Pre Season Review

31-07-2008

Got back from the tour yesterday evening and I've been reflecting on it this morning, so here are my thoughts.
It was the first time for me in this area of Spain and I was highly impressed. There's talk that the club will be going again next summer - if they do, try and go, it's a lovely part of the world.

Dave Williams and I stayed in Gerona, with it's beautiful medieval city centre, and drove down to the rugged coast for the games at Palamos, and into wine country in the foothills of the Pyrenees for the Peralada match. There's nothing like spending a day on the beach admiring the scenery and taking in a beer or three at the beach bar, before packing up the parasol and walking two hundred metres to the ground to have a meal in the local snack bar full of touring Jacks, then hop across the road to watch a match! Just like being at the Vetch again.

We managed a sweaty afternoon in a baking Barcelona before flying home, just managing to take in the 'Ramblas' and the Sagrada Familia cathedral, but not unfortunately the Nou Camp, before having to jet off home.

The games we saw were highly contrasting, the clash with Espanyol on the Friday night obviously being the highlight and the sternest test in football terms. I'm happy to report that our first half team looked more than comfortable against such exaulted opposition and really should have gone in ahead at half time. The ref bottled out of showing their defender a red card when he brought down Gomez from behind on the edge of the area when the Swans man was through on goal and about to pull the trigger. The second half was a different story, when class really told and some indifferent defending let us down.

The other two games we saw were one-sided affairs against clearly inferior opposition, and it was very much a case of how much were we going to win by, although Palamos were no slouches and several times embarrassed us at the back.

So, rather than report on individual matches, here are my thoughts on the players overall:

Doris - he was a spectator against Peralada, was busier against Palamos and looked a bit shakey against Espanyol. His handling of high balls is sometimes not the best, and really needs a good number two keeper to push him.

Bessone - my first time seeing him and I was impressed. Competent in the basics of defending, strong in the tackle and a devastating burst of speed up the wing when he chooses to use it. Another Rangel in the making, and maybe bad news for Marcos Painter.

Painter - fairly competent and made no serious errors, although disturbingly caught out more than once by balls slotted inside him for the opposition winger to run on to.

Serran - another potential diamond, big and strong, very good leap, kept things simple in defence.

Williams - looked accomplished in everything he did, pretty vocal with his teammates which shows he's growing in confidence, will probably get the nod ahead of Serran at first.

Lawrence - Big Den is just Big Den; did nothing wrong, comfortable on the ball, but has one or two habits which annoy me. One is, he wins defensive headers but always manages to head up tamely rather than back the way it came, does he have a funny shaped forehead? Also, when passing the ball along the back line to keep possession, he always manages to hit it just behind the fullback rather than just in front of him, destroying all the momentum of the movement.

Monk - looked accomplished and a natural leader, very forceful in the tackle, won almost all challenges he made in the air and on the ground. First name on the teamsheet. I was surprised to read he didn't have a good game aginst Barca B.

Tate - fairly competent but didn't really shine, sometimes caught out by speed in the Espanyol game, showed nothing in attack in the other games. I suspect he will not play a large part in the season once Rangel is back.

Collins - first time I've seen him play. He's fit and strong but disappointingly lacks speed of thought, even against inferior opposition. He doesn't see the pass to get his team moving forward and often takes the safe backwards option. Can you teach that football intelligence? I don't think so.

Midfield selection is going to be very interesting this season; Roberto has so many options.

Orlandi - probably the revelation of the tour. Looks much stronger than last season, and his wing play was oozing class. Tricky and forceful, whipping in crosses and with a rifle shot, he is Andy Robinson's (who?) natural replacement.

Butler - also showed a lot of class, even against the stars of Espanyol, with his typical twisting, turning runs after taking the ball and pushing it past his full-back all in one movement. Just has the tendency to disappear from games occasionally if he's not geting the service.

Gomez - a cultured midfielder, very comfortable on the ball whether taking it forward himself and shooting, or raking a forty yard diagonal pass to the winger. Maybe Glenn Hoddle isn't the exact comparison, but a player in that mould. Definite class.

Britton - was slow to get going and only really came alive in the third game. Found it difficult to make big inroads going forward and I'm beginning to question the conventional wisdom that the Championship will be a good stage for Leon's skills. Another who needs to up his game in the face of new competition.

Allen - looked way out of his depth against Espanyol but was more lively and much more involved against the lesser teams, as you'd expect. Time is on his side, but he needs to keep improving if he is to break into the first team.

Bodde - the Evil Genius was his typical self, class one minute, sloppy the next, and with a nasty streak which is going to get him into trouble this season. I predict more red cards to come, but also plenty of sublime moments.

Pratley - exasperating is how I'd describe Prats. He has the ability and a non-stop engine, but he so often runs and runs without getting anywhere, and often takes the backwards option instead of showing a bit of adventure to put himself in dangerous positions in the last third. Can't remeber seeing him shoot once in three games.

KOL - was surprisingly neat and tidy in midfield, keeping it simple and keeping the ball moving with short, effective passes. One classic mis-timed tackle when he kicked an unappreciative Spaniard four foot into the air in the centre circle, but apart from that did nothing wrong.

OTJ - along with Orlandi, the stand out player for me on tour. I've had my doubts about him in the past, but he looks as if he really has got over his injury woes and is coming into his true form at last. He is ahead of Pratters in the midfield ball winner stakes for me at present. He kept the passing simple and effective, and when he stuck those long legs out, he often retrieved a lost ball or broke up an opposition attack very effectively. Add to that his obvious aerial ability, and I'm hopeful he is going to make a big impact this season.

Gower - hmmmmm....not impressed so far, I'm sorry to say. Looked like the pace was too much for him against Espanyol, and was caught blowing once or twice. Looked better against Peralalda and showed some useful footwork, but of course he had more time against the amateurs. Early days for him, but he needs to up his game.

Macdonald - another who seems to be coming on leaps and bounds. A real trier who gives 100% in every game. He chased down lost causes, bust a gut to get the ball back if he lost it, and was very strong on the ball and in the tackle.

Finally, the strikers.

Bond - anonymous and did nothing to suggest he's on the verge of breaking through, although it was very difficult for him to impress as lone striker in a 4-5-1 formation.

Pintado - was looking forward to seeing this guy for the first time, but again he did nothing to suggest he is special. In fairness, he was quicker than I expected and looks strong and brave. Early days for him.

Bussy - still improving, always wholehearted in chasing down defenders, not great at holding the ball up, it's not his natural game, but seems to have the knack of getting into scoring positions and putting the ball in the back of the net. Number two choice behind Scotland at present, but only on Jason's exploits last season.

Brandy - only saw him for ten minutes but he looked lively despite the close attention of a Palamos defender who spent most of his time riding him piggyback style and who should have been booked. I was impressed with the Man U man's toughness - he refused to relinquish the ball or get riled despite being knocked over, often getting to his feet again and coming away with it.

Morrison - not on long enough for me to form an opinion.

So, a lot of food for thought, and no doubt the Barca B game I missed provided a lot more. Based on what I saw, here's how I'd start against Charlton, in a 4-5-1 formation, assuming Scotland's fit and Rangel isn't.

Doris
Tate, Monk, Williams, Bessone.
Butler, Gomez, Bodde, OTJ, Orlandi.
Scotland
Subs: pick any five from Painter,Serran, Pratley, Britton, Macdonald, Gower, Pintado, Brandy. I wouldn't like to!

I'm not happy having to rely on Tatey in that line-up, especially after his mad first minute against Oldham on the opening day of last season, but what option do we have, unless we play Painter out of position?
I'd have Butler on the right wing, even if he prefers the left, before Gower. And as I hinted above, OTJ has done enough for me to start before Pratters. Can we/dare we have no sub goalie on the bench, and have the luxury of an extra outfield player instead, relying on Tatey between the sticks if the worst happens?

No doubt Roberto will surprise us all by lining the team up nothing like that! I think he may be a bit more conservative and stick with the tried and tested players until he's sure about the new Spanish boys, so I wouldn't be surprised to see Lawrence, Britton and Gower starting on August 9th.

Just a quick thank you to Dave Williams and all the other travelling Jacks who made the tour experience so special - Richard and Alison, Dai Smith and family, Len Margetson and mates, Dafydd and the 'seals', the list goes on. Great to meet up with all those friends, old and new. Here's looking forward to a memorable season.

Brighton Rocks!

04-05-2008

I’ve had some marvellous away trips following the Swans this season. I’ve been to fourteen of the matches and, as Sod’s Law would have it, I’ve managed to take in the three defeats we’ve suffered on the road! To be fair, though, I’ve also been privileged to see us put away one bogey team after another on their own patch – Yeovil, Huddersfield, Bristol Rovers and Gillingham come to mind. Played twenty three, won fourteen, drawn six, lost three - what a fantastic record, and what a truly outstanding achievement for Roberto Martinez and the squad. In contrast, the matches at the Liberty have quite often been painful affairs, particularly in the last two months when we were missing the key players who have been so skilful at unlocking tight defences and keeping us solid at the back. It’s not far from the truth to say I’ve been going to the Liberty recently out of a sense of duty and with foreboding in my heart, but on the road it’s been a different story.



However, I wasn’t planning to go to Brighton for the final match of the season, but since I had to miss out on Orient at the Liberty last week due to family commitments (the only home fixture I’ve missed this season), my final memory of this wonderful campaign was going to be the highly disappointing defeat by Yeovil at the Liberty the weekend previous. Not a great thought to live with through the seemingly endless summer months, so I was delighted to get a last-minute e-mail from a Briton Ferry mate, Steve, offering me the chance to take the ticket and hotel room of someone who’d dropped out of the jaunt to the South Coast.

The wife surprisingly gave me her blessing – I’m convinced she’s got a fancy man in tow, but I didn’t argue – so I linked up with Steve in Chepstow on Friday afternoon and we were in Brighton by early evening. Steve’s a bit of a real ale officionado, and I’ve been known to have the odd half myself, so the evening became a bit of a blur as we hit the town and began crossing off one pub after another from the pages of his Good Beer Guide. Brighton was really rocking on Friday evening, thanks to a combination of warm spring weather, a Bank Holiday weekend, the Festival being in full swing and the town’s student population up to their usual Friday night antics of trying to drink the pubs dry. We resisted the temptation to take in a show – the town was covered in posters for the touring production of ‘Lady Boys of Bangkok’ – and decided on the safer option of a nice Italian meal instead, followed by one or two more shandies in the lively streets behind the Pavilion. My word, there were some beautiful young ladies floating around the packed ‘Lanes’ – shame I’m old enough to be their grandfather! Of course, wearing my beer goggles, I wasn’t sure that some of them weren’t off-duty cast members of the touring Thais so, better safe than sorry, we wended our unsteady way back to the hotel.

The Saturday morning thick head was soon dispelled by a ‘full English’ in a café just off the seafront, followed by lungfuls of bracing sea air as we strolled along the pier in bright sunshine. Having bought the obligatory Brighton rock for the family back home (black and white striped sticks, of course), we strode purposefully through the holiday crowds watching the colourful children’s parade on the prom, towards pub number six on the list, ‘the Battle of Trafalgar’ near the station. What a superb hostelry it turned out to be, Harveys Bitter and Old Peculiar on tap, and packed with Seagulls fans, some of whom congratulated us on promotion and voiced their uncomplimentary opinions of Ken Bates and Leeds United – suffice it to say they are not big fans of the self-opinionated, bearded one and his bunch of Yorkshire whingers, like the fans of most clubs in League One, I suspect.

A short train ride, the price of which was enterprisingly included by the local council in the match-day ticket, took us to Preston Park station, a stone’s throw from the Withdean Stadium. Now, you all know that this is Albion’s temporary home and is, in fact, an athletics stadium with a football pitch in the middle. Imagine that you’ve gone to see your kid play in the junior league on a Sunday morning at the local park, then some jobsworth stops you when you’re fifty yards from the pitch and tells you that you can’t go any closer, you’ll have to watch from there. That gives you some idea of the view we had in the packed away end. It couldn’t dampen the spirits of the ecstatic Jacks in attendance though, and the team put on a performance to match. Albion certainly gave us a run for our money and had one or two good chances, but class gradually told, and the goal when it came was fully deserved. The result was never in doubt, really, and the atmosphere was strictly ‘end of term high jinks’, with chanting Brighton fans at one point jumping about and throwing showers of celery sticks up in the air while bemused Jacks looked on and cheered.

Cue massive celebrations at the final whistle and, after a short wait while the temporary ‘League One Champions’ stage was erected, the formalities finally began. To loud boos and chants of “You Don’t Know What You’re Doing”, the presentation dignitaries of the Football League were introduced, then the Swans players trooped out one by one to receive their medals. Well done to all the Brighton players and staff for forming a guard of honour (the same thanks go to Orient for last Saturday at the Liberty). Every player was greeted by his personalised chant, with some improvised on the spot for the likes of Darren Way and reserve keeper Knight. The only disappointment was the non-appearance of the Evil Genius, prompting further speculation about his future with the Swans. Roberto Martinez, resplendent in trademark back suit, white shirt and tan loafers, got the loudest cheer of all. Photographers clicked away, video cameras whirred and TV interviewers thrust microphones under players’ noses. No prizes for guessing which was the hack from S4C – Owen Tudor Jones and Joe Allen dutifully gave their version of events in Welsh, Joe smiling with embarrassment as the Jacks burst out with a “You’ve got school in the morning!” chant.

Many of the Brighton contingent stayed to watch the presentation from the stands and warmly applauded us as Gary Monk raised the cup, a very nice gesture. As we walked away through the car park, a sporting Brighton fan grasped the hand of every Jack who passed and offered his congratulations. It left me feeling slightly sorry that we wouldn’t be visiting this attractive and lively town again next season but, hey, let’s look forward to some new adventures on the road in the Championship.

So, Delia, let’s be ‘aving you, cheer up Davey Jones and look out ‘Lord’ Lee Trundle - the Jacks are coming!

Should Have Gone to Specsavers

08-11-2007

I didn't go to Millwall on Tuesday but I've just seen the goal highlights on Virgin Media.
Now you probably know that I do a bit of refereeing in local leagues, which is nothing like as difficult as doing it at Football league level, mainly because professionals move themselves, and the ball, about twice as quickly around the pitch as local amateurs, and you have to be twice as fit and twice as sharp to keep up with it. So I know what a tough job it is, and I'm slow to criticise officals for that very reason. But honestly....what was that assistant referee thinking of at the New Den when he flagged for a hand ball penalty against Austin?


The Millwall player blasted the ball at Austin from two yards away and there was no movement of the arm to meet the ball. Yes, the ball struck the arm, but I would NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS have awarded a penalty if that had happened in a match I was doing. It was a clear case of 'ball to hand'. How on earth could a player decide to handle in the split second it took for the ball to leave the boot at 200 mph and hit his hand? That lino wants his head examined - was he cold and trying to liven things up, or make a name for himself perhaps? Just plain crazy, and not to put too fine a point on it, just plain bad officiating. Specsavers beckons, my old son......
And I'm afraid we've seen an increase in bad officiating this season where the Swans are concerned. Are more rooky refs being let loose on League One? The only consolation is, as Roberto said, it evens out over the season. We had a soft penalty given for us last Friday. Unfortunately, we didn't take advantage.


Anyway, it's a break from the serious business of getting promotion on Saturday. A chance to bring a bit of excitement to a small outpost of football in Essex, and a chance maybe for some of our 'second string' to step up. I'd be looking for starts for OTJ, Joe Allen, Orlandi and maybe Bauza at least. But have some big guns on the bench in case it starts to go pear shaped. The romance of the cup is one thing, but we don't want to be the laughing stock of the cup.


There's big excitement in this part of the world as the mighty Leeds come to town tomorrow night. Good luck, Hereford, get stuck in and let's hope you put another spanner in Dennis Wise's wheel.

Exciting Times!

13-10-2007

First of all, congrats to Dai for the new site design. Very smart.

I was chuffed when he told me this column was reverting to a 'blog' because I'm really pushed for time at the moment, being the 'oldest student in town' and having to put in the hours on my college course. This format suits me just fine. Thought I'd better get a few initial words down to clear the old article away, too, or you'll think I've gone barmy if you started reading it and didn't check the date. That wasn't so long ago, was it, when we were down in the dumps, and I was reflecting on why I was a Jack after another horrible away defeat, at Oxford - bet they'd swap places with us now.

Anyway, great news that Darren Pratley's injury was nowhere near as serious as first feared and he has a chance of making the team tomorrow. Good luck to the players and all the travelling Jacks. We go top if we win, simple as. I'll be with you in spirit but not in the flesh as I have to referee a local match, and I'm saving my pennies for the next away trip, Yeovil. Good luck tomorrow, boys!























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Dodging the Arrows
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Mike Thomas is 53 years old, born in Neath and brought up in Port Talbot. Has been supporting the Swans since first taken to the Vetch by his Dad in 1965. Graduated from Swansea Uni in 1977, spent 30 years working in industry and has recently changed career, becoming a secondary school maths teacher in Ross on Wye. He has lived in Hereford since 1998, referees in the local leagues in his spare time, and is married with one step-daughter.

Hereford folklore has it that an unrevoked medieval law allows locals to shoot Welshmen with bow and arrow if caught in the grounds of the cathedral. Mike is glad to report he’s still ‘dodging the arrows’.

Read Mike's previous columns