THE BLUES
With a big sweat on re Nicky Bailey, a hamstring injury usually means out for a couple of weeks but we can hope, Lee Barnard for Robson-Kanu is the only change I'd like to see from he team that finished against Huddersfield. This is presuming Lewis is injured, on his way to Millwall, whatever, personally I'll have him in somewhere if Mulgrew hamstring has also gone but we should learn more over the next 24 hours.
This was always going to be tough, Swans recent run or not, with the odd defensive injury down South Wales way only a help. We have now played two confident performances on the trot and if we can nick an early goal, then keep as tight as Adam and Clarkey can ever be at set pieces, we could sneak this by the odd goal. Easy.
Good news is that the ever improving James Walker is enjoying his swop from a red shirt to blue. The 20-year-old has impressed while on loan with the Shrimpers after chipping in with two goals in six games and he would now like to make a permanent switch to Roots Hall.
"I was due to sign here permanently before I failed the medical and I would still love to do it,"
Your more than welcome James.
THE OPPOSITION
Well, the stutters over! A 2-0 win at Bristol Rovers on Tuesday night extended Swansea's lead at the top of League One to nine points with 77, 21 points more than Tranmere in seventh, play-offs now just a win away, 67 goals scored with a massive goal difference of plus 35, and in Jason Scotland the league's top scorer with 19 (25 in total). Going three games without a win, who cares? (Though Brushy may have to watch the Swans assistant manager Graeme Jones, if he's been let out of a
They have more than Jason Scotland of course, manager and former player Roberto Martinez has built a strong squad to add to Kenny Jackett's earlier work, now surely adding promotion to the Championship, the one thing his predecessor failed to do. If Jason dosen't get a dodgy penalty there's also Robinson, Duffy, Butler et al. The Swansea defenders score fairly regularly from set pieces I'm told, lucky us. If they had a weakness in goal that has been more than covered by the signing of De Vries.
Striking early seems the best way of getting a result looking at reports from their 'crisis' patch and that will be helped by news of injuries to vital defenders. Skipper Garry Monk is likely to miss at least the next three games as he struggles to recover from a recurring back injury. It was hoped that Monk would return to league action against the Blues, but those hopes have now been dashed with the latest update. Monk has already missed five games with the same back problem and now joins fellow defender Marcos Painter on the touch line. Their defensive woes go from bad to worse with the club also sweating on the fitness of defender Dennis Lawrence. The Trinidadian & Tobago International twisted an ankle in Tuesday's win at Bristol Rovers and is hoping to recover in time for Friday's 1pm kick-off.
Here's how last night's game went and the team that finished the match, plus the latest news on the alleged punch up.
Swansea City restored a nine-point lead at the top of League One after two second-half goals gave them their first win at the Memorial Stadium. Trinidad and Tobago defender Dennis Lawrence headed home their opener from a 72nd-minute free-kick. And leading scorer Jason Scotland rammed home their second from a controversial penalty six minutes later to extend Bristol Rovers' run without a win to five matches.
Though the Pirates had their fair share of the game, an all-too-familiar lack of penetration in front of goal once again proved their undoing as they failed to turn their spells of pressure into goals. Though the visitors were reduced to 10 men in the final stages when substitute Febian Brandy was sent off, there was no way back for Paul Trollope's men.
Rovers stuck with the side that had started their 1-0 weekend defeat at Cheltenham but made a positional switch, with Lewis Haldane starting on the left wing rather than the right as Chris Lines moved to the other flank. And the two wingers were involved in the Pirates' first opportunity of the night after 10 minutes - although it came about inadvertently. Haldane drilled a miscued shot across the face of goal, where it found Lines beyond the far post, but he was unable to get his downwards header on target. Moments later at the other end, Ferrie Bodde found Darryl Duffy in a useful position inside the box, but the Swansea man shot into the side netting from 14 yards.
The Pirates were denied what looked like a sound claim for a penalty after 17 minutes when Rickie Lambert appeared to be shoved in the back by former Rovers defender Kevin Austin. But ex-Premier League referee Uriah Rennie was unmoved - and there was an escape for the home side moments later when Duffy again shot wide from a good position.
Sean Rigg was the next to try his luck for Rovers, but he pulled his left-foot shot from 16 yards wide of the target. Then Lambert saw the pace taken out of his shot by a deflection which gave keeper Dorus de Vries a comfortable save. Steve Phillips had to make a low stop to keep out a drive from Scotland, and pulled off a fine fingertip stop moments later to tip over a dipping goalbound attempt from Andy Robinson after the winger cut in from the left. Haldane saw a deflected volley loop just over the top as Rovers tried to conjure up a breakthrough with the interval approaching, but shortly afterwards picked up the first caution of the night for a needless dive inside the Swansea box.
It was the Welsh club who created the first opening of the second period when the ball fell to Scotland 12 yards out, but the Trinidad and Tobago marksman ballooned a hurried shot high over the top. Then Rovers carved out a half-chance when Craig Disley's pass presented Haldane with an opportunity to cross from the left, but Rigg delayed his finish as he tried to set himself up and was crowded out by Swansea's defence. A good run from Stuart Campbell then gave Haldane another chance to advance, and his angled left-foot strike from the edge of the box scuttled not far wide of de Vries' left-hand post. Rovers built again and the ball fell inside the box to Aaron Lescott, whose lash towards goal took a deflection which de Vries was happy to claw away from goal.
But it was the league leaders who went in front from a 72nd-minute set piece, Butler floating over the delivery that 6ft 5ins central defender Lawrence rose to nod past Steve Phillips. Referee Rennie's erratic performance sparked more controversy in the 78th minute when Byron Anthony appeared to make a well-timed tackle on Brandy and came away with the ball. But the official, who was some distance from the incident, pointed to the spot and Scotland promptly bagged his third goal in two games - and 25th of the season - by slamming home the spot kick. Brandy's stay was short-lived, however, for the substitute lashed out at Danny Coles after a flare-up near the touchline and received a red card. The visitors, however, saw out the final stages without alarm.
Swansea (4-4-2): de Vries; Rangel, Tate, Lawrence, Austin; Butler, Bodde, Pratley (Britton, 65), Robinson (Tudur-Jones, 87); Duffy (Brandy, 65), Scotland. Subs (not used): Bauza, Way.
SWANSEA City's official website has gone public and released a statement regarding assistant manager Graeme Jones' alleged assault on Bristol defender Danny Coles.
"The club can confirm that an incident occurred in the tunnel after the game at the Memorial Stadium involving players and staff from both sides. Swansea City's assistant-manager Graeme Jones was involved, but after being questioned by the Avon and Somerset Police was released last night pending further investigations. Graeme and the club have co-operated fully with the police over the matter and a further statement will be issued in due course. The two clubs are in constant dialogue and no further statements will be made until the matter has been fully investigated."
THE MATCHES
Played 55; WON 17 DRAWN 12 LOST 26
It all started at home on Jan. 15 1921 with a 1-2 defeat, Whalley scoring. After the twenties finished, which included a horrible 0-4 home defeat in 1925, we played them a few times in the forties with another twenty year gap following until Aug. 21 65 when McKinven and Smith scored in a 2-0 win at Roots Hall. Another sixties home hammering for the Swans was on April 18 69 when a rare Gary Moore hat-trick, that usually fell to partner Billy Best who got the other, in a 4-0 result in front of 10,467. There was a bigger Roots Hall crowd of 11,062 on Aug. 25 72 where a double by Bill Garner and Spud taylor scored in a 3-1 win.
The eighties and nineties saw a mixture of results in front of relative poor support at both venues but the big crowds were back on Nov. 12 2005 when 11,049 packed in to the home of football to see the Freddie v Trundle show. Sadly the latter won on the day when the Swans pinched a 1-2 victory. Trundle played a stormer but Freddie still showed what he could do but his goal came too late to pinch a point. It was 18 months before that Freddie had made his 7-second goal debut at Roots Hall followed by a first hat-trick in a 4-2 win, Spinner ramming the anti-Cardiff songs back down the Swansea throats by heading home from a corner to get the fourth right in front of them. They must have been sick to death of Freddie by the time of his brilliant double in a thrilling 2-2 draw at the Liberty on April 29 2006, goals that brought promotion to the Championship, all watched here by a massive crowd of 19,176.
We last played them on Dec. 15 07 away when Nicky Bailey got himself sent off with two bookings in a mad two minute spell which did not help in a 0-3 defeat, however results have shown since that we were playing the best team in the division.
THE HISTORY
Nicknamed "The Swans or The Jacks", the club played from its formation in 1912 (as Swansea Town) until 2005 at the Vetch Field in Swansea city centre. In the summer of 2005, Swansea City moved to a new 20,532 all seater ground, the Liberty Stadium.
The early 1980s were Swansea's halcyon years, under the guidance of then player-Manager, John Toshack, the Swans gained promotion to the old First Division in 1981, winning 3 consecutive Welsh Cups and subsequently appearing in the UEFA Cup Winners Cup as well. However, as fast as Swansea rose up the Football League, a decline ensued just as quickly.
Four Swansea-born men were named among the Football League's 100 legends, to mark the 100th season of League football in 1998. All four began their careers with the club. They were Ivor Allchurch, John Charles (signed by Leeds before making his first-team debut), Trevor Ford and Cliff Jones.
Ivor Allchurch is the subject of the first statue to be placed at the Liberty Stadium. Funded by the club's Supporters' Trust, it was unveiled in October 2005 and stands outside the ticket office.
Many of Swansea's greatest players were part of the squad that, between 1978 and 1981, won promotion from the old Fourth Division to the old First Division under John Toshack, who now manages the Welsh national team. These included goalkeeper Dai Davies, fans' favourite Alan Curtis, the late Robbie James, winger Leighton James, Yugoslavian international defenders Ante Rajkovic and Dzemal Hadziabdic (now coach of the Qatari national team) and Nigel Stevenson.
More recent players include long-serving goalkeeper Roger Freestone, whose Swansea career came to an end in 2004 just a handful of games short of the club appearance record, and Lee Trundle, whose flamboyant skills and impressive goalscoring record made him a firm favourite.
Chelsea and England Midfielder Frank Lampard had a spell on loan from West Ham in the 1995-1996 season playing 11 games and scored 1 goal for the Swans before heading back to Upton Park
Giorgio Chinaglia was born in Italy but grew up in Cardiff and made 6 appearances for Swansea before playing in Italy and the USA, becoming NASL's top scorer ever.
One of the more notable players of the modern game to have played for Swansea City, is Merseyside Born Lee Trundle. After scoring 85 goals in 183 appearances during 4 years at The Swans Lee moved to Championship Side Bristol City for an undisclosed fee.
Swansea City and its supporters are unofficially known as the 'Jacks'. One explanation for this name is that during the 17th century, sailors from Swansea were extremely well respected and any 'Swansea Jack' was allowed to join the crew based simply on the town's reputation for great seamen. Many, however, believe that the name originates from the renowned life-saving dog Swansea Jack.
The club's somewhat flamboyant mascot is Cyril the Swan who was joined in 2005 by Cybil, a doyenne of equal opportunity. The couple were "married" on the pitch at the Vetch Field as part of the pre-match entertainment at the last league game to be played at the ground, a 1-0 win over Shrewsbury Town F.C. during the 2004/05 season.
On 10 January 2006, striker Leon Knight became the first Swansea City player to score a hat-trick on his début for the club since Bob Latchford in August 1981, in fact scoring his hat-trick during the first 27 minutes of the game against Milton Keynes Dons at the Liberty Stadium.
Leon Knight's second hat-trick for the club, in the final game of the 2005-06 season at Chesterfield on 6 May 2006, completed another first. As Lee Trundle had scored a hat-trick in the home game against Chesterfield on 29 October 2005, this was the first time that Swansea players had scored hat-tricks in both home and away League fixtures against the same opponents in the same season.
The Liberty Stadium hosted it's first competitive match against Premiership opposition when Reading visited in August 2007. The visitors won 1-0 thanks to a Leroy Lita goal in extra time, despite having 10 men for over an hour of the match.
The club, riding high at the summit of Football League One, lost an FA Cup replay on 16 January 2008 4-2 to Conference South club, Havant & Waterlooville, losing out on a lucrative tie against Liverpool.
(Thanks to the usual suspects for their help with this article).