Article: Swansea City vs Tottenham Hotspur Match Preview & Thread|Football, Swansea City, Tottenham Hotspur

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Swansea City................................... vs ...................... Tottenham Hotspur
Liberty Stadium
Swansea
Sat 31-12-11 15:00 PM KO

For links to watch the game online, click HERE
​

Welcome one and all to the match thread for the game between Swansea City and Tottenham Hotspur. This will be the first time I've seen these clubs play each other and it's a fixture I've been looking forward to all season. As the game has got closer, however, and as Spurs have continued their upward march, my zeal to see the two sides match up has waned. A blip at Stoke aside, Spurs have been in incredibly good form and are a successful game in hand away from closing the gap to both Manchester clubs to 4 points, so will no doubt be looking to inflict some damage upon the South Walians on their home turf.

The Match;

Swansea - well, before the QPR game I said we needed a win and we need one even more now, but given our opponents you have to feel it will be highly unlikely. The honeymoon period is definitely over for Brendan Rodgers' men in the Premier League, and while 19 points at the turn of the year is not a bad effort given the scale of the task, any points gained against Spurs will be a massive motivation for the players.

Tottenham arrive fresh from a 2-0 win away at fellow promotees Norwich who, despite giving a good account of themselves, were thoroughly beaten. A few Norwich fans I've spoken to have claimed Spurs were the best team they've come up against this year and speaking honestly, after watching the Norwich v Spurs game, I'm very worried about this game. Only one loss in the last 14 league games is a scary run and it shows no sign of abating, and with their squad being bolstered further by players returning from injury they will be looking to go into the new year with another three points under their belt.

Prior Form; (most recent at top)

Swansea City 1 -1 QPR Premier League
Everton 1 - 0 Swansea City Premier League
Newcastle Utd 0 - 0 Swansea City Premier League
Swansea City 2 -0 Fulham Premier League
Blackburn Rovers 4 - 2 Swansea City Premier League

Norwich 0 - 2 Tottenham Premier League
Tottenham 1 - 1 Chelsea Premier League
Tottenham 1 - 0 Sunderland Premier League
Stoke 2 - 1 Tottenham Premier League
Tottenham 3 - 0 Bolton Premier League

Team News

Swansea are again sweating on the fitness of Neil Taylor, and it's testament to the improvement made by the Wales left back that it seems imperative to get him back to fitness given our struggles at full back. Rangel picked up a knock against QPR leaving Taylor and Fede Bessone possibly the only fit specialist full-backs at the club ahead of the game. Nathan Dyer is probably at full fitness and will be eager to start, but the absence of Steven Caulker (due to him not being available to play against his parent club) is a massive issue given the Swans defensive frailties.

Tottenham could be without Ledley King, Aaron Lennon and Jermaine Defoe for the clash at the Liberty Stadium, although Defoe stands a good chance of figuring. Jermaine Jenas is out for the season, but Tom Huddlestone and Michael Dawson could both soon return to action after recovering from (respectively) foot and achilles injuries.

Trivia; - "Courtesy" of Opta

Completely guessed lineups;

Swansea

Vorm

Richards
Taylor
Williams
Monk

Britton
Gower
Augustien

Sinclair
Dyer

Graham

Tottenham Hotspur

Friedel

Walker
Assou-Ekotto
Gallas
Kaboul

Van der Vaart
Bale
Parker
Sandro

Modric

Adebayor

Key Battles;

Gareth Bale vs Whoever we've got playing right-back!

With Angel Rangel picking up a knock again against QPR, it remains to be seen who Brendan Rodgers picks there. Rangel, Jazz Richards or even Kemy Augustien could figure in that role, and with only Angel Rangel a recognised full-back this is a real cause for concern, as with Gareth Bale in such outstanding form it's probably the position we're in need of being strongest in. Augustien went as far as to plead not to be played at right back and with the prospect of lining up against Bale looming, who can blame him! Whoever plays there in a re-jigged backline will need to have a blinder if the Swans are to get anything from the game.

Analysis;

First of all, I feel compelled to mention how disappointed I was when I realised Steven Caulker could not play. Considering that if he were available, Swansea would possibly be considering him for a slot at right back, his ineligibility comes at a time when Swansea are already down to the bare bones, and could further compound the problem that is posed by the Spurs forward line. Bale, aided by, possibly, Van der Vaart, Modric, Parker, Adebayor and more will be looking to exploit a backline that could well be outclassed come 3pm. Monk will come back into the fold and hopefully he can help Ashley Williams shackle Adebayor, but the frontman from Togo will likely drift across the backline, so whoever plays at full back on either side from the Swans will need to make sure they watch the big man carefully as he has the class to punish any defence.

It would be easy to concentrate on the threat posed by the imperious Gareth Bale, but for Swansea to stand any chance at all in this game they will have to control the midfield for at least portions of this game. Leon Britton should surely start, but any combination of Gower/Augustien/Allen could be used, and they will need to be absolutely on top of their game if the Swans want to get anything from this game. The Swans' midfield has been praised at times this season, but recent showings have shown cause for concern as while it's all well and good retaining possession it's no good if you're not scoring enough goals to win the game.

Spurs link-up play in midfield has been very, very good so far this season, and Scotty Parker has been rightly lauded for his performances in midfield. Combined with the increasingly impressive Sandro they form a formidable, combative midfield duo capable of playing as much as they are battling for the ball, so the Swans will need to be on best form to control the centre of the park.

Out wide Dyer and Sinclair would normally be looking to utilise their pace to outstrip their opponents, but with Walker and Assou-Ekotto in their paths they are likely to find themselves evenly matched in the pace department. For Spurs, Bale is likely to enjoy his afternoon, as the Swans have problems at right-back. Angel Rangel had an injury, came back briefly but seems to have picked up an injury to the same ankle against QPR, while Jazz Richards, who had been deputising at right back in the absence of Rangel, had switched over to left-back to cover for the injured Neil Taylor. The availability of Taylor and Rangel is of utmost importance for the Swans as without both the Swans look threadbare at the back and the possibility of the home defence being carved open is definitely present.

Realistically, this may be a game where the Swans are found lacking in a few areas. Spurs are on an impressive run which shows no sign of stopping, and I fear the areas where we're weakest Spurs are best equipped to punish us, and for this reason I'm not hopeful of a positive result. If I was offered a 0-0 right now, I'd bite your hand off but I fear even hoping for that may be fruitless despite the heroics of Michel Vorm thus far this season.

I'm glad I stopped doing predictions on these threads, I'll say...

Iechyd Da.

Scott

 

Very good analysis. Very easy to read and interesting too.

Thank you for your compliments about our team - as you say, I think the key factor will be how you handle Bale. Given how well he played more centrally against Norwich, your centre-backs will need to have a hell of a game too.

Here's to a fair, exciting game between two sides who play the beautiful game as it should be.

 

Great thread again Scotty.

Fingers crossed Rangel and Taylor are back because we need as many first team defenders available for this match as possible. I think this will be the best team, in the best form, anyone will have seen for many years in Swansea and it could well be a long afternoon at the Liberty.

 

all swans fans need to pray to god for this one, because sadly i don't think our team has got a chance of pulling off a draw against spurs, we're not playing that well, not scoring that many and spurs have quality all over the park, i was talking to a spurs fan in work earlier, saying i was hoping for a draw and he thought we had no chance and being realistic i had to agree with him.

 

hope you lose to us but stay up, as your playing football as it should be played,plus my Mum's from the valley's and a lot of my Childhood was spent in Wales.

 

Good stuff, I just hope our players don't read your post, it might lead them to believe they just have to turn up.

I suspect Swansea will raise their game and make it very difficult. Every game in the PL is tough and I don't anticipate this one to be any different.

Here's to a good game of football

 

It's true that every game has the potential to be a banana skin, but the more I think about the match the more worried I get!

I did, however, have a dream last night that the Swans won 1-0...

 

more injuries i more to think 0-3, heart needs to be shown

 

Cracking thread again Scott, good work butty.

The only thing I`m getting about this game are nightmares. I just hope we get to keep the score reasonable, cos Spurs are playing an elegant style of game lately, and deadly with it.

Can only see one result here, anything better than a two goal loss could be seen as a bit of a result. Yes that`s negative, but the way we`ve been playing lately does`nt hold out a lot of hope for us.
I`m praying that most of the Spurs team get a stomach bug or something before the game, that may help us a bit. .........

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Hope Jazz can Bale us out cause Rangel's body language coming off the pitch didn't look like he'd be back for awhile . Even if Rangel was semi - healthy , I think I'd use Richards . He seems to be afraid of no one with his new found confidence from all the playing time . If Jazz starts this game , he'll have started the same amount of games in the Premier this season , as he started all last season in the Championship .

 

What a well written thread.

Looking forward to this.
Should be another game where both sides try to attack as much as possible and play some decent football.

What have the Swansea fans on here made of Caulker, so far?
He's very well spoken of by his previous loan clubs and we've got high hopes for him.

 

Like PNP said, top, top thread. Puts all other match threads I've seen so far to shame. This should the benchmark going forward and maybe Scottswan should consider a career in punditry. I remember the last time the Swans were in the top tier and had Bob Latchford up front. Happy days.

 

PNP, Caulker is a tremendous prospect and has done really well for us. Had he been playing in this game we should still lose but perhaps by not so many. With experience I think he will become a great player for you in the years to come.

This game has come at a bad, bad time for us. We have a few injury problems and too many players who have lost form at the same time. I see nothing but a comfortable win for Spurs. Our only chance is to have all the luck; for half the Spurs team to have an off day and a benevolent referee (unlike the incompetent who missed a blatant penalty right under his nose, which likely cost us two invaluable points against QPR).

Good luck for the rest of the season after this game and I hope you give the two Manc clubs a run for their money. Oh, and a safe journey to all you supporters making the trip.

 

Thanks for your kind words, and others too. A career in punditry is something I could only dream of at present, but I am currently investigating ways to get into sports journalism. I already own two sheepskin coats! I could be the next Motty...

 

Nice work and looking forward to the game.The way Swansea play is how Spurs like teams to play,in other words they play football.Should be a good game but i'm hoping Spurs have to much class.Here's Cauker's take on the match:

On-loan defender Steven Caulker wants Swansea to stop Tottenham’s title drive on Saturday.

The Spurs centre-back (above), who turns 20 today, is ineligible to play for the Swans against his parent club.

Since he returned from a knee injury earlier this month, Brendan Rodgers’ side have conceded only two goals in four games. And the England Under-21 international, who admits split loyalties, insists the Welsh club can still beat

Harry Redknapp’s red-hot side without him.

“My aim is to keep Swansea in the Premier League but obviously I have been at Spurs for the last four or five years, so it’s a difficult one,” Caulker said.

“But I’m hoping for three points for Swansea. Spurs are a fantastic team with great depth in their squad and there is no reason why they can’t go on and push for the title.

“It’s a tough one for me because, if they do go on and win the title, I’m sure they will be looking to bring in new players.

“It’s a catch-22 but I wish the boys all the best and hope they do as well as possible.”

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/new...-Swansea-to-beat-Tottenham-article846869.html

 

Good read

How's Caulker been doing for you guys? Us Spurs fans are expecting big things from him.

 

hes not very good id let us have him for £100k if i were you !! honest.

 

Caulker is looking very, very good and it's sometimes hard to remember how young he is. At 19, looking this good, I'll be very surprised if he doesn't go on to pick up a fair few caps for England.

As a judge as to how much of a pain in the backside Caulker's ineligibility is. I got halfway through writing this preview before remembering he was unavailable, and considering writing (and thinking about) the upcoming game was already depressing and worrying, once I didn't have him to put in the Swansea lineup my mood darkened somewhat. Garry Monk will come in, and while he's as good in his head as any defender he has a real lack of pace. That, combined with the possibility of any number of full-back combinations (it's very unlikely Rangel and Taylor, our first choices will be available) is a real, real cause for concern.

Bale running at Monk? Terrifying.

 

Fixed that for you.
The run he made for the second goal against Norwich was just unnatural, frankly.

 

Bale running at Monk? god help us !!