Swansea in Dreamland!!!!

I am extremely excited to announce that Swansea is now in the CHAMPIONS LEAGUE!!!!!!

And again my favorite Swansea player had been instrumental in providing the critical win!!!

Here are the standings at the end of the season.

This has been an extremely exciting season for Swansea with tension nagging at us throughout the whole season. Notice that the 3rd to the 9th position are only separated by 6 points!!! This had been the closest season I had ever played in FM.

Here are the last 5 fixtures till the end of the season.

I am rather surprised that we had managed to dispatch Fulham and Tottenham with relative ease. This shows that we had great mentality to hold on till the end of the season. I am very glad because this is a great improvement from the 2nd season in which we dropped points to fall low in the league.
Honestly, I had never expected this at the start of the season. I had only expected a 10th position at best given the previous low position in the 2nd season. Not to mention the quality of our squad is doubted by my assistant manager, Tony Coton. The best player in my opinion, Alberto Bueno, is only rated 3 stars and the 3rd choice striker by Tony! Furthermore, the majority of my players are 2-3 stars only. The only reason is that it must be my great tactics! muahahaha! :P

In the next post, I will review and reflect on the 3rd season and plot the new strategy for the 4th season.
Unfortunately, I had been really busy of late and I had to go on an overseas trip soon so I expect the next update will take quite a while. I estimate that it might be around 2 weeks time perhaps?

What do you think of Swansea's 3rd season so far? What strategy do you think I should employ for the next season? Let me know your ideas! I would really love to share a good discussion. Plus it really motivates me to keep on writing :D Hope to see and hear from you soon, my dear readers!

P.S. You can also subscribe to my blog so you won't miss the next post when I get back ^^

8-Horse Race!!!!

 Everyone hold your horses!!! Swansea might have a chance to get champions league for season 4!!!!


With only 5 games left to go, Swansea has managed to protect a fourth position in the league giving it a real chance to get into champions league next season!

  This is an extremely exciting season as you can see that I have highlighted on the league table. From 3rd to the 10th position is just separated by 7 points! Should Swansea falter and lose within the next 5 games, we could have ended up 10th instead of the dreamy 4th position right now!

Swansea has performed decently for the latest 9 league matches with 4 wins 1 draw and 4 losses. But I am not sure that with the same performance level we can still survive the next 5 games. Some of the matches are almost won on borderline luck like the match against Man U. It is going to be very difficult since we have 2 big teams in the form of Chelsea and Tottenham and also in-form Fulham. I have a special dislike for Fulham because they caused us to crash out of the FA Cup!!! :(

Notice that Man U had 3 clear chances on goal but did not managed to take advantage. We are under pressure most of the time but made good with a superb assist by Alberto Bueno and finished by Lucas Viatri.

Lucas Viatri has been superb this season and finally managed to pay back his transfer fee through his performances. There is now a new balance in the goal scoring responsibility of Swansea. Below is a short summary on the top 3 strikers.

If It Ain't Broken, Don't Fix It

Swansea continued its superb form by bulldozing its way into the big 4. It had been a dream so far and even as head coach I wonder how long can we maintain this form. With only 6 points behind the leaders, I wonder if there is a remote chance where Swansea might even take the title this season!

During this winter transfer window, I decided not to buy any new players. If the current crop of players are capable of playing so well together, I don't want to risk jeopardizing the harmony in the dressing room right now. As an old saying goes, "if it ain't broken, don't fix it!"

Having played some matches thus far, I think I had made the correct decision as Swansea had not lost a match since the previous post.

I am elated at the results against Man City. Those 3 points we took from them have now reduced the title race to within 6 points! In this match, I would like to commend the defense, led by Guillermo Burdisso for producing a stellar performance.

With the critics predicting a meagre 16th position for Swansea at the start of the season, I wonder what will they say now? I supposed we are still at the 16th... 16th counting from the bottom that is!

What do you think of Swansea's season so far? Do you think that Swansea might even have a chance to snatch the title? Let me know your views!

Swans Flying A Dream!!!

This has been a very exciting season for Swansea! It is still far but it seems that we might have an outside chance to qualify for europe the next season! Here are the standings during mid season :)

We are now in the 6th position and we even stand a chance to take part in the champions league! Note that 3rd to 9th positions are very close so I hope that Swansea is able to maintain his form.

We had managed to hold on to our position by winning 3 out of 6 matches. The Fulham match marks the start of our mini revival when Alberto Bueno finally ended his goal drought by scoring a hat-trick versus Fulham! This is also Swansea's first multi-goal match since 10 games.

I am a little disappointed though that despite a brace from Alberto Bueno, we were unable to take all 3 points versus Tottenham. This is due to 2 own-goals by Ryan Shawcross! Though I cant really blame him since he defended decently and the own goals are resulted from deflections from his body. I am also annoyed that Swansea had been made to play 4 GAMES in 8 DAYS, starting from the Fulham match. Despite the extremely tight schedule, I am proud that Swansea had so far secured 2 victories out of 3 games already.

Possible Reasons for Success

1) I had come to realised that might be a secret recipe to Swansea's current success. The secret ingredient is....
a good goalkeeper!

Notice the glaring stats. Michael Vorm has only managed to achieve a 30% win chance as compared with David Ospina! Furthermore, Vorm had not collected any clean sheet to date while Ospina is leading by 7!!
You know now who will I pick for my next team.... :)

2) Another albeit rather minor reason would be the good early form of Lucas Viatri. Notice that he has scored more goals in this half of the 3rd season than his first 2 seasons combined!

Swans Flying Low

I would apologise to my dear readers. I have been pretty busy lately and little time for FM but I will update what little I had played.

As I predicted in my previous post, the Swans are now starting to struggle from their top flight dreams, having lost 3 league matches since the last post. With the winter window closing in I hope to be able to hold on till the window opens. Here's what happened since we last met.

I was elated when we managed one of our biggest wins in history against Stoke in an all out 6-1 demolition.
However, we had probably used all our scoring luck in that match because for the next 7 matches, Swansea could not achieve more than 1 goal per match. The performances became bad and we are practically losing every game. What few games we had won are achieved by merely pure luck, as with the Newcastle match.

Despite making numerous chances, I am appalled by our finishing skills by not being able to even put in 1 goal. In the end, we have to settled for a win given purely based on our opponent's generosity.

However due to our previous strong run of games, we are still able to stay afloat in the big 4 standings so far.
I hoped that even if Swansea is underperforming right now, the rest of the league will underperform with us too :)

Given that Man U is underperforming too right now, I hope that we will be able to snatch some points from them in the next 2 games :)

The First Few Matches - Season 3

The 3rd season started off pretty well!!! Well, I think a picture speaks a thousand words so I let the picture below do the talking :)

Yes! We have broken a club record of having 6 matches unbeaten! Now lets take a look at the latest Swansea matches :)

We have not loss a SINGLE match since the start of the season including friendlies! Finally, I think there is a light shining at the end of the tunnel :)

Our current form is best represented by this really impressive comeback win against Everton in the league cup!

Burdisso started the salvo with a powerful header during 1st half stoppage time. Anichebe equalized halfway in the 2nd half but Ruben stunned the ground when he finished at the dying moments of the game! I am especially pleased with the amount of chances created in this game. I would like to remind my dear readers that Everton is now a major club because it is now backed by oil-rich tycoons with Carlo Tevez as their best striker!

Due to our amazing run, we had also achieved a stunning league position! Please note that we are currently that BEST scoring team in the league!

I know that I am getting really excited but I must keep calm. If we looked back at Swansea's history, Swansea had a bad habit of starting to falter about 10 games before the winter transfer window. If only Swansea can maintain this form till the winter transfer window then I can breathe easier :)

Swansea - Season 3 Transfers!

After having an unsatisfactory season 2, I've decided that its time for the ugly duckling to evolve into the graceful swan. For the past 2 seasons, I had adopted a more prudent approach for transfers; preferring to buy cheap deals while improving a little by little at a time. Because of such transfer policies, Swansea has managed to amass quite a decent warchest for the transfers this season and I will be looking to use it at long last to bring some real players that will make a difference.

A re-cap on my primary objectives: to be league champions by season 5 and champions league winners by season 7. Seems quite a daunting task still now that 2 seasons had already past and I am not even close to european qualification.

While I do want to fight for a top half finish this season, I have learnt from my previous season to take things easy. So this season I told my board that Swansea will compete for a mid-table finish at least. And I am going to issue an ultimatum now to you my dear readers, if I cant even achieve a mid-table finish for Swansea this season, I am going to quit as head coach of Swansea as I feel that Swansea is definitely capable of that at least.

This season I bought more than I had sold. Without further ado, lets take a look at the INs and OUTs of the season!

Players OUT

Perhaps the most prominent of the leavers are Matteo Ferrari and Andrea Orlandi. Once important members of the squad, I have decided to let them go because I wanted to take Swansea to a new height they can only play up till relegation level. Modeste M'bami was let off because he had given rather unsatisfactory performances last season. Having signed him on free, I am glad that at least he contributed to the financial success of the club. Johan Andersson is definitely my worst signing thus far and I am please that I am finally able to let him go without much of a loss. Having sold him at 100k with 200k worth of addons, I may still be able to make a profit out of him!

Players IN

As you can see, I have done a major shift in my transfer policy this season splashing out the cash on 5 players worth over 22.5mil. With these signings I hope to show the league my intent to make Swansea the King of England!!! So let us now welcome this great men to our beloved family!

Ryan Shawcross (DC)

My MAJOR signing of the season! Ryan Shawcross is the ex-Stoke captain but now he is the current Swansea captain! Shawcross is also the highest earner of the club and also the tallest! Because of his english nationality, this commanding defender will serve to lead the line of Swansea's defense in the future european competitions!

Hernan Bernandello (DMC)

Hernan Bernandello is signed as a direct replacement for Modeste M'bami. Faster and a better passer than M'bami, I hope that he could provide the more consistant and better performances that M'bami could not. Additionally, Bernandello sounds like my favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle character, Donatello! LOL


Nemanja Matic (MC/DMC)

 I must admit. I signed at Nemanja Matic mostly because he is cheap. A decent midfielder all-around, his most valuable asset is to provide good support in the air. Matic is a also signed for a very special reason but I will reveal this in the following paragraph.


Senijad Ibricic (MC/AMC)

 My 2nd major signing of the season. Senijad Ibricic is also the reason why I had signed Nemanja Matic because Matic is the only person to speak russian. With Matic around, I hope Ibricic won't be so homesick and be able to adapt quickly to life in England. Ibricic is strong on either foot and being a creative player, I hope he can stun the opposition by spilling killer balls left and right :)

Henri Lansbury (MC)

 While his natural position is a MC, Henri Lansbury is a versatile player who can also play on both the left and right wings and I signed him to make sure I would have adequate cover on both wings.

I have since already finished playing all my friendlies and would like to show the results below.

If you had been following my Swansea journey so far, you would have known that this is the best set of friendlies results in 3 seasons. The new signings seem to have integrated well into the team with both my major signings impressing. I hope that this form will continue for a long time to come.

What do you think of Swansea's season 3 transfers so far? Do you think that with this team we will be able to finally go up the ladder? I love to hear your views! Please comment if you could, even anonymous will be great :)

Swansea Season 2 Review

Season 2 is finally over! It has been a hell of a season for Swansea but nonetheless a very exciting season as a whole. Man United was crowned champions just over goal difference and the big 4 monopoly is finally broken with Man City, Tottenham and Everton all in Champions League! I am sure the next season will be even more exciting!

 

I had a close shave and nearly lost my job as head coach due to me unable to meet my own expectations of a respectable position.

Luckily, I had managed to reach the semi-finals of the league cup and the board decides that I should be given another chance :)

Swansea had performed below my expectations this season but there are still some positives in the season. Lets take a look at how the squad fare during this season.

Looking at the poor averages you know that Swansea had performed really badly. 1 thing to take note of is that Guillermo Burdisso is the 2nd highest scorer in this season! This is also partly due to the excellent set piece techniques of Luciano Leguizamon and Karel Pitak! ( their factsheets can be found in the season 2 transfer post )

My Player of the Season

He shoots, he scores and he can provide assists. The player of the season is once again Alberto Bueno! This all rounded player is really the key player of Swansea. And he performs well in training too! Take a look at his improved stats since last season. ( His old stats can be found here )

 Alberto Bueno

My Signing of the Season

Both Chris MaCann and Guillermo Burdisso had performed pretty well this season and I am torned from choosing between the 2. But I have decided to award the signing of the season to Burdisso because he not only kept the defence respectable he scores goals as well. :)

Special Mention

Luke Pugh

Luke Pugh is a promising youngster from Swansea's academy! I am trying to train him to replace Stephen Kelly. Having given him his debut against Liverpool, he managed to get a respectable rating of 6.70 in that game. Stay tuned to my blog to find out if he is going to be successful in the coming seasons!

For the past 2 seasons, I had only made very mediocre signings due to the low reputation and the overall poor quality of squad strength of the club. With a team now capable of staying in the league, this season I am going to start making star signings to improve on the club and fight for better position in the league!

Europe is now starting to take notice of Swansea now. I didnt know Swansea is so popular in Germany. Needless to say I accepted the invitation!  :)

Towards the End...

With 5 more games till the end of the season, Swansea has lost all hopes of ever obtaining a 10th final position. 12th position would be the best we can hope for if we are lucky... very lucky...

Swansea isn't very active during the winter transfer because of the lack of quality wanting to join us. However, I did managed to make a couple of signings in an attempt to strengthen the squad....

Players IN

David Ospina

 David Ospina is signed to provide competition to Michael Vorm. With the end of the season in sight, while I am disappointed that he cannot perform well enough to replace replace Vorm directly, he had performed at similar level of Vorm at the very least. Seeing that he is still new and not yet settled, I am excited at the prospect of having 2 top class keepers in Swansea battling for their place in the squad.

Marco Ruben

 Marco Ruben is another signing to improve the quality upfront. So far Ruben has not made much of a impact other than the hat-trick he scored against Middlesbrough but I hope to will be able live up to my expectations in the near future.

Players OUT

With the arrival of David Ospina, Moreira is now deemed surplus to my requirements. I had hoped to keep Mark Gower but he wanted first-team action which I cant promise so I had to let him go as well.

With 5 more games till the end of season, I now spend more of time in trying to find the perfect tactics for my team. Hopefully Swansea can do better next season!

The Fall of a Hero

Since my previous post, Swansea had not been performing well in the league. A weakened defense caused us to suffer the first major mauling of the season by Everton. We recovered pretty well after having held Man United and won Chelsea at home. I had thought its gonna be start of brand new era. But I was wrong. We were unable to apply the killing edge on weaker teams like Middlesbrough and our fierce rivals Cardiff and we paid the price dearly.

 
For the last 5 games, we were really horrendous conceding a total of 14 goals in 5 games. The main culprit is the previous hero, Michael Vorm. His worst performance was from the Man City match where he made 2 major mistakes which led to goals and I had him substituted in the 11th minute. Don't get me wrong, Michael Vorm is a great keeper who makes instinctive saves from time to time but he is too inconsistent and his positioning is really poor. Now we are languishing a lowly position of 13th. While not relegation threatened yet, it is far from my target position of 10th for this season.

For those of you that wondered Everton's amazing position, don't be. Everton got to such a great start for this season because they had been bought over by oil-rich sugardaddies and their major signing for this season is Carlos Tevez!!!!

Now that transfer window is opened again, I hope to make some changes to my squad to salvage the situation.

P.S. I am too lazy to keep writing as I am eager to get back into the game and see if I can do a turnaround. If anyone wants some detailed information on any of the matches, please leave a comment :)