Replacing Monk?

Garry Monk's appointment as temporary head coach initially brought a positive impact to Swansea City, including the Cardiff hammering and brave displays against Napoli. However, with less convincing results following, GAVIN TUCKER checks out the other managers who may be on Huw Jenkins' radar.

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By Gavin Tucker

After Laudrup left, the decision to hand the reigns to Monk made sense. Bringing in a complete stranger and expecting immediate results at this late and vital stage of the season would have carried too much risk.

With no official confirmation on the planned duration of Monk's reign other than 'the foreseeable future' it would seem fair to assume that Monk will stay in charge for at least the remainder of this season.

The club will then either feel Monk has earned the chance to take the squad into next season or seek a new manager soon after the season ends. This will allow time for an outsider to familiarise himself with the squad, make a few signings and complete a pre-season, before embarking on the tough year ahead.

In an ideal world we would unearth a manager with all the best bits from our recent past. Someone with the discipline and coaching ability of Roberto Martinez, the man management skills of Brendan Rodgers and the contact book and transfer market pull of Michael Laudrup. Not a lot to ask then...

So who could be the next manager at Swansea? Who would be interested? Do we give an upcoming rookie a chance or try a more experienced option? Here's a look at some potential contenders...

Dennis Bergkamp

"The promising gamble"

Huw Jenkins is reportedly a big admirer of the Dutch legend, currently at Ajax as an assistant coach. Bergkamp is hugely respected in this role by his peers and a disciple of the strict technical total football philosophy that would suit what our board try to instill at Swansea. Although he has previously distanced himself when asked about a career as a manager, it wouldn't hurt to ask!

Bergkamp would also bring a certain level of appeal in the transfer market, similar to what Laudrup brought to the club. It would have its risks of course - with Bergkamp unproven as a manager there would be a level of uncertainty as to how he would take to management being thrown in at the deep end of the Premier League.

Marcelo Bielsa

"The experienced choice"

The 58-year-old Argentinian, nicknamed Loco Bielsa (Madman Bielsa) has over 20 years experience in management including spells with the national squads of Argentina and Chile, and most recently in charge of Athletic Bilbao.

Unique in his coaching style, he is known for watching and collecting numerous football videos to the point of obsession. He is said to be meticulous in his preparation for games using all forms of statistics and technology to aid him. Referred to by Pep Guardiola in 2012 as 'the best manager in the world' that surely counts for something!

Oscar Garcia

"The up-and-coming young option"

Spending most of his playing career as an attacking midfielder in La Liga (sounds familiar) Garcia previously managed Barcelona youth squad, Maccabi Tel Aviv and is currently making a push for a the Championship play-off place at Brighton.

The 40-year-old was loosely linked with the Swans last time round. He's another young manager who fits our philosophy and tactics. Garcia, although a little inexperienced has made a pretty good start in management so far.

Ronald Koeman

"The big name"

Koeman is currently set to leave his role as Feyenoord manager at the end of this season and media friendly Swans director John van Zweden let slip this week that enquiries had been made by Koeman's agent as to whether Swansea would be a suitable destination for the Dutchman.

'Tintin', as he was known had an illustrious career as a player, most notably part of Johan Cruyff's dream team at Barcelona in the early 90's where he played with Michael Laudrup among many other greats.

His history in management is a bit mixed, most of it has been reasonably positive in the Netherlands. He's spent time in charge at Vitesse, AZ and PSV but his most successful period came with a four season spell at the helm of Ajax. He has ventured outside the Eredivisie twice with less success, with short times at Benfica and Valencia.

Koeman has experience at some massive clubs and his renowned name in the football world would bring appeal to Swansea in the transfer market.

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It's always worth remembering that our board tend not to go for in-work managers, as the last four appointments have shown. Martinez, Sousa, Rodgers and Laudrup were all unattached before taking the reigns at Swansea. Whether this is out of a respect to other clubs or Huw Jenkins doesn't want to pay out millions in compensation is not exactly known - it's probably a bit of both.

There is a massive decision to be made this time round and seeing as we have a pretty healthy bank balance, it may be that we need to approach an in-work manager this time round if it means we get the right man.

Nervous times? Exciting times? It's all just another lap on the Swansea City roller coaster!

Swansea City: The Business End

Welcome to the time of the season where everything matters.

The time for bluffing, blaming and brave losses is over. There's no more Europa League, FA Cup or Capital One Cup... all efforts can finally be concentrated on the league.

There's no hiding from the fact that everyone involved with Swansea City have enjoyed a crazy month or so.

Since Michael Laudrup was relieved of his duties at the start of February we've seen some brilliance on the pitch. The Swansea City we actually enjoy watching. Hammering Cardiff at the Liberty Stadium was undoubtedly the highlight, though holding Napoli to a draw was pretty special. 

We've also seen some bad times - losing in the final game to Napoli was a blow but, as many have said, it would've been a result we'd have taken at the start of the season. The hangover from the intense Europa League schedule resulted in the 1-1 draw to Crystal Palace, which actually felt like more of a defeat considering the nature of the game.

Players have limped off, trundled around and some even vomited on the pitch - all signs that maybe too much football has been played. The streamlined squad was too small and stretched beyond their means with three different competitions on the go. Thankfully most of the players have had a good rest and should be raring to go on the weekend.

The first time Michu will play for Monk

When the teamsheets are read over the loudspeakers on Saturday, the one name we'll all be hoping to catch is Michu, who should return against West Brom after being away since mid-December. Whether struggling with injury or just weighing his options after the departure of Laudrup, Michu just hasn't been a Swansea player this season.

Even before his absence he didn't look like himself. If he has hopes of making the Spanish plane to Brazil this summer he needs to find his form again - and where better to start than against West Brom this Saturday.

With Michu joining a relatively full-strength squad at the Liberty Stadium, there should be high confidence ahead of the clash with the Baggies.

Though Monk has only guided Swansea to one win in seven matches, it's important to remember two were against Napoli, with others being against Liverpool and Everton. Another good stat to remember is that Monk has collected more points (five) in his four Premier League matches as manager than Laudrup did in his final eight!

Still - he needs a win this weekend.

We've talked about must-win games many times in the past, but it really is vital to walk away with all three points come Saturday evening.

Swansea are 14th in the table, with 29 points. A win could see the Swans back in the middle of the table with another injection of breathing space. A draw would be very unsatisfying and... well, it's pointless talking about a loss because it's just not worth considering at this stage.

Despite the tightness at the bottom of the table, I genuinely can't see Swansea getting relegated. Sure, if we lose the next five it's probably a deserved relegation, but with players like Bony, Michu, Vorm, Britton, Williams and Dyer all fit and likely to play a part in the next few matches - along with teams like Fulham and Cardiff almost certainly back in the Championship next year - it just doesn't seem feasible to me.

But it's up to the team to prove me right on Saturday. I'm going for a 2-1 win for Swansea, with no injuries and no vomiting from anyone (with the possible exception of West Brom fans who are so overwhelmed at the quality of Swansea that they feel nauseous with excitement).

Alec's Napolitano tour: "I came, I saw, I survived!"

Swansea City's adventure in Italy will forever be remembered as one of the most memorable away matches in the club's history for both the occasion and performance. ForzaSwansea's ALEC JOHNSON took a trip to South Italy with 900 other Jacks to cheer on the Swans... and he survived! Here's how he got on:

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Before the journey

That wonderful saying "see Naples and die" had another twist ahead of the Jack Army's visit as the Welsh media seemed to believe we were stepping into a first century gladiator battle instead of a Europa League game!

My stock response to the danger was "we will all be fine", but I eventually gave up telling people that I wasn’t going to die in some Italian battleground. Yes you have to be cautious, but having previously survived the San Siro and Stadio Olympico, I travelled feeling comfortable in the fact that it wasn’t going to be my final journey.

Alec (centre), Eli and their Italian friend Alessandro

The destination

If you wanted a degree of comfort in the company of fellow Jacks along with transport provided to the stadium, there were three clear choices: Naples, Rome or Sorrento. We opted for Sorrento as it was close, but not too close to Naples. Also we knew that Jim White SCFC tours had the round-trip sorted with a pre-arranged police escort, flashing lights, an English boozer, a rowdy mob and a sing song.


Before the match

As me and my boy Eli strolled down the Corso Italia in Sorrento looking for the proposed meeting place for Swans fans, we could hear the English Inn a few hundred metres before arriving. Hymns and arias followed by 'the scum came up and they’re going straight back down' blasted out across the peaceful town.

On arrival, there were around 30 or so Swans fans inside, most looked like they had been there since breakfast. The barman, Fabio, was draped in a Swans scarf with a Swans badge on his collar and he too joined in the songs albeit without understanding what the hell 'the scum' were or who Ki Sung Yeung or Vincent Tan may be.

Six Perronis and two hours later, we headed back to our apartment unbeknown that a group of Sorrento Ultras strolled in shortly after. Now, this bit is baffling: they approached the Swans fans who remained in the pub, asking if they would like to have a fight. Have times changed or is this a cultural thing? Back home, bottles would have been thrown across the bar and there would have been no polite invite to have a fight - it would just kick off.

Catching up with several other groups staying in Naples, they encountered the exact same experience. So it seems that anybody visiting Napoli in future just needs Italian lessons not body armour.

Alec and co on the SCFC bus to the San Paolo

The San Paolo

The Sorrento mob were first in a good half an hour before kick off, greeted by hundreds of riot police and a dozen Liberty stewards. None of either group spoke the other language so the entire translation was delivered by Alessandro, a friend of mine from Milan who had come down for the game.

The San Paolo is the worst of the big old stadiums in Europe - beyond basic to the point of being third world. Horrific facilities with the only catering being pre-packed sandwiches and Ritz biscuits to munch on from your plastic bucket seat. However, the atmosphere generated from the two curva ends was deafening. 15,000 thousand at either end and they didn’t stop all game. Despite our constant singing we did feel drowned out.

Alec's view from the away end

The match

Oh how different it could have been. The Emnes chance in the first ten minutes. Bony one on one. Ash's late header. Bony's spin and volley. Our pace cut them open time and time again. We looked threatening on corners and they were very un-Italian in their defending of set pieces.

Pablo created havoc drifting around between the midfield and Bony did the same up top. He’s found his home in there and it will be interesting to see what happens when, not if, Michu returns. The turning point in the match came with bringing Neil Taylor on and playing people out of position. Nothing against Taylor but he isn’t a left midfielder and it was unfair to ask him to play it. It also wiped out our pace and width which is a huge part of our game and we never looked the same.

The Napolitano nutters

The riots

What riots? Despite the shockingly late arrival of the Rome and Naples port buses, the police did a fantastic job in keeping the supporters apart. The reputation of police aggression and a history of inciting riots wasn’t on view last week.

If anything their ignorance of multiple incidents of supporters throwing missiles was far too tolerant - almost as if it was accepted behaviour for us to be dodging Coke bottles. Even the customary 30 minute lock-in after the final whistle was relatively calm and they seemed to clear the surrounding escape routes very quickly with the help of half the Italian police force and a few copper choppers.


Post match

Going out of the Europa league at this stage is a safe exit I believe. We have bigger battles to win and any Jack would have taken elimination in Napoli at the knock-out stages back in July when this all kicked off.

We can be very proud of our achievements and have to keep the memories fresh, as it could be a while before we have the opportunity to experience a European tour once again. Onto West Brom and an anticipated three points that will go a huge way to securing our status as the only Premier League team in Wales next season.


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Swansea City players: Five seasons, five of the worst!

As Swansea City fans we've seen some incredible talent at the club - mainly over the past five seasons as the Swans have made their way up the league ladder and into the top flight. We've witnessed major talent in Wifried Bony, Michu, Michel Vorm, Scott Sinclair and Gylfi Sigurdsson, to name just a tiny handful.

But it's been hard to applaud the team performance at times, knowing there has been some utter rubbish in the midst of the squad.

So I'm bringing you a short post to celebrate the worst Swansea City players over the past five seasons. Feel free to comment below, via Twitter or on our Facebook page to share any you think I may have missed (or if you feel the urge to defend the ones I've included!)

Remember: this is just for fun - we've written hundreds of positive articles about Swansea, so we have to balance it out now and again!

Alvaro Vazquez (aka The Goalmachine)

Come on... you knew he'd be first on the list didn't you? Alvaro Vazquez - although a product of the European Cup winning Spanish U21 squad - is the only player that can summon a 19,000 strong groan when his name is read out at the Liberty Stadium. He's not scored and doesn't look like he ever will.

While he may be a good athlete and a quick runner, we need a footballer not someone who'd impress in the Swansea Bay 10k. I feel some compassion because he's clearly lacking any sort of confidence, but it's hard to feel that bad when he's on so many thousand a week for doing bugger all.

Itay Shechter (aka Mr. Scores When He Wants)

It's hard to believe we celebrated the departure of Itay Shechter when one of his replacements was equally as poor (yes, I'm talking about Vazquez again, I'll stop it soon...). He scored just one goal for Swansea in his 18 appearances for the club. His long awaited goal came in a 3-2 win away against Wigan - his first in 856 minutes for club and country... wow.

The Israeli striker (at least that's what he called himself) left Swansea City at the end of the 12/13 season, then went on to slam the club saying "I experienced a tough season. I didn’t feel part of the team..." The reason, Itay, is because the other members of the squad were decent players.

Jordi Lopez (aka The Team Player)

Though he was signed on a free transfer by Paulo Sousa, Lopez was one of the highest earners at Swansea at the time, which must have been great for a player who spent most of the time on the bench/out of the squad with injury.

Lopez made just 15 appearances for the club, scoring no goals, over two seasons. God knows how much money he took from the club for doing so very little. Cheers Jordi...

Dwight Tiendalli (aka Mr Dependable)

 

Like Vazquez, Tiendalli is a current part of the Swansea City squad. While he's made more of a positive impact than the Spaniard (hell, I've made more of a positive impact than the Spaniard), there is no denying that Tiendalli can make your blood boil.

He's a defensive liability who loves being out of position and getting an unnecessary yellow card. Bizarrely Tiendalli scored his only goal for the Swans in the same 3-2 win away against Wigan that Shechter scored in! He actually scored the winner... should that exclude him from this list?

Vangelis Moras (aka The Greek Ashley Williams)

One Twitter user (@nickyfran75) summed up Moras perfectly in two simple words: "Absolute garbage." The Greek centre-back joined the club on trial in September 2011, before signing on a permanent deal.

He made his one and only competitive appearance for Swansea City against Wolves in October 2011. The game saw Swansea 2-1 ahead, before Moras came on for Mark Gower in the 86th minute. Swansea then conceded a late goal and ended up dropping two points in a 2-2 draw. Was Moras at fault? Probably. He never played for Swansea City again.

Swans in the USA!

With news of record television viewing figures for the South Wales Derby in America, we are checking in with our American writer JACOB CRISTOBAL, who takes a look at the impact Swansea City are having in his fine country!

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By Jacob Cristobal 

Three weeks ago Swansea City hosted the return leg of the South Wales Derby against Cardiff City. We all know the result of that - a convincing 3-0 trashing of our bitter rivals, gaining some revenge from the early season fixture that yielded a 1-0 defeat.

We also know it was the managerial debut of Alan Tudyk... I mean Garry Monk (Googling Alan Tudyk will reveal why we may confuse the two!). We also know that since then the Swans have played back to the form that got them to the Premier League originally.

The dismissal of Michael Laudrup (to who I must say thank you for the memories and the great hair) has definitely seen the Swans playing better. What might not be a known fact for some is that the South Wales Derby a few weeks ago generated some good television ratings over here in the US.

In fact, up to this point, the South Wales Derby gave NBC (who have the broadcast rights in the US) their best ratings ever among all of the Premier League matches they've shown since the start of the season.

In the land of television viewership numbers the match scored a 1.2 overnight rating, which means at least 1.2 million people around the country tuned in. That's right - the South Wales Derby posted the highest Premier League TV ratings here in America to date! Give yourself a round of applause if you were in the stands singing Hymns and Arias.

There were other factors to this boost in that it was sandwiched between the Sochi Winter Olympics coverage, while a manager being sacked is always going to cause a brief spike in any club taking the sports headlines.

One thing NBC has done very well in their maiden voyage of broadcasting the Premier League is giving all the clubs a fair shot at the spotlight. Where in the past it would've been easy to just highlight the big four because... well they're the big four, today there's no excuse not to cast out a wide net.

And when there's a derby on the Premier League calendar, NBC has tried to give that match the stage for all in the US to see.

In the case of the South Wales Derby, a late start resulting in the match being broadcasted here in the West Coast at 9:30am versus, say, 5:30am or 7am definitely made it easier for us sleep-in folks (yours truly) to tune in.

There is also the reality that the Swans are getting an increasing fan base in America. You already know my story, but I know north and south of me (shout out to Melissa Douglas and Jonathan Weaver who live in Vancouver B.C. Canada and Portland, Oregon respectively) that there are folks following the Swans.

There's even a Facebook group for American Swansea fans and associated Twitter account. Their progress so far in the Europa League and breath-of-fresh-air manager Garry Monk has fans near and far saying "this is the Swansea we know!"

Just look at the last match against Liverpool - the Reds had to score four to beat them. If Swansea can repeat the energy in the first leg against Napoli and pull off the stunner and advance further, it will no doubt bring echoes of when Fulham made that surprise run in 2002. And, for a club already lauded as being the alternative to the "big four", such a bump will only intensify that support.

If there's one club that's been the biggest recipient of NBC's solid effort of bringing the Premier League to the US, very few would debate it being Swansea City. And just like the energy of their supporters in the stands at the Liberty, it could very well be the energy of the US-based supporters increasing the club's popularity here.

Mamma Mia! The Swansea City vs Napoli preview

After a much-needed break from European competition, Swansea will face Napoli in the first leg of the Europa League Round of 32 this Thursday. A place in the last 16 against either Eintracht Frankfurt or Porto awaits. Our blogger GAVIN TUCKER runs us through how the Swans may get there...

By Gavin Tucker 

Swansea City, having rested the vast majority of the first team in Sunday's FA Cup defeat, should be at pretty much full strength going into this landmark game.

The squad has looked revitalised under Garry Monk's stewardship, pressing higher up the field while looking to regain possession and playing with the width we have missed going forward lately.

Shelvey played against Napoli while at Liverpool

Jonjo Shelvey may be available after suffering a hamstring strain in the West Ham game. Interestingly, it was now Napoli boss Benitez who signed Shelvey for Liverpool towards the end of his time there, stating he was looking for "British players with passion".

Stranger still is that Jonjo's first start for Liverpool was actually against Napoli in the Europa League aged 18 in 2010. Also, perhaps most strange was his teammate for that fixture was Swans new boy David N'Gog... football has a funny way of throwing coincidences like this up!

Being at home first leg is not ideal and it will be important to get a positive result at the Liberty, a clean sheet would be a massive plus and a goal (or three) should give us a solid base in the difficult second leg on 27th February at the Stadio San Paolo.

There's also a chance we could see the long-awaited return of marvellous Michu, although it may only be a cameo appearance as it's unlikely he will be able to dive straight into a full 90 minutes.

Rafa Benitez's Napoli will make their first appearance in the Europa League this season after being harshly dumped out of their Champions League group despite impressive performances and results.

The Azzurri have been in good form of late - three straight wins including a 3-1 league victory over AC Milan and eliminating Roma 5-3 on aggregate in the two-legged Copa Italia semi-final. They currently occupy third place in Serie A, the final Champions League qualifying position.

Napoli have no major injury concerns or suspensions in their ranks going into the clash. Although top scorer Gonzalo Higuain may not make Thursday's clash after taking a knock to the back in his previous game.

You tend to know to a certain degree what to expect when facing a Benitez side. When taking over at Napoli he moved them away from the more traditional Italian formation of 3-4-3 to his favoured 4-2-3-1 set up that he has used consistently throughout his managerial career. Implementing his zonal marking system and a pretty solid defensive set up that concede few goals to good effect.

Pepe Reina is likely to feature in goal on loan from Liverpool and expect Marek Hamsik to be pulling the strings in midfield. Should Higuain miss the game, Rafa will probably opt to play Jose Callejon up top who has made a strong start since his move to Napoli from Real Madrid.

With approximately 1,700 Napoli supporters making the journey from Italy it should be a lively atmosphere. European competition under the floodlights is a special occasion and should be cherished.

After over 20 years since Swansea's last continental adventures, who knows when we could be tackling an Italian giant again. Savour it!

Napoli should hold no fear for Swansea and there is no doubt the Italians are a well drilled, tough opponent with some quality players. However we have outplayed and beaten better sides in our recent history. It was not so long ago we overcame Rafa Benitez's Chelsea side over a two-leg knockout format on route to Capital One Cup glory. Is this Napoli side any tougher than Chelsea last year?

Concentration, determination and a bit of luck and we can progress from one of the toughest draws we could have got. We are capable enough and, as cliched as it sounds, we can beat anyone on our day!

Prediction: Swansea 1-0 Napoli

Swans On Film: The South Wales Derby as told by the players

Monday morning hasn't hit us that hard this week after that incredible 3-0 crushing of Cardiff on the weekend! What a win!

While Cardiff fans are rightly licking their wounds, Swansea City fans are still celebrating!

And to keep the celebrations going I've collated the official Swansea City player reaction videos into one convenient blog post so you can see how the players felt they performed, starting with the manager...


Gary Monk (Press Conference):

Nathan Dyer:

Angel Rangel:

Pablo Hernandez:

We'll be back with more Swansea City blog posts very soon! For now check us out on Facebook or Twitter.