Britton and Tremmel leave Swansea

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Englishman Leon Britton, has depatarted the club and gone to West Ham United for a fee £2,600,000. He was a target for the London club for awhile now and they have finally managed to get there man after Alan Curtis agreed some players would be leaving Swansea. Britton was reported to be upset over him being one of the players who was getting axed from the Liberty Stadium, although he is happy to be joining The Hammers.



The German Gerhard Tremmel, was the second player facing the chopping block at The Swans after manager Alan Curtis criticized the player commitment to the club. He felt with younger goalkeepers available at the club the veteran was facing to be a waste of wages and potential transfer funds. FC Krasnodar from Russia picked the veteran goalkeeper after agreeing a fee of £300,000 with Swansea.

The rest of the Swansea squad will now begin playing their scheduled friendlies ahead of the season.

2014-08-20 15:19#190963 atreeg :

Swansea snap up Annan

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Swansea City confirmed the free transfer of Anthony Annan on their website today morning. The former Rosenborg midifielder was released just weeks before from Schalke 04 after enjoying a 4 year spell at the club. He has also played his football in Spain and Holland for Osasuna and Vitesse respectively.

He joins the ranks along with Stefan Strandberg who's transfer has already been confirmed. Annan will earn £26,500 per week over the next four years. The experienced and industrious midfielder received great encouragement from his new manager.

"He is a player who works hard for every moment of that he is on the pitch. Players of his type motivate others as well to work harder and perform. He will give us added depth in the midfield areas ahead of the new campaign and will be a hit with the fans because of his tremendous work-rate." Curtis said.

Pre-Season Roundup

Friendly Results

Result Analysis

1)
In our first game against our U21 squad we did all the right things we held possession, defended well and were good on the fluid attack. Bony gave us the lead in the first half and we continued to score as Gomis took up the scoring act next followed by Shelvey and Emnes too. Overall I was very happy with the result and good start.

2)
In the second game against Marek, Sigurdsson had an inspired performance. He dominated the ball, he scored two goals and all of his passes had a touch of class.It was also good to see Shelvey get on the scoresheet again. Youngster Donnelly got a game and proved worth it with a goal but he was sent out for a loan spell elsewhere soon after.

3)
This games result may not show how tight it was but Bansko played very well, my team simply did not have enough possession for my liking. Although Routledge getting a hatrick and Bony scoring again was a good sight. I was dissapointed a little though by the lack of discipline, Taylor showed when he got a second yellow and was sent off.

4)
The game against ADO Den Haag was disappointing as we defended horribly and went in at half-time 2-2. I was impressed though by our attacking unit and midfield who held the ball well and even scored two goals. Gomis had scored the only open goal with Sigurdsson and Ki both both scoring penalties.In the end, the squad improved fitness levels and won the game and that's what mattered.

5)
Our game with Girondins Bordeaux was painful to watch apart from the performance of Gomis who scored a brace in the match.I played a strong back line in the game but the goals conceded scared me a tad bit. Even further the fact we had less than 50% possession did not allow us to create opportunities. It would have been great to keep our winning streak going but it wasn't to be.

6)
The next game was against our feeder club Newport County, new signing Stefan Strandberg proved a point from the back as he bagged a hatrick from just corners. Bony got one goal as well in the game. This game was never going to be hard to win and the result proved it.

7)
Running out of fixtures my aim was now to get wins for sure but to bring up match fitness of all players. We played a random assortment of players in the line up just against River to do that. With my strikers facing Balanta I was afraid they would not be able to score but Bony, managed to slip one past him. Routledge was given the job of providing width in this game but he narrowed up in the end and bagged one goal himself. My view was that it was a solid enough performance.

8)
With Fabianski being tired ahead of the game against Benfica I decided to start 17 year-old Zabret in goal. It was a bad decision, he ended up scoring an own goal which in the end cost us the match. Montero came back from injury to make a healthy impact as he hit the ground running with the goal in this game. We even had the ball, majority of the time but failed to create opportunities. Not good enough.

9)
Our second last pre-season fixture was again Port Talbot our second feeder club. We dominated the game in every aspect. Gomis got a hatrick and Dyer scored a brace. Fabianski was back in goal and the defence was solid. Seeing Talbot's performance I won't be picking up any players from them soon.

10)
I arranged this last fixture myself because, I felt the squad needed one last mental boost to get them ready for the season. It was against Cwmaman I, we ran a rout as we won the game 11-0. Goals came from 6 different players on the pitch and it gave a motivational boost to all, except the opponent team. In the end I thought to myself what a game the lads had played.


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With the pre-season done I tweaked our tactics a little to set us up for the new season. Lets hope for the best.

That's a fantastic signing. This player is pregnant with abundant skills, disciplined and of course an extraordinary work rate on the field of play. He is also credited with leadership qualities. Indeed, Swansea has made a good purchase. I wish Annan and Swansea City the best of luck.

A very nice pre-season, decent signings and sales. I'm looking forward to how you play in the league.

Great detail so far, and a very good pre-season. Good luck in the season!

Thank you for the support everybody!
Won't give away any results but all I can say is I have had a pretty good start to the league. Looking forward to updating you all!

August Update

Results

In the Premier League we had 3 fixtures for the month of August. The matches were against Sunderland, West Brom and Burnley.

1) In the Sunderland game we got of to a great start and continued the performance throughout the match. Shelvey, Ings, Amat and Routledge all got goals in the game. We conceded only one goal which was a terrific striker from Steven Fletcher from outside the box. Due to another injury for Fabianski in international matches I was forced into playing Zabret in goal. The youngster recovered from his horrible match in the past and pulled in a decent shift. Overall it was a proud moment as I guided the team to a good first win.

2) In the game against West Brom, Zabret continued in goal as Fabianski was still not fully fit. Disaster struck again as West Brom were scoring on every given opportunity. My midfield failed to retain possession and we soon lost control of the game. A beating down at half-time in the dressing room did improve the performance and Bony managed to complete his brace, but at this stage the game was already lost and it was all damage control. Overall I was shocked at the inconsistency the team had shown following our first fixture. I hoped it was due to the new philosophy I tried applying in their game.

3) This time round fortunately Fabianski was back in the lineup and fully fit against Burnley. Although both Ki and Ings were injured in training which hampered their inclusion in the lineup. The fact that Fabianski had returned was not enough of a consolation, we were defeated by new Burnley talisman Lukas Jutkiewicz's outstanding performance. This time round we had more of the ball but we failed to create opportunities. Overall I am hoping with the ability of putting in a stable starting 11 once everybody returns to full fitness will improve the results.

At the end of the month we were down in 10th place in the league after some disappointing performances, drastic improvement was needed.





In August, we had one fixture in the Capital One Cup, Round 2. Everyone including the fans were confident that the team would have a convincing victory against Huddersfield.

1)The game against Huddersfield was one in which, anybody would have fallen asleep. Barely any action on the pitch, the players looked like they had no idea what we were doing there. I felt the pressure of a big win had got to them. A calm conversation with the players in the dressing room at half-time barely improved the situation but fortunately a mistake by the Huddersfield goalkeeper in stoppage time meant the ball rolled into the back of the net and gave us an undeserved victory. The main thing that has to change in the team is our mentality, we have to bring more of a bite onto the pitch next time.

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Regardless of the fact our midfield failed to provide the necessary effort in the games of August, Jonjo Shelvey with some consistent performances in the middle of the park in the absence of Ki was our best player for August.

To top it all of here are our fixtures for the month of September:-

couple of losses in there, but you've made some solid signings, and should be able to turn it around....that double-header with stoke might be a stumbling block, but other than that, its been a great start for you man!

TodayAtTomorrow: Yeah I'm hoping to win both against Stoke as it's at home but if nothing winning the Cup round is 100% needed! Thanks for the support and hope you keep following the posts!

Transfer Window Roundup

A lot of teams have strengthened their squads in the summer transfer window. So here is a complete review of In's and Out's of all the Premier league teams!

Below is a the list in alphabetical order:-

1) Arsenal:

2) Aston Villa:

3) Burnley:

4) Chelsea:

5) Crystal Palace:

6) Everton:

7) Hull City:

8) Leicester City:

9) Liverpool:

10) Manchester City:

11) Manchester United:

12) Newcastle United:

13) Queens Park Rangers:

14) Southampton:

15) Stoke City:

16) Sunderland:

17) Swansea City:

18) Tottenham Hotspur:

19) West Bromwich Albion:

20) West Ham United:

Here is a review of the biggest transfers in this window:-

• Midfielder Ever Banega joined Chelsea from Valencia in a £23,000,000 deal.
• Centre-back Leonardo Bonucci joined Manchester City from Italian giants Juventus in a £20,500,000 deal.
• Marc Bartra joined Arsenal from Barcelona in a £17,250,000 deal.
• Meanwhile Antonio Valencia left Manchester United to join Spanish champions Atletico for £14,250,000.
• Also Lars Bender joined Manchester City from Leverkusen in a £14,750,000 deal.
• Morgan Schneiderlin left Southampton to join Juventus for £12,500,000.

As in recent times Manchester City were the biggest spenders in the country, running up a total transfer bill of around £39,500,000.
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September Update

Results

In the Premier League just like last month, we had 3 games. West Ham at home, Stoke City home and Southampton away.

1)In the first game at home against West Ham I was confident my side would have the upper hand with the stronger squad. After blasting them in training after the awful performance against Burnley I was hoping they would come good and give a performance far from their last one. I was mistaken the team yet again played snail's pace football and barely put the ball into the box.Our main creative force Sigurdsson failed to light up once again but fortunately the early goal by Bony sealed a victory for us. We could have easily lost this one.

2) For the second game of the month against Stoke, I made sure the squad was tactically ready for the game. We made sure we worked on our defensive set pieces as we were confident Stoke would try using the set pieces to score. For the first time in the whole season so far I was confident that the squad had finally understood my philosophy and were prepared enough to apply it rightly so. Things came together on match day as we ran a rout against Stoke all match long.Gomis was man-of-the-match as he scored two goals. Sigurdsson found his form back as he buried a goal as did Amat from the back. Stoke simply had no reply.

3) The game against Southampton would rely purely on tactics. Southampton had brought in Jordy Clasie to replace Schneiderlin and what a signing he had been. We needed our midfielders to manage the ball well throughout the game and they came through with flying colors. Despite being outnumbered in midfield we had close to 60% possesion. Gomis yet again bagged a brace and Rangel and Bony joined in on the scoring spree. A chipped effort from Mayuka of Southampton was one of the best goals the Premier League had ever seen too. Proud of the performance and the 3 wins.

We had wrapped up the month in style as we had gone up by 5 places and were sitting in fifth place on the table.




In September we had the 3rd round in The Capital One Cup. It was against Stoke, after the confident performance against them in the league, I was sure of a win.

1) The game started well, we struck the woodwork 3 times and still failed to convert our chances into goals. I gave the team a motivational boost at half time and they went out for the second half mentally prepared. But, Diouf had left the dressing room a changed man in 5 minutes time well into the second half he baged 2 wonderful goals which kept the crowd on their feet for a while. My team had broken minds for the rest of the game and simply failed to find the back of the net even once. Even Gomis our star striker had no replies left in him. Very disappointed to leave the competition but it was always going to be hard to beat Stoke.

Player of the Month

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Gomis had a wonderful month and managed to bag 4 goals. A handsome tally for any striker. He scored some breathtaking goals and some that simply showed his quality as a top class finisher. Poaching the ball for 90 minutes at times and making sure the ball reaches the back of the net. If he can continue his performances, Swansea will have a great season ahead.

Curtis wins award

A very proud moment for me.

The fixtures for the month of October are: