Super Frank Lampard - A Managerial Adventure

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Oh we were so close. In what was always going to be a tough game against City, we found ourselves 2-0 down after 78 minutes and down to 10 men following Maxi Pereiras red card for his horror tackle. But then up popped Ki to convert a penalty in the 86th minute and set up a barn storming finish. And that it was, we bombarded the City penalty area and even hit the cross bar, but it just wasnt to be. Another blow to our survival hopes. It's all coming down to the last day!

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5 teams are left in trouble and all within 3 points of each other. It is anybodys game and the fixture list makes it even more intriguing.

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What a game!! a typical rollercoaster end of season match as we manage to save ourselves from relegation at the last attempt. Things started badly as we let Tommy Rowe in to score the opener, but fortunately Nathan Dyer was on hand to equalise instantly. I think everybody feared the worst when Pilar scored an absolute screamer to put Wolves back in front but there was no need to worry, Bafa had it covered! at half time the score was 2-2 and everything was in the balance. I gave the lads a talking to and sent them back out and they did not disappoint! It was Jefferson Montero that sent the home fans into raptures and finally knocked the fight out of a stubborn Wolves team.

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So the three teams that go down are the three that came up last season. I was gutted to see Leeds go as I hold a strange affection for them after the 18 months spent there, but I need to plough on with my career and that requires a certain level of ruthlessness. I can now start to cast an eye towards next year and consolidating our Premier League place. With that in mind, the board have given me my initial budgets for next season. I will have just over £7 million in my transfer fund and about £30k in spare wages. Money is tight at the moment and if I want any more I will have to sell first.
 
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Its been a busy old summer of transfers at Swansea. Upon closer inspection of the first team and the under 21's, it was discovered that we had A LOT of dead wood that needed to be shipped out who were taking up a considerable chunk of wages.

OUT


Mike Williamson - £750k - West Brom

Neil Taylor - £3 mil - Hull

Dwight Gayle - £2.5 mil - Bournemouth

Jordi Amat - £2.5 mil - Leicester

Angel Rangel - £525k - Bristol City

Marvin Emnes - £500k - Sheffield United

Adam Forshaw - £5.5 mil - Watford

Eder - Released

Michu - Released

Modou Barrow - Loan - Burnley

Matt Grimes - Loan - Blackburn


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These players leaving the club left quite a considerable hole, not necessarily in the first team but certainly in squad depth. Because of the financial difficulties the club finds itself in, it was also agreed that I would only get 50% of transfer incomings added to my transfer kitty. So it was shopping on a budget this year.



IN

Carl Jenkinson - £2.8 mil - Arsenal

Federico Fazio - £1.6 mil - Tottenham

Michail Antonio - £925k - West Ham

Graziano Pelle - £2.5 mil - Southampton

Filip Djuricic - Loan - Liverpool (Option to buy of £4.8 mil)
​


With Gayle and Eder both leaving it was important that we found a backup option to take the pressure off of Bafa Gomis and Graziano Pelle seems to be the perfect fit. Michail Antonio joins the club on a cut price deal from West Ham to add some pace and competition in the wide areas and Filip Djuricic joins on loan to compete with Sigurdsson for the AMC position following the departure of Michu. Our defence seemed a bit leaky last season so Carl Jenkinson joins the club to compete for the right back position with Kyle Naughton and Federico Fazio replaces the outgoing Jordi Amat who demanded to leave as he was unhappy at the club.
 
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Swansea city squad 2016/17 season

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First team manager







Frank Lampard

Goalkeepers

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Joe Lewis, Lukasz Fabianksi


Defenders

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Nacho Monreal, Massadio Haidara, Ashley Williams, Federico Fernandez, Federico Fazio, Jozo Simunovic, Kyle Naughton, Carl Jenkinson


Midfielders

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Mathieu Flamini, Jack Cork, Ki Sung-Yeung, Jonjo Shelvey, Filip Djuricic, Gylfi Sigurdsson


Attackers

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Andre Ayew, Michail Antonio, Nathan Dyer, Jefferson Montero, Bafetimibi Gomis, Graziano Pelle


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LIVE Frank Lampard Interview LIVE​

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Q - "Hi Frank, This is the first chance we have had to talk to you properly since you saved Swansea from relegation, can you tell us just what it means for everybody associated with the club to still be in the Premier League?"

A - "Its massive, there's no doubt about that. Everybody in football dreams of playing in the Premier League and we are keen that this great club can stay at the pinnacle of what is effectively world football"

Q - "and of course there is the financial element to it?"

A -"Yeah there is that as well, with TV deals being like they are and sponsorship as well as prize money, financially it was really important that we stayed up."

Q - "Do you anticipate being in another relegation dog fight this season? what are your expectations?"

A - "I think its very hard to predict whats going to happen. The Premier League is by its very nature unpredictable but we hope to be a little higher up the table than that. If we can stay well clear of any relegation worries then we will be happy."

Q - "The club has been busy over the summer, plenty of sales, new faces in also. How does that effect the team?"

A - "It takes a little while for things to gel but we have every confidence that we have done the right thing by the club. When I took over here it was very obvious that we had some players here for the wrong reasons, who were not fully committed to the club and to fighting for the club. All of those players went and we have replaced them with some real quality. I am very happy with how the squad is looking."

Q - "Our sources are telling us that the loan deal for Filip Djuricic has a clause that allows you to purchase him?"

A - "It does."

Q - "Can you shed any more light on that?"

A - "No."

-A few laughs-

Q - "Your first game of the season will be at home against newly promoted Ipswich, who join the Premiership alongside fellow newcomers Hull and Crystal Palace, a good start?"

A - "it will be a great occasion, we have to travel away from home which makes it a little harder, and they are going to be well up for this. A grand return to the Premier League in front of their own supporters, its going to be tough. I have great confidence in the lads though and hopefully we can get underway with the right kind of performance and result"
 
Pre-Season​

I had sat and thought a lot about how we were going to approach pre-season. In the end I decided to schedule our games against slightly lower ranked teams to try and get the boys used to winning and build a confidence and belief in the squad at the same time as getting their fitness up without being too competitive. And it worked a treat!

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Not only did we win every single game we played in, we made it all the way through pre-season without suffering any serious injuries and we scored 39 goals to the 4 we conceded. The boys have been wonderful for the whole build up and are ready to get stuck in to the new season!

Players to watch​

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Bafa Gomis was in incredible form for the end of last season and finished the campaign with 22 goals in all competitions. I am positive that he is the man to lead the line and has picked up in pre-season exactly where he left off, notching 7 goals in 6 games. Big things expected of the Frenchman.










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Gylfi Sigurdsson is surely going to be a vital part of how we play our football. The Icelandic playmaker scored 5 times and created 7 assists in only 8 games during pre-season. If he can carry that stunning form forward into the Premier League we are going to be in for one **** of a season.









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Jonjo Shelvey has been almost as crucial as Sigurdsson. Also playing 8 games this pre-season, Jonjo has got himself 6 assists from the slightly deeper midfield position and even grabbed a goal. If he can form a core to the team with Gomis and Sigurdsson then we could be in good shape.










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Andre Ayew had a hit and miss end to the last campaign after I took over and has started pre-season with a point to prove. 11 goals and 4 assists in his 8 pre-season matches has certainly proved my point and he now very much has my attention. Plenty of goal scoring potential in the squad can only be a good thing.
 
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Distraught. We did everything right in this game apart from score a goal. Daryl Murphy punished us as Federico Fernandez gave away a careless penalty and we couldnt get back into the game, despite having 3 clear cut chances and hitting the crossbar from Sigurdssons free kick. And there was even more bad news. Bafetimbi Gomis was forced off on a stretcher and the news after the game was not good.

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We would need to dip into the transfer market to cover this one.
 
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Swansea seal Jovetic loan deal​

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Swansea have sealed a season long loan deal for Manchester City's 26 year old Montenegrin striker Stevan Jovetic. Jovetic has failed to hold down a starting place in City's first team squad, and has spent the last two seasons on loan at Inter Milan where he scored 7 goals in 32 appearances.

Swansea have moved quickly to bring in a new striker as cover for the injured Bafetimbi Gomis, who tore his calf muscle in Swanseas game against Ipswich and is facing a considerable spell on the sideline.

"Stevan is a very talented player and is hungry to rebuild his career after his time at City" Swansea manager Frank Lampard said "He will come into the side and fight with Graziano for a place in the first team.

BBC sources understand that the loan deal gives Swansea the opportunity to make the deal permanent for a fee of around the £5 million mark.
 
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Ok, I am getting seriously fed up with Enner Valencia scoring screamers against us. Andre Ayew grabbed goal number 1 and 2 of the season and Gylfi Sigurdsson chipped in as well but it wasnt enough. We honestly thought we had won it but Vladimir Darida had other ideas as he scored late on to deny us our win.

(has anybody ever bought Enner Valencia? is he as good for your teams as he is against mine? :p)
 
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Another point to add to our collection as we throw away a two goal lead against Hull. Gylfi Sigurdsson showed his true class as he scored our opening two goals. Robert Snodgrass got one back from a carelessly defended set piece and then Sone Aluke scored a world class effort from range. Two points from our first three games is disappointing but at least we are picking up some points.
 
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We are bang out of luck at the moment. We ever really looked like getting much out of this game though. Federico Fernandez gave away another penalty which is going to cost him his place in the team. On top of that Ashley Williams got himself sent off. The only silver lining is that Graziano Pelle has his first goal for the club.
 
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I really hate this game sometimes. Yes we got well beaten by Stoke, but two of those goals were conceded when we were on overload looking to get back into the game. The beginning of the season has not been good, but I dont think its been sackably bad, and that is exactly what has happened.

After the game the board called me into their office to discuss my future at the club. When I told them that the players needed to take some of the blame for the results, they didnt seem to agree and that only left me the option of saying that 'perhaps it would be better if I resigned' to which they agreed and I lost my job. This seems ridiculously harsh to me, especially after saving them last season and none of my new signings have even had a chance to settle properly yet. I will be back Swansea, and I will be avenged.
 
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Lampard sacked by Swansea​

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Frank Lampard has tonight been sacked by Swansea after their 4-1 defeat to Stoke in the Premier League. Swansea have had a poor start to the season with two draws and three losses in their first five games and find themselves bottom of the table.

Swansea fans seem to be extremely disappointed in the decision by the club and it has baffled some famous faces as well. "The way that Swansea have treated Frank is disgusting" Said former Manchester United defender Gary Neville on Sky Sports News "Managers don't get any time to make their mark in the modern game. Huw Jenkins does not deserve a manager like Frank Lampard at the club, he will get himself a new club very soon".
 
Not the best of starts but still can't believe they sacked you after last seasons heroics!
Be interesting to see where Mr Lampard ends up next...
 
It took until the beginning of February to find my new job. I had several approaches from Championship clubs and seriously considered offers from Reading and Burnley but something just stopped me from accepting. That turned out to be the right move as a fantastic job opportunity proceeded to fall into my lap.

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Everton have been under performing in the league for the past few seasons and found themselves sat in 14th place. Manager Michael Laudrup decided enough was enough and upped sticks and moved to take the vacant job at Premier League Watford. This left the vacancy at Goodison Park. When Bill Kenwright offered me the interview it was a no brainer to at least show up and hear what he had to say. It turns out that Everton are somewhat stumbling along financially and only just breaking even but the challenge was there to see. With players like Leighton Baines, Phil Jagielka and Gareth Barry approaching retirement the next generation had to be given a chance. John Stones had just completed a £24 million move to Manchester City to cover the clubs debts but a decent core still existed in the squad.

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Baines and Coleman are still dominating the fullback positions and there are some decent players coming through at centre back like Diego Reyes and Funes Mori. James McCarthy and Ross Barkley both have immense talent in the middle of the park and Romelu Lukaku is capable of bullying the best defences in the world. Kevin Mirallas and Viktor Fischer also look like shining lights in a squad that is dripping with potential.

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As you can see our finances are in a bit of a pickle. We are overspending on wages and are now in the red in terms of our balance. I am not exactly sure where this leaves us, but I think it could be pretty difficult to hold on to the likes of Barkley, Lukaku and McCarthy if serious offers are tabled.
 
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It turned out that my first match as Everton manager would come the very next day in the Premier League against Ipswich. A classic 4-3-3 formation worked a treat as we managed a comfortable win over them. Lukaku had us off to the dream start as he finished superbly from a tight angle. Leighton Baines made it comfortable wtih a fee kick mid way through the first half and then it was simply a case of seeing the game out.

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James McCarthy found himself on the end of a 6 week injury so Gareth Barry came into the side and did well so he is looking like hanging on to his place.
 
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Another excellent result sees us into the 6th round of the FA Cup after a near perfect result against Reading. It was really the complete performance as we saw some real promise from Gerard Deulofeu and Viktor Fischer. Early signs are optimistic at Goodison Park.
 
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Well that was unfortunate. Despite being well in the game, some wasteful finishing from the front 3 let Hull sneak the win here. Viktor Fischer was forced off injured but fortunately he will only be out for a few days, and Mirallas was hugely ineffective which will give fresh hope for Deulofeu who is snapping at his heels.

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This is why I love the Premier League. Just 5 points separate West Ham in 14th and Liverpool in 7th. The margins between relegation and Europe are getting smaller and smaller which is costing lots of managers their jobs. On a plus the team I half built at Swansea is doing much better since I was fired. Sam Allardyce took the hotseat and they have surged up the table and look as good as safe.
 
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