A Swansea City Story

[Worthy15]

Swansea City AFC the pride of Wales, have had a rather eventful time at the start of the 21st Century. Starting in lowly League 2, the Swans have steadily worked their way up the leagues, until they finally reached the promised land of the Premier League in 2011, becoming the first Welsh team to play in the English top-flight since its inception (much to the annoyance of local rivals Cardiff City.) Gaining plaudits for their attractive possession-based style of football the Swans managed 7 seasons at the top level, finishing as high as 8th in 2015 and picking up an EFL cup trophy win in 2013, however, were relegated in 2018 back to the Championship, where they still remain.

My goal for this save is obvious, return Swansea to the Premier League in the short term, stay there in the medium term and longer-term push for European qualification.

Wish me luck!

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[Worthy15]

Squad Preview & Pre Season 2020/21

The squad isn't all that shabby in fairness, a mixture of average players at this level, with 5-6 better players.​

Key Players

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Andre Ayew - ST
The highest earner in the squad and with good reason as he is our best player, a Premiership standard player who has shown loyalty to the Swans since relegation

Matt Grimes - MC
Our best midfielder, the heartbeat of the team, with great passing stats he will be one of our key players in our promotion push this season

Ryan Bennett - CD
A very experienced player, who will marshall the backline this season, he has very good defensive stats and will hopefully allow us to keep the ball out of our net this season

Transfers​

Georg Margreitter - CD
Another strong and experienced defender brought in to partner Bennett, signed for £375k from German 2nd division side FC Nurnberg

Ashley Williams - CD
This signing was probably overkill, however as the Championship is a demanding league, squad depth is essential. Therefore Ex Swansea and Wales Legend Ashley Williams was brought in on a free to provide cover if either our first choice defenders get injured.

There were no huge departures from the club apart from some youngsters going out on loan.

Pre Season 2020/21

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I was very happy with our pre-season results, plenty of goals and none conceded! Let's hope the season continues in that way!

Next update - Championship season preview and September results

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[Worthy15]

Season Preview & September

Some good teams in the Championship and the bookies have us to finish 9th and just outside the playoff places (Cardiff predicted to finish 4th!)

Let's prove them wrong!

September

We started September with a thrilling 4-2 victory in the League cup first round against League One Oxford United, followed by a 1-0 victory on the opening day of the Championship season. A defeat by Brentford in the second round of the League cup was tough to take as we dominated possession, however, they took their chances when they came and we didn't. A bore draw against Birmingham and an embarrassing 4-1 defeat by newly-promoted Wycombe meant we ended the month on a downer.

One of the main reasons for our poor form towards the end of the month was due to the fact we lost Matt Grimes to injury after the Preston game, this shows how important he is to the team if we are to do anything this season, he needs to remain fit! Luckily he is back in full training in time for the start of October.

Current top scorer is Jamal lowe, who hit a hatrick in the Oxford game, top of the assist charts are Morgan Gibbs-White and Matt Grimes, tied on 2 apiece, again this shows how important Matt Grimes is to us, 2 games played and 2 assists!

Next Update - Can I make any more signings before the transfer window closes? and October Results

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[Worthy15]

New Signing & October Results

Transfers

Only one more transfer brought in before the window slammed closed, 23 year old Spaniard, who we activated his £1.5 Million release clause. He will bring some more quality to the midfield and will slot in alongside Matt Grimes.

October

October started as September ended with a disappointing defeat at Home to Milwall, followed by a draw to Huddersfield, where we should of got more out of the game as we had numerous chances and then conceded in the 90th minute! We finally managed to get a win against Coventry (our first since the opening day of the season) however we went down to a very good Bristol City side 3-1 in our next game. It was a similar story in our next game at home to Stoke as the Huddersfiled game, plenty of possession, numerous chances but none taken and we drew 1-1 late on. The month ended in the same way as it started a 2-0 home loss, but this time to Blackburn.

The table isn't looking pretty, currently sitting 19th (with Cardiff in 6th) a vast improvement is needed or this challenge could be over before it's even had a chance to get started!

Again like in September, injury to a Key Player probably didn't help our form. We lost Andre Ayew to injury against Milwall. He missed the entire month and returned to full training the day of our final game of the month against Blackburn.

Jamal Lowe managed to add a single goal to his tally for the season in October, however, he still remains our top scorer, the same story in the assist charts, 1 assist each added for Morgan Gibbs-White and Matt Grimes who are still joint top with 3 each.

Next Update - November Results, Can we turn around our season and move up the table?​

 

[Worthy15]

November Results

Well, well, well, I asked at the end of the last update if we could turn our season around and move up the table. The answer was yes, yes we can! 5 games played, 5 games won. What a month!

We started with an emphatic 4-1 win over Brentford, who started the game at the top of the table. The highlight of the game undoubtedly being a Viktor Gyokeres hatrick! we moved swiftly on to another comfortable win, this time against newly relegated Norwich, if you told me we would have 6 points from the first two games of the month, scoring 7 goals and conceding 2, I would have told you to F**k off, but things got even better in our next game, a massive 5-1 victory against Rotherham, which included a MOTM display from key man, Andre Ayew. He managed 2 goals and 2 assists! Sheffield Wednesday were the next team to feel the Swans wrath, we dispatched them comfortably 3-0, Andrew Ayew putting in a MOTM display again and helping himself to a hatrick! Rounding off the month we beat Nottingham Forest 2-1 with well deserved last-minute winner from Jamal Lowe.

Our scintillating November form saw us charge up the table finishing the month just outside the play off places in 8th, the only downside of the month was Cardiff continuing their early season form, winning 4 times and drawing once in November to push themselves into 2nd place 3 points behind Bournemouth, who suffered a very uncharacteristic defeat to lowly Rotherham in their final game of the month.

In the top scorer charts, Jamal Lowe continues to lead the way, adding 4 goals to his tally in November and taking his total to 9, (He also assisted 3 times during the month)

In the top assists chart, Matt Grimes has pulled out ahead of Morgan Gibbs- White, adding 3 to his tally in November and taking his total to 6.

Player of the month

Player of the month for November goes to George Byers. Coming into the side after Morgan Gibbs-White came off injured in the dying munites against Brentford, he the put in 4 quality displays, so much so that Gibbs-White hasn't managed to get back into the team. Whilst he has only scored one goal, his 3 assists matched Matt Grimes in November and his average rating of 7.16 is currently the highest in our squad.

Manager of the month

A nice accolade to receive, I was named Manager of the Month for November, after guiding us to 5 consecutive wins

Next Update - December results, Can we maintain our winning streak during the busy Christmas period?​

 

[Worthy15]

December

The month started with a frustrating 2-2 draw with Middlesbrough, we dominated the game in the early stages and were leading 2-0 until on loan Chelsea defender Marc Guhei got 2 yellow cards in quick succession just before half time, we managed to hold them to 2-1 until an 89th minute equaliser have them a share of the points. Next up we dispatched Luton easily enough 3-0, Andre Ayew helping himself to a brace of goals. Our first defeat in 8 games to top of the table Bournemouth 3-1, brought us back to earth with a bump young Welsh international David Brooks getting all 3 of their assists! Possibly the sweetest result of the season followed, 3-1 away in the South Wales derby against Cardiff, Kasey Palmer coming off the bench in the second half to score 2 goals in 3 minutes to take the points and bragging rights west, back down the M4. We drew our next game away to Wayne Rooneys Derby, Championship top scorer, 19 year old Morgan Whittaker scoring a brace, canceling out Jamal Lowes brace for us. We absolutely destroyed relegation candidates Barnsley in our next game, in fact we were 5-0 up at half time, allowing me to rest a few key players for the second half. We ended the month with 2 massive results against QPR and Reading, both of whom are in play off contention in 6th and 7th respectively, once again Andre Ayew showing his class scoring once against QPR and twice against Reading.

8 games, 5 wins, 2 draws and a loss meant we finished the month in 4th position, only 1 point behind bitter rivals Cardiff. Bournmouth continue to lead the way, I personally can't see them not winning the league, they are a very good outfit, closely followed by Norwich in 2nd, another class act. Cardiff, ourselves, Brentford and Reading make up the play off places with QPR just outside. At the foot of the table there is a bit of a gap between Birmingham in 21st and Barnsley in 20th, but with plenty of games to play that could all change in an instant!

In the top scorer charts, Jamal Lowe continues to lead the way, adding 5 goals to his tally during the month

In the top assists charts, Matt Grimes continues to lead the way, adding 3 more assists to his tally during the month

Player of the Month

Decembers player of the month was Andre Ayew, he put in a number of outstanding performances, scoring 7 goals in the month (he is only one goal behind Jamal Lowe in the top scorer charts) aswell as providing two assist, he averaged a 7.12 rating during December and as a result also scooped the Championship player of the month award.

I won successive Manager of the Month awards.

The month wasn't all sugar and rainbows however, a disappointing injury for our young on loan Chelsea defender Marc Guhei, who has been a rock at the back for us means we are without him for at least a month.

Next Update - Mid season transfer window & January Results, can I add some more quality to the team? Can we continue our promotion charge?
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[Worthy15]

January Results & Transfer Window Roundup

January started with a boring 0-0 draw against a Watford side that considering the talent they have, should be higher than the 8th position they find themselves in, our next match was our first FA cup game of the season, a 5-2 victory against League one Plymouth wasn't surprising, a comprehensive 3-1 victory against Barnsley followed by a hard fought 1-0 win away at Blackburn Rovers, in which an unexpected 80th minute goal from backup RB Kyle Naughton won us the game. Our next game in the FA cup was always going to be difficult against league leaders Bournemouth, who again taught us a footballing lesson, beating us 2-0. The end of the month saw two draws in 3 days against fellow promotion rivals Brentford and somewhat disappointingly Rotherham, who find themselves in the relagation zone.

Despite a rather disappointing month, consisting of 2 wins and 3 draw in the league, we have managed to leapfrog Cardiff into 3rd position! Bouremouth conitune to dominate and have extended there lead at the top of the table to 7 points from Norwich in 2nd, who in turn are 5 points clear of us.

It seems our Star Player Andre Ayew has caught a Virus and will be out for a few weeks, how apt with what is going on in the real world right now!​

Jamal Lowe continues to lead the Top Scorer Charts, having only managed to add one more goal to his tally during the month, taking him to 15 for the season.

Matt Grimes continues to lead the Top Assist Charts, like Jamal Lowe, only managing to add one more to his tally during the month, taking him to 10 for the season

Transfer Window Roundup

We had a decent transfer window in my opinion, I wanted to add some more quality and depth to the squad to help us in our promotion push.


18 year old promising defender Andrea Papetti was brought in on a 6 month loan from Tottenham, He has very good stats, considering he is only 18, and can play both at RB and CB, he will be going straight into the first team.​

Promising 20 year old Emile Smith Rowe was signed from another North London team, Arsenal. Like Papetti he will slot straight into the first team and provide quality on the left.

We also managed to tie down 2 of our better players on long term deals.

Connor Roberts our ever present left back and Matt Grimes our Midfield maestro sign new 3 year deals.

Next Update - February results, getting to the business end of the season, can we continue our promotion push?!
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[Worthy15]

February Results

The games came thick and fast in February, 6 games in 3 weeks really tested the squads resolve. We started the month with a disappointing result against Norwich, who like Bournemouth were too good for us. 2 straightforward victories followed agasint Sheff Wed & Nottingham Forest, scoring 3 goals in both games. Huddesrsfiled gave us a fright in our next game, a 1-1 draw snatched from the jaws of defeat, having scored in the 88th minute! A much better display in our next game against an awful, bottom of the table Coventry side, 6-1 with Jamal Lowe getting 4 goals! We finished the month with a 1-1 draw against Bristol City, who find themselves down in mid table, despite having a rather good team.

3 wins, 2 draw and a defeat during the month allowed us to keep 3rd spot.....just! Luckily Cardiff had a poor month and didn't capitalise on us dropping points. The race for a play off spot is starting to heat up, 13 games remain and only 6 points separate us in 3rd and Reading in 9th!

Jamal Lowe continues to top the Top Scorer Charts, 4 goals against Coventry meaning he is now on 19 for the season.

A new contract for Matt Grimes, who celebrated with 3 more assists to add to his tally during the month, he is now on 13 or the season

Jamal Lowe picked up the Championship Player of the Month award, with 4 goals, 2 assists and an average rating of 7.27.

Unfortnately the packed schedule meant injuries were inevitable, 2 key players, Ryan Bennett and Andre Ayew are both out for at least 3 & 4 weeks, respectively. Hopefully it doesn't have too much of an effect on our promotion push

Next Update - March Results & looking at our Youth Intake, Will we come unstuck with injuries to key personnel? Do we have any young gems coming through the system?
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[Worthy15]

March Results & Youth Intake Analysis

March was a fantastic month for us, 17 goals scored in 5 games! We started the month with a crazy 6-3 result aginst Stoke, young striker Liam Cullen, scored his first senior hatrick. two 3-1 victories followed agasint Middelsbrough and Luton. A draw against Bournemouth away, showed how far we had come since dismantled us 3-1 in December and 2-0 in the FA Cup in January. We then ended the month with an emphatic 3-0 win at home to fierce rivals Cardiff.

Our fantastic March results, cemented our position in the play off positions and even possibly an automatic promotion spot as Norwich form has dipped and we are only now 1 point behind them! Cardiff off the back of their humbling defeat to us are in real danger of missing out on the playoffs

Jamal Lowe managed to add one more goal to his tally, leading the way in the Top Scorer Charts on 20 goals.

Matt Grimes continues to lead the way in the Top Assist Chart, adding two more assist during the month and leads the way in the league also with 15!

Injuries keep adding up, young loanee Emile Smith-Rowe, out for a minmium of 4 weeks.

Very happy for young Liam Cullen, who scopped the Young Championship player of the month award, scoring 5 goals and assisting twice in 5 games, with an average rating of 7.36

Youth Intake

March brings around our latest intake of youth players, quite an average batch with the exception being young 15 years old striker Gary Edwards, from Daniel Clarke upwards have been added to our Under 18 squad with the hope they develop into decent players in the next few years.

Next Update - April Results, can we keep winning and get ourselves into the Automatic promotion spots?!​