has gone: the pleasure of taking a smaller team through the divisions to the glory of top flight football! This season Swansea have already booked their place in the greatest league in the world. Where's the fun in that!? A small price to pay I guess. I guess getting into the Champions League will be the aim for manager mode now!

Talking of aims, my current target is to actually win a game. Or even to score a goal. One thing you may agree with if you've had a go: FIFA 12 is hard. This is not a terrible thing for those liking a challenge, but even getting the ball off the opposition seems to be a struggle with the revamped defending system. It's a hard game. Or I'm shit. One of those...

Attacking is also more difficult, though more interesting I must admit. Past editions of the iconic game have seemed a little 'ping-pongy' at times, but FIFA 12 seems to have changed the physics of the game again, meaning you have to work hard for every pass, every shot and every goal. Not delving too far into the physics of it (mainly because I don't understand them), I will conclude goals are harder to come by, but when they do come you may find they are more enjoyable.

So, onto the Swans: the primary reason I am writing this blog.

Before we take to the field, I must mention there is finally a stadium that resembles the Liberty! Though it'll probably be a good few years before the Liberty Stadium is created as it's own special stadium, 'British Modern' has the look of Swansea's home: a generic, concrete, one-tier stadium that does the job. With a simple name change in the settings, it feels just like a Saturday afternoon in Landore – I can almost smell the Tesco Stand.

It seems not much effort has gone into developing the facial detail of the Swansea players, though the general body size, hair cut and skin colour ensures it's not difficult to distinguish who's who on the pitch. From the usual 'tele camera' angle, Dyer looks like Dyer, Williams looks like Williams and Tate looks like Beaker. This makes it easy enough when playing as you know who to pass to for zippy wing play, and who to switch to when making that goal saving slide tackle!

A feature born in FIFA 11 was the post-match player ratings screen, where each individual player was awarded what the computer judged as fair ratings. While the concept is the same on FIFA 12, the CGI avatars of the player's faces have been replaced with an actual photo of the player. In theory this adds realism, though as the picture is relatively small it seems to warp the photos slightly. I've noticed Stephen Caulker looks like Mr Miyagi, while something odd happens to Scott Sinclair's forehead that makes him resemble a Klingon.

All the new signings, as expected, are available to play with (yes, including Bessone!). Even Bodde is injury free, though it seems like cheating if I play him - I'm a stickler for realism.

Commentary is the final point I'll touch on. In one of my first Swansea vs. Cardiff matches I played (Cardiff won 4-0 by the way... sorry) I noticed the commentary team of Martin Tyler and Alan Smith seemed fresher than previous games. The specific commentary they make about the passion of the South Wales derby is nice to hear, instead of the generic old "oh, this will be a good derby match" that could apply to anything. If you get bored of those two, Clive Tyldesley and Andy Townsend are the other option. Spoilt for choice these days aren't we!

Overall, FIFA 12 will provide me with a lot more game-play than FIFA 11 did, mainly through the challenges it poses. I've yet to have a good go at manager mode, though from what I've seen it will take up the majority of my cold winter evenings. I do feel I may have to change the difficultly level from 'pro' to 'semi-pro' soon, lest I throw my PS3 at the wall in the frustration of not being able to make one successful tackle.

Until next time, happy gaming!

Swansea vs Chelsea: Another week, another glamour tie

Continuing the pattern of 'winnable game at home, tough game on the road', this Saturday the Swans take on Chelsea: last season's Premier League runners-up, consistent Champions League qualifiers and a starting eleven including a host of World Class international players, all dying to put a big score on the men in white (or bright orange).

Last week we finally saw a goal (make that three) in the Liberty Stadium, which did wonders in settling the nerves of players, management and fans alike. Had a goal not been scored, things may be looking a little bleak against Chelsea. Thankfully Leroy Lita stepped up well and put away his first chance, contributing to Nathan Dyer's goal and generally menacing West Brom's back four. But with Danny Graham fit again, this throws us straight onto the question: who to start up front?

While Graham does need a confidence-boosting goal, is Stamford Bridge the place he'll find it? If he starts and again fails to score, will his fifth goalless game mean another dent in his confidence? Having said that, maybe the pressure is off him now that the first goals have been scored and he is not expected to to score this week. All a little confusing this psychology business isn't it...?

Leroy Lita was a stand-out player against West Brom, so should he start again? His presence on the field against West Brom was reminiscent of a thug you may see strutting around Wind Street on a Friday night. Lita constantly looks like he's after a fight, so I say let him fight! His first attempt on goal was clinically put away, which was a breath of fresh air after the 'almost there mate' few games that Graham has had. Start Lita again – if he doesn't perform, bring Graham on towards the end of the game.

The midfield (bar Sinclair and Dyer) is the other area that poses selection problems. The first start for Joe Allen against West Brom was great to see – he worked hard (running 13.25 km in the West Brom game, a season high for a Swans player) and maybe deserves to take the field on Saturday. Who should line up next to him? With Leon Britton on top form, Wayne Routledge back in action and Mark Gower spraying a nice array of passes in the last game, as well as Stephen Dobbie still looking to make his mark, Brendan Rodgers is spoilt for choice.

A question mark remains over Neil Taylor's fitness after the Odemwingie clash, but Bessone may prove to be a decent temporary replacement. Hungarian defender Zoltan Liptak (I'm sure that's a brand of sunblock...) is on trial with the club after leaving Videoton (and I'm sure that's a DVD rental shop in Brynhyfryd...), but he probably won't feature. He adds enough height at the back (6ft 4in) so could be another decent one for the future

If Taylor remain questionable, my team to play Chelsea would be:

Vorm
Rangel Monk Williams Bessone
Dyer Britton Routledge Allen Sinclair
Lita

Scott Sinclair will want to show Chelsea what they missed out on, while Brendan Rodgers will also want to have a great game against the club he played a management role in. Frank Lampard will play against the team he scored his first professional goal against, during his stint with the Swans in 1995. Recent history lesson over.

We know Chelsea are a danger. Despite Torres being incredibly light on goals, he's a world class player, a Spanish national and has incredible skill at his disposal. Whether or not he will use any of it against Swansea remains to be answered, though he is a big threat for Ashley Williams and co., not forgetting the likes of Didier Drogba, Juan Mata and Nicholas Anelka.

They've already bagged a series of good results and currently sit 3rd in the table. Come on, you've seen them play plenty of times – you don't need me to tell you they are a quality side, if lacking that cutting edge recently.

My prediction? I can't realistically see Chelsea losing this (Swansea are 13/1 to win). If Chelsea are planning to make anything of this Premier League season they must win against the less established teams. However, I do see Swansea putting up a similar fight like the game against Arsenal. I'll say 3-1 to Chelsea (9/1), though it wouldn't be impossible for Swansea to walk away with one point, which would be a massive success (only topped by a win!).

Swansea 3 - 0 West Brom: Told you so...

Much like Italy in the 2006 World Cup, off-the-field incidents seemed to spur the players to an on-the-field performance to be proud of as Swansea beat West Brom 3-0 on Saturday.

Local tragedies had been building through the last few weeks, so it seemed right that the Swans should banish their goal demons on a day where they were playing for more than just points - they played for the four Welsh miners, the local five-year-old and Brendan Rodgers' father, who all sadly died recently.

I don't particularly want to mention the moment's silence prior to kick-off, but I will: the first 30 seconds were a touching tribute, however a minority of West Brom fans (who were reported to be entering the stadium at the time) began a shouting battle which quickly ruined the moment. Very shameful, if it was a purposeful interruption.

Onto the match, where we finally saw Swansea score not one, but three goals! Fair enough, it was a penalty, but I think a penalty is what was needed. Surely a message from the Gods of football: “You've had so many bloody chances and keep missing - just have one on us”. Scott Sinclair put it away and, like many had predicted, the flood gates opened.

The amount of abuse I've recently received for asking “why not start Leroy Lita instead of Danny Graham” was large and consistent. Not one to gloat, let me just say “TOLD YOU SO!” and move on. Seriously though, it took an injury to the aforementioned Graham to see Lita claim his first Premier League start. Lita knew, like the majority of us, that he might not get regular chances to impress with Graham fully fit, so he had a lot to prove; and prove he did. He looked hungry for the ball from the off. The first chance that fell to him was put in the back of the net – very refreshing. He made a number of impressive off-the-ball runs and also contributed to Nathan Dyer's goal with a nice flick from Vorm's clearance. An enjoyable performance by the pitbullish Lita.

A note about Danny Graham: it's possible that, now goals have been scored, the pressure is off him personally. Therefore he may relax a little more in front of goal during his next game and put away his chances.

As I mentioned, it was nice to see Dyer score for a change – the amount he creates has always been overshadowed by his (lack of) ability in front of goal, but he managed to calmly slide one between the legs of Ben Foster early in the second half. It may well be the last goal of his for another year, but as long as he continues running and creating, he'll be the first name on the team sheet for some time to come.

Defensively, Swansea were solid once again. In a time where every feasible defensive option appeared to be unavailable, we saw Garry Monk return to the pitch slightly before he was 100% fit, though you wouldn't have guessed: he fell back into action like it was an extension of that play-off final.

The injury to Neil Taylor was very worrying, especially with the appearance of stretchers, paramedics, oxygen and Fede Bessone on the sidelines, but it doesn't seem to be as serious as it first appeared thankfully. He had a good game (apart from the occasional lapse of concentration) and it'll be good to see him back at Chelsea - we hope.

Fede Bessone did appear, as I said, and seemed to slot in fine. I doubt he was expecting to feature at any point against West Brom, though he didn't look too phased by the “big time”. Elsewhere, Joe Allen and Leon Britton had wonderful games, Mark Gower played some lovely long balls and Scott Sinclair troubled the Baggies defence a number of times. A convincing team display by Swansea.

Generally, the opposition were not terrible and had their chances (which gives even more credit to Swansea) – Shane Long and Peter Odemwingie looked sharp throughout (though I'd better curb any praise of Odemwingie due to his poor challenge on Taylor). It was good to see West Brom not completely give up towards the end, which ensured an enthralling finish, instead of everyone just counting down the seconds until the final whistle.

If you read my last blog, I hope you followed one of my tips and covered the 3-0 win (at 25/1) and are all collecting your winnings? I wish I'd put more than a pound on it now!

The Swans travel to Chelsea next Saturday with at least one win and, more importantly, a few goals under their belts. Will Taylor be back in time? Will Swansea lose another three to the injured list? Will Lita start again? Find out next time on, Swansea in the Premier League!

Materazzi, Christmas trees and West Brom

By now you'll be well aware that Swansea are losing defenders left, right and centre (well, mainly just centre...)

Rumours that Steven Caulker had picked up a knee injury that was likely to keep him out for two months was verified on Wednesday evening, shortly followed by the announcement that Rafik Halliche and Darnel Situ are unlikely to play for the club at any time soon, thanks to FIFA blocking the transfer. Thus, Swansea's defensive struggles finally peaked. Things can't get any worse! (Ashley Williams; move away from that golf cart...)

As Halliche, Situ and Caulker join Alan Tate on the unavailable list, just four realistic Premier League defenders remain in the squad: Ashley Williams, Neil Taylor, Angel Rangel and Garry Monk (assuming he plays on Saturday – reports circulating that he is likely to). Of course Fede Bessone and Jazz Richards are also available, as are those in the youth squad, though these aren't exactly mouthwatering prospects.

Kemy Agustien is also a factor in this, as he would have been available to simply slot into Caulker's place had he not picked up a hamstring injury against Arsenal.

Swansea are in dire need of a replacement – not one for the future, but one who can step in immediately. As they are permitted to sign free-agents, eyes turn to the list of misfits and has-beens who are ready to blow the dust from their boots. Names likes Sol Campbell have done the rounds with the fans. The 36-year-old clearly has the experience and, wages permitted, would be a fine replacement for Caulker. Certainly not a long term solution, but some type of pay-as-you-play deal might be worth looking at.

Another name cropped up: Marco Materazzi. The former Inter Milan and World Cup winner would add some sun-bleached glamour to the squad, with heaps of big game, big name experience, though wages again might be a problem. Personally I'd love to see this guy at Swansea!

Maybe Swansea are fine with what they have at the moment? Yes, its not an ideal situation, but a formation change could be the answer. Something like a 3-2-4-1 formation (inverted Christmas tree?):

Vorm
Rangel Williams Taylor
Allen Britton
Dyer Gower Routledge Sinclair
Graham

With Allen and Britton as holding defenders, and Taylor and Rangel making less attacking runs, there is no reason why this formation shouldn't temporarily work. I'd select Wayne Routledge over Stephan Dobbie. More than likely, this won't happen as Monk is expected to return, but the option is there.

West Brom are another team Swansea are expect to win against, in fan's and pundit's eyes alike (currently 8/5 favourites with PaddyPower). For essential confidence and points, Swansea must: a) get a goal and b) win. It's in front of another sell-out home crowd who deserve to finally see a goal.

Danny Graham must start – he needs another opportunity to score. However, should he fail to score this time, Leroy Lita should start for the next game. I know that may dent his confidence, but surely not scoring is already doing that? I'm aware some can't fathom Lita starting, but as he hasn't started a game yet nobody knows if it'll work or not.

Anyway, I might be jumping ahead too far – Graham may well score a hat-trick (80/1) and Swans will crush West Brom 3-0 (a more realistic 25/1)!

But what do we know about the opposition? Well the Baggies finished 11th in the Premier League last season and are currently 13th in the table, just a point above Swansea (lost their first three, but beat fellow newcomers Norwich 1-0 last week).

They certainly have key players that will cause Swansea's defence (or lack of it) some trouble. Peter Odemwingie is very bright up front, as is their new singing Shane Long, who was excellent for Reading last season (including against Swansea in the play-off final). At the back they're not so strong and have struggled to keep a clean-sheet under Roy Hodgson, so this may well be the game that Graham breaks his goal-scoring duck and Swansea put away all the chances they create – here's hoping.

My prediction: West Brom will score one by taking advantage of a weakened Swans back four, though everything will finally click for Swansea and they'll, once again, create plenty of opportunities and score least three! Swansea 3 – 1 West Brom (20/1).

… or it could be 0-0 again.