Swansea City - Reaching for Europe

July 14th 2012

"I have still not realised it. I am just twenty-six years old, have just finished my education to recieve my coaching license and I have just been appointed by Swansea City. It was a big, big surprise that Michael Laudrup left the club before he had even started, but it was a bigger surprise that I became the man to replace him. Tomorrow I am going to have a meeting with the chairman and the staff for the first time. I am very excited."

July 15th 2012

"As I mentioned yesterday, I was going to meet the chairman and the staff today. I must say it was more pleasant than I had first expected. The chairman was a very positive man. We agreed on the season expectations. Our goal is to avoid relegation. It seemed like a realistic goal for a so fresh manager as me. I must admit though, I believe that we can fight for a spot in Europe. Not necessary this season, but maybe next season.

My meeting with the assistant manager and the rest of the staff also went well. It looked like they were ready to work with me. The assistant's report showed that I need to spend some money and sign some players. The chairman gave me £15M to spend on new players. Hopefully I can find some quality players for that kind of money. It is not easy these days.

In the afternoon I met the squad for the first time. They were very positive and by the look of their body language, it was especially Michu and Michel Vorm who were ready to work with me. It is an exciting time in the club, and with a few new signings, this could go very well."

Nice start good luck

2013-08-17 20:07#128784 wellsy1498 : Nice start good luck

Thanks mate!

Good luck, Henrik. Swansea are an exciting team, so keep this story exciting

2013-08-17 20:53#128799 Akash : Good luck, Henrik. Swansea are an exciting team, so keep this story exciting

Thank you, Akash! Will do my best to keep it exciting

Swansea announce two new signings

Swansea has confirmed on their official website that they have signed Veton Berisha (18) and Valon Berisha (19). The two are not unknown to each other, rather the opposite as they are brothers. Veton Berisha was brought in from the Norwegian club Viking for an undisclosed fee, while older brother Valon joined Swansea from Red Bull Salzburg for a fee reported to be around £4M. Swansea's manager Henrik Steinnes praised the Berisha-brothers. "They are two very big prospects and they suit the club very well. It will be a pleasure to work with them for many years."

August 17th 2012

"Tomorrow is the big day. My first official game as Swansea manager. We are going to face Q.P.R. at Loftus Road. They definetly have the players to succeed, but they don't look like a harmonized squad. We have Roland Lamah ruled out for the game as he got injured in training. He is out for three weeks. We will do our best without him.

We have done well in pre-season with four victories and a draw. We even beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-0! The players look are playing well together, and we have hopes to shock the experts and play well in the league.

On Wednesday, the 15th, the FA drew the second round of the League Cup. We are going to play against Peterborough at home. It should be an easy match on paper, but you can never be too sure.

Since last time I wrote here, four players have left the club. Mark Gower (Ipswich) and Alan Tate (Blackburn) have left the club on permanent deals, and Curtis March and Curtis Obeng have joined Plymouth and Notts County on loans. I wish them good luck in their new clubs.

As mentioned, I will have my first game in charge. Good luck to myself."

Good Luck, this look like an exciting story!!

Try and add some pictures to make it a bit more interesting!! Looks good thoug!!!

Swansea defeat in Steinnes's first game

Queens Park Rangers 1 - 0 Swansea
Taarabt 67' (pen)
Samba
Mbia

The 18th August marked the start of the new Premier League season. At Loftus Road, Queens Park Rangers and Swansea opened their campaigns. This was the first official game in charge for Swansea's new manager Henrik Steinnes, but it was not quite the debut he was hoping for.

There were a few chances for both teams in the first half, but none of them resulted in a goal. In the second half, Swansea came to some dangerous chances in set pieces but without result. In the 67th minute Ashley Williams made a clumsy tackle in the box and referee Mark Clattenburg pointed to the spot. Adel Taarabt was safe from the spot, and sent QPR in the lead. Christopher Samba gave Swansea a glimpse of hope when he was sent off by Clattenburg, but The Swans never got the ball behind the net.

Swansea manager Henrik Steinnes was disappointed in the post-match press conference. "We did not play as well as we hoped to before the match. The tackle from Ashley Williams was unnecessary, but he will learn from it." It is not expected to be an easy match for Steinnes's men next round when Manchester City travels to Wales next Saturday.

Ouch, not the greatest result there, but you'll recover. Nice start to the story mate

August 24th 2012

"I'm not a big fan of these press conferences. Everyone's attention is at me. If I mess up here, the entire world will know in less than five minutes. Ever since I embarrassed myself in the school play in the 8th grade, I have never liked this kind of attention. However, I still show up here, maybe I'm just convincing myself that it is not as scary as it feels like.

Tomorrow Manchester City comes to the Liberty Stadium to play against us. The defending champions. It is no easy task, and just getting a point will be like a victory. Of course this was the subject of todays press conference. The media was convinced that our biggest threat is Gael Clichy. I laughed inside, but had to say to them that we could not only focus on him. In my opinion, the biggest threat is Agüero. Gee, what a player he is.

It will not be an easy match, but we will try to do our best for the fans."

No shocks made at Liberty Stadium

Swansea 0 - 2 Manchester City
Tevez 12'
Silva 74'
Silva

It was not expected to be a very difficult match for Manchester City at the Liberty Stadium today, and they did not fail to deliver. Carlos Tevez scored Man City's first goal after 12 minutes. He snapped up a horrible backpass from Swansea centreback Chicho Flores and had no trouble putting it behind Michel Vorm in the Swansea goal. The defending champions kept on pushing for another goal, but it was still 1 - 0 at half-time. In the second half, Man City dominated the game and Swansea was pushed back. David Silva scored from an almost dead angle in the 74th minute to secure Roberto Mancini's men a 2 - 0 victory and three points from Wales.

This was Henrik Steinnes's second defeat in two matches. Even though it is a long time left of the season, the rookie manager must start to feel the pressure from the board already.

August 27th

I really like the view from my office at the Liberty. It makes me think of how lucky I am to be the manager of Swansea. I often sit here until the evening to just look at the stadium and admire it. Hopefully I can bring joy to the 20,000 who shows up here to support their beloved Swansea.

Two losses in two games is not good enough for us, and not what the fans deserve. Tomorrow we play our first match in the League Cup. Our opponent is Peterborough. They haven't done too well in the Championship, and it should be a victory for us. However, I will not take anything for granted. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I'm confident."

Steinnes gets his first victory

Capital One Cup 2nd Round

Swansea 1 - 0 Peterborough
Va. Berisha 79'
Bartley

Swansea got their first taste of cup football this season at the Liberty Stadium tonight when they met Peterborough in the Capital One Cup. A game that Swansea was expected to get an easy win, but that was not the case. Peterborough created the most chances and looked more likely to get the winning goal. It was however Swansea and Valon Berisha who got the only goal of the game to secure The Swans a ticket to the 3rd Round.

This was Henrik Steinnes's first victory in an official match with Swansea. "It was a relief to finally get a victory, and on a day we didn't deserve it makes it even better. It is a great attribute to manage to win on a bad day. We should get a three-pointer in the league very soon to keep our momentum, and hopefully get a lucky draw in the League Cup as well, of course."