Swansea City

Swansea City have won the appeal they launched against Federico Fernandez's harsh red card for a tackle late in the team's 2-1 Capital One Cup loss against Liverpool on Tuesday.   

Sky Sports News shared the news:

BREAKING NEWS: Swansea win appeal against red card shown to Federico Fernandez at Liverpool. #SSNHQ pic.twitter.com/09RN40wsqn

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) October 30, 2014

The Argentine defender committed a foul on Philippe Coutinho near the end of the spectacular match and was given a straight red by referee Keith Stroud, a punishment that would have carried a three-match suspension.

Said card has now been rescinded, meaning the 25-year-old will be eligible for Swans' match against Everton on Saturday.

Fernandez's dismissal was harsh, and to add insult to injury, Dejan Lovren scored the winning goal deep in stoppage time, knocking the Welsh side out of the tournament.

As shared by sports commentator Mark Poyser, manager Garry Monk didn't agree with the decision at all:

#SwanseaCity Boss Garry Monk says Federico Fernandez's sending off was "not a red card whatsoever" hear from him on @BBCRadioWales 7.30&8.30

— Mark Poyser (@MAPoyser) October 29, 2014

The Press Association's Phil Blanche hopes the decision to overturn the suspension will result in the Swans boss putting a little more faith in the powers that be:

Perhaps @GarryMonk16 will now have some faith in system after FA overturn Federico Fernandez's red card against Liverpool. #Swans

— Phil Blanche 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 (@philblanche) October 30, 2014

Monk called it "common sense," via Twitter:

Positive news, no FA charge & Fernandez red card rescinded.
Glad common sense prevailed.#swans

— Garry Monk (@GarryMonk) October 30, 2014

The appeal will obviously have no impact on Tuesday's result, but having the centre-back on the pitch for a crucial match against Everton is very good news for the Swansea faithful.

And with fixtures against Arsenal and defending Premier League champions Manchester City on the horizon, the Welsh club will need all the help they can possibly get.

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Young Harry Jacobs has Alopecia, the same hair-losing condition that Swansea City midfielder Jonjo Shelvey has. 

Harry, a big Shelvey fan, wrote to the former Liverpool player hoping he'd visit his school to meet his friends. 

Per Project Babb:

You are amazing and scored a goal from 47 yards into the top corner. So, so, so good. I know you play for Swansea.

My name is Harry and I have Alopecia like you. Do you like it?

I think it is medium because I can't get nits and don't have to go to the hairdressers—which is good.

I don't really like it though.

Can you come to my school please, but first to my house. I can take you to school then to meet my friends. 

The goal he refers to, of course, is Shelvey's shocking strike against Aston Villa last term. 

Harry's mum also chimed in:

Harry has developed Alopecia really rapidly. He is a mad footy fan and has got some comfort from the fact that you are a Premiership footballer who he can look up to and see that he can still achieve incredible things.

I would really appreciate if you could write back to him. He is going through a really tough time at the moment and it would be a real boost for him to have a response from you. 

Shelvey did Jacobs one better.

He couldn't attend the boy's school or his house. Instead, he invited him and his family up for Swansea's match against Southampton, housed them, fitted Harry in a Swansea kit and set them up in a special box. 

Harry did the mascot honours alongside Shelvey and took a few penalties.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBQzijskcF0

His form was quite good.

All in all, it was a heart-warming sight. For young Harry, he has a memory he'll never forget.

For Shelvey, he seemed humbled and happy to make Harry's day.

I know what it was like for me growing up as a boy with Alopecia. It was quite tough for me with people calling me names and things.

I felt for Harry when I got the letter and it was nice for me to share some of my experiences with him and to try and guide him along the right lines.

The best bit though was seeing the look on his face walking out with the team. He said he had a great time—and that's so special. 

Southampton won the match, 1-0. 

[Project Babb] 

Two yellow cards inside the first 40 minutes caused Swansea City striker Wilfried Bony to see a red card before halftime in the club's clash with Southampton.

The Premier League noted the Ivory Coast international's early exit:

RED CARD Wilfred Bony gets his second yellow card for a lunge on Maya Yoshida. Swansea 0-0 Southampton (38 mins) #SWASOU

— Premier League (@premierleague) September 20, 2014

Both challenges came against against Saints defender Maya Yoshida. The first yellow coming in the 19th minute and then again about 20 minutes later. The second one being a reckless foul considering he was already working with a card.

Gary Taphouse of Sky Sports was surprised by the ferocity of both fouls:

https://twitter.com/garytaphouse/status/513341454698426368

George Hartrey of GTH Football agreed with the referee's decision to show the red card:

RED CARD: Bony sent of for Swansea. Flies in to a tackle when he's already on a yellow. Awful challenge. Deserved of a second yellow.

— George Hartrey (@gthfootball) September 20, 2014

The BBC's John Bennett notes the two quick cards were out of the ordinary for Bony:

Wilfried Bony sending off very out of character. He was only booked 4 times last season in 51 games. #Swans

— John Bennett (@JohnBennettBBC) September 20, 2014

Gareth Vincent of the South Wales Evening Post noted the referee received plenty of heat from the home supporters after the halftime whistle:

HT #Swans 0 Saints 0. Ref getting hammered by home crowd, but Bony probably can't complain. #Swans were doing okay until red. Now a battle

— Gareth Vincent (@Gareth_Vincent) September 20, 2014

Southampton announced after the break that Yoshida, who was on the receiving end of both hard fouls and also had a yellow of his own, was replaced by Florin Gardos for the second half:

HT: #SaintsFC make a half-time change, bringing on Florin Gardoș for the booked Maya Yoshida. [0-0]

— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) September 20, 2014

The Everton Podcast quickly pointed out the red card would also mean Bony is unavailable for the Capital One Cup fixture with the Toffees on Tuesday:

https://twitter.com/Followtonians/status/513341454039535616

All told, it was simply some poor decision making by Bony. The first challenge was unnecessary because Yoshida had already won the header and the second was rash in any situation, but especially so due to the prior yellow.

The result is his club is forced to play a man down for more than a half and will be without him in any role for the Cup clash. It's not something you expect to see from Bony, which makes the entire situation even more surprising.

Tom Carroll is heading back out on loan as Swansea City reached an agreement with Tottenham on a season-long deal for the midfielder.

The club announced the deal on its official site and noted it was still subject to international clearance before becoming official. That said, his expected arrival should prove an immediate boost to a midfield already dealing with injury woes: "The 22-year-old will bolster Garry Monk's options in central midfield at the Liberty, with injuries currently ruling out Leon Britton and Jay Fulton. Carroll will be available for selection for Saturday's Barclays Premier League fixture against Burnley at the Liberty."

Carroll signed with Tottenham in 2010 after a successful stint with the Premier League side's youth academy. He's failed to earn consistent playing time, however, with just seven league appearances for Spurs since joining the first team.

Instead, he's gone out on a string of loans that includes stops with Leyton Orient, Derby County and Queens Park Rangers. He enjoyed moderate success with those clubs while also getting some time with England's youth international squads.

The Swansea move is different because he'll finally get a chance to prove what he can accomplish in the top division over the course of an entire campaign. Those previous stops represented at least a step down in the level of competition.

James Masters of CNN believes his talent will shine through with the Swans:

Carroll was hoping to impress new Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino enough during the preseason to keep his place. Alas, Paul Warburton of Get West London provided comments from the midfielder, who admitted another move was a distinct possibility:

I'm going back to Spurs and will try to impress preseason—and go from there. Being at Rangers has been a positive, and to go up at the end was the icing on the cake. But no player would just want to sit on the bench or in the stands. Everyone wants to play. I'll be back at Spurs and hopefully I can do it there. If not, then we'll see.

Now that his latest loan destination has been found, he's got a great chance to prove himself in the months ahead. He should get regular playing time with Swansea, which will give him an opportunity to impress Pochettino from afar.

Carroll is a talented midfielder with good vision and terrific passing ability. He needs to keep playing in order to continue his development, though. It didn't look like that was going to happen with Spurs, so he heads to Swansea with something to prove.

Giving Louis van Gaal a rude introduction to the EPL, Swansea shocked Manchester United 2-1 Saturday at Old Trafford.

And while Wayne Routledge provided his usual pace, Wilfried Bony held up the ball effectively, and Ashley Williams displayed his expected defensive discipline, a large reason for Swansea's victory was the solid play they received from their newcomers.

On the surface, it may look like Swansea took some steps back over the transfer window, as they lost promising left-back Ben Davies, starting goalkeeper Michael Vorm, target man Michu and sold off Pablo Hernandez and Chico to the Qatar Stars League, according to Transfermarkt. 

However, the Swans have certainly brought in some players of their own.

Per Transfermarkt, they've picked up menacing French striker Bafitembi Gomis for free and signed the pacy Jefferson Montero for a reasonable £4 million. They've also acquired playmaker Gylfi Sigurdsson from Spurs and replaced the struggling Vorm with Lukas Fabianski for nothing.

Also of note was the recalling of Ki Sung-Yueng from loan, who played the previous season with Sunderland.

Though Swansea did lose some key contributors, they've managed to maintain a solid crop of attackers and have netted over £10 million in the process.

One of those absolutely vital attackers is surely Sigurdsson, who was active in all aspects of the match vs. Manchester United. The Icelandic international recorded four interceptions, two shots on target, drew two fouls and scored the winning goal, as per WhoScored.com. 

Early indications say he will be a talisman for the Welsh side, dictating play from behind the striker.

Equally as impressive was Sung-Yueng, who did not play in a Swansea shirt last season but looked more than comfortable pulling the strings in a deep central midfield role. Aside from registering an impressive 89 percent of his passes, he had four interceptions, two clearances and netted the first goal of the 2014-15 EPL with a tidy finish from 18 yards out.

Fabianski, though largely untested by an unimpressive United side, was steady throughout the match. He had four saves and claimed six crosses. 

Finally, Montero and Gomis were introduced to Swansea supporters as second-half substitutes, but both impressed respectively in their short time on the pitch.

Gomis, subbed on in the 77th minute, showcased his ability to hold up the ball and combine with his team-mates, looking an awful lot like team-mate Wilfried Bony.

Montero looked the part of an impressive EPL player, testing Phil Jones down the left flank with his ridiculous speed. He completed one dribble and attempted two crosses, including one that led to Sigurdsson's go-ahead strike.

While United equalized the game with a Wayne Rooney overhead kick, Swansea were undoubtedly the more disciplined, organized and cohesive team, and fully deserved the three points.

After a transfer window where they managed to keep studs Ashley Williams and Wifried Bony, and added some attacking firepower, Swansea should feel optimistic about finishing mid-table and winning some points off bigger sides.

Information from WhoScored.com and ESPNFC used in this article

Swansea City announced the arrival of French striker Bafetimbi Gomis on Friday, as the 28-year-old signed a four-year contract with the Premier League club. Gomis will join the Welsh club on a free transfer.

Swansea's official Twitter account broke the news:

The club also released a statement on their official website:

Swansea City is pleased to announce the signing of French international striker Bafetimbi Gomis, subject to international clearance. 
The 28-year-old has signed a four-year contract with the Swans on a free transfer from French club Lyon. 
The signing gives manager Garry Monk's squad a huge boost ahead of the new Barclays Premier League campaign. 
Gomis, who will join the forward ranks alongside Wilfried Bony, completed a medical and agreed personal terms at the Liberty Stadium tonight. 

Gomis enjoyed a productive career in Ligue 1 with Saint Etienne and Lyon, and while the latter side were keen on retaining his services, strong interest in the transfer market led to the player deciding it was time to move abroad.

Swansea already have a productive striker in Wilfried Bony, but the Shields Gazette's Ross Gregory reports the Ivory Coast international could be on his way to bigger and better things.

The signing of Gomis could indicate the club is aware they might be losing Bony in the near future, and as far as insurance policies go, the French international is a solid option.

Goal.com's Robin Bairner loved the signing:

The striker combines strong physical abilities with a keen eye for goal. He is an expert at holding up play and creating space for his teammates making runs into the box.

According to WhoScored.com, Gomis has scored at least 14 Ligue 1 goals in each of the past three seasons, which is evidence of his consistency in front of goal.

His scoring didn't let up in the UEFA Champions League, indicating he should have little trouble in making the step up in competition to the Premier League.

Swansea fans won't be happy to hear Bony's exit from the club could soon become a reality, particularly given the fact that the forward has only been with the club since last year.

In Gomis, however, the Swans have found an adequate replacement who will be able to contribute immediately. Seeing as the striker arrived on a free transfer, the club should be able to turn a potential sale of Bony into a sizable profit.

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Swansea City have announced Garry Monk as their permanent manager, putting pen to paper on a three-year deal at the Liberty Stadium.

The Swans released a statement, via the official club website, with chairman Huw Jenkins commenting on the decision to reward Monk after three months in the role as interim manager:

We are delighted to confirm Garry as our new first-team manager. As a Board of Directors we carefully considered our next step because it was a very important decision for our football club. But having gone through that process, we unanimously agreed that the timing was right for Garry to be offered the job on a permanent basis. 

As we look forward to our fourth season in the Premier League, we all agreed that we needed to get back to basics and reinforce the principles that have brought us success in recent years. Garry represents all the strong values we hold so dearly as a football club and everyone is looking forward to working with him. ...

Garry will work with the current staff to refocus and improve the playing squad over the summer in order to build a strong, competitive team for another big challenge that lies ahead next season.

Monk moved to the South Wales outfit from Barnsley in 2004 and has remained a part of the Swansea setup since, a great deal of that time spent as captain of the club.

In his decade at the Liberty Stadium, Monk made 270 appearances for the Swans, per their official website, helping drive them from League Two to their current Premier League status.

The 35-year-old was awarded the role of player-manager in February 2014 following the dismissal of Michael Laudrup, providing Monk with a difficult test in his first coaching position.

Since being appointed to the position, Swansea City have won four, drawn three and lost six of their last 13 Premier League fixtures, struggling to put together consistent results.

There are those who clearly don't feel as encouraged by Swansea's announcement, with Paddy Power receiving enquiries regarding his odds of being sacked before the end of the year: 

However, the club evidently have faith in what Monk can bring to the club—his relationship with those in the squad, whom he still calls teammates, being among the most enamouring factors.

The Swans' final fixture of the 2013-14 season is an away trip to Sunderland on Sunday, where Monk will hope to give those travelling fans their money's worth and a positive note to end the campaign on.

Wilfried Bony has probably made himself some money this season.

The Swansea City striker has been excellent in his first season in the Premier League, with 12 goals and two assists in 28 league appearances. That's been good enough for a solid 6.96 average match rating from WhoScored. In total, he's notched 23 goals and four assists in all competitions, and he has certainly been one of the bright spots for a Swans' side that has generally struggled this season. 

And that likely will make him a very popular transfer target when the summer session commences. One club that will reportedly come calling is Everton, according to Steve Millar of the Daily Star:

Roberto Martinez is counting the cash ready to splash in the summer with Swansea striker Wilfried Bony a £15 million target.

The Everton boss will return to his old club in an attempt the capture the Ivory Coast international as he rebuilds his squad for the next campaign.

Bony is viewed as a replacement for on loan Romelu Lukaku who will pack his bags at the end of the season. Gerard Deulofeu will be on his way, too.

After Bony earned a brace against Liverpool in a 4-3 loss on February 24, Swansea skipper Ashley Williams broke down what made his teammate so special, via Wales Online:

It is not just his goals, during the last few weeks I have really felt sorry for the opposition defenders as he has been unplayable.

His strength is obvious, but his touch, his awareness has been excellent too. He is on fire at the moment.

We are glad to have him, we want to use him as much as possible and it is always good when your striker scores two goals.

Bony's combination of size, strength and scoring touch make him difficult to deal with. He showed his true value on several different occasions in Swansea's 2-2 draw against Arsenal on Tuesday.

For one, on his first-half goal he completely boxed out Thomas Vermaelen and powered a header into the net. Vermaelen wasn't in horrible position and against a slighter figure, he may have been able to worm his way around the striker to clear the ball or bully the forward just enough to put off the headed effort.

But not against Bony.

On another occasion, Bony showed off his ability to hold up play, staving off two Arsenal players to win the ball in the midfield—essentially muscling himself free of the charging Gunners. While Swansea didn't set up an attack after Bony wrestled control of the ball, it was an indication of how much of a handful he can be for opposing players.

Making the adjustment to the Premier League from the Eredivisie is no easy task—just ask Jozy Altidore. But Bony's strong showing this season will bode well for him on the transfer market if he seeks a move away from a struggling Swansea side. 

If a club like Everton comes calling, Bony would be wise to consider making the jump. And it's likely that it won't just be the Toffees contacting the Swans. Expect Bony to be quite the popular figure this summer.

Swansea City dropped an absolute bombshell on Tuesday night, as news broke that they'd decided to part company with revered manager Michael Laudrup.

The Dane joined the club at the beginning of the 2012-13 season and led them to ninth place in the Premier League, their highest finish ever in the top division's current format.

He also guided the club to its first piece of silverware—the Capital One Cup—by beating Bradford City 5-0 at Wembley in February.

Signings such as Ki Sung-Yueng, Pablo Hernandez, Chico Flores, Jonathan de Guzman and Michu became key starters for the side and Laudrup stayed true to the Swans' footballing philosophy—sparked by Paulo Sousa and Roberto Martinez, continued by Brendan Rodgers and developed in the cup-winning season.

The Dane entered the the current campaign with Europa League football, a star signing in Wilfried Bony and an optimistic fanbase at his side...but things took a turn for the worse in so many ways.

The footballing world reeled in shock when chairman Huw Jenkins decided to cut ties with the Barcelona legend, but upon closer inspection, it appears very much the correct choice.

Swansea's insipid 2-0 loss to West Ham United last weekend was indicative of a poor season. Against 10 men, they totaled 65 percent of possession, struggled to create clear-cut chances and remained unwilling to shoot for much of the game.

A familiar story occurred at Villa Park in December, where the Swans totaled an astonishing 73 percent of possession but never looked like they would score the winner in a 1-1 draw.

Over the last 38 games, they haven't secured enough points at all and that cannot be put solely down to injury luck or anything else. From March 2013 to now, they've been pretty substandard in most areas.

Michu's injury hasn't helped and the UEFA Europa League schedule has been grueling. They've played 10 extra games already and have flown to Switzerland, Russia, Romania, Sweden and Spain. Napoli, in Southern Italy, is up next.

However, that doesn't account for the way the Swans took their foot off the pedal after winning the Capital One Cup last season. In a way, this ties in well with The Mirror's claims of Laudrup being lax and uncaring about the club's current form and state.

Some fans argue that the laid-back approach has always been the Dane's mantra, and while it wasn't a problem when they were winning, he has become the scapegoat now that the club are underperforming.

His laissez-faire attitude may have been accepted while the reflection of the Cup stood gleaming in Huw Jenkins' eyes, but 12 months on and with barren results aplenty, it stinks of a lack of motivation. Laudrup took a two-day trip to Paris after the West Ham loss and gave his players time off.

For the chairman, that was unfathomable. 

Perhaps expectations reached unprecedented, unmanageable levels. Perhaps Laudrup is the scapegoat for poor player performances under the same methods used last season.

Whatever the case, Swansea have gone certifiably stale. Hovering just two points above the relegation zone at the start of February was never going to fly well at a club where new standards have been set.

Whether it was right to sack him will be hotly debated among fans, journalists and pundits for the foreseeable future, but Swansea have never set a culture for sacking managers unnecessarily.

In a bad season, something had to give. Unfortunately for Laudrup, it's always the manager who bites the bullet.

Advanced stats courtesy of Who Scored?

Michael Laudrup’s tumble from Swansea City hero to Liberty Stadium villain came to an end on Tuesday when the Premier League outfit announced the Dane’s departure after nearly 20 months as manager.

“Swansea City and manager Michael Laudrup have tonight parted company,” the club announced on its official website. “It is the first time in nearly 10 years that the club has parted with a manager in this way, but we had to remove the constant uncertainty surrounding the club and Michael’s long-term future with us.”

The statement, which included remarks from chairman Huw Jenkins, also revealed the Swansea board had been working with Laudrup to “improve the work of the backroom team” as recently as Tuesday afternoon, but as it happened Jenkins decided it was unlikely the former Juventus and Barcelona icon could “achieve a stable environment” going forward.

In other words, Laudrup’s fate was as predictable as it was during his time at Spanish side Mallorca, where he also departed on bad terms after a row with club hierarchy.

But what sets his latest falling-out apart from that in Palma is that, just short of 12 months earlier, he had guided Swansea to victory in the Capital One Cup—a triumph that also took the team into the Europa League.

A respectable, ninth-place finish followed shortly thereafter, but just as the summer transfer window was about to open, the first cracks appeared in the 49-year-old’s relationship with Jenkins.

As reported by the Daily Mail back in June, the Swansea board were not at all happy when Bayram Tutumlu—Laudrup’s representative—demanded an increased transfer kitty for a list of targets intended to help bolster the squad ahead of a European campaign, and after Tutumlu went behind their backs in an attempt to sell defender Ashley Williams, Jenkins permanently black-balled him.

But that didn’t stop Laudrup from splashing £12 million on Vitesse Arnhem forward Wilfried Bony—a move Jenkins seemed to hint at regretting when interviewed by The Guardian in November.

“It’s not what we are about as the club,” he said of the transfer fee. “Just going out and signing a player that scores 33 goals in Holland—anybody can do that.”

He added, “I think our strength is to find players who are not quite tipping the mark somewhere else and make sure that, when they get consistency and a proper structure of playing, they come here and do well.”

It’s a philosophy that didn’t exactly jive with Laudrup’s, and after the wins started to dry up and nerves began to fray, one disaster simply led to another, compounding an already uncomfortable situation.

On January 21 police were called to Swansea’s training ground following a bust-up involving Garry Monk and Chico Flores during which the latter threatened Monk with a brick, according to The Telegraph.

Incidentally, Flores will now be answering to Monk following the 34-year-old’s installation as player-manager.

But even after the confrontation, Laudrup refused to calm the waters by making a definite comment about his future plans, instead beseeching reporters not to ask about his situation and saying his concentration was “about the present for the team and for me,” as per the Express.

A 2-0 win at home to Fulham just days later bought him another week, as already Sky Sports was reporting a rift within the Swansea board as to his tenure as manager.

Then came last Saturday’s defeat to West Ham, after which Laudrup departed for a few days in Paris.

It was while he was away that Jenkins and the board met to discuss a possible back-room shake-up, as revealed by the BBC, and upon Laudrup's return, his fate appeared sealed.

With his exit Monk takes over as temporary player-manager, and Swansea have also kept first-team coach Alan Curtis at the club in his current role. Monk, who has been taking his coaching license, began working part-time with the academy setup back in the summer.

Laudrup, for his part, quit his previous role as Mallorca boss in September 2011 following the disintegration of his relationship with chairman Lorenzo Serra Ferrer, as per Goal. Not coincidentally, the breakdown was due in large part to a disagreement over summer transfer strategies.

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