12 games in for a manager who's had 17 games and a full summer? I'd cut some slack the new players but the management has had a decent run in. Let's see where we are after Newcastle .. I think that will be 6 in and 4 winnable. I don't believe we will be but if we are struggling after 12 games any change will take time and we out be way off the pace. Influential players, management and board now have what they want so no excuses. ps Still need a dm, lb & rb.
SWEP JUST IN! GARRY Monk reckons he is about to land a "very good footballer" after Swansea City agreed a fee for Federico Fernandez. Swansea hope the Argentinian international will undergo a medical before the weekend - but he will not play any part at Manchester United on Saturday even if a deal is finalised in time. It is thought Swansea will pay somewhere between £7 million and £8 million for Fernandez, who the Liberty club have been monitoring for some time. The 6ft 3in 25-year-old will arrive as a direct replacement for Chico Flores, whose £4 million switch to Lekhwiya was finally confirmed by Swansea today. "We have had chats with Federico Fernandez," Monk said. "The fee has been agreed between the clubs. We are just sorting out the personal terms and hopefully he will come over for a medical before the end of the week. "Hopefully he will be a very good player for us. He brings that pedigree - he has been playing for Napoli and Argentina. "His age is very good for us. He is a good size and he is a very good footballer. I think having spoken to him and his agent he will be a quality addition to our squad." Monk has again expressed his disappointment over Flores's exit - and also said he would have been happy had Pablo Hernandez, whose move to Al Arabi has finally been confirmed, and Michu stayed at Swansea. "Pablo wanted a three or four-year contract and with the finances involved, we couldn't offer him that," Monk explained. "I think Pablo would have been happy to stay if the contract had been offered, but he was in the last year of his deal and decided that he would move because of the security for his family. "When a player is in that situation, I know from experience that you are betting off letting him go. "Like Pablo, Michu and Chico both came to (to talk about leaving). I got on well with all of them but I only want players who want to be here." Monk, who also confirmed that Jose Canas has been told he has no future at the Liberty, remains on the trail of new recruits despite the imminent arrival of Fernandez. "We still need two or three more bodies to strengthen the squad in terms of depth and added quality," he added. "Hopefully we can get those bodies in before the window closes. "We want quality players who can challenge people for places. We are short of numbers in certain areas and it would be nice to get some new faces in." Monk reiterated that Swansea have turned their attention away from Jonathan de Guzman. Queens Park Rangers boss Harry Redknapp has confirmed he is keen on the Dutchman, who has spent the last two years on loan in Wales.
Security of his family? Has he been spunking £10k a week (or whatever) up the wall or does his missus have a massive penchant for shoes and handbags? Sheesh!!
they will earn a fortune in Al Arabi but will be forgotten men with no Exposure to speak of in the football world. Money can make you do funny things and i hope it works out for them playing football with no meaning in front of one man and his dog to what they are use too in Europe...
"they will earn a fortune ... but will be forgotten men with no exposure to speak of". And how do you know this? Clearly,if they do earn a fortune, they won't need to worry about the likes of you having forgotten them. In fact,that would be a huge bonus.
Found this site, anyone else come across it? Seems a bit cock-eyed if I honest but I'd not come across a site that offered comparison. It does suggests Fernandez is on par with Ash but heads the ball better so should be good. http://www.futhead.com/14/players/14592/federico-fernandez/compare/14-3027/14-4485/
No disrespect to Ash but I'd like to think we're looking to improve on him, but as long as he can play his own game without the reliance of Ash then that has to be an improvement for the defence and Ash himself.
They are footballers they always need exposure ....money is not everything and show they cant earn the same in europe. chico will be bored rotten after a few weeks when he realizes that he will be playing park football with the same crowd.The atmosphere mus be electric..
Agree, Ash could do with focusing on his own game. I think at times last season he was worrying too much about other members of the back four and that hampered his concentration during games. I'm really excited about this transfer, I think he's a decent upgrade on Chico, so as long as we sort out the full-backs we could have a great team after all.
the problem ash has is he is captain and has to marshal the players as well as staying focust on his own game and that is not easy. he is no Martinez,monk or cussack as captain but he does an adequate job and is learning all the time...
So now you are privy to Chico's innermost thoughts? How do you know what the "atmosphere is/will be like? Been out there scouting for Garry?
Although fifa games do use official stats to rate players, the statistics are based on his performance in season 2012/13 and the last season was his best according to reports. Plus he's still quite young for a CB (25)
Last season [video=youtube_share;pVZ_VkMGnyU]http://youtu.be/pVZ_VkMGnyU[/video] And one of the away games to look forward to is even more mental with fanaticism [video=youtube_share;56R82ui1dig]http://youtu.be/56R82ui1dig[/video]
Deal done 'Garry Monk confirms Federico Fernandez deal' http://www.sportsmole.co.uk/football/swansea-city/transfer-talk/news/monk-confirms-fernandez-deal_171130.html or is it? '"We've had good chats with Federico, the fee has been agreed and we're just agreeing personal terms," he told reporters. "Hopefully he'll be coming over this week for a medical. It won't be done in time for Saturday." Reporting headlines are pathetic.
