Great Swansea Sale!

Welcome to the great Swansea sale where players are sold at knockdown prices! There has been a revolution at Swansea this season with many players leaving and joining the Welsh team. The new season started with board inquiring about my expectations for Swansea this season. After considering the success of the 1st season and amount of transfer budget involved, I decided that Swansea should at least compete for a respectable position in the league this year.

The transfer season had been fraught with difficulties with many of my preferred targets unable to qualify for work permits. One of them had been Alejandro Faurlin from Q.P.R. Alejandro has impressed me last season even though Q.P.R. had relegated. Since Q.P.R is an English team, I am not sure why do I still fail in getting another work permit for him.

Still, I believed that I had made a headway in this transfer season and it will serve us for the better going forward. The target of this season is to invest heavily in the weak midfield and start to build squad strength for league championship. So without further ado, lets look at the INs and OUTs of the season!

Players OUT

Many players were shown out of the door this season as Swansea prepares her quest to become league champions by the 5th season. The most prominent player would be Ferrie Bodde. Despite impressing in the 1st season, Ferrie Bodde is deemed surplus to the requirements because he has already hit the age of 30 and is in the last year of his contract. I figured it would be good to get him for 2 mil this season and free up some cash for transfers. :)

Players IN

 

Chris McCann [DM,M(LC)]

A hardworking player who is also an adept passer and tackler, Chris Mahon is the first signing to improve inferior midfield.

Luciano Leguizamon [Striker]

Luciano's natural position is that of a striker. While Swansea has enough strikers at the moment, I am impressed by Luciano's highly technical skills and Swansea is in need of a highly technical player to take set pieces. Additionally, I think he can be retrained as a attacking midfielder provide additional vision on the field.

Guillermo Burdisso (DC)

Swansea's defense has always been guilty of poor passing. Guillermo is signed to rectify this weak spot and also to provide better air defense with his superior jumping skills.

Sven Kums [MC,AMC]

 With the departure of Jordi Gomez, Swansea is in need of a new playmaker. Sven Kums is a hardworking and creative passer. With this signing, I hope he can become Swansea's David Silva! :)

Diego Biseswar [AML,AMC]

 Available on a free transfer, Diego Biseswar is signed to improved the quality on the left wing without having to break the bank!


Karel Pitak [AMR]

Karel Pitak may be old but he does look very capable. With Wayne Routledge disappointing on the right wing last season, I hope Karel Pitak will be able to provide adequate cover and competition for Wayne.


Modeste M'bami [DMC, MC]

 Another signing for strengthening the midfield. Modeste M'bami is hardworking ball-winner that will be very useful getting the ball starting counterattacks.

Jay Spearing [DMC, MC] - LOAN

  Fans of Liverpool will be very familiar with this talented youngster. Fresh from the Liverpool academy, Jay Spearing was signed on a loan with option to buy as a backup to the first team midfielders.

After all these signings, I still have 14 mil in the transfer budget. I am glad I am able to make great signings without breaking the bank this season. What do you think of my signings, my dear readers? Don't be shy and let me know your views! :) 

This Can't Be Right... Can it?

The 2nd summer transfer season had not started off well due to the board's stupid decision!



I am not saying that expansion is not good but they should have implement it at the correct time. Having already spent 4mil on training facilities, a further spending of 10mil on stadium expansion has deeply cut our pockets for the transfer window. Furthermore, Swansea does not even own the stadium. Why would anyone pay so much for renovation on the landlord's property is beyond me. So this season I would expect to have a tight budget, again.



After the planned expansion, our finances looked miserable :(

Swansea - Season 1 Review

This is an extremely long post so please bear with me. The 1st season of Swansea had ended well. The following picture promptly summarizes the season. A noteworthy point would be that Alberto Bueno was selected as the Signing of the Season Runner Up!



Now I will need to review the squad performance to prepare for the transfer policy for the next season. Each area of the squad will be examined in detail to understand the strengths and weakness of the current squad. Let us start off first with the team stats.



During the season, Swansea scored an average of 1.3 goals and conceded 1.4 goals per game and it creates an negative average goal difference of -0.1. This is not acceptable in my standards as this implies a lack of threat upfront and poor defending at our door. Ideally, I would like to have a positive average goal difference at least.

With 2 top goalscorers it implies that the team got through based on teamwork and we do not have privilege on relying on a star striker. I like this because it shows that I have formed a star team and not a team of stars.

The fact that a striker, in the form of Alberto Bueno, had given the most assists during season (and in half a season nonetheless since he was signed in January) shows our serious lack of quality in the midfield. In my opinion, strikers are suppose to score goals and midfield are suppose to provide goals. If a striker is providing goals, then he is not scoring.

The "most Man of the match" and "highest average rating" are won by defenders. This shows that the team's greatest strength is in defense. For a team that is supposed to be strongest in defense but still concede over a goal per game really leaves it much to be desired.

Next, I shall review the squads' player ratings.





Goalkeeper

There isn't much to choose from between goalkeepers and Michael Vorm is my first choice goalkeeper. A good goalkeeper who pulls off instinctive saves at times but a bit inconsistent with form. Despite having pulled off 10 clean sheets, Swansea still concedes a lot of goals. I might need to consider getting another keeper to see if we can contain the leakage.

Forwards

There is no question at who is leading the line upfront. That man is Alberto Bueno. He not only scores the most goals but provides the most assists as well. He is, without question, my signing of the season! Alberto Bueno also won the accolade of being the league's Signing of the Season Runner Up. A return of 8 goals is amazing for the likes of Danny Graham, especially if you know how he scores it. Danny has all the attributes of being a good lone target man yet does not scores goals on his own. Instead, he relies on getting rebounds then poaches them into the net. A poacher with a slow pace (8). Talk about weird! Lucas Viatri had a decent start till he was sidelined for the rest of the season. Having scored 1 goal from feet and 1 goal from the head proved that he can be a valuable option upfront. Luke Moore got his chance when I finally got tired of playing Danny as a lone striker. He was decent in the few games he played but got out-muscled out of the first-team when Alberto came into the scene.

Midfielders

Having strengthen both upfront and backline during the tranfer seasons, midfield is the only area that is lacking of investment. Despite that, midfield has done reasonably well and I will like to single out a few individuals that aided to the cause. Andrea Orlandi has been the most consistent and definitely the best among all the midfielders evident from his high average rating of 6.90. Wayne Routledge was doing well in the 1st half of the season but his form declined during the 2nd half. Jordi Gomez proved a shrewd loan signing when he scored 2 critical goals from direct free kick positions. I would love to bring him in on a more permanent but his valuation of 2.2mil pounds seems to be grossly overvalued. Lastly, I would like to have special mention for Mark Gower. An experienced and versatile player, he proved his value as an impact player by scoring and assisting at the same level as Andrea Orlandi.

Defenders


The star of defense is definitely Neil Taylor. Having played and started the most number of games in this season and STILL get the highest average speaks volumes of this player's ability. As Swansea does not have cover at fullback positions so we are lucky that Stephen Kelly and Neil Taylor did their job admirably. Matteo Ferrari is the rock at the center of defense. This ex-Roma player had been the heart of Swansea's defense, evident by the 4 MOM awards  since joining from a free transfer. That being said, we cannot ignore Ashley Williams who had provided a much consistent performance judging by the higher average rating. Due to his flexibility, captain Alan Tate is mostly used as a utility player at wherever he's needed. Mostly at fullback positions. Unfortunately, Arne Friedrich had failed to blend and perform well so far. This is mostly because of his poor passing ability; always giving away the ball and putting the team under pressure.


Michael Vorm



Mark Gower



Neil Taylor



Finances



Swansea has managed to make good profit due to the low wages of its players. Having already budgeted 4mil for the upgrading of training facilities, I will expect a good portion of at least 10mil cash for my next transfer season.^^

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As requested by Sam (Swansea 1st Eleven)

Please note that I change my tactics frequently and this is just one of the formations that I used

A Great Finale!

Swansea's first season is finally over! Man City had won the treble and Wolves and Sunderland had gotten into Euro Cup. Initially predicted to relegate, Swansea has done a great job at finishing 10th on the mid-table and being the only promoted side to stay in the Premier League. :) Here are the final standings of the 1st season.


Now let us look back some of the memorable highlights of the season.



The striker transfer policy in winter worked well and created many goals for Swansea. The number of losses has been reduced from 6 games lost in 2 months (Nov-Dec) to 6 games lost in 5 months (Jan-May). Unfortunately, There is still a problem with defense with the team conceded stupid goals.

Swansea's first win since the winter transfer window had been against Newcastle in the league. Alberto Bueno made a splendid start on his debut by scoring in on the 3rd minute. Matteo Ferrari then extended lead with a 8th minute header. We would have kept a clean sheet if Ashley Williams didn't give away a penalty in the 39th minute. But to his credit, Ashley William had provided pretty much consistent performances and this mistake was just a notch on the line. Another interesting note is that Swansea had played with Newcastle 3 TIMES consecutively; having 1 draw, 1win, 1 loss. I can am glad to say we managed to get the win on the most important match. I would rather win 3 points in the league than proceed a round into a cup anytime.



The match against Chelsea is another interesting match. It's not everyday where you can dominate the field against a team like Chelsea but Swansea did just that during this match. Using a 4-3-3 formation with Danny Graham, Lucas Viatri and Alberto Bueno leading the front, Alberto Bueno is again instrumental to this spirited draw by providing an assist to Danny Graham's goal. Lucas Viatri also scored a debut goal in this match.



Swansea's top crowning achievement had to be this 2-0 home match against Liverpool. This is evident by the clean sheet kept by Swansea against a team which contains the premier league's top scorer of the season in the form of Luis Suarez. With Matteo Ferrari holding the back line and Alberto Bueno being lethal upfront, this game will remain in the memories of  Swansea's fans many years to come. The only downside is that Lucas Viatri had been sidelined till the end of the season from an injury.



In my next post, I will go through a season review and plot a new direction for season 2's summer transfer!

P.S. does anyone know how to change the font size in wordpress?

 

Swansea Winter Transfer - Season 1

 

In this winter season, I have splashed the cash and utilized the whole transfer budget in an attempt to reverse Swansea's downfall in form.  My priority for this transfer window is to get good quality upfront and I am pleased to say I have made a good deal so far. Here are the INs and OUTs of this winter transfer window.



OUTs

Lita Leroy (Striker)


Lita was sent on loan with a view for a permanent move for 1.8 million pounds. Although he contributed 3 goals to Swansea's cause, I need to get someone off my wage books to free out wage budgets to bring in strikers of better quality.

Garry Monk (DC)

The ex-Swansea captain failed to force his way back into the first team ever since he had recovered from his injury. Especially so in the beginning, due to the initial stellar form of Matteo Ferrari. When Matteo had gone through a bad form, Garry failed to impress as an adequate cover.

INs

Alberto Bueno (Striker/AMC)




Alberto Bueno is brought in as a natural scorer of goals. Good pace (16), flair (16) and technique (16) attributes will allow me to use him in a flexible manner as either a poacher, advance forward or a trequartista. Alberto has already starting to repay my faith in him by contributing 2 goals and 1 assist in 4 games, including a debut goal! Comparing to Lita who only scores 3 goals in half a season, Alberto looks like a bargain already!

Lucas Viatri (Striker)



Lucas Viatri is brought in for 1 sole purpose, air support. Standing tall at a height of 1.85 meters with good jumping (15) and heading (15) attributes, he will provide the air power that Swansea is seriously lacking upfront. Just like Alberto, Lucas has started to impress with a goal in his debut match.

Arne Friedrich (DC / DR)




 

Available on a free transfer, this pacy defender is a great marker who doesn't let many opponents slip past him due to his high marking (17) and positioning (17) abilities. He is signed to provide competition to Matteo Ferrari, Ashley Williams and Stephen Kelly. Unfortunately, He hasn't blended well in the squad yet having gotten an average rating of 6.40 for the past 3 games played. Being the highest earner in the squad, I would expect him to live up to my expectations.

With these new signings, I now look forward to better Swansea's position in the league. Wish me luck =)

Half the Season, Half the Table

Unfortunately, Swansea has lost some drive since my last post. Here are the current standings as at the winter transfer window.



While we are still sitting comfortably in the safe mid-table and had still surpassed my initial target of the 16th position, I have since change to set a new personal target of 13th position.

Now let's analyse the fixture history to see what had caused Swansea's freefall.



Having won all away games in my previous post, now we had lost almost all away games. Our home form has improved slightly with 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss. Our previously stalwart defense had faltered with Arsenal mauling us at 5-0 away. Arshavin was outstanding against us; scoring a hat-trick in the process.

The main reason that our defense has started faltering is because of a loss of form from Matteo Ferrari and captain Garry Monk unable to provide adequate cover during Ferrari's downfall. The following match against Norwich promptly summarizes Ferrari's current form.



We would have won the match if not for Ferrari's own goal... =(

Another noteworthy match would be the away match against Man City as shown below.



Notice the overwhelming stats against us. Playing against Man City at the Emirates Stadium with Man City having 32 shots at us and enjoying 63% of possession. In contrast, Swansea only had 37% of possession, 31% defense passing rate, and 59% tackling. I wondered how on earth did we manage to survive the onslaught with only 1 goal against us.

With the winter transfer window at hand, I will be looking forward to bring in better quality upfront and maybe get 1 more defensive cover. Swansea had been too reliant on Ferrari thus far. My top priority however would be to bring in a striker since Swansea's current best striker has only struck the net 3 times in all competitions thus far. Though with only 5 mil pounds of transfer funds with no room for wage manipulation and a low club reputation, I wonder if I could even find a good net hitter.
Do you have any recommendations for good and cheap strikers? Let me know! =)

A Positive Start

Having played 9 games into the league, I am pleased and surprised to say that Swansea is now sitting at the edge of european qualification!



Considering that we are ranked bottom in the form of stats, I think this is an exceptional feat from Swansea and it shows how much ambition and drive the players have!



Now let us take a look at the fixtures history to see how is this being achieved.



There seems to be a very strange pattern over here! All of Swansea's losses thus far had been home games! Swansea had gotten 1/5 home wins and 4/4 away wins; with the only home win be against Man United who is sitting near the top of the table now =)

After examining various factors, I have come to the conclusion that Swansea's current stella form is influenced by 2 key points.

1) A highly successful transfer policy



Both defender signings have blended well into the squad and providing a rock hard defense. This can be seen from the fixture history where you will notice that in no game that Swansea has conceded more than 2 goals. To top it off, Matteo Ferrari even contributed a precious goal which resulted in a 1-0 away win against Chelsea! (Matteo Ferrari's factsheet can be seen in my Transfers post )

Johan Andersson also made a good contribution; having scored 1 goal in the 3 games he played in. Unfortunately, he got injured in Everton match and had been sideline for 3 months.

2) An unlikely hero



Andrea Orlandi was transfer listed before I joined Swansea as head coach and was offered to clubs when I decided that he was not in my first team plans. However as no club would want to pay the right price for him, I decided to give him a chance. Andrea grabbed it and repaid my faith when he replaced Scott Sinclair on the left wing after he was injured and scored 1 goal and provided 2 assists thus far.

While everything has been rosy for Swansea thus far, I cannot be too complacent. The reason we are successful right now is because of the rock solid defense we had but we had a great difficulty to scoring goals, especially from upfront. I will have to look to remedy that during the winter transfer window.

How have you enjoyed my Swansea Journey thus far? Is the blog easy to read? This is my first attempt at blogging so please let me know how can I make this more enjoyable =)

Added on: 12 Nov 2011 Requested by: Timo

Swansea Transfers - Season 1

My examination of the teamsheet revealed many weaknesses in the squad. I think by the 4th season I will have the whole squad overhauled. Despite having a weak squad, I find it difficult to attract talent due to the poor reputation of the club and thus, I had made only a few transfers. I did made a few transfers and hopefully they will help me to tide over till the winter window or till the next season when more better talent are available.

Here are the INs and OUTs of the summer 2011 window.



Having sold more than I buy, I managed to wipe out the club's deficits! Who needs sugardaddy owners when they have me =)

Here is the new balance sheet figures after the transfer activities =)



I am glad to say that I had managed to make some decent signings without breaking the bank.

Transfers



I think he has to be best the signing of the summer window. Available for free, this experienced and technically skilled defender is brought in to replace captain Garry Monk who is injured. Just based on the stats alone, I think Garry won't have much of a chance forcing back to the first team when he is back from injury.



A skillful utility player who can play at all positions in the opposite half! I bought him in both as a decent passer and a striker with a good finishing attribute. Most of my strikers only have less than 14 for finishing.



The major signing of the window. Stephen Kelly is brought in as a direct replacement for Angel Rangel. Having bought him for 1.5mil pounds, with much more superior physical and defensive stats than Angel who is sold at 2.2 mil; I believe I had made a great deal!

Loan



With Swansea seriously lacking in the creativity department, Gomez is signed on loan from Wigan to put some flair into the squad. Since his contract ends next year, I hope to loan him then sign him for free next year =)

What do you think of my transfers? Let me know your views! =)

Swansea Journey!

FM 2012 is finally here! It's great to get underway.

I am a Chinese and I had first started playing FM since the 2010 season. I wasn't really interested in football then but once I started playing FM, I was hooked on the splendors of the beautiful game. So please forgive me if I do not know much about the real football world since my interest started only about 2 years back.

Inspired by True Football Manager, I too would like to share like my FM stories in an Asian perspective. This season I have decided to manage Swansea FC aka The Swans.

According to Wikipedia:

“Swansea are one of only two Welsh clubs to have competed in the top flight of English football, and the only one to have played in Premier League being the 45th different club to participate in the competition since its inception in 1992.”

The club information are as follows:



There are several points we can consider when we look at Swansea's factsheet.

1. Swansea's rivals are Cardiff, Bristol City and Bristol Rovers. These are all Championship clubs so I can breathe slightly easier since I find derbies are much harder to get a good result.


2. The club's finances are listed as OK which probably means I cant expect a big transfer kitty.


3. The media predicted us to be at the 19^th position at the end of the season. Clearly, they expect us to relegate but I would hope to prove them wrong!

With this information on hand, I would need now to look at the club's finances.



Even with the 3.4 million worth of revenue, the club still has a deficit of 5.4 million. While not very serious, it is definitely on the road to destruction if something is not done. I properly have to keep my transfers very tight and sell a few players in order not to worsen the condition. Hopefully, my team does not require much strengthening though I doubt it.

After examining the teamsheet, I confirmed that Swansea is a really weak team. In fact, most of them are only good enough for the Championship based on their stats. I will probably revamped the whole team by the end of my 4^th season, provided that I am still in the league. Still, Swansea has some decent players and I will like to highlight some of them.

Best Players



Definitely the best defender in the original squad. An all round defender with good pace and tackling skills. He will be my main header in attacking set pieces.



A winger with good pace. I think he will make a good winger for running the line and feeding crosses at the final end.



Vice-Captain and a good abeit slow defender. He has good attributes that will make him an option as an anchorman in the midfield.



The best player in squad but unfortunately sidelined for 4 months! I will have to search for a replacement to make up for the loss of his quality.

Having examined the teamsheet, I have decided to set my target for the season to avoid relegation.



In my next post, I will look into the transfers on how to strengthen the squad. =)