[jjamez]

So the break is almost upon us, a break that no doubt will suit Town down to the ground with all the injuries that are currently plaguing the squad, a training camp has already been planned for the players, a mini pre-season if you will, in order to get up to speed and to work on the tactical and fitness side of the game, something that has been lacking massively so far. As has been mentioned in an interview with Town's managing director Dave Baldwin, our pre-season was poorly structured and poorly executed, which ultimately has shown on the pitch with a constant lack of cohesion and a lack of idea on it during games, players that were influential last season in their performances have been lacking to various degrees, some minorly, others monumentally, and our league position shows this. Tuesday night however, showed that there was defiantly green shoots that could start growing, but a lot of fight and resolve in a side that was nothing short of a mish mash. The quality was lacking, but a few more players returning could see that change, the big thing for me was the desire to keep the ball out of our goal, which is going to be imperative in a relegation battle.

Saturday sees foreign dignitaries arrive in West Yorkshire in the form of a group of Swans from South Wales. Guests will be treated to sights such as the (not so) Colossus of Rhodes, The Pillar of Nicholls and the Great Wall of Boyle, whilst pre match delicacies of meat and potato pie and hot Bovril will be on offer to get them in the mood for some sporting 'entertainment', for the veggies out there, cheese and onion pies are available as is hot chocolate, for vegans, Terry has a stash of carrots in his kennel and some water (joking aside, I genuinely don't know if there is anything vegan on the concourses).



Ahead of Saturdays game, Town will be able to welcome David Kasumu back from his one game suspension, whilst Etienne Camara hasn't recovered from his knock to the hip. Tom Lees who has been missing due to covid will be out of his isolation now and it will come down to whether he feels like he could perform at the right levels, a place on the bench could be the best option. Kaine Kesler-Hayden could be thrown into the starting line up after doing well when replacing young Brodie Spencer. Brahima Diarra will probably drop back down to the bench after to struggling on his first start in Championship football, freeing up Jack Rudoni who operated in an unfamiliar holding midfield role. Jon Russell played for the B team on Wednesday and by all accounts he didn't set the game alight, the fact that he didn't get into the squad on Tuesday when we were so short to me signals how far off the pace he must be. Rumours are he is not being selected due to contract disputes between him and the club, which does seem to be a bit of a cutting your nose to spite your face situation from the club for not picking him. Apart from those I can't see many other players coming back, nor can I see many other changes.



Joe Allen will again be absent as he focuses on finding fitness ahead of Wales’ first World Cup appearance in 64 years.

He will be on the plane to Qatar with Wales alongside Ben Cabango, while Olivier Ntcham has also been called up for Cameroon.

Head coach Martin has confirmed Cabango and Ntcham will be available for selection against the Terriers as both hope to go into the World Cup on the back of positive performances at club level. Liam Walsh is also expected to be out with a ruptured Achilles.




A brief history of Swansea Football Club, well they were founded in 1912 and became part of the football league in 1921, they came close to winning the first division in 1981, but ultimately fell away and finished 6th, still the clubs highest ever league finish and by 2003 they were fighting to avoid falling out of the football league, but obviously survived and managed to work their way back up to the top. Under the stewardship of Brendan Rodgers they managed to get promoted from the championship thanks to a 4-2 win at Wembley over Reading and finished 11th the season after. Rodgers departed to join Liverpool and a slip cost him the title there, but at the Liberty Stadium Michael Laudrup took over and steadily guided the club to more stability in the league as well as winning their first major trophy thanks to a 5-0 win over Bradford in the league cup. This made them the first non english side to win the cup and also qualified them for their first and only taste of european football. The next season saw Laudrup eventually replaced by the man of "class, humility and respect" himself Garry Monk. Monk was a former Swansea player but his tenure only lasted the year as he was replaced by Francesco Guidolin, his spell didnt last too long as after a take over by an American consortium, he was replaced by former USA mens soccer coach Bob Bradley. The yank found himself out of his depth much like Siewert and Schofield combined and was sacked after just 2 wins from 11 games, but the decline had long since started. He was replaced by former Bayern Munich and Chelsea assistant Paul Clement and whilst results picked up seeing the swans survive the 2016-17 season, Clement soon found himself out of the door as fans became restless over his negative and boring football and he was replaced by former Wednesday manager Carlos Carvahal. He was unable to keep them up and left over the summer to be replaced by Ostersund manager Graham Potter, whilst former owner and chairman Huw Jenkins also left the club over increasing criticism over the sale to the yanks. Potter managed to finish 10th in the championship as well as reaching the quarter finals of the FA cup. He left to join Brighton and was replaced by Steve Cooper who took former Town coach Mike Marsh with him as assistant manager. In September 2019, Cooper was named Manager of The Month, with Swansea City sitting top of the table after an unbeaten first month; this was Swansea's best start to a season in 41 years. On the final day of the season, Swansea beat Reading 4–1 to finish sixth, moving into the play-offs ahead of Nottingham Forest on goal difference, but were later defeated by Brentford in the semi-final second leg. The next season, Cooper would lead the Swans to 4th in the league and secured a play-off place for a second consecutive season. Swansea went one better, reaching the Final after defeating Barnsley 2–1 on aggregate, but lost to their play off nemesis Brentford at Wembley Stadium. Cooper would leave after the summer and was replaced by former MK Dons manager Russell Martin. His appointment signalled an attempt in changing style of play. At the culmination of the 2020–21 season, only Manchester City and Barcelona had a higher average possession percentage in Europe than Martin's MK Dons. His team also had the most touches in the opposition box in League One. His first season in charge of Swansea would see the side finish 15th. Inspired by Guardiola's Barcelona and Manchester City teams, Martin prefers his teams to dominate ball possession. Tactically, he prefers the 3–4–2–1 or 3–5–2 formations, with an emphasis on passing the ball and pressing the opposition. If his teams suffer a bad result, Martin prefers to improve his game plan, rather than changing the style of play.



It was a relatively busy first full summer window for Martin as he looked to shape his squad how he would like it. Not a great deal was spent in doing so, with a few of the signings being brought in on loan. Armstrong Oko-Flex joined on loan from West Ham, he had been linked to Town whilst he was at Celtic, Matthew Sorinola joined on loan from Union SG in Belgium, he too was linked with Town when Pipa and Toffolo were leaving, he can play at either full back, Finn Stevens came in on loan from Brentford, guess what, he too was rumoured to have been of interest to Town, but we went with Hayden instead. Also joining on loan was Luke Cundle from Wolves and yes his name did feature in being of interest to Town and Nathan Wood joined on loan from Middlesbrough, was he linked to Town, no, but there is some relation to Paul Clements the Town goalkeeping coach. The club also resigned Welsh international Joe Allen on a free transfer from Stoke, whilst they signed centre half Harry Darling from Martins former club MK Dons for 2.3 million.



As for leaving the club, young players in the form of Morgan Whittaker and Kyle Joseph left on loan to Plymouth and Oxford United respectively, whilst Ossett born Jordon Garrick moved on loan to Lincoln City. Former Town keeper Ben Hamer somehow managed to get a move to Watford on a free transfer to replace Youtuber Ben Foster. Korey Smith dropped a division to go and play for a rebuilding Derby and promising midfielder Yann Danda left for Scotland to play for Ross County, he was one who promised a lot but never fulfilled his potential at the Swans, although at 21 there is still time. The big move however was that of Flynn Downes who left for the bright lights of London as he joined West Ham for 10.6 million.

The Swans currently sit on the precipice of the play offs going into the international break and begun their campaign with a trip to Yorkshire to face newly promoted Rotherham. Chiedozie Ogbene opened the scoring for the newly promoted side, before Darling scored a long range effort on debut. It was an unhappy first game at home for the season as they welcomed Blackburn and saw them leave with a 3-0 win. Sammy Szmodics opened the scoring in the first half before Ben Brereton and Lewis Travis scored in the second half. An early exit from the League Cup followed as they lost on penalties to Oxford United. Jay Fulton and Liam Cullen put the Swans 2-0 up before half time, but a second half turn around from the hosts saw the game go to spot kicks. Alex Gorrin pulled one back before Cameron Brannagan equalised in the 93rd minute. All the Oxford takers scored, before Sorinola missed his attempt. The Swans finally got their first win of the season as they travelled up to Blackpool. Jerry Yates missed a penalty for the Tangerines before Oliver Ntcham scored late into the game to get the visitors up and running. They then welcomed Millwall to South Wales and everything was going so well for the Welsh side as Ryan Manning and Michael Obafemi scored two early goals, but as the game approached the dying embers, the Welsh side proceeded to capitulate. First Harry Darling scored a 93rd minute own goal, surely not? but yep, Nathan Wood would score a 95th minute own goal, with what would be the last kick of the match. The late capitulation stung as Luton came to the Swansea.com Stadium and left with a 2-0 victory thanks to goals from Allan Campbell and Town target Carlton Morris. A disappointing trip up to the North East followed as they lost 2-1 to Middlesbrough. Riley McGree opened the scoring for Boro before Town graduate Matt Crooks scored a second for the hosts. Joel Piroe pulled a late goal back, but Ben Cabango received a second yellow card to end hopes of a come back. They ended August with a trip to Stoke and again it looked promising for the Swans as Joel Piroe scored after 6 minutes, but old habits die hard so they say and Tyrese Campbell scored in injury time to pull a point from the jaws of defeat for the newly appointed Alex Neil. At this point the Swans sat 21st in the table but managed to get moving in the right direction during September, starting with a win at home to QPR, Piroe missed an early penalty but made up for it minutes later scoring what would prove to be the only goal of the game. Those bad habits came back to bite them once again as Sheffield United visited Wales and left with the 3 points thanks to a 94th minute Reda Khadra goal. With September being a short footballing month, the visit of Hull was the last of the month and proved to be what could be the turning point of the season for Martin's side. 3 second half goals from Manning, Cundle and Piroe saw the hosts coast past the Tigers and it could have been more had the woodwork not intervened.



October began with a trip to the Hawthornes to face the Baggies and Sorinola got the Swans off to a flier. The hosts managed to turn it around through goals from Jake Livermore and Grady Diangana in the second half before Ntcham pulled the visitors level with 20 minutes left. Former Town forward Karlan Grant had the chance to score from the spot for the Baggies but saw his effort saved by keeper Steven Benda, and the visitors made him pay as Obafemi scored an 89th minute winner for the Welsh side. Another late goal sealed another 3 points on the road for the Swans as they headed to Watford. Ismaila Sarr opened the scoring for the Hornets before a deflected Ntcham effort pulled the Swans level. Did I say late goal? by that I mean late, as it was in the 98th minute when Cabango headed in the winner. For your information there was still 9 minutes of injury time to be played as the game had been delayed due to a technical fault for 17 minutes. A return to Wales was next as they welcomed the Black Cats of Sunderland. The hosts went into half time 2 goals to the good thanks to Ollie Cooper and Harry Darling. Jack Clarke pulled one back in the second half but the Swans held off a nervy finish for the 3 points. A trip to the leagues in form side was next as they visited the happy place of Turf Moor. The Clarets were 2-0 up in 30 minutes, scoring with their first two efforts on target thanks to Vitinho's header and Jay Rodriguez's close-range finish. Anass Zaroury's first Burnley goal capped a dominant 45 minutes. Rodriguez scored Burnley's fourth goal on 58 minutes before Joel Piroe was sent off for a stamp on Josh Cullen. A comeback win against surprise package Reading was next, the Royals raced into a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Tom Ince and Yakou Meite but a goal on the stroke of half time from Darling kickstarted a second half turnaround. Cooper and Jay Fulton scored in the second half to get Swansea the points. Next up was the biggest home game of the season for Swansea as Cardiff came to town. Mark Hudson's side were reduced to 10 early on due to stupidity from Callum Robinson and the home side made them pay as Cooper scored his third in four games and Obafemi scored in the second half to leave Swans fans very happy. October ended with a fairly short journey over to Bristol to face an inconsistent Robins side. Tommy Conway gave the home side the lead before Ntcham levelled with 15 minutes to go. November has seen the Swans return to type, firstly a trip to Preston ended with a Brad Potts goal sealing the points for the home side, before Swansea came from two goals down to draw at home to Wigan. Will Keane and Tom Naylor put the Lancashire side ahead before Ryan Manning pulled one back just before half time. Piroe would then score a a penalty late on to break Wigan hearts, although the Wigan kebabs won't be helping there either. Where Swansea rescued a point against Wigan, they dropped two at Birmingham, Scott Hogan got the Blues going before Ntcham and Matt Grimes put the Swans ahead, but in the 89th minute Troy Deeney equalised for the Blues sending the Swans back to Wales feeling the blues.



ones to watch

Oliver Ntcham- The French born midfielder will be going to the World Cup with Cameroon during the international break and whilst it has taken him a while, he finally seems to be settling in Wales. He came through the set up at Manchester City but failed to make a league appearance for the Blues. He signed a two year loan with Genoa, with the Griffins having the option to make it permanent. They didn't and he went to Scotland to play for Celtic. He had a good time for the large part in Scotland but ended up going on loan to Marseille. Their manager Andre Villas-Boas of Chelsea and Tottenham fame wasn't impressed with the signing and resigned he has yet to find a new club. Ntcham didn't feature much during the loan and he would join Swansea on a free transfer and has made 55 appearances for the side, scoring 9 goals.



Joel Piroe- Signed last season from PSV Eindhoven and scored 22 times for the Swans in his debut season. This led to a summer of rumours with plenty of Premier League sides being interested in the striker who is still only 23. This season has been a bit more of a struggle due to injuries and suspension and he has scored just 5 goals so far, but has the potential to cause lots of problems for defences.



Matt Grimes- Captain and creator in chief, the midfielder is normally in charge of set pieces for the Swans. He began his career on the south coast at Exeter where he made 58 appearances before joining Swansea. He has had time out on loan at the likes of Blackburn, Leeds and Northampton during his time in Wales, but has become an integral piece of the Swansea machine in the last few seasons. He has made 205 appearances now for the Welsh side and will be looking to add plenty more to that with him still being only 27. An interesting fact for you, he was part of the team that won the national junior ultimate frisbee championships and was voted MVP during the competition.



head to head

Town have the upper hand over the Welsh side since the first meeting between the two sides back in 1952. The Terriers have won 26 games whilst they have drawn and lost 17 games against the Swans. Swansea had a spell of dominance over Town in the early 90s but that ended when Town beat them at Wembley to win the Autoglass Trophy. The two sides would meet often during their times in the third tier of English football, with Lee Trundle being an occasional scourge of the side but Town would generally come out on top in the meetings. The two sides met during the Premier League years, with the Swans winning in Wales thanks to a mistake from Jonas Lossl and two goals from Tammy Abraham. The home fixture against Carlos Carvahals side finished 0-0 despite the Swans being reduced to 10 men after just 11 minutes when Jordan Ayew received a straight red. Since the two sides have returned to the Championship it has been fairly even between the sides with 2 wins each and 2 draws. The first game back in the Championship between the sides finished 1-1 with Jay Fulton scoring for Swansea and Grant equalising for Town who saw Trevoh Chalobah sent off in the second half. The return fixture in Wales saw a Danny Cowley side lose 3-1 thanks to goals from Andre Ayew, Fulton and Jordon Garrick, Steve Mounie scored for Town. The COVID season would see Town register a surprise double over the Welshmen. The game in Wales saw Harry Toffolo open the scoring for Town before Ayew scored from the spot, Josh Koroma in his purple patch would score in the second half to seal the points. The fixture in Yorkshire saw Town grab a surprise victory as not many of those happened in the second half of the season, with some fans feeling Corberan should have been sacked during that run. Fraizer Campbell opened the scoring for Town before Connor Hourihane equalised on the stroke of half time, but second half goals from Lewis O'Brien and two from Duane Holmes saw Town race to a 4-1 win. Last season it was Swansea with the upper hand over Town, Joel Piroe scored the only goal of the game in South Wales, whilst an early Danel Sinani goal was pegged back by a lateish Flynn Downes goal in West Yorkshire.



anagrams

1) Jil Want Urine

2) Jock Not Hash

3) Wild Riflemen

4) Ready Wane

5) Via Church Roll

6) Military Debuts

7) Plow Beat Bat

8) Jests Even Kin

9) Neat Rejection Hazes

10) A Cigar Orgies

[Lord Snooty]

Nice one jjamez.

That Lee Trundle's a singer now. Taken overnight the Jeff Astle role in Sky's reboot of Fantasy Football League.

A very funny programme if you haven't seen it yet.

[Amelia Chaffinch]

7 Pawel Abbott

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8 Steve Jenkins

[Lord Snooty]

6. Liberty Stadium

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1. Julian Winter

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5. Ivor Allchurch

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2. John Toshack

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5 changes. Mbete starts.

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Big Willy Boyle is ill apparently.

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Town’s team vs Swansea City
21. Lee Nicholls
3. Luke Mbete
7. Sorba Thomas
9. Jordan Rhodes
14. Josh Ruffels
16. Kaine Kesler-Hayden
18. David Kasumu
22. Jack Rudoni
30. Ben Jackson
32. Tom Lees ©
39. Michał Helik

Substitutes
Nicholas Bilokapic; Connor Mahoney, Duane Holmes, Danny Ward, Brodie Spencer, Brahima Diarra, Loick Ayina

[Lord Snooty]

Two games unbeaten.

[theo_luddite]

Millwall, who are without a doubt the worst team I've seen all season, including us at our worst, are now in the top 6 and Coventry, who were worse than us for weeks and couldn't buy a win until they finally won one and now have the winning habit in a bad way and are only one win behind them. There's hope for us yet if our forwards can stop firing blanks and the rest can back them up.

[Lord Snooty]

Agreed, theo.

We're not far off it. The chances are coming and going. Put one of them away and we win. The one where Ruffels got down the wing, crossed and the forrards were too slow to get in there. Wake up, ffs.

[jjamez]

I think ruffels should be shooting there not crossing, I don't think we are ambitious or greedy enough in the final third, too many want to move it on to someone else to do the business.

It was a poor game to watch, boring and we didn't really offer much going forward until the last 10 minutes. We knew they would want the ball so being solid behind it and not giving them anything to go on means it was ultimately a good result.

If Rhodes gets wards chances I think he takes them. Seen some say Rhodes was poor but I thought he won his fair share of headers, Thomas was poor, but kasumu looks like he's going to be a top player, diarra looked a bright talent when he came on but inconsistency will be his main issue this season and maybe next, but he'll be gold. In theory we could have a very good home grown contingent in our side in the next seasons, diarra, camara, crich, reg as a few.

Also how quick was obafemi when he came on, I knew he was fast but that was something else. We don't do those sorts of signings our last attempts resulted in mbenza and diakhaby. Can anyone think of any others prior to that?

[Lord Snooty]

Just seen the highlights. How on earth did those two shots late on from Wardy not go in?

[theo_luddite]

4 Andre Ayew
6 Liberty Stadium