A Sneaky post.................

Here's to wish all you Swansea City fans particularly, and football fans generally a really sincere Happy New Year.

Whatever the outcome for our partricular Clubs, you can bet on it being an eventful time.

At our Club - will we sign Iago Aspas or someone of that ilk? Yes.

Will we continue to grow, - slowly, organically? With any luck , yes.

Can we expect equal excitement and turmoil in the rest of this second fantastic season at the top? Yes, undoubtedly.

Enjoy the New Year, best wishes to all.................

....and Onward, Swansea City.

Sorry for the interruption....................





Just a brief note to let you know where I've been and to apologise for not being around. I've had health, family and computer issues - all of which are now resolved, thank goodness, and I promise to be back in the New Year - hopefully better than ever. Thanks for your patience, and .............

Onward, Swansea City!!

Swansea City v Liverpool, EPL.

Brendan's return. Back to the future - again.
I find this preview comes to you in a slightly different mood to the usual, and that's principally because this is the first time our previous manager, Brendan Rodgers, has returned to the Liberty in charge of his new team, Liverpool FC.

I guess there's still a twinge of frustration within me, but I think it's fair to say it gets less by the week and with each and every game .

Ah, it seems ages ago now, when in another odd Summer along came the Scouse "giants" and tempted yet another of our Managers away, but it would be hard to argue (from my point at least) that we haven't done even better since.

It starts, of course, with both our Club set up generally, and Board particularly.

Despite the upheaval of change, Huw Jenkins and colleagues have at least secured both Financial probity and proven Managerial worth in both the Transfer and Compensatory markets and the Leadership of Michael Laudrup. We won't know the eventual outcome until at least this season's end, but thus far I suspect most of us Swans are justifiably pleased with the progress.

BR is embarked on his new career at Liverpool in a major period of change at that Club too, and his road has been rocky (to be kind), with perhaps the most puzzling aspect the failure to secure Striking cover for the on loan and controversial Andy Carroll and to go into the season with so little depth up front. Plus there's the now infamous £35m fee aroma which will never go away. We'll come back to that.

Here's their full squad........

Goalkeepers
1 Jones, 25 Reina, 32 Doni, 42 Gulacsi, 52 Ward

Defenders
2 Johnson, 3 Jose Enrique, 5 Agger, 16 Coates, 22 Wilson, 23 Carragher, 34 Kelly, 37 Skrtel, 38 Flanagan, 45 Sama, 47 Wisdom, 49 Robinson

Midfielders
4 Sahin, 8 Gerrard, 10 Cole, 14 Henderson, 19 Downing, 21 Lucas, 24 Allen, 31 Sterling, 33 Shelvey, 35 Coady

Forwards
7 Suarez, 11 Assaidi, 12 Pacheco, 29 Borini, 30 Fernandez Saez, 36 Yesil, 50 Morgan

On Thursday night they played out a frustrating 2-2 draw with Young Boys of Berne  in a Europa league group game that leaves them still to secure a Qualifying berth from the Group, and all will depend on the final Group match up.

The team they went with on Thursday was........

25 Reina, 23 Carragher, 37 Skrtel, 47 Wisdom (Gerrard - 31' ), 04 Sahin Booked, 10 Cole (Sterling - 75' ), 14 Henderson, 19 Downing, 33 Shelvey, 11 Assaidi, 30 Suso (Suarez - 60' )

Substitutes
01 Jones, 03 Jose Enrique, 16 Coates, 08 Gerrard, 24 Allen, 31 Sterling, 07 Suarez

.....in a typical BR 4-2-3-1 with Pepe Reina back in goal, Wisdom, Carragher, Skrtel and Downing across the back, Henderson and Sahin as the defensive MF'ers, Suso, Cole and Assaidi the 3 supporting Jon-Joe Shelvey as a "false 9".

I understand the Irishman's need to balance and rotate, but the frustrating outcome was given the clue to by his need to use both all of the initially rested first choice trio - Luis Suarez, Stephen Gerrard and Raheem Sterling well before the end of the game, presumably in an attempt to get it done and dusted on the night. Ah well, such are the plans of Mice and Men often stymied. (Whoops = stop smirking in the back!)

Now look - I know Pepe Reina's been injured some and has had more frequent episodes of mistake than previously - but is Brad Jones really in front of the Spanish International generally, Brendan?? Really???

Personally I don't think so - but then that's why he's paid MegaBucks as the Manager of Liverpool and I'm not.

Maybe it's got something to do with Neuro-Linguistic Programming or maybe it's because he (Reina) is a very strong dressing room character who sometimes rocks the boat with opinions, - after all, nothing must detract from the "project".

First choice RB is likely to be Andre Wisdom, the Academy graduate, (Stephen Kelly is injured) with Glen Johnson, the England RB replacing the nowadays utility LB Stewart Downing ( only £20m Kenny !). How are the mighty fallen.

CB's are almost certain to be our old friends the Tattoo Twins, Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel. The Dane and the Slovak are solid and quality players - even if Daniel seems to have stolen one of Martin's vowels.

Rogers has been using both our own Swansea City developed Joe Allen and the Club Captain Steven Gerrard to hold, and we know both the quality and influence of both - 2 players at opposite ends of their career. Gerrard is rightly revered by the Scoucers, and young Joey seems to have won over most of their doubters ( most, but not all), and at £15m I'm confident the deal was right for us both.

Nuri Sahin, the quality Turkish International on loan from Real Madrid has also been used to hold, but as Sahin is essentially a Michu type (advanced MF'er) rather than a Leon type (withdrawn MF'er) the Turk has of late fallen out of favour, and will ultimately be contesting selection along with Suso. Undoubtedly Lucas Leiva, the recently injured and talented Brazilian is likely to enter the MF equation too, when fit.

Part of BR's gamble this year has involved using the far younger players more and more, along with a fairly recent conversion of a stalwart Spanish defender into an advanced left sided MF'er.

That's why he's used an advanced 3 of young Suso, the Spanish youth generally playing left footed from the right, and Jose Enrique, the Iberian LB signed long ago from the Toon on the left, and England's (or Jamaica's) 17 yr old Raheem Sterling as the support striker to the out and out goal-thief Luis Suarez at the head of the team.

Suso is a highly skilled dribbler with a good shot, but has periods where he does tend to drift out of games. Enrique, on the other hand, after long being out of favour with Rodgers as a defender has been a key assister in two of Suarez's more satisfying goals of late, providing one long and one threaded final pass prior to the goals. Moreover, he's chipped in with one himself.

Sterling's rising star has been nothing short of meteoric - from Academy player last season when we played their reserves at Parc Y Scarlets to first-team saviour and the "future of the club" and a full International within 6 months. Forgive me if I proffer that I'm not yet entirely convinced.Seems promising, but still a long way to go, methinks.

Up front, of course, think of him what you like, what we can't argue about is that in Luis Suarez they have the PL's most in form striker. His performances this year have been genuinely thrilling, and the recently stated Ash Williams' reported wish to "knock him out" when he saw the alleged extent of his more nefarious tricks, makes me hope our defence can keep this predator caged as he is their most dangerous player by a country mile.

On that basis, this is the team I expect to face us - and my belief is he'll pick what is at the moment both what he perceives as their "strongest" side - fitness permitting.

Jones, Wisdom, Skrtel, Agger, Johnson, Gerrard, Allen, Suso, Sterling, Enrique, Suarez. We'll see.

Incidentally, you may wish to take a look back at the full squad listed above, because some of the names on there will give you more than a hint at the scope and range of transformation that BR is attempting to imprint.

Firstly, there's the "Elephant in the Room" - Overpaying.

As I've hinted previously, the amounts lavished by the previous Manager ( the sainted King Kenny) encompasses the on loan Carroll (£35m), the stuttering Stewart Downing (£20m), the bereft Jordan Henderson (£18m), and the lost Joe Cole (free but on £120k a week). I suspect there may be some money lost there over the next couple of years.

There are some quality squad players too, to be fair.

Sebastian Coates is Uruguay's first choice CB. Nuri Sahin and Lucas Leiva I've mentioned already. Oussama Assaidi is a young Moroccan winger/striker of some talent and pace. Samed Yesil is a very young highly rated German Striker. And then there's the currently injured Fabio Borini, late of this parish and still much admired in my heart.

Plus, there's a tranche of good young talent that will also come through. Guided by senior pros like Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard, there's no doubt that if allowed the time and patience (and money!) to process his changes, BR's incessant modern "Managerspeak" may succeed. Just forgive me if I don't really care. I've said it before and I'll say it again - the King is dead, long live the King.

As for our own side, after last week's excellent win at Newcastle, perhaps you'll allow me a phrase associated with the saturnine Peter Mandelson when talking about the super-rich = he's alleged to have said  - " I'm intensely relaxed in their presence.......". So am I, Peter, so am I.

I quite fancy fashioning another mud pie, all the better to poke into BR's beatific visage........

ONWARD, SWANSEA CITY.

Swansea City v Chelsea, PL, Match Report

Rocking Liberty sees Swans justly make a point.

The past week has seen the Football Gods confirm that this really is the Sport that makes Kings of us all.

Having come away from a visit to the defending PL Champs with a narrow 1-0 defeat (in which many thought we were unlucky and had been the better team), the side went on to a sublime 3-1 victory in a Capitol One Cup Tie at Anfield to a earn a quarter final Home tie against Championship Middlesbrough on December 12th. To close a fantastic week, Saturday saw us meet European Champions and current (at day's start) League leaders Chelsea FC at our very own Liberty Stadium.

Believe me, it was not ever thus, but on an afternoon where the November weather/time of year, and the bouncing, ebullient crowd played its full part, the Liberty was "Rockin' in the Free World", to the deserved outcome of a 1-1 draw that sent hordes of us Happy Jacks streaming home through an "End of Days" hailstorm that left the gutters hard pressed to cope with torrents of water.

This, genuinely, honestly is when Football lives up to and surpasses its incessant PL hype. A real, for once,  "I was there" moment, and all the better for that.

Swansea's changes from Wednesday's XI saw Garry Monk, the Club Captain, retain his place for the injured Chico Flores, and both regular full backs, Rangel and Ben Davies replace Jazz Richards and Tiendalli respectively.

For Chelsea, Romeu continued to hold with Mikel, and Ivanovic played at CB for the injured Luiz. Mata missed out too, being replaced by Victor Moses.

The lines-up, thus, were these................

Swansea City

25 Tremmel, 06 Williams, 16 Monk, 22 Rangel, 33 Davies, 07 Britton Booked (Graham - 65' ), 09 Michu (Shechter - 79' Booked ), 11 Pablo, 15 Routledge (Dyer - 65' ), 20 De Guzman Booked, 24 Ki Sung-Yeung

 Substitutes
 13 Cornell, 05 Tate, 21 Tiendalli, 12 Dyer, 26 Agustien, 10 Graham, 17 Shechter

Chelsea

01 Cech, 02 Ivanovic, 03 Cole, 24 Cahill, 28 Azpilicueta Booked, 06 Romeu (Ramires - 46' ), 11 Oscar (Bertrand - 79' ), 12 Mikel, 13 Moses (Sturridge - 72' ), 17 Hazard, 09 Torres 

Substitutes
22 Turnbull, 19 Ferreira, 34 Bertrand, 07 Ramires, 21 Marin, 23 Sturridge, 35 Piazon

Ref: Friend
Att: 20,527

This game started like many we have seen - the difference being Chelsea were the team content to keep the ball, and move it at a leisurely pace whilst they concentrated on stability.

Under BR, this is the kind of thing we've seen us do often, so it was interesting to see the ways City coped with this, and, eventually, earned their way back into the game.

It came down to competition and desire, as it so often does. Ki was keen to put a foot in, and Leon Britton did what Leon Britton does - hassle, collect and distribute, to excellent effect.

What was instantly apparent was that much of Chelsea's play was going through Oscar. Romeu and Mikel were sitting deep, with the young Nigerian almost like a Busquets-type figure, all but a third CB, playing 5 yds in front of the regular 2, which meant that the Brazilian was free to flit and scheme where he wanted, which he was doing to good effect.

I've heard him (Oscar) described as a sort of Kaka-lite ........I prefer the term Kaka-formative ; remember the days when the senior Brazilian was the sort of player who changes games? Oscar is nearly there, so the Swans did really well to cope with his constant probings.

The game's first half clear chance fell to Swansea's Rangel, who, after a great 1-2 with Pablo H tried a pull back to Michu when he could perhaps have shot to a better result in the inside right channel in the box. His cut back was hacked clear, and the chance was gone.

When Chelsea attacked, a good in-swinging corner found Fernando Torres glance an equally decent header which Leon Britton did well to hack clear at the back post on the line, with Ivanovic sliding and close to touching it in.

For Swansea, Pablo Hernandez had begun as he meant to go on - with quality - and his right to inside tricky run with a cute chip into the six yard box was met by a stretching Michu, who couldn't keep his attempt on target and saw it run out for a throw in.

The game oscillated from end to end, and both Eden Hazard (who drove a shot over the bar), and Fernando Torres ( who saw a weak header saved from a Moses cut back ) will think they could have done better.

At the other end, Ki Seung Yung saw a fierce shot blocked, but the crowd was getting justifiably disturbed by the consecutive , rotating, collective fouling, and worse,

Swansea suffered as a result. Britton was  booked, and his name taken, for the first Swansea foul in 5, when in fairness there had been Chelsea transgressors committing far worse offences.

A decent through ball from Cahill saw Hazard threaten in the inside left channel, but Ash Williams marshalled him out as both players stumbled after equal challenge.

In an enthralling back and fore tempo, both sides threatened, but a word for some individuals.

Ash Williams and Monk were keeping a tight lid on Torres, and at the Chelsea end Ivanovic and Cahill were doing the same to Michu. Most effective for Swansea was Pablo Hernandez, often on the ball and regularly threatening, in his most affecting game in his new career at City. As said before, Oscar was the Chelsea danger, and both Hazard and Moses buzzed around him in an entertaining, open game.

The sides went off even at half time, and the 45m seemed to me to have flown by in one of the most enjoyable, competitive halves for a while. Mints, Fruit Pastilles, Boiled Sweets even - we West Standers surely know how to live it up at half time.

There surely is something special about watching top class football under the lights and in inclement weather - it's a peculiarly intimate thing - and yesterday was no exception.

By now the Liberty's lights shone bright, having seen a rainbow over the East Stand just before dark, and as the rain commenced the sides came back for the second half to an increasingly passionate Liberty Crowd. The match moved up a notch. Hymns and Arias sounded even better in the rain.

There were influential changes made in this half - the first being Chelsea's substitution of Ramires for Romeu at half time, allowing them a greater fluidity and increased pace of attack as they went for the win.

Swansea resisted mightily, and were determined to stand firm, but were increasingly pushed deeper whilst supported by the raucous JackArmy, who were in the season's finest voice in both selection and volume.

Premiership Football at its very best, - loud, competitive, magnetic - this is why we love football.

The European Champions were now going for broke, and Hazard cut in and drove a low shot to the near post that Tremmel went full length to hold. Victor Moses put a header over the bar from a Torres cross, and pressure was building.

Swansea countered through Rangel and Michu, but almost on the hour mark came the game changing breakthrough.

Oscar won a soft free kick some 30 yds out just to the right of goal, and from Hazard's clever driven curling shot on goal, Gerhard Tremmel went full length to his left and double fisted the save away and behind for a corner in a "TV/Hollywood/Camera" type moment.

From Oscar's out-swinging corner from the right, Gary Cahill, although faithfully tracked by the tremendous Garry Monk, rose just higher and directed a bullet header into the six yard box, where the lurking Victor Moses flicked it on with his head to strike the junction of post and bar and in, above the valiant Leon Britton on the line.

1-0, and whilst Moses slid in supplication on his knees toward the North Stand, the sold out Chelsea end burst into delirium in celebration.

This may have felt like a punch to the guts to most of us Jacks, but the crowd immediately showed its value.

Almost instantaneously with the restart, the volume, which had been about 9 out of 10 previously immediately was dialled up to about 13 out of 10, and the crowd's insistence drove the team forward.

Several things happened, of great import in the ensuing minutes.

The rain, which had settled into a persistent drizzle, got heavier and heavier, to be completed by a violent "End of Days" type thunderstorm, which chucked hailstones violently down in varying strengths from then until well after full time, and as the weather got worse, Swansea, who had been good, got better and best.

Substitutions, too, influenced the outcome.

Laudrup was first to react, in the 65th minute sending on Dyer for Routledge and Danny Graham for Britton. Michu dropped into MF and Pablo Hernandez went to the left wing, to, as we now know, even further important influence.

Di Matteo was slower to counter, waiting until 72m to replace Moses with Sturridge, like for like, but - I'd suggest - he lost the initiative on 79m replacing the influential Oscar with the defensive Ryan Bertrand. Had he settled for holding what they'd got? I think so - and it came back to bite them.

Swansea's pressure saw first a de Guzman curling shot held by Cech high, after a flowing move involving Rangel.

Ki got stronger still, and his was now the most important MF presence, breaking down and setting up attacks.

From one such raid, Dyer put in a curler that Cech did well to tip over the bar, and the resulting corner was another Chelsea scramble.

Swansea's final change saw Scheckter replace Miguel Michu, and he too would have an important part to play.

Hernandez on the left was combining better and better with Ben Davies, giving the Chelsea rearguard a hard time, and on 88m he cut in from the left beating a couple of defenders, exchanged passes with Scheckter in the box, and took the return just inside the 18yd line to quickly hit a sublime curler just inside Cech's left hand post. The  keeper's despairing dive was too late to stop the net rippling.

1-1, and the Liberty roar, delirious and fantastic, would have been heard in Tenby!

In the remaining few minutes including the extras, Danny Graham could even have won it, latching on in the inside left channel, and it was only Gary Cahill's last gasp block that kept him out.

As God continued to chuck his righteous hail and rain onto the sodden Lib turf, the rocking JackArmy sang the team to full time.

1-1 final score, and we'd come out justifiably even against the European Champions in a humdinger of a contest, and my favourite Match this year - so far!

You, as well as I, just know that not every football match we attend turns out to be the spectacle most of us hope for. This was one such match that did. There had been a real street spirit about Swansea.

Huge respect to both Chelsea and Swansea City for putting on a real Firecracker of a contest.

It would be unfair to single out individuals from our team, but a special dispensation to Pablo Hernandez, who confirmed his class.

I could just as fairly complement ALL of our team, Staff and Management included - and I do.

Thank you, and Onward Swansea City.

##

Incidentally, this is for all you SouthSiders who also sang their part, along with the East, West and North. Respect. 
 

Speaking with the Enemy

 

A Chelsea Q and A

As some may know, I'm a Twitter afficionado @peterthomas91, and one of my regular, and often very pertinent correspondents from Chelsea FC is @TerrenceTheCat so when she asked me to do a Q and A for a Chelsea website, I was happy to oblige.


Here it is, and I'll post the link to their site when I get it. Please enjoy, and I hope I've done us justice.


 Hi,

I'm Peter Thomas, and a 62 yr old Swansea City fan who saw his first game v Ipswich in 1963 at the Vetch Field. I'm  a retired Teacher.

A Season Ticket Holder, Lower West Stand G120, I write a Swansea-centric blog at http://pierre91.blogspot.co.uk/  , and I'm on Twitter as @peterthomas91 which can be found here https://twitter.com/peterthomas91 . Would love it if you'd read me either occasionally or regularly. Thanks.

1.    How do you think Swansea is looking so far this season?

After a terrific start and a stuttering 3 game losing streak we got back on track with a Home win to Wigan and last Saturday I thought we were a little unfortunate to come away with nothing from the Etihad, despite a genuinely decent performance. All in all, we're probably where we deserve to be be - mid table, and playing some decent football.

 2.    Are you happy with the business you did in the transfer window?
 
Very happy. To lose almost half of last year's first team ( Joe Allen, Sigurdsson, Caulker and Sinclair along with Neil Taylor's horrible leg break ) it was always going to be hard to replace them. So, with Flores at the back, Michu in MF and Pablo Hernandez wide we did well to get quality for decent prices. Similarly, De Guzman is settling in too, and young Ben Davies at LB has really been able to step up to the mark. A difficult transition looks as if it's bearing fruit, and we've retained a unique style - although it's evolved.


3.    Which Chelsea player should Swansea be worried about? And vice-versa?
 
Juan Mata, in his current form scares me silly ( as I guess he does the rest of the League ) and Oscar looks like Kaka when he was good. Add to that Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres (I'm an admirer, still) and I'd say we might have our hands full.

From our end, Miguel Perez Cuesta aka Michu is the real deal - a goalscoring MF'er who looks languid but is top class. If Danny Graham plays to his capabilities he's a clever forward. All 3 of our wide men (only 2 will play) are in decent shape. Dyer, Routledge and Hernadez each have their own skillset, and all have pace to burn.


4.    Did you ever in your wildest dreams imagine that Swansea and Michael Laudrup would hook up one day? How is he doing d’you think?
 
I didn't think we'd get a Manager of his quality, but our Chairman Huw Jenkins and his board still keep pulling rabbits from hats. I think he's doing well. You may have read about "dressing room unrest" from the Daily Mail and its ilk recently - quite frankly that was a load of tabloid tosh that used 4 month old quotes to try to establish a scare-story. ML is professional, cultured, media-savvy and has a great deal more playing credibility than most players in the PL, so we fans are perfectly happy with him.


5.    Do you think it was a mistake for Rodgers to leave Swansea for Liverpool when he did – was he ready?
 
Not really. When you're a Club like ours we'll always be vulnerable should one of you "big beasts" come calling. Let's be realistic here- when some Club of that magnitude comes along (even Liverpool in their reduced state) what ambitious Manager can afford either financially or career wise to turn them down? It may be a year earlier than I expected, but having gone I thank him for getting us into the Prem - but now he can sink or swim on his own merits, I really couldn't give a damn. The King is dead, long live the King.


6.    They say the second season after promotion is always more difficult that the first – what do you think?
 
Yes, I do think it's harder as teams have seen you a couple of times around and will adjust their tactics accordingly, although I do hate Hansen, Lawrenson, Shearer and some other lazy pundits who bleat on about "second season syndrome". Statistically, there's no such thing, it's just a cliched soundbite. It's all down to how well we perform on the field.

7.    What would make a good season for Swansea?

 
Another mid table finish , just like last year's 11th would be sublime, as the continued finance will cement the funding for both our Academy Development and Training Ground completion/upgrade, and lead to the first part of Stadium development. However, just staying in the Division means we get to play at this standard for another year - and that's the REAL treat.

8.    Who's been your favourite Swansea player of all time & why?

 
I always admired Alan Curtis from the 80's side simply for his flair in playing the game. For those too young to remember him, he's now our first team coach, and he, just like Oscar with you, made the game look ridiculously easy. Top , top quality. In our current side, Michu is my man.


9.    How much of a miss is Vorm going to be in the next few weeks?
 
Huge, huge loss.The worst thing that happened to us in Manchester was losing Vorm, who is a top 6 keeper. We have a hard period ahead, but we'll get through it I think. If you'd asked me who the one player we HAD to keep fit I'd have said the Keeper, not only for his outstanding defensive skills but for his sublime distribution. He's like an extra outfield player for us. Ah well, Vorsrung Durch Technik, go Gerhard Tremmel!

10.    If you could choose any Chelsea player to join Swansea, who would it be and why?
 
Any chance of Atletico Madrid lending us Thibault Courtois for a few months?? No? Ah well, it'll have to be either Mata or Oscar - I'm sure they'd make any team better. Mind you, if Danny Sturridge fancies a spell by the seaside, he'd be very welcome too!

11.    How do you think Chelsea will do this season?

 
I'd think you're pretty close to winning the League. Your performances this year (and I include the robbery last Sunday) have been, I think, the most impressive of any team I've seen. Just please please finish above Old Red Nose's charges - I hate Utd with a passion.

12.    Finally, what are your predictions for the game?

 
I'm hopeful that we can repeat last year and get at least a 1-1 draw. I can't EVER bring myself to predict a loss for us - no fan can, surely, so I'll happily take a point.

Best regards, looking forward to a great game. I'll be there. If you should see an "old geezer" falling off his walking stick whilst going "loopy" when we score it's probably me. Please forgive.

##
I also write regularly for SCFC2 , one of the 2 most prominent Swansea City fansites, run by Jim White, Vice Chair of the Swansea City Supporters Trust, a 20% owner of our Club, and Planet Swans  , run by Phil Sumbler, the Chair of that very same Swansea City Supporters Trust, all of which can be found from the highlighted text.

I recommend a visit to all if you want to get a taste of our Club. Enjoy.

##
Here's the link to the Chelsea Supporters Group website. 

Swansea City v Chelsea, Match preview, PL 3/11/12

City to Liverpool to Chelsea - are we in Dreamland or is it just the company we keep nowadays?

After our narrow defeat to last year's Champions, Manchester City at the Etihad last Saturday, and our fizzing meeting against the iconic Liverpool FC at Anfield on Wednesday night, at which we came out victorious, and with a degree of style at 3-1, in a tie made bitter/sweet against our previous Manager BR, this Saturday we get to entertain the current leaders of the PL, the reigning Champions League holders and modern perennial winners Chelsea FC at our very own Liberty Stadium.

Can I recommend taking a deep breath here - this, after all, is the exalted company we keep nowadays, and with no disrespect, it makes (for many SCFC fans) all those chilly and wet nights spent at Kidderminster, Rochdale, Torquay et al all seem worthwhile. It's all about perspective, and whilst I'd hate to be accused of being a little precious, we also must realise that it's where our terrific Club deserves to be, so let's just enjoy the ride as we fight to retain our current status. That, unsurprisingly,  is one of a Club that plays good football, and is where it is on merit, both on and off the field. Just be proud.

That Liverpool Cup Tie, of course, was at least not any sort of threat in the physical sense, since Chelsea, just like us, had their own tough tie at Home to Manchester Utd again, so both teams come into this game having rotated (to a greater or lesser degree), and having to deal with their third game in a week.

Our team at that game last night was this - and we'll come back to it later............Tremmel, Tiendalli, Williams, Flores, Richards, Britton, de Guzman, Ki, Dyer, Hernandez, Michu.

The two ties turned out with similar outcomes (wins for us both), and neither will be sadder than the other.

Chelsea's line up looked like this..........Cech (c); Azpilicueta, Cahill, D Luiz, Bertrand; Romeu, Mikel; Moses, Mata, Piazon; Sturridge.

Anyway, back to Saturday.

It's been great both last year (and continues to be this) to entertain teams of this stature at the Liberty. Chelsea's current squad continues to support that statement, and some would say, to an ever more pleasing degree.

This is a Club that after their fantastic capture of the Champion's League title at the end of last season, and continuing on and off field kerfuffle of deep seriousness, took the brave decision to make their squad both younger and more football vibrant, to echo their owner's obsession with achieving an on-pitch performance that could be admired worldwide - as Barcelona undoubtedly are.

Consequently, the squad has evolved in both substance and priority, to exciting ends.

The general consensus in Football seems to be that they needed to get "younger", which, coincidentally, seemed to be the brief under Andre Villas Boas, prior to his sacking under reported senior-player mutiny at the back end of last season.

The former player Roberto di Matteo (the assistant coach at the time) then took over on a temporary basis, and via his and the team's  fantastic closure to the season, has this year gone on to both change the personnel and to keep them running at the top, and whatever conjecture about the future, it can't be argued that since his permanent appointment, on the field the team has thrived.

Don't forget that they have Thibault Courtois, now Belgium's no 1 keeper on loan at Atletico Madrid, so whilst the excellent Petr Czech continues to keep the shirt, the future is secure. Similar quality out on loan includes Romelu Lukaku at West Brom, Kevin de Bruin at Werder Bremen, and Jeffrey Bruma at Hamburg. Lukaku, a bruising forward, de Bruin, a clever winger/Mf'er, and Bruma, an accomplished defender, all would like to think they have a future at their parent club.

The current first team squad is this.........

1 Petr Cech, 2 Branislav Ivanovic, 3 Ashley Cole, 4 David Luiz, 6 Oriol Romeu, 7 Ramires, 8 Frank Lampard, 9 Fernando Torres, 10 Juan Mata, 11 Oscar, 12 Mikel, 13 Victor Moses, 15 Florent Malouda, 17 Eden Hazard, 19 Paulo Ferreira, 21 Marko Marin, 22 Ross Turnbull, 23 Daniel Sturridge, 24 Gary Cahill, 26 John Terry, 28 Cesar Azpilicueta, 34 Ryan Bertrand, 35 Lucas Piazon, 40 Henrique Hilario

In comparison to last year the newcomers are these...........

Oscar, the precocious modern-day Kaka signed from Internacional at £25m+, Victor Moses, the exciting British winger/striker peeled from Wigan at a paltry £8/10m, Eden Hazard, Ligue1's player of the year for the past 2 years and a Belgian superstar at £32m, Marko Marin, a German International winger from Werder Bremen at £7m + who, through injury, has yet to make his debut, and Cesar Azpilicueta,the Spaniard signed from Marseille for again £7m +  a fantastic raiding RB who has not yet settled fully in. Another squad addition is Lucas Piazon, a superbly talented forward from Brazil, again, who has come through their Academy structure.

When you add that to the established players in the group, it's hard to argue that they've got any weaker, in any sense.

Czech will keep goal, and their back 4 has usually comprised Branislav Ivanovic at RB, Terry/Cahill/David Luiz central (2 from 3) and Ashley Cole at LB. I think we'll agree they all can play a bit.

Generally, they play a 4-2-3-1, so in front of that back 4 it's been mainly the case that it's protected by John Obi Mikel, the talented Nigerian, and Ramires, the outrageously gifted Brazilian runner who seems to have 3 lungs. Both of these players took some time to settle in to the PL, but nowadays you would find most PL Managers coveting their plentiful influence and wishing they were theirs. The holding MF'er has become a great influence in the modern game, and these are 2 of the best of their kind, albeit both have differing skills.

This year, it's the front 4 who have been most impressive.

Supporting the advanced Fernando Torres, the 3 behind are Juan Mata, Oscar and Eden Hazard. Whilst they may start in that set up right to left, what is most effective is that they constantly switch and swivel, with each gracing the others previous position with an equal and confusing fluidity that means it's difficult in the extreme for their defenders/opponents to keep any sort of tab on them. They each are the precision mechanism that makes this Rolex Oyster of a team tick. Whilst both Oscar and Hazard have been excellent, Juan Mata has been a street above, Thus far into the season, this is the player who has most impressed in all of the Premier League at ANY club. If it's possible to enjoy an opponent (and I'm sure it is), keep a close eye on this talent and just enjoy.

In front of that, Chelsea this year have put their money on Fernando Torres. Oft derided since his move from Liverpool, and last year suffering from his sporadic support role to the iconic Didier Drogba, this year he's freed of that shackle, and whilst some would argue that his lack of prolific goals suggest that not much has changed (in his head), I prefer the suggestion that his performances have been what makes the supporting 3 so successful, with influential runs, ball retension and threat being what makes it all work.

As a first choice team, that is SOME threat.

Having said all that - and we've not even considered Lampard, Terry, Romeu, Bertrand, or Danny Sturridge (and several others), -  we daren't get starstruck. No "rabbit in the headlights" moments allowed.

As I said earlier, we are in this Division on merit, and have earned the right to play in this sort of game, so whilst we fans can take delight in seeing players of this calibre, our team will be out to do them down, and, thank goodness for that. I'm all for offering considered respect to worthy opponents, but I'd much rather beat the buggers.

So, what about us?

As hinted above, the decently performing line up at Anfield brought home an excellent win, to take us into the Quarter Finals with a Home draw against Middlesbrough, so ML will have a great degree of choice, since all of the squad is performing well. On we go then.

Well, with Michel Vorm's unfortunate injury, this is the first time Gerhard Tremmel will have had a run in the side, and whilst his sporadic appearances for the first team have been nervous, it now behoves us as fans to give him every support and every respect. Vorsprung Durch Technik and all that. Go Gerhard!!

The CB's are almost easy - Chico Flores (if recovered) and Ash Williams are our Premier pair, and Angel Rangel, following his suspension, is surely a shoe in at RB. Similarly, young Ben Davies has been so reliable I'd be surprised to see anyone in advance of him.

At the Etihad last week, it seemed to me that the MF 3 were really very good, so Ki and Leon must hold. Whilst we always play 2 wide - and I don't expect us to do any different this week - a perm 2 from 3 from Nathan Dyer, Pablo Hernandez and Wayne Routledge will do me, although it does seem that Wayne has been the player in advance of the other 2 on form, and will thus be retained.

Miguel Michu is undroppable at the moment, so it seems that the question again will be whether we play him as a "false 9" with Jonathan de Guzman (who was excellent last week and last night) as the offensive MF'er or do we pull Michu deeper to support the clever (but underperforming so far) Danny Graham. Personally I'd go for the same set up, but there you go - it's all about opinions.

Whatever the team selections one thing we can be absolutely sure about - this Saturday we get to see a top class, important, fascinating Match, and that, surely, is what we've all dreamed about for years.

Whatever the outcome I promise you that I'm going to enjoy another fabulous day in this, our latest, mind blowing incantation.


Onward, Swansea City.

Man City 1 v 0 Swansea City

A Good Defeat ?
In this, of all Divisions, not every game is the same.

 

 After all, at yesterday's eventual 1-0 disappointment at the Etihad, the pre game odds of the Bookies (2-7 City, 5-1 the draw, 14-1 the Swans) would have told you that most of football punditry wouldn't have expected us to get anything.

However, in the real world, the game was a little different to that.

Ask yourself this - when you come away from a game and we've lost, is there ever a day when you feel a little more encouraged ?

I'd suggest that it is SOMETIMES the case that you feel better on some defeats rather than others. We all feel gutted, painful hurt when we lose, but just sometimes, the performance surely means that we ought to be more encouraged than despondent - and Saturday's 1-0 defeat to last year's Champions at the Etihad was just such an occasion.

In a game of contrasting, engaging variety, Swansea City can feel just a little aggrieved that the outcome wasn't a little better, but, I'd remind you, it shows you how far we've come.

Unsurprising lines-up from either side, as Swansea went with the same 11 that got the Wigan win, and Roberto Mancini continued to out-tinker the Tinkerman from within his fabulously cash-rich squad, in both application and realisation. Some newspapers had suggested that Ben Davies, our tyro rookie (thrown in at the deep end) earns £400 per week, Yaya Toure, their midfield general, is the recipient of some £240,000 for the same (or similar) commitment. Hey, this is the Premier League - so nothing (nothing) should surprise us!

Here are the teams..........

Manchester City

01 Hart, 02 Richards Booked (K Toure - 81' ), 04 Kompany, 13 Kolarov (Balotelli - 46' ), 22 Clichy, 33 Nastasic, 08 Nasri, 18 Barry, 42 Y Toure, 16 Aguero (Lescott - 90' ), 32 Tevez
Substitutes
30 Pantilimon, 06 Lescott, 28 K Toure, 11 Sinclair, 74 Evans, 10 Dzeko, 45 Balotelli

Swansea City

01 Vorm (Tremmel - 64' ), 04 Chico, 06 Williams, 22 Rangel (Booked), 33 Davies, 07 Britton (Graham - 72' ), 09 Michu, 11 Pablo (Dyer - 77' Booked ), 15 Routledge, 20 De Guzman, 24 Ki Sung-Yeung
Substitutes
25 Tremmel, 16 Monk, 21 Tiendalli, 12 Dyer, 26 Agustien, 10 Graham, 17 Shechter

Ref: Atkinson
Att: 46,801

My pre game feeling had been that we'd do well to come away without a humiliation, given that Citeh were by their own reckoning on an attempt to retrieve the embarassment of the Ajax CL defeat, so to see us start not only safely but confidently was a fabulous reassurance. We demonstrably showed that we had learned from last Season, albeit with a different Manager and an evolving team.

Swansea pressed high and fast, and Citeh found it hard to come to terms with this, despite a preponderance of possession. When they had the ball, they were loth to move it at anything above walking pace, and this suited our visitors just fine, since it encouraged raiding on the break.

Swansea did it well, and the highlights from ESPN/Yahoo  and suchlike will show you how........here's the MOTD2 version  http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01nqdhn/Match_of_the_Day_2_2012_13_28_10_2012/ ...and here's the Yahoo highs ...http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/football/premier-league/video/allvideos-22327918/30977698

It will show you that in the first half, Miguel Michu's brave header from a Hernandez cross was denied by only Micah Richard's equally brave defensive header, and his offside "goal" was remarkably close.

Equally, his sublime give and go with the fabulous Ki was only denied by England's no 1 goalkeeper, as Joe Hart raced from his line to keep the Spaniard out.

Swansea had given as good as they got, and went off to the City faithful booing their Blue Moon charges - bizzarre, to say the least.

The second half saw Mancini introduce Balotelli from the get go, for Kolarov, and Manchester's finest had a 20m spell that eventually won them the game.

Their ball retension began to bear fruit, as it condemned Swansea to chasing shadows, and it eventually fell to the contrite Carlos Tevez being the man who made the breakthough.

From a clumsy ball toward him, the Argentinian produced a sublime first touch that set up his second for a shot, from fully 25yds in the inside right channel.

Tevez's hit both dipped and arrowed to the far post, and despite Michel Vorm's full length dive, nestled into the net to trigger a wave of relief from the Etihad faithful, and a lead for the Champs. 1-0.

In diving to try and keep it out, our fantastic keeper was injured, and his ruptured groin will keep him out for at least 6, more likely 8/10 weeks. Tremmel came on as his replacement.

Having scored to take the lead, the rest of the game could only seriously be afforded to Swansea, who took the game to their opponents, and made a great deal of Swansea fans proud of their efforts.

Michu had a great header from a Hernandez cross parried away by Hart, and de Guzman had a fabulous shot drift a foot wide with Hart beaten. The most pleasant feature, for me, was seeing the Swans go at the Champions, and compete on an equal basis. This is how far we've come.

When the final whistle came I felt a little disappointed, but immensely proud.

As a second season (in this division) club, we can be, I would suggest, confidently proud of the way we competed. Please don't let me hear anymore nonsense of ML not having the support of the players. This performance put that foolishness to bed.

Let me tell you something - this morning, I went to the Chemist to collect some medication. My serving Pharmacist (who knows I'm a SCFC fan ) said to me "How'd you get on at Man City?". I answered her - although we lost 1-0 we played quite well. She then asked " Who've you got next?". My answer was " Chelsea".

Do you know what she said next ?  - "Wow. It must be some season ". "Yes", I replied, it certainly is.

Onward, Swansea City.

Swansea City v Wigan Athletic, Match Report, PL

This is a hard crowd to please.................

Hi, good to be back, I've missed you all.

The more things change, the more they remain the same.

Swansea City came into this game after another disrupting International break with a frustrating draw against Reading and a preceding 3 game loss on the books, so it was essential that they get a win to get them back on track.

They were playing a Wigan Athletic side that has made it their business to stay in this division for the last 7 years and is Managed by a previous Gaffer of ours, the ubiquitous Roberto Martinez, so in all honesty 3 pts from the fixture would surely cement the Swans' early progress, and take off some of the pressure a part of our fans are only too eager to offer.

In a vehemently contrasting game it was ever thus. Wow.

The teams selected showed more changes from Swansea than the visitors who went with their usual 3-5-2 line up with Di Santo and Kone at the front, and the linguistically puzzling McCarthur/McCarthy duopoly in the middle of the park, anchoring a swarming 5.

ML pulled a Spanish stroke meanwhile, letting Danny Graham and Nathan Dyer sit, while Miguel Michu led the line as a false "9" a la Barca. It would be remiss of me to fail to mention that both Michu and Hernandez (who replaced Dyer) were the eventual scorers, so I won't let you down. They were though, so there.

These were the sides..............

Swansea City

01 Vorm, 04 Chico, 06 Williams, 22 Rangel Booked, 33 Davies, 07 Britton, 09 Michu, 11 Pablo (Dyer - 72' ), 15 Routledge, 20 De Guzman (Graham - 83' ), 24 Ki Sung-Yeung Booked

Substitutes
25 Tremmel, 16 Monk, 21 Tiendalli, 12 Dyer, 10 Graham, 17 Shechter, 19 Moore

Wigan Athletic

26 Al Habsi, 05 Caldwell, 17 Boyce, 21 Ramis, 31 Figueroa (Watson - 71' ), 04 McCarthy, 10 Maloney Booked, 16 McArthur (Boselli - 83' ), 22 Beausejour Booked, 02 Kone, 09 Di Santo (Gomez - 83' Booked )

Substitutes
12 Pollitt, 06 Jones, 08 Watson, 14 Gomez, 15 McManaman, 19 Boselli, 32 Miyaichi

Ref: Jones
Att: 19,696
The game kicked off in front of the usual Swansea sell-out (or near) made more possible by the extremely poor Wigan travelling support, which, if it numbered more than 250/300 I'll be astounded. And, despite City's overwhelming possession, the half held it's puzzles.

Why, for instance, after 10m plus in control should the next 5m belong to them? Because that is what happened - Swansea dominance puncuated by Wigan short monopoly of the ball - a most unusual sight at the Lib, and none too comfortable for that.

The frustrating nature of the half's progression was evidenced by the Crowd's matching discomfort.

As Swansea attacked (which they did often) it felt like the normal Lib - loud, proud and hopeful. However, when on the back foot (which we were occasionally) or when individual players misplaced a pass ( SHOCK!! HORROR!! ) - a collective groan and grumble emanated from the stands. Let's not be precious here - we've all seen and heard this before - but the players subjected to personal vilification for some non-glorious passages (and I'm thinking Pablo Hernandez particularly) surely don't warrant this level of distrust!

Chill, for goodness sake, please. Some will say that there was a lot of paint drying in this spell, but I can live with that - ask yourself, can you?? Or shall we just agree to differ?

There was a great deal of Midfield competition, but not a huge amount of Goalmouth action.

Best chances for both sides came thus.

Beausejour's left wing cross from a Latics attack was headed back across goal and Maloney's scuffed shot sent Vorm diving to his left to gather comfortably.

For Swansea, Routledge, set free-ish in the inside left channel chipped an outside of the foot ball to Michu, fast approaching between the box edge and the penalty spot, and his first time volley flew over the bar. Debate around me centred on the "did he / didn't he" have time to bring it down ?

My offering was that given how he seems a natural goalscorer, we must surely give him the benefit of going with his call, whatever it turns out to be. Tough, sometimes, I know, but we fans have to live with that. That's why we're fans and he scores regularly. Just enjoy, and have a little patience.

A steadily driven half worked down toward the clock, and when we went off even I was at least consoled that we'd kept a clean sheet. As it turns out, that was not to remain the case, but there were better consolations to come.

ML had clearly dug them out at half time, because the first half of the second period saw Swansea totally dominate, and rip into a 2 goal lead as well.

From pushing Wigan deeper and deeper, the clearest tactical change suggested that City were pushing the wingers wider rather than narrow. Both Routledge on the left, and Hernandez on the right were now engaging the wide defenders and committing them to tackles/defence. This, given Wigan's 3 only at the back left the exposed Caldwell in the middle to have to cope with a wandering Michu and any and all Midfield runners - and de Duzman, pushing forward, began to be influential.

Britton offered his usual ball-controlling schtick, and even after a one-two drove a fierce shot just inches wide. Ki, as well, was now patrolling much further forward, and hit a screamer in the inside left channel that Al-Habsi did well to parry. Rangel and Hernandez were doing what we've seen the Spanish full back do in tandem with Dyer - ie, pressurise the defence, and City looked for the first time on top and odds on for a goal.

The breakthrough came with some sublime skill from Routledge on the left.

On halfway he received Ben Davies' driven ball and flicked with his right foot onward past the full back down the left wing,  meanwhile racing past his opponent to both pick it, turn inside, and play it square to de Guzman, just outside the area.

The Dutchman meanwhile sent it early and low to Pablo Hernandez, who had come a yard clear of the defender some 12yds from goal but with his back to the net.

He took a sublime first touch and spun and buried a low drive into the corner of the net. A terrific first goal for the Club, and the Lib burst with joyous noise. Plug in Baby!
To say that I was delighted is an understatement - as I've hinted earlier, there had been a consistent tutting and grumbling with every one of his "not quite perfect" contributions, and whilst this single goal will not quite appease the naysayers and doom-mongers amongst our crowd (and WE ALL KNOW THEY ARE THERE!!) it will at least quieten them. Well done Pablo, welcome to Swansea City, please enjoy.

A rampant City now continued to pour forward, and young Ben Davies was offered the opportunity to shoot from fully 30 yds, and his fierce low drive cannoned out for a corner.

De Guzman's fizzing inswinger put Wigan under more pressure, and the wonderfully prescient Miguel Michu headed in at the near post. 2-0, and the cathartic release of sound reverberated, whilst Swansea's Spaniards celebrated with a pre planned ES PA NA  3T-shirt celeb cooked up with a ball boy in front of the South. Y Viva.......etc.

At 2-0 up in the 65th minute many would have thought we're home and hosed. Ah well. This is Swansea City, and they do like to make us suffer a little.

Wigan, for their pains, came tearing back. Having seen 2 goals in a couple of minutes we now saw another one instantly, this time from the opposition.

Beausejour's cross from the left (which MAY have been cut out) was headed back across goal by Kone only to see a grubbed mis-hit shot goalward flicked on, and successfully, back heeled, by a squirming Emerson Boyce to see it bury in the top corner from an acrobatic effort.

Even worse than the 2-1 scoreline, Wigan poured forward again and from another fizzed Beausejour cross from the left, it was only a Linesman's flag that saved the Swans from conceding another bullet Kone header. As ML said honestly afterwards, sometimes you get them, sometimes you don't. In this instance, thank goodness we did.

As I've hinted, our beloved side is wont to make us suffer on occasion, and the remaining 20m or so saw us dropping deeper, breaking on chances that really should have seen the game out, but living on our nerves nevertheless. Phew and double phew.

The last 10m were particularly painful, seeing Dyer, Michu and particularly Danny Graham, all working for and presented with, chances to close the game out, but Wigan's interpassing against a deep sitting City kept us living on our nerves, not least when with the game's last corner, goalie Ali Al-Habsi got off a header that Michel Vorm grasped gratefully.

I've never been so delighted to hear the final whistle. 2-1, and three points gratefully received.

I believe it's useful to take a more measured view on the game after you've seen the action, often with the view of MoTD, Football First, Goals on Sunday, Motd2 etc............ and I have.

Reflection leads me to believe that this was a hard won 3 points, against a rival that has been in this Division for 6 years longer than we, so a sense of perspective is required, I would suggest.

We are a long way from being a fixture, and are, instead, an intriguing work-in-progress. Every single one of our players made an important contribution to a well earned and vital win. In the meantime, can I make a suggestion to the whingers and bleaters who are NOT satisfied?

Chill out and enjoy the ride. It goes up, it goes down - just like a roller coaster : but it's a great deal of fabulous fun.

Onward, Swansea City.

##
Btw, we get to go to the Champions next Saturday. That'll be fun, too.

Good to be back.........

....will be back up and running this week with a Match report of Swansea City v Wigan.

I've missed you all.

Respect.

A couple off weeks off from me.....

Please accept my apologies for a couple of weeks break from me, which I'm obliged to take because of ill health.

Promise to be back writing the week after the International Weekend.

Best regards

Peter.

Swansea City v Everton, PL, Match Report

Nobody said it was easy.............

Very recently, Guillem Balague, one of my and many people's favourite Sky Sports pundit, spent some time with our estimable Manager Michael Laudrup, in South Wales.

The interview confirmed, for us Jacks, that ML is both aware of our Club's history, and it's need to develop without selling out its past. Don'cha just love it ??

Given that, and our encouraging start, despite last week's set back at Villa Park, the bulk of us Jacks were looking forward to an intriguing meeting with one of the Division's stronger sides - namely- Everton FC.

I guess they were feeling much the same, given their concrete start, and a 2-2 draw at Home to Newcastle that they could, and should, have won, only to be denied by some bad officiating on pitch.

On another sunlit early Autumn day, the sold out Liberty rocked. Our visitors had done their part, and the remaining Home Tickets had proved to be as hard to get as ever.

Reports throughout the week had suggested that several Swansea City players were struggling, so it was no surprise to see the teams announced.

Everton replaced the injured Jelavic with Anichebe, and Heitinga stood in for Distin. Coleman slotted in at RB for Hibbert.

As for City, without Chico, Tate again filled in, and in MF the flu stricken Britton was consigned to the bench, so Ki stepped in, and Hernandez wide sent Dyer to the bench. The teams looked like this.......

Swansea City
01 Vorm, 05 Tate (Britton - 55' ), 06 Williams Booked, 22 Rangel Booked, 33 Davies, 09 Michu Booked, 11 Pablo (Dyer - 46' Dismissed after an earlier booking ), 15 Routledge, 20 De Guzman, 24 Ki Sung-Yeung Booked, 10 Graham (Shechter - 71' )

Substitutes
25 Tremmel, 16 Monk, 21 Tiendalli, 07 Britton, 12 Dyer, 17 Shechter, 19 Moore

Everton
24 Howard, 03 Baines, 05 Heitinga, 06 Jagielka, 18 Neville, 23 Coleman, 21 Osman Booked, 22 Pienaar (Gueye - 85' ), 25 Fellaini (Oviedo - 85' ), 11 Mirallas (Naismith - 71' ), 28 Anichebe

Substitutes
01 Mucha, 15 Distin, 34 Duffy, 08 Oviedo, 14 Naismith, 19 Gueye, 27 Vellios

Ref: Taylor
Att: 20,464
We Swans had been fearful prior to the kick off given that Everton were one of the few sides to truly out class and outplay us last year, both at Goodison and even here at the Liberty. After last week's mugging at Lambert's Villa, this week, cruelly, turned out to be another salutary lesson.

From the very first minute, the Toffees were first to the ball, pressing us high and fast (again), and our languid tempo saw our goal come under threat time and again, with Anichebe, Mirallas and Pienaar all drawing good saves from Vorm, and we lived on our nerves with an inability to get out of our own half even.

Even this early it appeared that Hernandez on the right was not offering defensive support to Rangel, and Baines and Pienaar were pouring forward at every opportunity.

On the right, Mirallas, Coleman and Osman were doing similar, and Ben Davies did well to cope with the overload.

However, up and through the middle,it was worse - our CB's were getting bullied.

Anichebe speared, and was making muscular runs, but the outstanding threat was who we'd guessed - the dominant Marouane Fellaini was not only bashing the struggling Tate and Williams, but bringing all of Everton's myriad threats into the game by making the ball stick and then laying it off cleverly. We were truly knocking and rocking, and I lost count of the times a last gasp desperate block just kept them out.

Truly, the first time at the Lib in the last 5 or 6 years where I thought we might concede 1 and more from the very start, and the fact that we got to the 21st minute before a breach was down to luck as much as judgement.

At that time, however, our luck ran out.

David Moyes is both practical and clever. This 20m assault had contained not just a hard fast press and balls fed into the box on foot, but an aerial bombardment that lent muscular threat to their possession. Alan Tate, loyal servant, conceded a free kick near to the half way line just from trying to get in front of Fellaini, but I have to say he was not helped by any MF interjection getting in font of the jumper.

From the resulting FK, we didn't learn again, and from a ball driven into the area from L to R, Ash Williams again tried to get in front of the Belgian behemoth, only to see him chest it down, and from a brave second follow up, move it on to Anichebe, six yards from goal, who volleyed it left footed into the net for the opening goal. Despite a suspicion of hand ball from Fellaini in his onward movement of the ball, the goal stood. 1-0, and it had been coming.

It felt like a boxer must feel after being pummelled for the first 5 of 15 rounds, wow, a way behind and things would have to change.

To be fair to City they did, although the next period of the game was as crazy as the first, as Swansea threw even more men forward in trying to get into the game when it might have been more profitable to have sat back and consolidated.

What it led to of course was not only Swansea almost getting back in the game from frenetic attack, but looking, if possible, even more vulnerable to any Everton counter atack- and there were lots of those.

The killer blow came on 43m , just before half time, when from a Swansea attack repelled down in the RB corner, Coleman, Neville and Fellaini played out with skill, leaving the big MidFielder free to play Pienaar free on the right past a despairing and exposed Ben Davies.

South Africa's captain, who has enjoyed a stellar return to the club of his choice, played a blessed ball across the desperate back 4 in retreat, and the fast marauding Kevin Mirallas, who had stayed ahead of a tardy Rangel, met it with a first time clip from 12yds out and central.

The resilient Michel Vorm almost got Swansea out of jail, his classic part parry sending the ball to ricochet onto the crossbar and down, but before the scrambling Vorm could recover, the eager Mirallas dived forward to head home.

2-0, and it was a dagger blow to the heart, but no less deserved for that.

Swansea's pride was stung, and in this fantastic PL encounter, despite a shot ratio of some 17-7 in the first half to the visitors (which should tell you who was on top), the home side contrived to carve two great chances that could have sent them in equal at the break.

From the first of the two decent Swansea moves, de Guzman's ball set Rangel free inside Baines, in almost a carbon copy of his goal against West Ham. This time though, instead of Jaaskelainen's pushing the shot in, Tim Howard produced the first of a series of top class saves and pushed the chance wide.

Just a minute later, Routledge out on the left produced a super ball that cleared everyone and saw Rangel, again, breaking forward, completely mis-time his connection when it looked easier to score. The ball dribbled harmlessly wide, and despite taking a pounding, on another day the 2-0 half time scoreline for the visitors could have been a bizarre 2-2.

Let's have a brief consideration of what had gone on in this half.

Swansea had been bossed and out-thought from a vibrant Everton all the way, but had summoned enough sufficient gumption to almost claw their way (surprisingly) back into the game. The second half promised as much, and didn't fail to deliver, although Scoucers will be happier than us West Walians. Still, sh*t happens.

ML had obviously seen some deficiencies in our performance, and Nathan Dyer replaced the shell shocked Pablo Hernandez at HT (hey - this is the PL, give him some time please), and on 55m he took a gamble further, replacing Alan Tate with Leon Britton, Ki Seung Yung slotting in at CB.

Whilst Everton continued to pour forward, further great Swansea chances came and went, Tim Howard producing another two world class saves from Ki and Michu, either of which efforts would have beaten most GK's.

The game clinching incident came in the 57th minute. Nathan Dyer, just 2m previously, had earned his first yellow card, when, after a foul, he was called by the Ref to come hither for a bollocking. Whilst Dyer, with his hands outstretched, continued to back away, the Ref insisted more. Dyer resisted, and Mr Taylor lost patience, producing a yellow card which most will argue was needless.You can't always get what you want.
It goes without saying that when, 2m later, a clumsy Dyer challenge (possibly pumped?) brought down Baines, out came a second yellow and off went Dyer.

My heart sank, as I realised without doubt this was a day to just take our medicine, hopefully learn, and move on.

Most modern Clubs nowadays practise 10 v 11 on a regular basis, but we forget that when they do so it's usually against their fellow club pros and youth team graduates. Against a top class side like Everton, it's a little different.

They were content from now on to keep the ball, rotate it it regularly to stretch the Swans, and close out the game all the time seeking to add a third. There were several near misses, from both Anichebe and Fellaini, but when a Baines FK from the left left Williams one on one with Fellaini, the big Belgian nodded home a deserved third. Ouch, 3-0, and we really couldn't complain.

Now I'm not one to whinge against circumstance, but I do want to make a comment on the Referee. With a foul count of 16-2 at HT, and 23-7 at FT, either Swansea were significantly dirtier than we've ever been, or the officiating was a little one eyed. I suspect most Evertonians would believe he leaned somewhat their way, for whatever reason.

Who knows, perhaps he just had a bad day - I certainly believe so.

Nonetheless, let's not detract from a fantastic side who reflected their good form so far- they certainly deserved to win comfortably on the day. If I'm allowed to quote the foul stats, then it's only fair I offer the shots stats........18 to 30 and 11 to 19 (total and on target) which reinforces that they had the better of the game.

So, two days later, what do we make of the game?

Well, the first thing is to admit we were outplayed on the day. No shame in that, since we've been outplayed previously, but have equally shown that we've learned from a chastening experience. If you doubt this, compare last year's dismal 3-0 loss at QPR, and our somewhat more successful sojourn there this year.

Secondly, we were playing Everton- as I've said previously - this is a serious, serial, PL member of the better order. Again, we must learn, hopeully.

Finally, to all of the keyboard warriors who are predicting doom and gloom from this one result - here's a message - DO ONE.

I'm a Swansea City fan, and like the majority of fellow Jacks, I'm hurting from an embarrassing loss. Do any of you fools who are denigrating us think our team feels any different.

Tomorrow starts at Crawley.

Keep the faith..........

Onward, Swansea City.

Swansea City v Everton, PL, Match Preview

Time to "Man up" ?

Last season, Everton were one of the few teams to do the League double against us, and in neither game could we realistically complain.

After a 1-0 defeat at Goodison Park, where, apart from Leon Britton, the shortest man on the pitch scored a bullet header from a corner (it was Leon Osman), in the return at the Liberty we were mugged by David Moyes' evolving and committed team - they always start slowly, and then get better as the year goes on.

Well, at least they used to! This year, they've started strongly, and this weekend's fixture promises to set us one of our harder tests.

The reasons for their better start are not hard to discern - this year, for once, Moyes got his incomings and outgoings done early, to good effect, and this most competent of PL Managers was able to drill and train his squad such that they were ready for the off from the get-go.

Their most recent fixture, a fizz bang cracker of a game last Monday against Newcastle Utd in a classic advertisement for Sky Monday Night Football saw most commentators concur that in a 2-2 outcome they were slightly unfortunate, having had two justifiable "goals" ruled out by poor officiating decisions.

For that game, they went with this line up...............

24 Howard, 02 Hibbert, 03 Baines, 06 Jagielka, 15 Distin, 18 Neville Booked, 21 Osman, 22 Pienaar Booked, 25 Fellaini Booked, 07 Jelavic (Anichebe - 44' ), 11 Mirallas (Naismith - 83' )
Substitutes
01 Mucha, 05 Heitinga, 23 Coleman, 34 Duffy, 14 Naismith, 19 Gueye, 28 Anichebe

They lined up in a distinctive 4-1-3-1-1 with Howard in goal, Hibbert, Jagielka, Distin and Baines across the back, Phil Neville holding, allowing a 3 of Mirallas, Osman and Pienaar to support the rampaging Marouane Fellaini, just behind Nikica Jelavic. It worked,once again, too.

Those players were chosen from this full squad.........

1 Jan Mucha GK, 2 Tony Hibbert Def, 3 Leighton Baines Def, 4 Darron Gibson MF, 5 John Heitinga Def, 6 Phil Jagielka Def, 7 Nikica Jelavic Fwd, 8 Bryan Oviedo MF, 11 Kevin Mirallas Fwd, 14 Steven Naismith Fwd, 15 Sylvain Distin Def, 18 Phil Neville Def, 19 Magaye Gueye Fwd, 20 Ross Barkley MF, 21 Leon Osman MF, 22 Steven Pienaar MF, 23 Seamus Coleman Def, 24 Tim Howard GK, 25 Marouane Fellaini MF, 27 Apostolos Vellios Fwd, 28 Victor Anichebe Fwd, 30 Francisco Junior MF, 34Shane Duffy Def, 42 Luke Garbutt Def, 43 Conor McAlenny Fwd

Let's look initially at the most recently chosen first team.

The American keeper Tim Howard is nowadays a PL veteran, and must be rated as one of the PL's best. Gone are the days of his Man U period doubts, and he continues to make excellent stops when times are tight.  Covered by Jan Mucha.

Hibbert, at RB, Jags and Distin at CB are all solid defenders. All have PL experience in spades and all are classy and reliable footballers.

Baines, at LB, is all of these things and then some. Many Swans will remember his last year FK goal, a thing of beauty to all but us Swans. This marauding LB is on the cusp of overtaking Ashley Cole as the best LB in England, and his combination with South Africa's captain at left MF (Pienaar) is one of the things this side relies on to give them attacking momentum.

Pienaar, for his part as well, is no lightweight. Back at Everton from a rocky sojourn at Tottenham, he has proved that his talent and class endures, and he always influences games.

The rock solid Phil Neville, the Club Captain, has of late played as the holding MF'er, but has the flexibility to fill in at either FB. A top class, classy professional footballer, he is Everton's Gary Monk/Alan Tate in spades. Never, ever, lets his side down. Btw, if you don't follow him on Twitter, @fizzer18 is always a good read. One of the few modern footballers who are real.

Leon Osman, just like our Leon, is influential. Always underrated, but trusted by Moyes, he has a habit of changing passages of play with key goals.

On the right last week was one of the Merseysiders' new acquisitions, Kevin Mirallas, who came from Olympiakos as a Belgian International ( and we all know how good they are). Able to play as an out and out forward or in midfield, centrally or wide, he was a fine addition.

The front 2 last week are special.

This is the PL, and Marouane Fellaini is thus far the one of the most impressive players in the League. We remember him well. Apart from bullying Ash Williams and Neil Taylor before squaring a ball that Jelavic tapped in, he's this season embarrassed Man Utd and other luminaries. We will do well to keep him in check. He of the Shock-Peter hair and 6ft plus stature is a handful in every game.

Last week, up front, they started Nikica Jelavic, signed last year from Glasgow Rangers, and the best stat I'm aware of about him is this - in his first games for Everton, from his first 12 touches of the ball, 9 were goals. Wow. First touch and in. Impressive. Reports suggest that he may be injured and thus we may get to miss him, and his replacement is likely to be the in-form Victor Anichebe, the young Nigerian who has started the season well, too, although both Fellaini and Mirallas can lead lead the line on occasion.

The thing to remember about Everton is this. This is a physically imposing, energetic and intimidating, tactically astute, serial Premier League member. This is a side that has been in the PL since its inception - and comfortably, too, apart from one wobbly season. Coupled with that, they are managed by the impressive David Moyes, and as I've said before, he's a PL Manager you really wouldn't want to start a fight with. He strikes me as if he'd win, and his players and team reflect this.

So, you can bet your life we're in for a hard, hard game.

There is, nowadays, a greater depth within their squad.

Jan Mucha is the reserve GK, and cover at the back is provided by Dutch World Cup finalist CB John Heitinga, last year's Club player of the year, but currently kept out by the evergreen Sylvain Distin and current England CB "Jags".

Again on the bench against the Toon were Seamus Coleman, RoI International and ostensibly a RB but who often plays as a Maicon style Wing Back or MF'er.

Shane Duffy is the County Derry born CB who emerged from the Club's fabled Academy along with the class of Ross Barkley (currently out on loan) and Jack Rodwell, sold to Man City for £15m plus. Forward cover came from Steven Naismith, the Scottish Int'l striker picked up cutely from Rangers on a free, and Magaye Gueye, the French born youngster who represented Senegal at the Olympic games.

Mf'er Darron Gibson, ex Man Utd, is out with a thigh injury, so we're unlikely to see him.

Squad depth runs from Forwards Conor McAlenny, a Liverpool born further Academy grad, Apstostolos Vellios, a Greek U 21 Int'l central Striker. Mf'ers Fransisco Junior, a young box to box runner born in Guinea-Bissau, Bryan Oviedo, a Costa Rican Int'l left sider with 13 caps both give middle of the park cover. Another young Defender, Luke Garbutt, became an Everton scholar from Leeds Utd, and is progressing well.

David Moyes, as you know, is one of the PL's best and most experienced Managers, and in assembling his squad for this season, has shown his ability to attract decent talent to the Club by all the various routes, both Internal and External, and coupled with that the Toffees have started the season in good form.

We know to our cost how effective they were against us last year.

As for our own form, we will want to put behind us the disappointing showing at Villa Park last week, and return to more profitable ways, although from a personal point of view I feel there were instances in that previous fixture that had things gone our way - I'm thinking of the Guzan double save and Danny G and Luke M's misses- things just might have been different. Ah well, " If my Granny etc......".

ML may well, I feel, make some slight changes.

Against a physical side like Everton, Ki's prowess, both on and off the ball, and even Kemy Agustien for similar reasons, may be considered. The options at the back are limited, and I don't see any change there.

Lastly, Pablo's encouraging cameo in the last 15m may see him give a spell to either of the wide men.

Whatever line up ML chooses, this will be a difficult encounter, but in this Division, when was it any different?

And that's what makes this journey all the more rewarding. I, along with all my fellow Jacks  will be there to give my unstinting support; because that's what we fans do.

Enjoy the game.

Onward, Swansea City.

Aston Villa v Swansea City, Match report, PL

A Grey Away Day.

A visit to Villa Park is anything but grey - as one of the PL's more pleasing grounds, it's a riot of Technicholor mixed in with Villa's claret and blue, and the aesthetic harmony of old and new at this traditional PL home is perhaps a lesson for all who would go their way as a long term and serious Club.

Add to that a brilliantly sunny early Autumn day and after our encouraging start what could possibly go wrong??

As it happens, on the playing front, quite a lot -  it turned out to be a slap in the face and a reminder of "know your place" etiquette for any of us Jacks who were getting ahead of ourselves, and, as ML hinted in his post Match interview, that may turn out to be no bad thing.

Given our superlative performance in our last year's PL Season - our first, don't forget - I suspect we've all been privy to the premature crowing of a minority of our Fanbase (Newbies, perhaps?) in thinking that we'd just roll over teams who, like Villa, have suffered relatively lean times in comparison to their illustrious past.

Hey, Quelle surprise  - this is Football in  the Premier league and it just doesn't happen that way.

Both I and my three fellow JackArmy travellers had arrived in good time and had space to take in a pleasant lunch and light refreshment in close proximity to the ground, and our front row seats in the Lower Doug Ellis stand meant we had a first class view of an enthralling PL matchup.

As for the teams, they lined up as follows...........

Aston Villa
22 Guzan, 04 Vlaar, 06 Clark Booked, 30 Lichaj Booked, 34 Lowton Booked, 07 Ireland (Westwood - 70' ), 08 El Ahmadi, 25 Bannan, 09 Bent, 14 Holman (N'Zogbia - 79' ), 26 Weimann (Benteke - 71' )
Substitutes
01 Given, 29 Bennett, 10 N'Zogbia, 15 Westwood, 11 Agbonlahor, 20 Benteke, 21 Bowery

Swansea City
01 Vorm, 05 Tate, 06 Williams, 22 Rangel, 33 Davies, 07 Britton (Shechter - 79' ), 09 Michu Booked, 12 Dyer, 15 Routledge (Pablo - 57' ), 20 De Guzman, 10 Graham (Moore - 71' )
Substitutes
25 Tremmel, 11 Pablo, 24 Ki Sung-Yeung, 26 Agustien, 29 Richards, 17 Shechter, 19 Moore

Ref: Mason
Att: 34,005
The Jack selecion from ML showed just one change, with the long serving Alan Tate stepping in for the suspended Chico Flores, and both Ki and Pablo (the Club's record signings) started on the bench.

Lambert's Villains reflected the change within the Club, with several members graduating from their deservedly acclaimed Youth Academy, supplemented by key and influential senior acquisitions - in sharp contrast to the previous defensive and negative McLeish regime they had last season.

Paul Lambert has always proved against us that his tactical acumen often sets us a puzzle, and so it proved.

It's widely known within football nowadays that ML has set us up in in a structure that's a variation on our previous 4-3-3 Manque with wingers hugging the touchline. Nowadays, we're more like a 4-2-3-1 with both Routledge and Dyer as the wide men in the three playing a lot narrower, and Michu as the middle of that three both supporting and changing with  Danny Graham.

Villa's response was to compete in both formation and commitment, and their constant harrying and closing meant that it took Swansea a lot more effort to get into the rhythm and tempo of their normal game.

The first 15m saw Swansea press forward neatly and tidily, but the swarming nature of Villa's MF contribution made it hard to make an impression. Coupled with that, Villa too were prepared to break and threaten, and both Wegmann and Holman were influential, and Lowton at RB was prepared to maraud as Rangel does for us, with extra pace.

For all the perceived pressure, Swansea created two great early chances, both of which were to confirm the wisdom of starting Brad Guzan ahead of the benched and senior Shay Given.

From a corner won on the right, Jonathan de Guzman sent in a cross that was headed bullet hard goal ward by Ash Williams , only to be denied by a fabulous parry that sent the ball out to the left wing, where Wayne Routledge picked it up. He cut in and rolled it square to Nathan Dyer, who sent a terrific curling shot to the top left corner, only for Guzan again to palm it over at full length. Saves, sometimes, win games. These two certainly had an influence.

The scale of the interventions became evident soon afterward.

After this early period of fairly even football, with a leaning toward Swansea dominance even, the next phase of the game became different.

Villa began to swarm at Swansea, pressing hard and fast, designedly structured to stop City playing out from the back, and it worked. Moreover, when in possession, Lowton was playing the Maicon role as a marauding wing back, and his runs forward, both inside and out, began to cause problems for Swansea.

On 16m, Ben Davies was forced into conceding a corner on the right, and from Barry Bannan's driven cross, Ash Williams headed clear outside the box, only to see the confident Lowton not only chest the ball for control, but then to follow up with a left foot volley that skimmed Alan Tate's hair but then swerved two ways on its way to defeating the despairing dive of Michel Vorm who had gone to the right hand post only to see the viciously hit volley scream into the middle of the goal.

1-0 to the Villa, and it was a blow to the solar plexus as the home fans came alive after a nervous start.

The goal came, as I've said, in the 16th minute, and presaged the applause in the 19th minute (in honour of his number) to support the stricken but recovering Villa skipper Stiliyan Petrov, generously and classily supported by the large JackArmy. Respect, all round.

The rest of the half remained a cut and thrust encounter, with both sides showing promise - Vorm saved well from both Wegmann and Ciaran Clark, but the end to end nature of the game cost Swansea dear just before half time.

A super move on the right allowed Rangel to play Dyer free, and from his fine cut back across the box, Danny Graham, just 6yds out and clear, was unable to get a touch on the ball and the gaping chance ran free and safe.

I suspect the psychological damage of the miss went on to hurt the side, since just two minutes later they went off for the half time break with Villa still 1-0 up, instead of being level at 1-1.

Did this cost us? I think so, but find myself unable to castigate DG, who had continued to run his heart out for the cause throughout the half. Sometimes, often even, football is a cruel game.

In the second period, City did their darndest to get back on the front foot, but Villa, with the crowd's backing, were generally coming out on top. We've seen the same at our place, where we begin to grind the opposition down just from relentless pressure, and now Villa were doing it to us.

Don't be misled though, - despite being on the ropes, the Swans were content to soak up the pressure and seek to break for an equaliser. Hey - this is the Premier League, not some vague awayday at Cheltenham (no disrespect), so it was a source of pride to at least stay in the game.

Villa's pressure led to a series of corners, the last of which saw Leon Britton heroically clear off the line from a Weimann strike to maintain the status quo.

Pablo Hernandez came on for his Swansea debut for Wayne Routledge to be followed by Luke Moore for Danny Graham on 70m.

Almost immediately for Villa, Lambert countered by introducing Westwood for Stephen Ireland and Benteke for Weimann, coincidentally switching their formation to a 4-4-2, with Bent and Benteke foraging at the front.

Whilst Pablo gave a promising cameo of his ultimate worth to the Swansea team, consistently and pleasingly both dribbling and feeding his classy control of the ball, and almost creating a breakthrough, Villa by obdurate defence were able to resist.

The best City chances fell to a Luke Moore header from a great move and cross from Rangel - unfortunately not up to his Man City standard goal from last year and comfortably taken by Guzan, - and a Ben Davies drive and shot which Moore, again, was unable to touch in. Both, unsurprisingly, were celebrated by the Villa fans, coming, as they did from an ex Villa player. Ah well.

As I've hinted, the dual threat of Bent and Benteke ultimately put the game to bed.

On 89m, Guzan sent a hit and hope ball forward. Bizzarely, in a vague echo of the Sunderland game, the ball skimmed off Ben Davies' head and Darren Bent outjumped the solid Alan Tate to send it forward again.

Ash Williams, some 25yds out, made to head it back to Vorm and safety, but miscalculated, and his diffident touch allowed Benteke to get to the ball before Vorm, flick it up and over the keeper, and run it into the net.

2-0, a horrible mistake, but these things do happen - even to a player as good as Williams. ML was decent in his approbation, and I feel that it would be unfair to criticise a player who has almost NEVER missed a game and will know only too well what went on. If it's hurtful for us fans, just think how both he and the team feel. Ouch and bloody ouch.

Schechter's late replacement of Britton had given us nothing, and we fell to our first defeat of the season, 2-0.

So, in retrospect, what do we take from the game?

Well, the first point to be made is this, - by all means read Internet blogs and the like, and weed out the fatuous and foolish. I've read lots that have been both critical and all but defamatory in their criticism of City as if the team didn't bloody care.

There's only one response to that sort of analysis - ignore it and move on - it's probably posted by some sad sack of 15 or 50, seeking in his (it's always a him) bedroom loneliness some sort of response. DANGER - " TROLLS FISHING HERE ". Move on.

ML provided a dignified and sensible response, and both Managers interviews are again  here........               

My generalisations are these.........

1) City didn't perform to the level that they had in the previous 3 games. This may seem simplistic, and may well have been influenced by Lambert's cute setting up of his side - after all, he has won 5 of his last 6 games against us.

2) Our squad has talent in breadth but is somewhat lightweight on depth. Witness the trouble we're in at CB, where, with Flores suspended and Bartley and Monk injured, we're down to exhausted Ash Williams and the stalwart Alan Tate.

3) We have cover wide and MF - Ki, Agustien, Pablo..............but, but, when Danny G goes off (for whatever reason), Luke Moore and Schechter don't seem to cut the mustard. I am NOT knocking our players, Moore particularly who has played his part in getting us to where we are, but I feel in January it might be something that we ought to look at.

Anyway, enough of the negative perceptions and emotions.

Let's be realistic. Even after the defeat I was proud and pleased to come away from Villa Park as a Swansea City supporter. I shall be at our next home game against Everton, both hoping and believing that we can get back on track. We really are good enough to do that.

I'll also be travelling to Stoke away, where, hopefully, this year we can show the rest of the division that it's more pleasing to play football in the Swansea City way. (Btw- no more viruses Michel V, please.........).

See you later in the week for an Everton preview and........

Onward, Swansea City.