***Swansea Vs Liverpool Match Thread***

Hope we smash 'em but it could be a tough night.

 

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BR: Quick, go for it. Grab a handful of dat ass!
VM: Hey man, I was all up for some booty when you said Kelly's ass but...

 

"I used to do this to the sheep in Wales. Now look and learn"

 

Jonjo Shelvey says he has no regrets and nothing to prove as he prepares to face Liverpool for the first time since leaving the club for Swansea.

The England midfielder, 21, joined the Swans for £5m in July.

Shelvey says he was given the chance to stay and fight for a first-team place by Anfield boss Brendan Rodgers, but wanted regular football.

"I don't regret leaving because I'd probably be on the bench [at Liverpool]," he said.

"It was a massive decision, but I feel that I've made the right choice in coming away."

Liverpool face Swansea at the Liberty Stadium on Monday, and Shelvey admits it will be strange playing against former team-mate Steven Gerrard.

The former Charlton midfielder said: "He's the best player I've ever played with, along with [Liverpool striker Luis] Suarez.

"He's the most complete midfield player England's seen, in my lifetime anyway, and he's been first class with me.

"It will be difficult playing against him - I'm not going to lie, I can't hide that.

"But you will only know how good you are when you go up against someone like that so I'm looking forward to it, but it will be a challenge."

Liverpool go into the game as the only team in the Premier League with a 100% record and third in the table behind Arsenal and Tottenham, who have both played a game more.

Swansea have taken only three points from their opening three games, after losing to Manchester United and Tottenham.

But Shelvey, limited to 17 league starts in three years at Liverpool, has been in the starting XI in all three.

He said: "I wasn't pushed out. Brendan said that I could stay at Liverpool and fight for my place and people say I should have done that.

"But it's not in my character to sit around and wait for an opportunity, I want to play now and make a name for myself and get that consistency that young players need.

"I don't think I've got a point to prove to Brendan Rogers, I'm not going to go out there and try these Hollywood passes.

"I'm just going to go out there and just play my normal game and get myself settled into the game and not let the occasion get to me.

"This game's not about me anyway. It's about Swansea versus Liverpool - and Swansea getting three points."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24100921

 

Best of luck, Jojojojo - but I hope you get smashed tomorrow first

 

Anyone expected him to do a two footed lunge on our Stevie...?

 

Let's hope the ref isn't looking then

He should be commended though for leaving Liverpool in search of first team football. The completely opposite attitude to Scott Sinclair who left us to join Man City and spend his season on his arse

 

Is he still at City? Can't believe after not playing last year, he didn't look to get a move somewhere this summer!

Don't mind Shelvey, think he'll be a decent player but he was given a chance and played half decent but never put his Europa league performances into the Premiership. Only thing that sticks out in that interview is him saying he could have stayed to fight for his place but he didn't want to... I'm sure it's probably just the way it's worded but sounds from that like he didn't want to try and earn his place in the squad

 

Season long loan at West Brom mate.

 

In which case I stand corrected lol

 

When players stay at a club that they're comfortable at they get accused of lacking in ambition. So bit harsh on Sinclair. Plus who would turn down a chance to play at Man City to stay at Swansea City. And its not like a manager signs a player by telling him "Yeah, I'm not going to play you at all and you'll be on the bench or not in the squad throughout the season". The managers are just as culpable because they probably lure the players by pretending they'll be a big part of things.

 

I just read it that he knew he'd have an uphill struggle to get a regular place with us and he didn't want to hang around on the bench when he could get more games elsewhere.
I'd feel the same way in his position. Good luck to him, I hope he does well (not tomorrow though, obviously).

 

Tom Ince did the same thing (albeit, not after getting as many first team appearance) and its worked out for him. Good luck to Shelvey, I hope it works out for him. He wasn't going anywhere with us and he needed to move on IMO.

 

Then players are dumb.

He must be the only person alive (except for maybe his mother) who genuinely thought that he'd have a chance starting ahead of the likes of Nasri, Silva, Aguero, Toure and the rest...
Just like SWP went off to Chavski and City. He's either stupid, or hunting a paycheck. If he wanted to play and develop, he'd never have gone there.

 

SWP's alternative may have been us. He was always linked before he moved to Chelsea.

 

Fair play to Scott, he was following his knob as well. He was going out with whatserface off Coronation St/Im a Celebrity and she apparently wanted to move back up Norf. Man City signed him without the seal of approval of Mancini - hence Mancini didn't play him - and didn't even talk to him!

 

Kelly finally cut that ****ing barnet!

 

Proper buzzin for the game! Think it's quite funny how everyone is trying to predict the line up - there so many variations and options we can play!

I would still put either Toure or Sakho in defence (if fit) - Bony and Michu are monsters in the air and I don't really have a lot of confidence in Agger and Skrtel dealing with it.

 

Gerrard will captain Liverpool for the 400th time in all competitions. His first game wearing the armband came in November 2002, when Southampton were beaten at Anfield in a League Cup tie.

The last meeting at the Liberty Stadium saw the sides play out a goalless draw. It was the first between the teams in Swansea.

Liverpool have only won twice in the league at Swansea - those victories coming in April 1958 (2-0) and September 1982 (3-0).

The only league hat-trick scored by a Liverpool player against Swansea came in November 1961 when Roger Hunt hit three in a 5-0 league win at Anfield. That came in their biggest ever league victory over the Swans.

No Swansea player has ever scored a hat-trick against Liverpool.

Brendan Rodgers was in charge of Swansea 84 times in the league, winning 36 of them - and 96 times in all competitions with 43 wins.

Joe Allen played 127 league games for Swansea, scoring seven times.

Daniel Sturridge has scored 11 goals in his last nine games in league and cup and has found the net nine times in his last eight league appearances.


He could become the first Liverpool player to score in the first four games of a league campaign since John Aldridge hit the net in each of the first eight fixtures in 1987.

Only two other men (four in total) have achieved the feat - Sam Raybould in 1900 and Kenny Dalglish in 1978.

Victor Moses scored on this ground for Crystal Palace in a 3-1 win in the Championship in March 2009, while his last Barclays Premier League goal came at Swansea last season in Chelsea's 1-1 draw.

The Reds have kept clean sheets in eight of their last 10 league games - conceding just three goals in that time.

Liverpool last kept clean sheets in their first four league games of a season in 2005-06 for the only time in their history.

Pepe Reina (in 2005) is the only goalkeeper in Reds history to keep clean sheets in the opening four league games of his Anfield career. Simon Mignolet will hope to become the second.

The last time the Reds won the first four games of a league season was in 1990-91, before the days of the Premier League. That is one of three occasions they have achieved the feat since returning to the top flight in 1962 - the other campaigns being 1969-70 and 1978-79.

If the Reds win today they will record their 400th victory in the Premier League.

A victory tonight will see Liverpool record a sixth successive league win for the first time since the end of the 2005-06 season, when they won nine in succession.

They could win for a seventh time in a row in league and cup, a feat they last achieved in March 2008.

Since winning the League Cup back in February, Swansea have won three of their last 14 league games.

They have won six of the last 20 home games in the Premier League.

The Swans have scored in two of the last nine meetings with Liverpool in league and cup.