Swansea City vs Liverpool. Saturday, 1 October, 12:30

[Falconhoof]

Swansea are in a bit of a state at the moment, but they did put 2 past Chelsea.

Most important fixture in 35 years.

[Hassony]

Swansea are in a bit of a state at the moment, but they did put 2 past Chelsea.

Most important fixture in 35 years.

Don't think they have been playing badly

 

Gave city a good game at the weekend

 

Hopefully no slip ups before the united game

[McBain]

We're going into an international break

 

You know the rest

[mofus77]

We're going into an international break

 

You know the rest

 

Massive game. Win and we're going in to the two week break ahead of the Mancs in good spirits. 

 

Also, Spurs and City play so one (or both) of the two of the teams ahead of us will be dropping points. 

[Red2Core]

Biggest game in my life time it's pivotal ta the fabric of society

[Jarg Armani]

t*** these reds

[Sir Tokyo Sexwale]

Swansea are in a bit of a state at the moment, but they did put 2 past Chelsea.

Most important fixture in 35 years.

 

they knocked it around quite well vs City and were doing ok 'till the penalty.

 

4-1 will do

same lineup

[Conrad]

same lineup bar Lovren for Klavan

 

Front 6 picks itself

[honourablegeorge]

Front 6 picks itself

 

Sturridge and Origi treated like...er....really strong squad options

[Falconhoof]

Sturridge probably needs a game to keep him up to speed. Strange to be managing just fine with him on the bench.

[Earl Hafler]

We're 3-1 in the -2 handicap. They've conceded at least 2 in every home match so far this season

[Billy Dane]

Sturridge probably needs a game to keep him up to speed. Strange to be managing just fine with him on the bench.

 

He can get that with England

[Will]

Down Memory Lane

           

YNWA takes a look back at previous memorable visits to Swansea City as we prepare to go there for the sixteenth time in the League on Saturday, although this will only be our sixth meeting at the Liberty Stadium. We have a very poor record against the Swans in South Wales, having won just three and drawn four of the previous fifteen League encounters, suffering eight defeats.

           

Most recently

We lost 3-1 last May, with left-back Brad Smith seeing red. André Ayew struck twice for the Swans, with Jack Cork also on target, as Christian Benteke scored for the reds. Jordan Henderson grabbed the only goal of the game in March 2015. Daniel Sturridge scored in his fifth consecutive game as we drew 2-2 in a crazy game in September 2013. Victor Moses netted on his reds bow as Mamadou Sakho also debuted, with Steven Gerrard captaining the side for the 400th time. Ex-red Jonjo Shelvey opened the scoring before presenting Sturridge with the ball inside the penalty area. Moses then put the reds back in front after Shelvey again gave the ball away. However, he later crossed for Michu to head in the equaliser.

           

We lost 1-0 to Brendan Rodgers’ side in the final game of the season in May 2012, with Danny Graham bagging the only goal late on as we finished the season in a disappointing eighth spot. This was Kenny Dalglish’s last match in charge, while Craig Bellamy, Alexander Doni, Dirk Kuyt and Maxi Rodríguez all turned out for the final time. Ian Rush struck a brace with Craig Johnston also on target as we won 3-0 in September 1982, with Kenny Dalglish playing his 300th reds game.

           

A millennial trip

We lost 2-1 at Swansea Town in a Second Division fixture in November 1955 with Alan Arnell on target. This was our 1,000th away League game. Legendary winger Len Allchurch struck one of his five goals against the reds, with Terry Medwin also scoring.

           

First visit

Billy Liddell and Tony Rowley netted as we lost 3-2 to the Swans in a Second Division encounter in September 1954, our first ever meeting in South Wales. Harry Griffiths bagged a brace, with Len Allchurch also on the scoresheet.

           

The other win

Jimmy Melia and Bobby Murdoch both struck in the last three minutes as we won a Second Division fixture 2-0 in April 1958.

           

Stalemates

Alan Arnell was on target in a 1-1 draw in November 1956 with centre-half Laurie Hughes playing his 300th reds game. Jimmy Melia bagged a brace as we shared six goals in another Second Division encounter in April 1959. Alan A’Court also struck with Ray Daniel netting twice for the home side, and Len Allchurch again on target.

           

A reds farewell

We played our last ever Second Division game in May 1962, going down 4-2 in a game postponed from a month earlier due to a smallpox outbreak in South Wales. Ian St. John and Roger Hunt grabbed our goals. Colin Webster bagged a brace for the Swans, with Brayley Reynolds netting the last of his seven strikes against the reds and Mel Nurse also scoring.

           

Other encounters

We first visited Vetch Field in the League after their name change from Swansea Town to City in February 1982, going down 2-0 in our first League visit for two decades. Leighton James and Alan Curtis bagged the goals. We lost by the same score in March 1961, thanks to a Graham Williams brace.

           

We lost by the odd goal in nine in October 1959, with our goals coming from a Jimmy Melia penalty, Roger Hunt, and a Ronnie Moran free-kick after we had initially taken the lead through a Malcolm Kennedy own goal. We went 3-1 down inside 22 minutes thanks to goals from Peter Davies, Len Allchurch and Colin Webster, but fought back to level the game. The eventual winner, Brayley Reynolds’ second goal, came just two minutes from time. Reds keeper Doug Rudham suffered from double vision throughout the match.

[Sir Tokyo Sexwale]

We're 3-1 in the -2 handicap. They've conceded at least 2 in every home match so far this season

 

mocked

[Rory Fitzgerald]

Don't think they have been playing badly

 

Gave city a good game at the weekend

 

Hopefully no slip ups before the united game

 

Yeah, agree, think this could be a tough one. That said, they are a team that will like to play it through midfield so it gives us the chance to play our game against them rather than battling a longer game.

 

Its the international break after this - for the sake of our mental health we need to win these games. Slip ups just fester for longer in these situations.

[Will]

Double Agents

           

In advance of our first meeting of the season on Saturday, YNWA looks back at the careers of some of those who have represented both the reds and Swansea City.

           

Most recent double agents

Jonjo Shelvey struck seven times in 69 senior outings since arriving from Charlton Athletic for £1.7m in May 2010. He moved to the Swans for an initial £5m in July 2013, netting ten goals in 96 games, including two against the reds, before moving on to Newcastle United for £12m last January.

           

Joe Allen was part of Swansea’s youth set-up since the age of nine, going on to bag seven goals in 151 first-team appearances. He followed Brendan Rodgers to Anfield for £15m in August 2012, a then Welsh record sale, notching seven times in 132 games before joining Stoke City for £13m in July. Centre-half Steven Caulker joined on loan from Queens Park Rangers last January, playing just four times. He joined the Swans on loan from Tottenham Hotspur in July 2011, making 26 appearances as they finished in mid-table in their first season in the Premiership.

           

The ex-boss and his team

Brendan Rodgers was appointed Manager of Swansea in July 2010, leading them into the top flight via the play-offs at the end of his first season in charge, beating his old club Reading in the Final at Wembley. He helped them to finish eleventh in their first season in the Premiership, taking four points off the reds in the process. He was named as Kenny Dalglish’s successor at Anfield in June 2012, guiding us to 85 victories in 166 matches before being sacked in October 2015.

           

Assistant Manager Colin Pascoe began his playing career with the Swans, making his full debut at Anfield in April 1983. He netted 45 times in 201 games before being sold to Sunderland for £70,000 in March 1988. He returned on loan in July 1992, bagging four goals in seventeen outings before returning on a permanent basis the following summer. He scored another sixteen goals in 106 matches, moving to Blackpool on a free transfer in March 1996. He returned to the Vetch Field as a part-time coach under Kenny Jackett, continuing to serve under Roberto Martínez and Paolo Sousa before becoming Rodgers’ Assistant at Melwood, although he was dismissed in June 2015.

           

Glen Driscoll’s first job in football was with Reading, later crossing paths with Brendan Rodgers at both Chelsea and Swansea City before joining the reds as Head of Performance along with Rodgers, also leaving last October. Chris Davies arrived as Head of Opposition Analysis at the same time, having been made captain of one of the youth teams at Reading by Rodgers, later being reunited with him in an analysis role at Swansea. He also left the club with Rodgers. Dr Ryland Morgans became Head of Fitness & Conditioning in October 2012, having been Head of Sports Science for the Swans since 2010, after working under Roy Hodgson at Fulham. He left the reds last March.

           

Other recent double agents

Kosovan-Albanian midfielder Besian Idrizaj signed from Linzer ASK for an initial £190,000 in August 2005, having just been voted the best young player in the Austrian equivalent of the Championship. He made his first senior appearance in our friendly at Crewe Alexandra back in July 2006, netting a treble at Wrexham a year later. He was released in the summer of 2008 and joined Swansea in August 2009, playing four games before tragically dying in May 2010 of a suspected heart attack at the age of just 22.

           

Fabio Borini signed from Roma for £10.4m in July 2012, netting three goals in 38 outings before moving to Sunderland for £8m last August. He had joined Swansea on loan from Chelsea in March 2011, having previously worked with Rodgers at Stamford Bridge. He struck six times in twelve goals while in South Wales as the Swans gained promotion to the top flight. Winger Paul Anderson signed from Hull City in a swap deal for John Welsh in January 2006, and made it onto the first-team bench just twice, both in Champions League matches. He joined Swansea City on loan in July 2007, going on to bag nine goals in 41 outings and be named their Young Player of the Year. He was sold to League One Nottingham Forest for £250,000 in June 2009, having spent the previous season on loan at the City Ground.

           

Striking stars

David Hodgson joined the reds from Middlesbrough for £450,000 in August 1982 but never fully established himself in his two years at Anfield, scoring ten times in 49 appearances, although he did claim a League championship medal and helped us to clinch the FA Charity Shield on his reds bow before he left for Sunderland for £125,000. He ended his playing career with the Swans, playing three League games in 1992. David N’Gog moved to the Liberty Stadium on loan from Bolton Wanderers last January, making just three appearances from off the bench without scoring. He had joined the reds from Paris St. Germain for £1.5m in July 2008, netting nineteen times in 94 reds outings, although he only started on 41 of those occasions. He was sold to Bolton Wanderers for £4m in August 2011.

           

Swansea-born Dean Saunders signed as a professional for his hometown club in June 1982. He bagged twelve goals in 55 Swans games as they tumbled back down the divisions, before moving to Brighton & Hove Albion three years later on a free transfer. He joined the reds in July 1991 from Derby County for a British record £2.9m fee as a replacement for Peter Beardsley. He scored 25 goals in 61 appearances as the reds won the FA Cup, before being moved on to Aston Villa for £2.3m in September 1992. Dean’s dad Roy signed from Hull City in May 1948 and netted once in 146 reds appearances at right-half before joining Swansea Town in March 1959 in a £15,000 deal with Welsh international centre-forward Des Palmer heading in the other direction, after 38 goals in 84 League outings. However, Palmer suffered a serious knee injury on his reserves bow, moving on to Johannesburg Ramblers in 1960.

           

More management

Cardiff-born John Toshack signed from his hometown club for a club record £110,000 in November 1970 and scored 96 goals in 247 reds appearances, helping us to three League titles, two UEFA Cups, FA Cup and FA Charity Shield before returning to Wales to join Swansea City as Player/Manager in February 1978. He took them all the way from the Fourth Division to the top flight in four seasons, where they finished sixth before being relegated the following campaign. He resigned in October 1983, but returned to the hot seat two months later, but was sacked in March 1984. He had grabbed 25 goals in 63 League matches for the Swans.

           

Jan Mølby arrived at Anfield in August 1984, signed by Joe Fagan for £225,000 from Ajax. He netted 61 times in his 292 reds games, including a remarkable forty of his 42 attempted spot-kicks. He won three League titles, two FA Cups and Screen Sport Super Cup while at Anfield, before taking over as Player/Manager with Swansea in February 1996. He led them to the Third Division Play-off final the following season, but was sacked in October 1997. He also struck eight times in 42 playing outings for the Swans.

           

Tosh’s double agents

Among Toshack’s players at Vetch Field were Phil Boersma, Ian Callaghan, Emlyn Hughes, Colin Irwin, Ray Kennedy, Tommy Smith and Alan Waddle.

           

Emlyn Hughes played seven League games for the Swans in 1983/84 at the very end of his playing career. ‘Crazy Horse’ played 665 times in his twelve years at Anfield after signing from Blackpool for a club record £65,000 in February 1967, netting 49 times and winning two European Cups, four League titles, two UEFA Cups, FA Cup, UEFA Super Cup and two FA Charity Shields. His greatest season was probably 1976/77 when he captained the side to within a whisker of a unique treble, as well as being voted the Football Writers’ Player of the Year.

           

Tommy Smith signed on at Anfield as a professional in April 1962, winning four League titles, two FA Cups, two UEFA Cups, European Cup, UEFA Super Cup and two FA Charity Shields in his time with Liverpool, netting 48 times in 638 games. He moved to Swansea in the summer of 1978, bagging two goals in 36 League games before retiring. Ian Callaghan signed professional terms in March 1960 and made a record 857 reds appearances, bagging 68 goals while helping us to five League titles, two FA Cups, one European Cup, two UEFA Cups, UEFA Super Cup and three FA Charity Shields, as well as winning the Football Writers’ Player of the Year award in 1973/74. He joined Tosh at Swansea in September 1978, netting once in 76 League outings before joining Cork United in 1981.

           

After five successful years as a forward with Arsenal, Bob Paisley converted Ray Kennedy into a left-sided midfielder following his club record £180,000 arrival as Bill Shankly’s last signing in July 1974. He won six League titles, three European Cups, the UEFA Cup, UEFA Super Cup, League Cup and three FA Charity Shields in his eight years at Anfield, striking 72 times in 393 reds games. He joined Swansea in January 1982. He is now battling against Parkinson’s disease.

           

Waddle moved to Anfield from Halifax Town for £40,000 in June 1973 but only made 22 appearances in his four years in L4, netting just once, at Goodison Park in December 1973, as his route to the first team was usually blocked by Kevin Keegan and John Toshack. He moved to Vetch Field after a year with Leicester City, bagging 34 goals in ninety League outings in two years with the Swans before joining Newport County. He rejoined Swansea from Hartlepool United in 1984, scoring ten times in forty League games before joining Barry Town. Phil Boersma signed professional terms in September 1968 and struck thirty times in 120 reds games, although he struggled to get picked in front of Kevin Keegan and John Toshack. He left the club to join Middlesbrough in December 1975 for £72,000. He joined Swansea from Luton Town in 1978, scoring once in eighteen League games, before moving into coaching with the Swans.

           

Centre back Colin Irwin only made 44 reds appearances, but one of them was in the 1981 League Cup Final, although he did not get a winners’ medal, as he was left out of the replay. However, he won a European Cup winner’s medal in 1978, despite not seeing any action in our Wembley victory. John Toshack signed him for Swansea for a club record £340,000 in the summer of 1981. He became their captain and played 48 League games before a knee injury forced him to retire in 1983.

           

Youngest ever

Centre-back Max Thompson made his reds bow in our 1-1 draw at Tottenham Hotspur in May 1974, becoming our youngest League debutant to date, aged seventeen years and 129 days, a record broken by left-back Jack Robinson 36 years later. He moved to Blackpool in December 1977 after just one senior appearance, moving from there to Swansea in 1981, netting twice in 26 League games. He left Vetch Field to sign for Bournemouth in 1983.

           

Other double agents

Forward Fred Buck only scored once in thirteen reds games after arriving from West Bromwich Albion in May 1903, moving on to Plymouth Argyle a year later. He joined Swansea Town in May 1914 after a second spell with the Baggies, ending his playing career there after another three years. Forward Jack Haines joined the reds from Cheltenham Town in 1937 but never made a senior appearance. He signed for Swansea in 1946, nabbing seven goals in 28 League outings before moving to West Bromwich Albion in 1947.

           

Leyton Maxwell scored in his only senior reds game, against Hull City in September 1999. He joined Swansea City on non-contract terms in March 2004, playing for the Swans three times before moving on to Mansfield Town nine months later, after a spell with Rhyl. John Lindsay joined the reds from Rhyl Athletic in April 1928, scoring three goals in sixteen games before moving to Swansea in January 1930. Northern Irish inside-forward Billy McDevitt was converted to a centre-half after signing from Swansea Town in 1923. He played four times before moving to Exeter City for a club record fee in May 1925.

           

Doug Livermore signed from Bolton Wanderers in November 1965 and made just eighteen appearances in our midfield before joining Norwich City in November 1970, but he returned to Anfield as Assistant Manager in 1994. He joined Swansea’s coaching staff in August 1981, spending two months as Caretaker Manager in between John Toshack’s two spells in charge before later joining Tottenham Hotspur.

           

Malcolm Elias was a Youth Development Officer with Swansea earlier in his career. He was appointed Academy Director of Recruitment with the reds in June 2006. He arrived from Southampton with a track record of more than twenty years in youth football, although he only remained with the reds for three years.

[sutty]

6am cans. 6am cans. 

 

Terrified. I'm just glad I'm not Molby carrying a gourde. 

[Case]

It's the first time this season their American owners can be arsed to attend in person.

 

That's Swansea City's owners, not ours.

[Gunga Din]

they're only over to sack their gaffer when we smash them

[Molby]

6am cans. 6am cans. 

 

Terrified. I'm just glad I'm not Molby carrying a gourde. 

if you had a gourd you could use it as a make shift comfort-break solution after all them cans

 

all in all, gourds>no gourds

[sutty]

if you had a gourd you could use it as a make shift comfort-break solution after all them cans

 

all in all, gourds>no gourds

Remind me to never take a drink from your gourd

[Jarg Armani]

Remind me to never take a drink from your gourd

 

Just reminded me I've had a drink from said gourd. Vom.

[Case]

'Supping from the Fetid Gourd' is my favourite Marillion song.

[genghis]

'Supping from the Fetid Gourd' is my favourite Marillion song.

 

 

[Molby]

Mine is Incommunicado

 

My gourd gets a lot of stick yet it brings so much joy