http://www.eplindex.com/14525/swansea-city-outshine-liverpool-final-day-win.html? I highlighted a certain bit especially for Dai. Tap in, my arse.
Outstanding, Scott. "if the big boys do start calling at Swansea with Allen in their sights, then chairman Huw Jenkins can point at Henderson and ask prospective bidders to begin their negotiations at £25 million. At least."
But if we sold Allen then who would replace him. Who is the player from inside to step up or who is the player from outside that becomes the target to be acquired. I don't think there are any. And in that void 25 million is meaningless because he is for all practical purposes irreplaceable and therefore priceless. In this game I think a good rule is : if you cant replace them you don't move them. Easier said than done, but if you are focused on team integrity and team advancement you have to find a way to keep the "irreplaceables" otherwise you take two steps forward and three back. The lesson learned from Jason Scotland is that cash in hand does not equate to boots on the field.
Although I agree Allen must be worth around that suggested mark I feel the 'big' teams won't want to take such a risk on a relatively inexperienced player. That along with the fact he has recently signed a new contract makes me confident in securing his services for at least another year
I think brittons failing at sheff utd also sets a warning to teams who think they can buy our players and think they will reproduce the same game in a different team with a different formation and philosophy. The beauty of our team is the sum of it's parts far out weigh the combined total of each individual
" The beauty of our team is the sum of it's parts far outweigh the combined total of each player " .. Herein lies the the truth IMO , I've said on more than one occasion that there is not a single first team player that could join any other team & have a better season .... & that's IF he actually gets to play a regular role . Most players seem to know that & hang on , for dear life , to there spot with the Swans . A happy player is a better player !
What an excellent article. The stats are incredible - I think we're all guilty sometimes of forgetting just how good our players are. Leon = most accurate passer IN EUROPEAN FOOTBALL!!! Vorm = 3rd best clean-sheet record in the PL Swansea City = 2nd most accurate passing team in the PL (sandwiched between the Manchester teams - and I mean City and United, not Bolton and Wigwam ) It's a great time to follow the Swans. I've followed them since 1977 and have loved them always (well, maybe there was that period when Alan Cork was "manager" when it was hard to love them quite so much). But these are the best of times, and long may it continue.
Scott great article dude, I was dissapointed though at MOD on Sunday night, yes I know it was mailnly about the winning and relegation fom the Prem, however, any honest neutral , I feel, would have loved to see our team and the way they handled Liverpool. I remember a ginger t**t on talksport once saying, when Man U were beaten by a lower league side , ( something like what kerdaft are in ) in a cup competition, that the team hadn't beaten the 'real' Man U, due to the team selection. I don't care about that, as the SWANS were superb, I don't care who wasn't playing, cos if you haven't got the ball, you can't play! and I feel the nuetral would have loved to see that display.
The next player to hopfully come through is Lee Lucas who i see as very similar to Joe, problem is that Joe has progressed his game in the the leagues from Wrexham to L1,CCC and Prem league.
Silly logic. I guess Danny Graham is worth £70m because he's done better than Torres this season. "Carroll, Henderson and Downing have struggled to justify anything remotely near to their £71 million combined price tags. Yesterday, the three of them came up directly against Swansea’s Ashley Williams, Joe Allen and Neil Taylor, who represent a combined investment of £550,000 for the club, a saving of £70,450,000 on their Liverpool counterparts." Another terrible point. I remember when people were calling Carroll the next Alan Shearer in the media when he was at Newcastle and hailing him as England's saviour and new number 9. Same with Downing, most journalists were applauding the signing of Downing in the summer and saying him and Carroll would combine brilliantly.
The point is though that compared to the major players in this league, the Swans have spend pennies in comparison ! The bigger teams would spend £3.5m on a player just as a gamble on whether he can actually kick the ball 5 years down the line! The Swans on the other hand spend that in the hope that the player will succeed, Graham who you pointed out was our record signing, he has scored more goals than Carroll who cost 10 times as much, is he a better player? Damn right he is as as Carroll has had a catastrophic season, but Graham has shone. And he has scored 12 goals as a loan striker up front playing a 4-5-1 , do you think Carroll be able to do that? More to the point do you Suarez be able to do it?
The logic is not that Graham or Allen are now worth more than what Liverpool paid for their counterparts. The point is that Liverpool, in hindsight, would have actually been better off paying £35million for Graham and £20million for Joe Allen, as this season, these players have outshone Carroll and Henderson. This would still have been a gross overspend but at this current moment in time, it can't be argued who have been the more successful players this season and who, therefore, should technically be worth more.
In the 08 - 09 season , our mid midfielders went down like flies & Martinez threw " Little Joe " into the deep end . He quickly went from a dog paddle to a smooth swimmer in 4 seasons and a player that most Premier League teams would have on there team , he reads the pitch so well these days .
