Blogger Q&A - "Goodbye 2013/14"

Swansea City's 2013/14 season is finally over! It's been eventful - happy, sad, angry and proud, the emotions were all over the place this year.

So, to end the season, myself and the Forza Swansea bloggers are answering a few questions to round it all up, including the best and worst games, goals and players!

Q1) What was Swansea's best game this season?

Jules Price: For me the best game would be the draw at the Emirates Stadium. Bony's headed goal was sublime, underlining his increasing confidence. What was so pleasing was how the Swans were able to put up a solid resistance for most of the game against an Arsenal side that were completely dominating the match.

Alec Johnson: It has to be Cardiff at the Liberty - beating your fierce rivals so comfortably with so much at stake. The six point swing was crucial for momentum and it could have gone horribly wrong had we lost.

Gavin Tucker: It has to be my trip to the Mestalla and our 3-0 annihilation of Valencia. Perhaps it didn't have the historical significance of a play-off match or cup final but it's up there with my all time favourite game. Quite possibly the best away trip ever.

Jacob Cristobal: It's a tie between these two: September 16, 2013 against Liverpool. You have to look back with a sense of humour and appreciate that Jonjo Shelvey was MOTM for both sides - that's special talent right there. And February 27, 2014 against Napoli. All Swansea fans should be damn proud of their Europa League campaign. To be 35 minutes away from the Round of 16 is nothing to scoff at.

Chris Carra: The Cardiff game was of course superb, but I enjoyed the penultimate home game against Aston Villa. It secured safety in the league with four good goals, and the players did it with the drive that had been missing for much of the season.

Probably the worst game...

Q2) What about the worst game?

JP: The early season defeat against Man United at the Liberty. It was the most watched game in US history and I know Swansea's performance that day ensured we gained many new followers and admirers from the other side of the Atlantic. The scoreline flattered United because for the first 25 minutes we were on top.

AJ: West Brom at home was the most frustrating. The manner of the defeat turned the majority of our supporters into predicting certain relegation. We rolled over and let them tickle our soft centre in a must not lose game.

GT: West Ham away was my lowest point of the season, as I'm sure it was for many. The apparent lack of preparation and so many simple errors... Chico. There was just nothing positive to take from that performance.

JC: That would be November 3, 2013 against Cardiff. One, it came on at some ungodly hour here in the US (time zone differential) and two, losing to rivals just stinks.

CC: I'm agreeing with Jacob and probably thousands of other Swans fans - the Cardiff loss was terrible. No fight from anyone and Cardiff deserved their one moment of glory.

Q3) Apart from Bony, who was the stand-out Swansea player?

JP: Pablo Hernandez. He had an average season but the increase in his confidence and match performances were evident to see once Garry Monk was installed as the manager. Without doubt he seemed a much happier player in the centre of midfield.

AJ: Jonjo Shelvey. I was one of the excited few when he arrived last July. A genuine Steven Gerrard type that doesn't exist at many clubs. He's scored key goals at key times - Fulham away, Villa at home and, of course, the two against the scousers.

GT: I really want to say Wayne Routledge, but I'll go with Jonjo Shelvey - he still needs some refinement but his potential is clear. Lately everyone has raved about Everton's Ross Barkley but if you look at the stats over the season Jonjo has scored as many in less games, assisted more, created more key chances, passed, shot and tackled more successfully. Get him on the plane to Rio Roy!

JC: Jordi Amat - who I had as the player to watch this season. Simply put he should always be starting over Chico.

CC: Jonjo Shelvey would also do it for me. He wasn't everyone's first choice when he arrived, but showed exactly what he is capable of!

Celebrating one of the goals of the season!

Q4) For you, what was Swansea's goal of the season?

JP: I think the De Guzman goal at the Mestalla was an incredible piece of skill in front of a very large crowd and an even bigger European television audience watching. Even the home fans were stunned.

AJ: A few ways to look at it! The biggest relief was West Brom away when Pablo scored the second in front of us in the away end - we knew we had our first three points of the season after two nasty defeats. The most celebrated was Nathan Dyer's header against Cardiff, while the sexiest was de Guzman's against Norwich: Bony's back heel to set up the delicate chip from our Canadian Filipino Dutch international!

GT: You can't really look much further than THAT goal by Shelvey, but there were many others I loved. Ben Davies' laser guided left foot volley away to West Brom is probably my next choice.

JC: I'm going with Jonathan de Guzman's brilliant free kick in Valencia.

CC: The first goal against Cardiff in February was brilliant - Hernandez's cutting pass through to Routledge who took it superbly.

Q5) With Swansea not in it for obvious reasons, who will you be supporting in the World Cup? And who's going to win it?

JP: South Korea or Ivory Coast for the Swansea connections. Probably South Korea as I enjoyed watching them play during the 2002 World Cup. I also went to watch them play against Japan during the Olympic Games at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and they play some attractive technical football.

AJ: The Ivory Coast - it's a long shot, but you never know. We made a promise to our next door neighbour [Bony - who lives next to Alec] that we would back him in Brazil and you never let the beast down with a promise!

GT: I'll be supporting the Ivory Coast and our human battleship Wilfried Bony (150/1 for tournament top goal scorer!). I think Brazil would be the safest bet to win but there are so many excellent players and teams it's hard to say. I just can't believe Tiendalli didn't get a call up!

JC: The United States and I'll consider it impressive if they get out of the group. The winners will be Argentina as this is where Lionel Messi shows why he is the best in the world.

CC: ITALIA! Of course I am supporting Italy and I reckon they are in with a good shout! I do have a bet on Ivory Coast too though - not just for Bony, but their team is full of potential match winners. Should be a great tournament!

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Many thanks to the bloggers for their answers. We'll be back soon! In the meantime, like us on Facebook or follow me on Twitter for updates.

 

Swansea City 2013/14 - "Thank f**k it's over!"

May... we knew this month would come.

Swansea City's eventful season is finally over. In equal parts it's made us happy, sad, angry, proud and, at times, even a little horny. However I am sure you'll agree that there is a part of you that's glad we can put it all behind us?

With European football, Premier League survival, derby glory and some stunning goals, Swans fans have ultimately enjoyed a successful season, which I am going to run through briefly.

It all started with the Europa League in August, which produced some incredible early season moments. First Swansea shrugged off Malmo and Petrolul Ploiesti before an emphatic victory against Valencia at the Mestalla. The Swans thoroughly deserved to win the game 3-0, including a lovely free-kick from Jonathan 'Pirlo' de Guzman.

Progression through the group was less comfortable, with Swansea making a meal of qualification to the knock-out stages. Who can forget dropping a point with Kuban Krasnodar in the final minute, before doing the very same again in the return leg! Mental.

Swansea at the Stadio San Paolo

Still, the Swans made it out of Group A, where they would find Napoli waiting. The Italian giants proved tough opponents, but Swansea gave it a good go and, in reality, should have won the first leg considering the chances they had. The game in the San Paolo was equally as enjoyable, but Swansea ran out of steam and gracefully fell out of Europe. (Read Gavin's brilliant round-up of the group stages, and Alec's travel journal from his trip to Napoli).

Between all this, Michael Laudrup had been sacked. In early February rumours circulated that a backroom shuffle was taking place. The following day the announcement was made that Swansea had parted ways with the Danish prince. Of course there were mixed reactions, but ultimately fans knew it was for the best. Laudrup seemed to have lost any enthusiasm and direction and he had to go. (Check out Matt's thoughts on his departure).

Thank you Michael, and goodbye.

Meanwhile Swansea were slipping down the Premier League table. Unfortunately they joined around ten teams under threat of the bottom three all season and found it difficult to get a foothold in the league. Dropping silly points against West Brom and Crystal Palace at the start of March was probably the lowest Swansea sunk, with the exception of the highly embarrassing 1-0 loss to Cardiff in November. However, revenge for that one was particularly sweet...

In Garry Monk's first game in charge he led the Swans to victory by hammering the Redbirds 3-0 at the Liberty Stadium. There were no excuses from Cardiff that day - they had been outplayed by the better team. The remained in the drop zone until May when they were relegated.

The Swans eventually sealed their safety with an enthralling 4-1 victory against Aston Villa at the Liberty, before the lacklustre game against Southampton a week later showed why the season needed to end when it did!

The big man

We saw some brilliant players offer awesome contributions. Wilfried Bony for one almost single-handedly kept Swansea afloat while the rest of the team were simultaneously out of form. His goals show why he was actually a bargain at £12 million! Jonjo Shelvey also developed into a more rounded player, offering a new attacking option and a couple of very memorable goals (make sure to read Jacob's rules for The Official Jonjo Shelvey Drinking Game!)

Jose Canas, Alejando Pozuelo, Alvaro Vazquez and even Michu all underperformed and ended up playing no part towards the end of the season. It will be interesting to see where they all are come September.

There was plenty of moaning throughout the season (myself included), though in the end - apart from finishing slightly lower than we may have liked - no-one can really complain.

Though the season is now over we will still do our best to update ForzaSwansea.com with the goings-on in the Swansea City world over the summer, starting with an upcoming Blogger Q&A later this week.

For now, thanks for reading again this season - it's been one hell of year, but thank f**k it's over!

My Swansea City book!

Hi everyone, Chris Carra here. Fear not, there will be another Blogger Q&A session soon, along with my season review after the Sunderland game this weekend.

Before that, I want to draw your attention to a project I've been working on since February (the one which has eaten up the majority of my time). I've been writing a new book called 'Swansea City's Greatest Games' which will tell the stories of - as the title suggests - 50 of the greatest games in Swansea's history.

It will be published later this year by Pitch Publishing and should make a brilliant read because the content is astounding. Swansea City have played some absolutely incredible games in their 102 year existence and the best ones will be documented in detail in the upcoming book.

Naturally the cup finals, successful promotion attempts, incident-packed and goal-saturated games will all be included, but - as I'm still writing the book - I'd be very keen to hear any suggestions to games that I should be checking out

If you have any suggestions to games that I definitely need to include, please leave a comment below, drop me an email via the contact form on this website, tweet me or even send me a Facebook message.

I will keep you updated, but for now many thanks for reading and keep an eye out for a new blog post very soon!

Cheers, Chris

Brazil 2014 - A final look at who is making the plane!

Quite a bit has changed with Swansea City since my last blog post on the players who may be making the World Cup in Brazil this year.

We've had training ground bust-ups, unexplained player absences, heavy losses and even heavier wins! Some players have been prolific - keeping the Swansea spirit alive - while others have been mere shells of their former selves.

With Swansea safe for another Premier League season, attentions are starting to turn to the World Cup which starts next month. And, for the last time, let's see who may be joining the likes of Messi, Ronaldo, Pirlo and Rooney from the Swansea squad!

Michu

Spain

Michu has shot himself in the foot this season. He rightly earned his international debut last year, but since then he has been injured (not really his fault I guess...), moody and lacking the form that made him such a star last season. He has barely featured in Swansea's squad and I honestly don't believe he has done enough to warrant a place in Spain's World Cup squad - and I'm pretty sure most Swans fans would agree with me.

Likelihood: 3/10

Wilfried Bony

Ivory Coast

Wilfried Bony was a bit of a slow starter and initially split the Swans fans into two camps - those who liked him and those who weren't sure he was worth the money. However after the season he has had, he has more than proved his worth - in fact he's proved to be a bit of a bargain at £12million, having almost single-handedly kept Swansea in the Premier League. There is no reason in my eyes that he will miss out on the World Cup.

Likelihood: 10/10

Michel Vorm

Holland

Vorm hasn't had the best of seasons. He has looked tired and much less sharp than previous years - letting in goals that Angel Rangel would probably have saved. He has had his share of injury and his morale obviously dropped, but on his day he's still one of the best goalkeepers Holland has to offer and should be on the plane to Brazil, even if he doesn't make an appearance.

Likelihood: 7/10

Jonjo Shelvey

England

Jonjo Shelvey has proved to be a brilliant addition to Swansea this season. He's had his off days (as have the rest of the squad), but you can rarely question his effort and drive to succeed. He can score goals (just look at his jaw-dropping long-range shot from last weekend), he can pass and he will happily battle for the ball in the centre of the park. However, with the likes of Gerrard, Lampard and Milner in the running for the central midfielders, Shelvey still won't be a frontrunner. He hasn't featured in recent England squads, but he has played well at the Under-21 level and there is still time to change Hodgeson's mind!

Likelihood: 5/10

Roland Lamah

Belgium

Not much has changed with Lamah since we last discussed him. He made his senior international debut in 2009 but has played only 11 times since. The 26-year-old impressed earlier in the season (especially in the Europa League), but hasn't had much of a look in during Garry Monk's tenure. With Belgium definitely taking wingers such as Chelsea's Eden Hazard, Napoli's Dries Mertens and VfL Wolfsburg's Kevin De Bruyne it's unlikely Lamah will be on the plane for Brazil.

Likelihood: 2/10


If you're in the mood for a bet, check out a fine array of World Cup betting offers and enjoy the tournament!

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AGREE? DISAGREE? Your comments are appreciated! You can quickly leave your opinion below, or on our new Facebook page.

ForzaSwansea Exclusive: The Lee Trundle interview!

After my interview with Alan Curtis proved popular among ForzaSwansea readers, I hunted down another Swansea City legend for an exclusive chat - Lee Trundle.

The former fan favourite striker was a prolific goalscorer for the club, notching up 83 goals during 166 appearances over two stints. But it wasn't just his goals that sees him dubbed a star - his confidence, charisma, club pride and, of course, his big bag of tricks really did it for Swans fans!

He remains with Swansea City as the club ambassador and a youth squad coach, though he was kind enough to take some time out of his busy schedule to meet up and give us an exclusive interview about his current role, his past games and other footballing issues. Enjoy!

Lee in his new role as club ambassador

Chris Carra: So, you've settled into your new role as club ambassador - how are you finding it?
Lee Trundle: It's brilliant. Obviously when I was a player I used to try and get out to as many things as I could, like schools and hospitals, but now it's part of my job and this is what I do day in, day out and there's nothing better. I've always loved mixing with the Swansea fans so to have that as my job now is a dream come true.

CC: You do the match day hosting too don't you?
LT: Yeah, I do the match days up in the lounge, but my main day-to-day stuff is going out and meeting people. I've been out to a soccer school this morning and that was brilliant. I'm always really busy - every single day I'll be working in the morning and afternoon. I'm over at the club shop this afternoon, so I'm always doing something.

CC: And you still play football from time to time?
LT: Yeah, I play in Liverpool for my two local teams, where I grew up. When Swansea are away it gives me chance to travel back. Because I've got a young daughter in Liverpool it gives me a chance to go back and see her and my family. So if I'm back I'll have a game for the local teams as well.

CC: I'm sure I heard you signed for a team in Swansea too?
LT: I had signed for Brunswick, but I needed international clearance to play for both, so I never played a league game for them.

CC: Moving back onto the Swans - it hasn't been the best of seasons. It was great being in Europe, but it's been a really poor league performance. What was behind everything falling apart?
LT: I think the Europa League has taken its toll. We haven't got the biggest squad and the extra games were tough. Although we loved the experience of being in Europe, and I think the Swansea fans did as well, I think it's the same thing – every team that's in the Europa League always struggle in the [domestic] league. They always find themselves in the bottom half, most of them, so I think that played a massive part in where we were this year. It's a lot of travelling and it takes its toll in the end.

CC: When you were a player, what was your favourite game with the Swans?
LT: It would have to be the Millennium Stadium final (vs Carlisle United, April 2006), with the early goal and winning the cup and everything that went on – it would have to be that one.

CC: And the worst you played in?
LT: That would probably have to be... the Barnsley play-off final (May 2006), getting beaten on penalties. Although I was subbed that game, I'd done well myself but just the feeling of getting beaten that way, I'd never felt like that in any other Swansea game, even when I'd played my worst.

CC: Who is your favourite player to watch in the squad at the moment?
LT: Obviously Wilfried Bony has been brilliant and for me he has been my player of the year this season, but my favourite player is Leon Britton. To go through the leagues and to still be outstanding in every single division that you are in, you have to be a class player to do that.

CC: Who would be your ideal dream summer signing for Swansea?
LT: If it was a dream one it would have to be Ronaldo – definitely. People go on about Ronaldo and Messi, but for me Ronaldo has got more than Messi.

CC: That would be a great addition! What about a realistic signing?
LT: When I think of signings I always think of strikers, because they are the ones that win you games. A striker would be good, with the cloud over Michu because he hasn't played much this year, but... it's a tough one...

CC: Finally - who's going to win the World Cup?
LT: I'm going to go for Brazil. I'll support England, but for me England are the same every year – they've got great individual players, but they don't seem to click. For me, if I was Roy Hodgson, I would play Liverpool's system. I would keep the Liverpool players in and then just put Rooney where Suarez is, because I think their system has worked well this season. It's attacking, so I'd go that way if I was him.

CC: Being the half Italian stallion that I am (or maybe more of an Italian donkey?), I will be passionately supporting Italy. How do you reckon they will fare?
LT: Yeah they are a strong team and with the World Cup it's hard to call really, because until you see the first couple of games and you can see how the teams are, it's difficult. For me I think Germany have got a chance, I think they're very strong. It's the same teams all the time – Belgium as well, they have quality players but it's how they work together.


A big thanks to Lee for taking the time to speak with me. If you want to read more about his career and life as a Swansea City star, check out his book - More Than Just Tricks.

Swans On Film: "Don't F**k With The Swans"

While browsing Swansea City videos on YouTube last night I came across this infamous one featuring the club's beloved mascot, Cyril the Swan.

In the late 90s, after Cyril was fined for removing the head of Millwall's mascot Zampa the Lion and drop-kicking it, he was interviewed for a Dutch documentary about the Swans with amusing results.

I think the funniest thing is hearing Cyril's voice, which is undeniably Swansea, through and through!

Meanwhile, stay tuned for a special announcement in a few days time! Elsewhere you can follow me on Twitter or like the blog on Facebook. And make sure to check out my other successful blog - Swansea On A Plate!

Swansea City: Player of the Season candidates!

With the end of the season approaching, several Swansea City players are holding their hands up for the Player of the Season award. Our blogger MATTHEW JACOB is giving us the rundown of who he believes makes up this season's shortlist!

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By Matthew Jacob

It's that time of year when Swansea City fans can start mulling over their nominations for the club's player of the season - a time to celebrate individual brilliance, and reflect on what has been a pretty tiring campaign for fans and players alike.

This season the Swans have journeyed all over the continent, from Newcastle to Naples, via Malmo and Manchester. I believe we as fans generally accepted that it was going to be a long hard year, arguably the hardest since we were promoted to the Premier League.

Nevertheless I felt confident. The squad had quality and Michael Laudrup had worked hard to bring players in to improve us. But it has been a tough year for Swansea and our battle against relegation hasn't been a welcome one.

I've been witness to some truly woeful performances by the boys this year, but there have been some real memorable moments as well - beating Valencia 3-0 on their own pitch, taking Napoli right to the wire over two legs, knocking Manchester United out of the FA Cup, getting South Wales derby revenge in style and picking up a few decent league results along the way. See, it hasn't been all doom and gloom!

After all has been said and done, plenty of players stood out and rose to the occassion when we needed them to. But who has really shone? Who should be our player of the season?

Here are the Forza Swansea contenders:

Ashley Williams
Not at his best all season but where would we be without the captain of Wales? With Jordi Amat showing promise and Chico Flores putting his budding career as a Wham tribute act before his football this season, it's fallen to Williams yet again to lead the boys through some particularly difficult moments this year. He was superb against Napoli in particular.

Pablo Hernandez 
I think many of the Jack Army were starting to lose patience with the Spaniard before Monk employed him behind Bony as a more central attacking force. Clever in possession and excellent on the ball (if lightweight off it) he started to show this season why we splashed over £5million on him. Could be a big player for us next season.

Wayne Routledge
Mr Consistency according to Monk. When Rodgers signed the former Palace, QPR, Newcastle (I could go on) star I was dubious, but the Irishman said then that Routledge had the ability to get the crowd on their feet and he's done so again this year. Great performances against Cardiff and Norwich stand out and he has chipped in with six goals this term.

Ben Davies
The young Welsh talent has show signs of fatigue in recent weeks as a long season draws to a close, but he has continued to build his burgeoning reputation as one of the best young defenders in the league, even showing real promise in attack as well as composed in defence. There'll be summer interest for sure.

Wilfried Bony
What more can we say about Daddy Cool. Huw Jenkins admitted to feeling a little wary about splashing £13million on a single player, but every single penny of that cash has proved to be money well spent. Bony has scored over 20 goals for the club this season in all competitions, 13 in the league. His attacking quality really came to the fore in the second half of the season, but he has also proved himself an important asset at defensive set pieces and, for me, we must hold onto him for at least another year at all costs.

Bony is priced at 100/1 to be the top goal scorer at the 2014 World Cup and his performance in Brazil is likely to influence his future at the Liberty Stadium - www.tipsontits.co.uk are tipping Ivory Coast to qualify from Group C and, with a fairly easy looking group, Bony and his team could do well!

Honourable mentions go to: Leon Britton, who again has proven himself a key man for us and will be nigh on impossible to replace in the next few years. Nathan Dyer, who's been very unlucky with injuries and Jonjo Shelvey, a real character who works tirelessly - a key asset for us going forward.

I know who gets my vote, but who gets yours? Comment below or tweet me on @OriginalMattyJ to let me know whether you agree or disagree with the selections.

Let's back the boys in these last few games, cross the line together, and focus on next year.