Rangel's last ride?

After giving a quick round-up of the summer's main business dealings at Swansea City, MATTHEW JACOB discusses Angel Rangel's role with the club and who is around to cover him if he is no longer up for the task.

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By Matthew Jacob

Now that the dust has settled on another summer of transfer dealings at Swansea City, we have the opportunity to reflect on what has actually been achieved.

First and foremost we kept our goalscorer, Wilfried Bony. Some may say against the odds, given that the big Ivorian is considered to be one of the hottest strikers available in the market place, who won't be cup tied in a European competition come January.

Allegedly carrying a release clause in his contract I, along with the rest of the Jack Army, held my breath as the deadline day clock ticked down to 11pm. Would anyone test our resolve with a bid in excess of £20 million? (Think about that for a second, twenty million pounds for a Swansea City forward... how times have changed!). Thankfully that bid didn't come. He remains our number ten, and personally, I believe that to be our best bit of business.

Additions have come all over the pitch though, and have significantly improved the squad. Lukasz Fabianski looks to be an absolute steal, while Gylfi Sigurdsson has given our midfield not only additional flair but a focal point to channel all our good play through.

The jet-heeled Jefferson Montero offers another option in the wide areas, while we also sorted a new deal for Ki Sung Yueng, and recruited Bafetimbi Gomis, again on a free - more shrewd business by the club.

However, despite all this success, there were areas that, for me at least, were not addressed. Hands up if you honestly feel we have competition for Angel Rangel in that squad?

Still a crucial part of Swansea City?

The Spaniard is arguably the club's most loyal servant following the likes of Leon Britton, Alan Tate, and the boss himself, Garry Monk. It is almost certain that he has given us the best years of his career and at 32 it wouldn't be unfair to suggest that this season may be his last as a real quality option at right back.

That is not to suggest that Rangel hasn't been a superb servant for the club, and the way he has started this season has more than confirmed he still has what it takes to compete effectively at the top.

The question still remains though: where do Swansea City go when Rangel cannot bomb on past the winger and put a cross in? Or when he can't beat a winger for pace and cover?

This leads me back to the transfer window, and probably the only disappointment for me was the club failing to land a right back to first and foremost challenge Rangel for that spot, but also to provide effective cover for the former Terrassa man.

Dwight Tiendalli could be forced into action should the need arise but is naturally a left sided defender, while another summer recruit in Stephen Kingsley has also been earmarked for left back, and is seen as a firm development player for the time being.

Neil Taylor, who has shown signs of getting back to his best following his start to the season, has played at right back for Team GB but again is a more natural left sided player. For me, this leaves us with Jazz Richards as our only solid right back after Rangel.

Does Jazz have what it takes?

Jazz Richards has been at Swansea City a considerable time. Following his professional debut in 2009 he's had loan spells with Huddersfield and Crystal Palace before signing a new contract with the Swans last year (one which will take him up to June 2016).

The local boy is seen as a brilliant deputy right back and nothing would give me greater pleasure than to see him step up and become first choice in that role once Rangel eventually starts to wane. Having players come through our youth system and into the first team is something Swansea City have had considerable success with in years past, namely Joe Allen and Ben Davies who both moved on to bigger clubs, while Josh Sheehan is slowly breaking into the first team.

Now is the time for Richards to really push on. If he is to be Rangel's successor, it has to happen soon or it won't happen at all.

For me, this season and next could see Rangel's time as a first team player come to an end, but for the time being I see no better option. Frankly, we're very lucky to have a player of Rangel's considerable talent in our team already, and I hope he continues those overlapping runs for a little while yet.

Lukasz Fabianski - Has Swansea's gamble paid off?

Three games down and just one goal conceded, with Lukasz Fabianski deserving much of the praise for Swansea City's solid defensive performances. But as JUSTIN AGTAV discusses, signing the mistake-prone Pole was a bit of a gamble. So has it paid off?

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By Justin Agtav

When Swansea sold Michel Vorm in the summer and were left with new recruit Lukasz Fabianski as his replacement, I was a little nervous.

I had seen Fabianski play almost every season during his spell with Arsenal and in that time I noticed that he was constantly misjudging crosses and had certain problems catching the ball. He even made a mistake in the FA Cup final last year which almost cost Arsenal the trophy.

But it seems he is not making any of those errors with the Swans and has been one of their best players over the three games so far this season.

The key man for Swansea this season?

Considering that Swansea got him for nothing he is the very definition of a bargain signing. Arsenal shelled out around £3 million just to get backup goalkeeper David Ospina, while Southampton spent £10 million to get Fraser Forster.

Based on past performances one may have said that Fabianski may not be as good as these two keepers, but after seeing him with the Swans we now know he is certainly capable of becoming a Premier League star.

In the first three games he was outstanding, keeping a clean sheet against plucky Burnley and West Brom and conceding just one against Man United. Of course every time the ball came towards him I still had the lingering feeling that he was about to make a mistake, but he actually dealt with cross after cross superbly.

Meanwhile, his height (6ft 2in) makes him a much better aerial presence for Swansea than Michel Vorm (just on 6ft). His distribution was excellent as well which suits Swansea's game perfectly. And he communicated well and looked generally very confident.

And confidence is why I think Fabianski will be a star for Swansea this season.

He always made excellent breakaway saves and was excellent at shot stopping for Arsenal, but at the same time he always looked nervous. He may have been afraid to make mistakes, because it was likely that he wanted to be Arsenal's number one keeper so much.

But now that the Pole is the undisputed number one at Swansea, he should have no problem with confidence and could end up being one of the goalkeepers of the season.

The Swans' first game: a brief chat between Chris and Alec

After the first game of the season producing three fantastic points for Swansea City, I thought it would be a good idea to have a chat with ForzaSwansea's resident former Swan and football agent Alec Johnson for his reaction and to see what we can expect from the season ahead.

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Chris Carra: So, a 2-1 win against Manchester United at Old Trafford... I can't say I knew of anyone who thought that was very likely to happen, especially after the poor showing against Villarreal the week before. Was it a shock three points for you?

Alec Johnson: Well I wasn't confident until I saw the team sheets, then it all changed. I actually tweeted that we would score a late winner, believing that Gomis would get the important goal. United were also very poor and lacked movement and pace, which helped our cause. We caught them at the right moment in the season.

CC: Yeah, United were quite ordinary on Saturday, although I don't want to sound like I'm taking anything away from the Swans' performance. What do you think we did right against van Gaal's men?

AJ: It was our shape. We were back to our solid best. Protect the back four, get the wingers working within ten yards of the fullbacks and be patient. It paid off in the end!

CC: It certainly did. It wasn't a flawless performance though, especially the opening ten minutes where nerves seemed to play a part. But I guess that was to be expected. What do you feel could have been improved on?

AJ: Our ball retention. We certainly panicked for patches and kept giving it back to United, which is understandable for the season kick-off. Plus I felt our wingers didn't have a go at their vulnerable full backs when given the chance, especially Nathan Dyer against young Tyler Blackett.

CC: On to next week where Swansea will take on the 'new boys' Burnley at the Liberty Stadium. After the first game do you reckon this will be an easier three points?

AJ: Not necessarily - it will still be a very difficult game and they will be right up for it. Sean Dyche will allow no easy ride. However if we approach the game with the right attitude we could get a decent win.

CC: Can we get an early score prediction? 

AJ: I'll say 2-1 or 3-1 to Swansea.

CC: That sounds about right. I'm going to say 2-0 to Swansea. Now, more generally speaking, let's look at our key players this season. I'm enjoying Montero from what I've seen of him - the kind of kick and chase player I've always loved to watch. He'll be very important I feel. What about you?

AJ: The most important for me will be Siggi, as Michu was in previous seasons. Playing the system we play relies so heavily on the 'ten' floating between the lines and he can do just that. As for the player I'll enjoy watching the most, I'd say Gomis edges this over Siggi, simply because we haven't had pace up top for two decades. Suddenly we have speed, which will force teams to sit deeper against us, opening up pockets of space around the park.

CC: Taking a great leap nine months into the future and the season is coming to an end. Where are Swansea City in the Premier League table?

AJ: I believe we will be in our usual spot of top of the middle bag, hovering around mid-table all season. We'll be safe by Easter. If I'm being more specific we'll be 8th with 49 points by the end, beating our best finish and points tally in the Premier League. I also fancy an FA Cup run - that trophy is a missing piece for us and I'd love us to have a right go at it.

CC: I think most Swans fans would happily take that! I'm going to say we'll be around mid-table too - these days that is the safest bet! I think I learnt my lesson when I had a fiver on Swansea to finish in the top six last season... 

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Thanks to Alec for having this little chat - make sure to follow him on Twitter. We'll be catching up again very soon. For now get in touch with your season predictions via Twitter or on our Facebook page!

Swansea City's Greatest Games: The Book

It is with great pleasure that I can finally announce that my upcoming book, Swansea City's Greatest Games, is available to pre-order from outlets such as Amazon and Waterstones!

"...essential reading for the Jack Army, of all ages and generations!" - Kevin Johns, Swansea City club chaplain

The 208-page hardback book brings to life fifty of the Swans' most intense, emotional and thrilling games from across their 102 year history.

The book starts with the very first game in 1912 before moving through the decades right up to the current day. As you can imagine, there are plenty from the Toshack years and the Premier League era to get your teeth into.

There are fresh interviews with former players and a brilliant picture section, while Swans legend Alan Curtis has provided the foreword.

For someone like me who is a stringent perfectionist, I can say I am very happy with how it's all come together and I'm sure any true Swans fan will love it!

The book will be in stores from 1st October 2014, but is available to pre-order now.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the book! If you have any questions please get in touch via the contact form or on Twitter, or leave a comment below.

Swansea City: The Season Preview

Is it just me or was that a short summer?

In less than a week Swansea City will be back up and running, kicking off their fourth Premier League campaign with an away trip to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United (Saturday, 12.45pm).

We've seen / heard / read about the Swans pre-season friendlies (make sure to read my full round-up) - some of them were pretty convincing wins, but other games made for much less comfortable watching.

Unfortunately when Swansea played Villarreal on Saturday at the Liberty they looked to pick up where they left off last season - a little clueless and disorganised. What is worrying is that the players on the pitch were essentially Garry Monk's first team (excluding the injured Leon Britton and Wayne Routledge).

However, despite looking very uninspiring, the 3-0 loss perhaps proved to Monk that whatever he was trying out didn't work. Set up the same way against Man United and it's pretty much the first loss of the season guaranteed.

What went wrong in that game? Well the formation seemed non-existent. Were they playing a 4-4-2? Or a 3-5-2? Or a 4-5-1? Whatever they were trying it wasn't working and they looked very unbalanced. Naturally without Britton soaking up the pressure in the middle and another dedicated winger out wide there was always going to be some unbalance.

Hopefully a key player again this season

So how will Swansea fare this season? It's really hard to predict! To many pundits, the Swans are relegation fodder, but I still can't see it. If they keep hold of Wilfried Bony and he links up well with the likes of Gylfi Sigurdsson, Jefferson Montero, Jonjo Shelvey and Bafetimbi Gomis, the attack could be one of the best outside the top four.

With midfield possibly the strongest it has ever been, the main area of worry seems to be in defence - an area that has not been much of an issue in recent years. With the departure of Ben Davies and Chico Flores, this crucial part of the team is looking a little threadbare.

Angel Rangel - though still one of my favourite players - is not as sharp as he once was, while Kyle Bartley looks a little suspect at times. However the club are making a move for Napoli's Argentinian centre-back Federico Fernandez, while Nice's left/centre-back Timothee Kolodziejczak (looking forward to Kevin Johns saying that over the Liberty loudspeakers!) has also been linked with the club.

Whatever happens, fans and the board will be more sympathetic of Monk than they would another manager. But he's not invincible and if we start to see poor results there will certainly be unrest among those who wanted Monk as permanent manager and those who thought it was too soon.

The fixtures are pretty balanced throughout the season, with two highly winnable games to begin (after United of course) - Burnley and West Brom at the Liberty Stadium. I guess it would be worth reassessing after those games. Pick up six points by the end of the month and everything is fine. Anything less and questions will be asked.

But let's end this on a positive - Swansea are an established top flight side entering their fourth year in probably the greatest league in the world. With solid goalscorers, electric pace, longstanding stalwarts and a midfield with plenty of depth there's no reason we should be worried.

(Unless Bony leaves...)

Swansea City Summary: A month of pre-season friendlies

For those who didn't see them or who haven't been keeping an eye on the scores, here's a recap of how the Swans have fared in their pre-season friendlies:

vs. Chivas Guadalajara (16 July) - Drew 1-1
Many first-team players were involved in the opening friendly against the Mexicans in America, including Angel Rangel (captain), Leon Britton, Bafetimbi Gomis, Jonjo Shelvey and Nathan Dyer, who scored Swansea's only goal in the 57th minute. Chivas proved tricky opponents and found an equaliser through a last-minute penalty. There were two red cards in this game, including one for Neil Taylor.

vs. Minnesota United (19 July) - Lost 2-0
The first loss of the season, courtesy of two first-half goals from Justin Davis and Greg Jordan. Again the Swans showed off several first-team players including Chico Flores, Gerhard Tremmel, Bafetimbi Gomis, Neil Taylor and Angel Rangel. Swansea enjoyed most of the possession, but failed to turn it into anything worth celebrating.

vs. Plymouth Argyle (27 July) - Won 4-0
Back in Britain following their short American tour, Swansea finally claimed a victory in their pre-season campaign. The game saw the return of Ki Sung-Yueng to the team. Rory Donnelly scored first within ten minutes, followed by a rare goal from Jordi Amat in the second-half. Then came two goals for Gylfi Sigurdsson on his return to the club. A very comfortable afternoon for Garry Monk and the travelling Swans fans.

vs. Exeter City (29 July) - Won 2-0
Another comfortable game for the Swans against League Two opposition, which saw a number of first-team players out with injury. New striker Bafetimbi Gomis scored his first goal for the club in the first half, before Josh Sheehan made it two in the 78th minute. Wilfried Bony made his first appearance following his World Cup campaign, and set up Sheehan's goal.

vs. Bournemouth (1 August) - Lost 3-1
Garry Monk started with quite a young and inexperienced team, which probably explains the 3-1 loss to Championship side Bournemouth. The most experienced players to start for the Swans were Gerhard Tremmel, Nathan Dyer and Angel Rangel. Swansea's speedy new winger Jefferson Montero grabbed the only goal for his new side.

vs. Reading (2 August) - Won 3-1
The Swans second game in two days saw a much more experienced starting eleven and it showed with a convincing 3-1 victory against Reading. Wayne Routledge was in great form and scored two of Swansea's goals in the first-half, before Bafetimbi Gomis made it three in the second-half with a nice chip. Wilfried Bony also missed a penalty (but we'll forgive him this once).

vs. Villareal (9 August, 3pm) - Lost 3-0
A pretty poor return to the Liberty Stadium for Swansea who looked pretty clueless in their set-up against the Spaniards. Monk selected pretty much his complete first-team, but they were torn apart by an average Villarreal. A little worrying a week before the season kicks-off, but at least it's exposed some problems before it's too late.

Summer silence on Forza Swansea

Just a note to acknowledge the lack of blog updates recently. From February to the end of June I spent nearly every day researching and writing about the Swans for my upcoming book, Swansea City's Greatest Games, so this summer I've taken a bit of a break.

I mean, I am usually pretty lazy over the summer anyway, but at least this year I have a bit more of an excuse... (do I?).

Rest assured, as the new season dawns there will be more fresh content from myself and the contributors (who also seem to have taken a bit of a summer break).

Meanwhile, as soon as the book is available for pre-ordering I will write a big article about what's in it and what you can expect. It's looking good though!

Anyway, that's it for now, keep checking back and see you soon!

"Good goal Messi son - done exactly what I taught you."