The Rise and Rise of Swansea City

On November 10th 2007, I stood on the terraces of New Lodge, home of Billericay Town FC, a Conference League side from Essex as they played what, for them, was a historic First Round FA Cup tie against Swansea City, a side managed by current Wigan manager Roberto Martinez, and with club stalwarts Leon Britton, Angel Rangel and club captain Gary Monk all in the starting line-up; players who continue to represent the Welshmen. And Swansea struggled that day, narrowly victorious by two goals to one after falling behind and struggling to deal with the intense atmosphere of the minnow ground. Back then they were a side plying their trade in the third tier of English football. How far they have risen is spectacular and remarkable.

Swansea have taken English football, and now the Premier League, by storm, playing with a style and swagger that has been likened to the great Barcelona; a footballing philosophy passed through from the Martinez era to Brendan Rodgers and now Michael Laudrup, with each generation building on the previous one, strengthening the side and adding to its dimensions. The Swans play football the right way, and have been a breath of fresh air to the League in the last two seasons, showing that to survive, and be successful in the highest division, there is no need to simply 'park the bus', but instead get the ball down and play with confidence and assurance.

And that is exactly what they did yesterday, as in their Centenary year, they were finally able to celebrate winning their first major trophy. Against a lowly League Two side in Bradford City, some weaker willed sides may become complacent, and assume that their higher status would see them over the line, but Swansea, in respecting their opponents and their achievement in reaching the final, treated it like any other game, and simply went out and smothered their opposition in the style that they have demolished several Premier League teams. The team from Wales suffocated and drained the life out of the Yorkshire men with comfort and ease, ripping them apart at free will with the confidence of a side that keeps growing and growing.

Laudrup has clearly taken the club on to another level, largely due to his success in the transfer market, signing players in bargain deals and moulding them in to his attractive style of play. The signing of the season Michu, has been a revelation, blossoming into an outstanding centre forward capable of scoring all sorts of goals, whilst the likes of Jonathan de Guzman and Pablo Hernandez have brought an extra injection of flair. Noticeably, also this season, is a new found steel in the side, as they are able to contain as well as dominate sides with their ability to retain possession for large percentages of the game.

A recent poll undertaken by Real Madrid fans placed Laudrup as the outstanding 74% favourite to be their next manager when Jose Mourinho inevitably leaves for pastures new; an astonishing statistic in favour of a manager of such a supposedly small club in Wales. Surely it would be an irresistible lure for the Dane, who represented Los Blancos himself as a player in his illustrious career.

But though the Swans have continued to progress after losing both Martinez and Rodgers to bigger clubs, it is hard to imagine who could come in and take Swansea even further or whether they could recover from losing Laudrup, or their talisman Michu. They have lit up the Premier League, and we can only hope that the Swans keep on flying, and never return to those dark days of away games at Billericay Town.

Bayern Munich: One Step Further?

So much has already been said about Bayern Munich this week, so much so that there perhaps aren't enough superlatives to illustrate the considerable comfort and ease with which they completely flattened Arsenal and all but sealed their passage into the quarter finals of the Champions League.

From beginning to end the game played out almost like a training exercise, with the Germans' control of the game, with measured passing, forcing Arsenal to merely chase shadows like puppets on pieces of string. Bayern had Arsenal in the palm of their hand, forcing Arsenal into a state of being stunned before the game had even properly begun, with a terrific volley from Toni Kroos a preface to the total domination that was to unfold.

Bar an uneasy fifteen minutes in the second half, where, by Bayern's impeccable standards, they conceded an incredibly sloppy goal; presenting a gift at the back post for former striker Lukas Podolski to pounce on and give the home side an advantage, there were very few moments of uncertainty. The Germans played the perfect game, never looking threatened and almost appearing to be able to attack and carve out chances at free will.

Two finals in the last three years does not lie, but it is clear to see that the Bundesliga leaders are an even stronger force to be reckoned with than the team that fell to Chelsea on penalties in last season's final. The summer additions of Dante, a bustling Brazilian defender, Javi Martinez, a spanish midfield pass-master and Mario Mandzukic up front have given them extra qualities, and ones that have even lead to two of last season's leading figures Arjen Robben and Mario Gomez being left on the sidelines. Bayern are a side oozing with quality throughout their squad.

Their current crop of players draws several comparisons to the side that made the final of 1999, only to lose in those famous last few minutes to Manchester United, and a possible repeat of that thrilling contest is undoubtedly on the cards. In Sebastian Schweinsteiger and Philip Lahm they have the kind of world class international players that they also had back then in Lothar Matthaus and Mario Basler, scorer of the opening goal in that Nou Camp final. Equally, they have a goalkeeper at the very top of his game and in the upper echelons of world football, just as they did back then in the monstrous figure of Oliver Kahn. However, they will perhaps feel that they are even stronger now, armed with a touch more flair and even more steel than they had back then.

The defeat to Chelsea in the final last year came in their own ground, The Allianz Arena, and there is no doubt about how much that will have hurt them. But as we all know, there is no animal more dangerous than a wounded animal, and Bayern will be both hungry and thirsty to be there again at Wembley in May.
And with the way that they are playing with such style and swagger, a confidence gained by a habit of continuously winning, few teams look like they could challenge them at this moment in time.

With Pep Guardiola's imminent arrival at the helm next season, it is hard to imagine how they could get much stronger, as I feel it is almost guaranteed that whoever beats Bayern Munich in this Champions League season will go on to lift the trophy. But football is a funny game, and every season throws out shock results, so we will have to wait and watch the drama unfold.

Real Madrid v Manchester United: This is the One

It’s that time in the football calendar where the big games come thick and fast, as the season prepares to draw to its dramatic climax. And such games do not come much bigger than Real Madrid v Manchester United; two teams that were built for such gargantuan encounters, each both steeped in a rich history, with silverware central to their stature as European giants.

Manchester United fans have had to wait a little while for such a mammoth contest, perhaps not since their Wembley defeat in the Champions League final of 2011, after being outclassed by a far superior Barcelona side. Now the Reds have a chance to pit their wits against another dominant force of Spanish football; a chance to showcase their abilities on a larger scale.

In truth, United are running away with the Premier League title, and after their capitulation at the hands of neighbours City last season, that complacency has surely been erased from the squad. The recent defeat of Everton at Old Trafford, which took United a significant 12 points ahead in the race for the domestic crown, summed up this resilience and battling spirit to go further than last season and finish the job in style.

Madrid, on the other hand, are coming from a far different league situation, currently trailing leaders Barcelona by a surely unassailable 16 points, with Europe clearly their new focus. Madrid are undoubtedly the favourites, however, in this last 16 contest, purely due to their attacking prowess, with former United man Cristiano Ronaldo the focal point in a devastating attacking line up. Yet United would be foolish to merely look to stop the Portuguese number 7, because in Ozil, Di Maria, Benzema and Higuain, Los Blancos are armed with a scintillating frontline, and one that is capable of ripping apart any side in Europe.

Nevertheless, like United, Madrid have struggled defensively, shipping many goals as well as scoring them. The Reds have to take advantage of this, because in Rooney and van Persie they also have a formidable attack, definitely capable of sneaking a goal at the Bernabeu and providing an essential away goal that could shape the tie. A lot of the talk has been about which side Sir Alex Ferguson will select, and a lot of hints will have been provided by the players that featured in the win over Everton.

Many have said that Sir Alex will adopt a defensive approach, adopting a five man midfield and sit behind the ball in order to nullify the home side in order to take something back to Old Trafford for the second leg. That is all well and good, but I feel that United have to come out and play a bit more than that conservative approach suggests. United should simply play to their strengths, with Rooney off of Van Persie and with wide players supporting on the flanks; a direct approach, yet still maintaining their composure on the ball.

That is why Michael Carrick is essential to United’s evening on Wednesday, as his ability to both screen the defence, whilst also linking together attacks with comfort and ease have made him a cornerstone of the United team this season; a season that has been his best in a red shirt. Carrick, in the past, has often gone missing in the big games, but tomorrow night he needs to take his superb league form on to the next level, against some of the best midfielders in the business.

I am surprised that both Phil Jones and Ryan Giggs played such big roles at the weekend, as I would have selected both alongside Carrick in midfield, but Sir Alex always has a plan, and who would question the man? He knows Mourinho inside out, and vice versa, so it makes for an extremely appealing clash. Wednesday night will be like a boxing match, with a lot of early sparring as each team sizes the other up and chooses the right moment to make their first move. United need to play a part just as much as Madrid, and there is a danger that United will again, like that night at Wembley, simply let the occasion pass them by. The big players, like Rooney and van Persie need to match the Spaniard’s flair, whilst the team as a whole needs to have the game of their lives. Daunting a task as it may seem, a team like Manchester United should always believe, because believing is something born into the football club and the men in red should never be written off.

Cristiano Ronaldo playing against the team that gave him his entrance on the world stage, over two legs of enthralling football and Mourinho v Ferguson, is always going to be enticing for any football fan, but for United fans, as The Stone Roses song goes, ‘this is the one we’ve been waiting for’. This really is the one.

Good Riddance

And so it ends, the Mario Balotelli circus at Manchester City has finally reached a conclusion, with the Italian, after constant speculation, leaving for a return to Milan, this time with his former side Inter's arch rivals AC. Speculation about a return to Italy has continued throughout his hugely controversial spell, yet talk of his future has heightened in the last few weeks, and finally it would seem there has been a resolution, despite City's refusal to comment on a deal that Milan seem to be confident of completing.

And this move certainly draws the curtain on a tremendous soap opera; the story of a player seemingly so full of talent and potential, yet void of any maturity or professionalism, a factor that has outshone any positive moments in a sky blue shirt. For every 'why always me' moment after scoring in an emphatic 6-1 at Old Trafford, there was a moment of red-mist, with red cards aplenty and a poor disciplinary record overall. Yet every time, his manager Roberto Mancini remained behind his player, showing the faith that lead to City rescuing him from his ill-fated relationship with former Inter manager Jose Mourinho in a £20m move in August 2010.

Yet despite having all the support and understanding a manager could ever give, Balotelli has continually thrown it back in the face of his father figure Mancini, with the pair fighting in training only a few weeks ago, perhaps the final nail in the coffin of his career at Eastlands. After a fantastic set of performances in the colours of Italy at Euro 2012, a ground-breaking season was sure to follow, with City looking to build on their first Premiership title. The truth however, is that 'Super Mario' has barely figured, lurking in the shadows of his fellow forwards Carlos Tevez, Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko.

City haven't been devastating this season; they have yet to show the kind of scintillating form of last season, and Balotelli, who has had to appear fleetingly in the first team, has not shown the attitude or aptitude to galvanise the side and create moments of magic in order to turn things around. His attitude, quite frankly, has been diabolical both on and off the field, and instead of making goalscoring headlines, he has found both the front and back pages for all the wrong reasons with incident after incident that have been an embarrassment to both himself and his club.

Sadly, for City fans, they will never see the supposed magic that the sulky Italian possesses, yet in the long run they will be better off without him. He is a divisive character; aloof and with his own agenda, attributes that a team can sooner do without. As long as City have such characters their form will suffer, and this lack of togetherness has been the difference between themselves and their nemeses Manchester United.

Ability is nothing without a good attitude in any walk of life, and despite brief glimpses and moments that have left City fans adoring the Italian, talk of him as a 'maverick' or a modern day Cantona are so wide of the mark it's not true, simply because when the chips are down Balotelli disappears, and he is too reliant on players around him, never having the ability or the mindfulness to try and turn a game on its head.

Some see him as entertaining, I instead consider him to be a joke of a player, a constant travelling circus constantly courting controversy and personal accolades. How he can compare himself with Messi and Ronaldo is beyond me, because the pair are light-years ahead of him, both in terms of ability and their attitudes.

He came, he won the league and now he will leaving our television screens, hopefully for good because he is a waste of time and space and it beggers belief why Mancini has shown so much faith in a player who has continually let both himself and his team down.