Rotherham v Swansea Competition - Sky Bet Championship Venue - New York Stadium Date - 9 December 2023 Kick off - 3:00pm Little did we realise when the Swans secured a late equaliser against Huddersfield last Saturday that we were watching the last game of Michael Duff’s short reign as Head Coach. Alan Sheehan has been appointed caretaker Head Coach and on Saturday his Swansea squad will take on fellow strugglers Rotherham who are also Managerless. Last Saturday, Charlie Patino's stoppage-time goal saw a lacklustre Swans side salvage a point against Huddersfield Town. Darren Moore's Terriers had looked set to hold on for victory after Swans defender Ben Cabango turned Jaheim Headley's cross into his own net early on. But the Swans never gave up in their hunt for an equaliser, and Huddersfield's resistance was finally broken in the fourth added minute when on-loan Arsenal midfielder Patino steered into the bottom corner of the net from the edge of the area. Nevertheless this was a continuation of the Swansea’ uninspiring run under Michael Duff : only one win in their last eight matches. There were they boos from sections of the home crowd at half-time and full-time, and the owners realised it would be better to admit that Duff’s tenure needed to end ….. and end quickly! Whilst the Swans were drawing against the Terriers, Wayne Rooney's Birmingham City failed to win again in front of their own fans - and co-owners Tom Brady and Tom Wagner - as they were held to a goalless draw at home by Wayne Carlisle's Rotherham United. The War of the Waynes proved anything but box-office entertainment in a game of very few clear-cut chances. Up against a team still under the caretaker management of Carlisle, following the sacking of Matt Taylor, Rooney has now won just one of his eight games in charge. The result left Rotherham next to bottom of the table, 7 points from safety and 8 points below the Swans. The Swans have played the Millers on 82 occasions, winning 30, drawing 27 and losing 25. In the corresponding fixture last season, the teams battled out a 1-1 draw: Turning to this weekend’s match, Josh Smith will be the man in the middle. It will be just the sixth time that Smith has taken charge of a Swans match, the most recent of those occasions was the defeat at Preston in August of this year. Prior to that, Smith oversaw was a trip to the Cardiff City Stadium in April 2022 with the Swans running out 4-0 winners with goals for Michael Obafemi (2), Ben Cabango, and Hannes Wolf. Smith, who is one of the youngest referees currently working in the EFL, made his Premier League debut at the end of last season when he took charge of a game between Fulham and Crystal Palace. In 18 games in all competitions this season he has issued 68 yellow cards and three reds. On Saturday he will be assisted by Matthew Jones and Sam Lewis, while Matt Corlett will be the fourth official. I think that the Swans players will be ‘freed’ from the reins and structures imposed by Duff, and will run out 2-1 winners
There could be a bounce from the players and let's hope so, otherwise a draw. I have a feeling we can sneak this though... 0 - 2.
Thanks Taff. I am hopeful that the team will be energised by Duff's departure. So I am going for a high scoring away win. It's 3-1 to the Swans
Swansea City’s home FA Cup third-round tie against Morecambe has been chosen for overseas TV coverage and will take place on Saturday January 6 2024 at 5.30pm. The Swans and the Shrimps meet for the first time in a competitive fixture, with the hosts hoping to advance to the fourth round for the first time since 2021 at the Swansea.com Stadium. Ticketing details will be confirmed in due course.
It will be interesting to see how the players perform today - if they play well and win comfortably, it could suggest that they didn’t rate Duff and effectively downed tools. If we get hammered, it could suggest that the players are either sh*te or don’t give a sh*te
Yannick Bolasie makes his first start for Swansea City as one of four changes for this afternoon’s meeting with Rotherham United. The winger is joined by Josh Key, Charlie Patino and Harry Darling in the starting XI, as Kyle Naughton, Bashir Humphreys, Liam Walsh and Liam Cullen drop to the bench. Carl Rushworth is in goal, with Key and Darling joining Ben Cabango and Josh Tymon in the Swansea defence. Captain Matt Grimes is joined by Jay Fulton in midfield, with Patino, Bolasie and Jamie Paterson operating ahead of them. The trio will provide support for Jamal Lowe, who leads the line for the visitors. Youngster Sam Parker is named on the bench and could make a senior Swans debut. Rotherham United: Viktor Johansson, Cohen Bramall, Daniel Ayala, Jamie Lindsay, Ollie Rathbone (captain), Lee Peltier, Hakeem Odoffin, Christ Tiehi, Sebastian Bevan, Sam Nombe, Arvin Appiah. Substitutes: Dillon Phillips, Dexter Lembikisa, Tom Eaves, Jordan Hugill, Georgie Kelly, Grant Hall, Sean Morrison, Ciaran McGuckin. Swansea City: Carl Rushworth, Josh Key, Jay Fulton, Ben Cabango, Harry Darling, Matt Grimes (captain), Jamal Lowe, Jamie Paterson, Josh Tymon, Yannick Bolasie, Charlie Patino. Substitutes: Andy Fisher, Jerry Yates, Liam Cullen, Kyle Naughton, Liam Walsh, Ollie Cooper, Bashir Humphreys, Sam Parker, Cameron Congreve.
The Millers down to 10 men after a double yellow. This could well end up 0-0 now with Rotherham bringing all men behind the ball
