Battle of the centre-backs: Amat vs Fernandez

When it come to Swansea City defenders, Ashley Williams will always be the first name on the team sheet. But who should be lining up next to him in the centre? Forza Swansea's JUSTIN AGTAV shares his opinions on whether it should be Jordi Amat or Federico Fernandez.

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By Justin Agtav

When Federico Fernandez first joined Swansea City back in August I actually didn't expect him to get a starting place immediately thanks to Jordi Amat, who had been outstanding for the Swans in the opening few matches.

However now, after his recent injury, it appears that Amat will have a big fight ahead of him to win his place back in the starting line-up.

Should it be Amat...?

After Chico Flores - someone who often went walkabout and picked up cards consistently - blocked Amat from breaking into the starting eleven last year, he will probably have to go through something similar this year.

And that’s a shame because, although many people - myself included - wanted Swansea to sign a new centre-back, Amat did nothing in the first few games to warrant losing his starting spot. And even though Fernandez hasn’t cost Swansea any games, he has made his share of mistakes. For Argentina at the World Cup he was considered one of their weaker defenders, and that led to him losing his place in their starting eleven.

...or Fernandez?

But I’m not saying Fernandez was a bad signing - far from it. I’m just saying that Amat on his form before the injury merits a starting spot.

And the stats show it as well, as Swansea have only conceded 2 goals in the 3 ½ games this season that Amat was on the pitch, while they have conceded 8 in 5 ½ games while Fernandez was on the field.

Fernandez is an excellent signing to have, but based on recent form, Amat should be starting until he no longer merits it.

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Thanks to Justin for his opinions on Swansea's centre-back dilemma. You can follow him on Twitter and follow Forza Swansea for updates.

Here's what you may have missed on Forza Swansea last month!

With my recent book launch and everything surrounding that, the content output on ForzaSwansea over the past month or so has been a little patchy.

Therefore you may have missed some of the brilliant posts by the bloggers, on topics such as Angel Rangel, Lukasz Fabianski and an array of former players.

Alec Johnson's very popular post, 'BEWARE: Leave the Swans at your peril!', was a look at some of Swansea City's former players and where they are now after leaving the club for the allure of more money (the answer is almost always 'on the bench'!)

You may also want to check out Matthew Jacob's article called 'Rangel's last ride?'. In the article, Matt looks at Angel Rangel's role with the Swans and who can fill in for him if he's not up to the task any more.

And finally, back at the start of September, we had a short post from our newest blogger, Justin Agtav, who asked the question: 'Lukasz Fabianski - Has Swansea's gamble paid off?' (Of course, we all now know it certainly has!)

We'll be back very soon for more, stay tuned!

Swansea City's Greatest Games - Launch photos

Friday night saw the successful launch of my first book, Swansea City's Greatest Games, in Waterstones Swansea.

(Picture: South Wales Evening Post)

After some brilliant anecdotes and a wonderful introduction from Swansea legend Kevin Johns, I took to the stage to read the book's first chapter before talking about the writing process. I then signed copies, before heading off for a lovely pint of beer.

Here are a few photos from the event, taken by various people to hopefully give you a taste of what it was like.

You can buy your copy from Amazon (or the Kindle version for half-price) or Waterstones (in store and online). If you are currently reading it, please let me know how you are enjoying it. Cheers!

The legendary Kev Johns introducing me (Picture: Becci Thomas)

Me giving my speech (and not messing up too much...) (Picture: South Wales Evening Post)

  The crowd gather for the signing (Picture: Becci Thomas)

Another of the crowd as my hand began cramping up... (Picture: Becci Thomas)

It seems I wanted something over there... (Picture: Becci Thomas)

(Picture: Becci Thomas)

Swansea City vs Newcastle United: A Brief Preview

With the weekend approaching, Forza Swansea's newest blogger JUSTIN AGTAV shares some team news and thoughts ahead of Swansea City's Premier League clash against second-from-bottom Newcastle United.

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By Justin Agtav

After three games without a win, Swansea City will be looking to return to their successful formula this weekend as they take on a struggling Newcastle side at the Liberty Stadium.

Immediately looking at the opposition and we can see that the Magpies have been pretty dire, with owner Mike Ashley reportedly saying before Newcastle’s 1-0 loss against Stoke City that Alan Pardew had one game to save his job.

While that may not have been the case, the side has picked up only three points so far this season and haven’t won a game yet. The pressure will be on for Pardew when they face one of the better teams in the Premier League this weekend, and a loss to Swansea could see him sacked.

The fans want him out! (Picture: SackPardew.com)

Meanwhile the Swans - who are comfortably sitting in 5th place with three wins under their belt - are pretty strong at the moment and don't have that many injury concerns to deal with.

Jordi Amat and Leon Britton are both still sidelined, but it's no longer a certainty that either would be automatic starters anyway. The one area of concern is who will fill in at right back. Angel Rangel is suspended due to the red card he picked up against Sunderland, while his replacement Dwight Tiendalli is fighting to be fit. This means Jazz Richards could well start.

For Newcastle Siem de Jong, 18-year-old Rolando Aarons and Davide Santon are all injured. Aarons started this season impressively, while de Jong - who was supposed to be a superstar for Newcastle - is sidelined for several weeks. Pardew hasn’t received much luck this season on or off the field, and likely won’t receive any favours when they visit Swansea.

The Swans, playing at home, won’t be forced into having to soak up the pressure like they did in their last two games. This may allow them to concentrate on the attack. Wilfried Bony should start ahead of Gomis, who I think has been disappointing so far this season, while Jonjo Shelvey will be boosted by having received an England call up.

Jazz Richards starting at right back may be a slight concern, but I don’t think he will be tested too much as Swansea should be on the front foot for most of this match. Hopefully Gylfi Sigurdsson can return to his start of season form, and Dyer and Routledge can be spurred on by the fact that they unjustly missed a call up to the England squad and continue in their excellent form.

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Thanks to Justin for his preview. Meanwhile, my official prediction is... 1-1. Not sure why, but that's it. Otherwise Swansea will hammer them! Anyway remember to follow Forza Swansea on Twitter for updates.

It's almost here... Swansea City's Greatest Games!

Hello there. Hope you're enjoying this fine Sunday.

Right, that's the pleasantries out of the way, let's move onto the main event!

As you may now know, Swansea City's Greatest Games will be available to purchase from this Wednesday (October 1st). The book is a 208-page thriller, charting 50 of the Swans' finest ever matches from their 102 year history.

The book is available to pre-order on Amazon and Waterstones and will be in shops next week. Thanks to the beauty of the internet the book is also available in countries across the world, so all you American, Italian, Spanish and Australian readers should be able to get your copies without having to fly to Swansea...

Meanwhile there will be a book launch this Friday, October 3rd at Swansea Waterstones. If you want to meet me, I want to meet you! Books will be available to purchase and you will get the price of your ticket back as a discount on the book.

More details about the launch can be found here, but there are limited tickets at £3 each, available from Waterstones.

For more details, please get in touch with Waterstones on 01792 463567 or give me a shout via the contact form.

I'd also love any feedback on the book, so feel free to get in touch after you've read it. Cheers!

Swansea City 3 - 0 Everton: A brief report

After Swansea finally saw off their bogey team Everton in last night's Capital One Cup match, Forza Swansea's newest blogger JUSTIN AGTAV briefly shares his opinions on the game with a focus on Jefferson Montero, Bafetimbi Gomis and Jazz Richards.

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By Justin Agtav

Swansea City bounced back from their two Premier League defeats on Tuesday to beat Everton 3-0 at a rainy Liberty Stadium. The Swans made five changes to their starting eleven after the game against Southampton (with the inclusions of Gerhard Tremmel and Tom Carroll), while Everton made seven switches.

Nathan Dyer scored the first goal in the first half, before Gylfi Sigurdsson nabbed the second in the 64th minute, followed by a late goal by second-half substitute Marvin Emnes.

Montero of the match!

But the man of the match for me was speedy Jefferson Montero, who terrorized Everton’s right back Tony Hibbert throughout the game and set up Nathan Dyer's goal. The Ecuadorian winger has looked lively in every match he has played and it may not be too long before he finally gets a Premier League start. He hasn’t so far probably because the Swans have two excellent in-form wingers, Dyer and Routledge, but if either of them suffer a dip this season we know that the former Morelia player can step into their shoes perfectly.

Another player who performed really well in the cup match was Jazz Richards. Forza Swansea writer Matthew Jacob recently wrote a great article about how the only real cover Swansea have at right back is the 23-year-old local boy. In the match against Everton, Richards might not have been spectacular but put in a solid performance and was rarely caught out of position.

One player who also put in quite a good performance was Bafetembi Gomis. The Frenchman held the ball up well at times, but it would be nice to see him get on the score sheet soon. He has been excellent so far with his strength and speed, and bringing other players into play, but he is a forward and I want to see him score at some point!

At the back Swansea were pretty comfortable all night. Federico Fernandez was relatively untroubled but did misjudge tackles a couple of times. Thankfully whenever he did he was able to regain the ball. I may be being a little harsh on Fernandez as he is just getting used to playing with Swansea and he is already showing signs that, in time, he will be an excellent addition to the club.

Overall, the Swans were comfortable throughout the match so there’s not too much to dissect, which is always a good thing! I will say that Montero played outstandingly, and that Richards was solid - Monk may be wise to start giving him a little time in Premier League games. I'd also like to see a little more from Gomis - especially some goals!

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Thanks to Justin for his opinions on the match. You can follow him on Twitter and follow Forza Swansea for updates.

BEWARE: Leave the Swans at your peril!

After watching Michu getting hauled off for Napoli on Sunday, ALEC JOHNSON considers why any player that leaves Swansea with a greedy motive tends to end up sitting the rest of their career out on a bench.

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By Alec Johnson

It’s Sunday, 21 September and our former glory boy Miguel Michu gets his first start in Serie A for the perennial underachievers, otherwise called Napoli.

Just over 8,000 people are there to watch Udinese beat Napoli 1-0, with a frustrated Michu and equally miffed Argentinian hitman Gonzalo Higuain shooting blanks once again. The truth is that neither has scored a league goal this season.

So why did Michu - once worshipped in this part of South Wales - force this move?

Yes, Naples is a nice place to live but he won’t win anything there unless Maradona comes out of retirement. The games are played out in front of half-empty stadiums which themselves are crumbling, none worse that the Stadio San Paolo, as the 900 over there with me last February will confirm.

But it's not just Michu's decision to move that's puzzling. We also have our Spanish-now-Arabian brothers... what's all that about? Moving to a start-up football club in a league with average crowds less than Ashleigh Road on a Sunday morning. It's cash and lifestyle over club and country. That essentially finishes the careers of Pablo Hernandez and Chico Flores.

Add Ben Davies and Michel Vorm to the ever-growing list of evacuees and you start to see a pattern developing. While Ben is at least getting some Thursday football over at Spurs, Michel hasn’t put his gloves on yet. One year ago he was the Netherlands’ number one, now he is Spurs’ third choice. While accepting that Vorm actually didn’t choose to leave, he did choose the destination and clearly hadn’t considered the options fully.

Nice hat Danny - shame about the bench.

Roll back a few more years and it’s Darren Pratley, Dorus de Vries, Sam Ricketts and Danny Graham all scrapping around in the Championship having, in their own small-minded way, forced through exits from our club. Nobody on this list bettered themselves and none of them would find a place in our squad today. No doubt we have become a stronger club, but have they all gone backwards?

I believe so.

The greatest disappointment of the lot was our hero Scott Sinclair. In his final match for us he scored a stunner in a 5-0 win at Loftus Road, before leaving for a club where he played 78 minutes in the whole next season. What a waste of a raw talent that would have continued to improve within our environment.

Sinclair on the bench - a familiar sight.

Swansea City give players the freedom to express themselves, playing with confidence that forces technical improvement. This is also not a club that carries the weight of great expectation so the fans don’t turn on you with every mistake.

We feel that we are on the journey together and Saturday’s awesome spirit through the stadium as everybody sang for the entire second half confirms this. We barely touched the ball yet the attitude was one of togetherness. That itself is very rare in football.

So, the loyalty is reciprocal, as is the success of the players and the club. Nobody needs to leave for a few pieces of extra silver or an opportunity to play for their country (unless you’re English of course) as the land of opportunity is right here. The club now compete on salary in the richest league in the world, the city provides a fabulous lifestyle and the management encourage players to play. What more would you want in a football career?

Welcome to the most successful football in Wales, and the best run club in football.