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Press cuttings |
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Friday, September 27, 2002 Dudfield keen to extend stay |
| Hull Daily Mail
Hull CITY'S record buy Lawrie Dudfield today blasted the latest speculation about his future at the club and insisted: "There's no way I want to leave!" |
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Friday, September 27, 2002 Flynn convinced Molby good for Hull |
| Western Mail BRIAN FLYNN takes his Third Division strugglers to Hull City tomorrow convinced former Swansea manager Jan Molby will reverse the Yorkshire club's poor start to the season, writes Ian Hunt. Molby, who was in charge at the Vetch for 18 months from February 1996, was appointed manager at Booth-ferry Park towards the end of last season and Hull were installed as promotion favourites in the summer. Despite spending £230,000 on new players, however, the Tigers have struggled to make an impact and are currently 16th in Division Three after winning only two of their opening 10 games. But Flynn believes it is only a matter of time before Molby, now in his third managerial job after his stint at Kidderminster Harriers, lifts Hull up the table. "Most people in the footballing world have said Hull are favourites to win promotion, so it is a bit surprising that they have struggled so far," said Flynn. "Jan got the job and brought in a number of new players. They have a couple of good strikers in Gary Alexander and Lawrie Dudfield and also some experience at the back. "So I wouldn't be at all surprised if they start putting a bit of a run together and climb up the league. "But, hopefully, it won't happen until after we've played them. Hull is a tough place to get a win, but then every game is going to be tough until we're safe." One week into his new role as director of football, the former Wrexham manager reiterated that survival is Swansea's No 1 priority this season. And he admitted the pressure would ease once the Swans, who played a practice match against Neath in midweek to get the players used to Flynn's preferred 4-3-3 system, lifted themselves off 24th place. "We need that first win," said Flynn. "It doesn't help when you're bottom of the league, but confidence will be lifted once we pull clear. Confidence is not high, but the attitude and spirit of the players has been spot-on." |
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Friday, September 27, 2002 Sharp reminder for Flynn to strengthen Swans' defence |
| Western Mail NEW manager Brian Flynn seems certain to make strengthening Swansea City's defence his top priority after receiving a gloomy fitness bulletin over centre-half Neil Sharp. Having conceded 20 goals in 10 league matches, a prime factor in Swansea's slide to the bottom of the Third Division for the first time in the club's history, plugging defensive leaks was always going to be among Flynn's first tasks. But that objective has taken on even greater importance with the news that Sharp might be a long-term absentee should ankle surgery be required. Sharp, the 24-year-old former Barry Town and Merthyr Tydfil defender, sustained the injury during the 2-2 home draw with Hartlepool United earlier this month. The defender will now be monitored over the next couple of weeks after an MRI scan in Bristol earlier this week revealed extensive ligament damage. Club physio Richard Evans told the club's official website, "There is obvious damage which is causing him instability and that is a major concern. "But before making a decision we will monitor Neil closely over the next couple of weeks in the hope that he will respond to intensive training. "If that fails, there is a possibility that he will be facing surgery. But that decision is some time away yet." The defensive problems that Flynn has inherited from predecessor Nick Cusack were under-lined on Saturday during his first game in charge, a 1-0 home defeat to Torquay United. There were no natural defenders on the bench and Flynn was left to bemoan the lack of pace throughout the team. "Generally we need a bit of pace about the team," said the former Wrexham manager. "I've talked about bringing in loan players and people ask me what positions I'm looking at. "Rather than state a particular position, I think we need pace and that's what we'll be looking at in the near future." But Sharp's injury means that Flynn is now sure to bolster his de-fence at the first opportunity. |
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Friday, September 27, 2002 Flynn unlikely for loan player |
| Evening Post
Brian Flynn looks unlikely to dip into the loan market before Saturday's tricky trip to Hull City. |
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Friday, September 27, 2002 Too late for sobbing |
| Evening Post
Swansea City's players have spoken. |
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Thursday, September 26, 2002 Wood punished |
| Evening Post Jamie Wood has been banned for three matches after his sending-off in Nick Cusack's last game in charge. The Swansea City striker received his marching orders 12 minutes from the end of the 1-0 defeat at Boston United seven days ago. Former Manchester United frontman Wood, 24 last Saturday, must now sit out the home game with Rochdale in 10 days' time, the trip to Oxford and the visit of Southend. Wood, dismissed for violent conduct after appearing to elbow Matt Hocking, became the third Swansea player to see red this season following skipper Kris O'Leary and Steve Watkin. With 24 bookings also meted out to Brian Flynn's new charges, Swansea boast the secondworst disciplinary record in Division Three behind Exeter. "We could have no arguments about the sending-off and Jamie has to take his medecine, " said director of football Flynn. "I have spoken to him about it and he assures me it was out of character, so I have to take his word for that." Wood will be back in contention for Swansea's hiding-to-nothing LDV Vans Trophy first-round tie at Conference club Stevenage, which the two clubs were due to set a date for today. Meanwhile, speculation is growing in East Yorkshire that former Swansea manager Jan Molby could be axed by Hull City if his old club take the points from their meeting at Boothferry Park this weekend. Pre-season title favourites, the Tigers have won just two of their opening 10 games and lie 16th in the table after a goalless draw at Oxford last Saturday. Sections of the national press claim Hull have already lined up Bradford boss Nicky Law as Molby's replacement, but the big Dane has shrugged off the rumours. "The one thing I don't fear is the sack, " he said, "I don't want to sound big-headed, but there is enough pressure these days without worrying about things like that." Molby, a hero at the Vetch, was sacked by Swansea in October 1997. |
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Tuesday, September 24, 2002 Smith back in training |
| Evening Post
Swansea City defender Jason Smith could be back in action within a fortnight after five weeks on the sidelines. |
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Monday, September 23, 2002 SPEED IT UP, SWANS |
| Evening Post
Brian Flynn is chasing a bit of pace to speed up Swansea City's climb off the bottom of the Nationwide League. |
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Monday, September 23, 2002 ROUSING CRY TO SAVE OUR SWANS |
| Evening Post
Save our Swans - that is the rousing cry from city business leaders welcoming Swansea City FC's new boss Brian Flynn, who is hoping to lift the team from the bottom of Division Three. |
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Monday, September 23, 2002 Watkin aims to repay his new boss |
| Western Mail STEVE WATKIN is hoping for a brighter future at Swansea City after being reunited with his former Wrexham manager Brian Flynn and earning a shock recall to the side. The 31-year-old striker dropped down the Vetch Field pecking order when former player-coach Nick Cusack, who was sacked and replaced by Flynn last week, signed four new forwards in the summer. Watkin, a veteran of more than 200 Swansea appearances since signing from Wrexham in September 1997, found himself fighting for a place among the substitutes with Cusack even preferring himself up front in recent matches. But the arrival of Flynn, who worked with Watkin for eight years at the Racecourse, has given the striker fresh hope that he has a future at the Vetch beyond the end of the season. And if Watkin needed a measure of how highly he is regarded by Flynn, it came on Saturday when he was handed his first start since the 3-1 defeat at Bristol Rovers on August 27. "It was a bit of surprise to be in the team but I was delighted," said Wrexham-born Watkin, who played alongside John Williams and James Thomas in the 1-0 defeat to Torquay United. "With six strikers at the club, it has been a bit frustrating being out of the side. Everyone wants to be playing because contracts are up at the end of the season. "Brian coming in has given me more hope because he knows how I play and he knows what I can do. Plus, everyone starts with a clean slate." When Flynn took charge at the Racecourse in 1989 Watkin - always remembered for scoring the goal that knocked Arsenal out of the FA Cup in January 1992 - was an apprentice. He went on to make over 200 league appearances and score 55 goals for the Dragons before his £108,000 switch to Swansea. "Wrexham had offered me a contract, but I felt I needed a change and Swansea came in for me," said Watkin. "Brian was disappointed to see me go, but Wrexham received a good fee for me and I think it was a good bit of business for both clubs. "Working with Brian again, people ask whether it's just like the old days but, to be honest, I can't really remember the old days! "But he hasn't changed a lot. He still likes his players to pass the ball and be comfortable with it. Plus, I'm familiar with the system he likes to play and, hopefully, I can use that to my advantage. "We played 4-3-3 quite a bit at Wrexham and it's a system I like. It works, too, when you have wide players getting crosses in." Though Watkin and Flynn know each other inside out, the striker insists he will still need to prove himself worthy of his place. "I've still got to do the business on the pitch," he said. "He will leave me out if he thinks I'm not doing well enough." Swansea remain bottom of the Third Division but Watkin insists now is not the time to hit the panic button. There's still a long way to go; 30-odd games left to play. We have plenty of time to turn it around. "It was disappointing that we didn't really create any clear-cut chances against Torquay but the performance was better. We gave 100 per cent. If we can show the same level of commitment through the season, we should be okay." |
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Monday, September 23, 2002 Flynn hopes for United tie-up |
| Western Mail BRIAN FLYNN has revealed how he plans to push for a special tie-up between Swansea City and Manchester United. The move will come after Flynn revealed his big friend Alex Ferguson identified Swansea and its surrounding area as the No1 location for producing Welsh internationals. And Flynn says one of his tasks will be contacting Ferguson to discuss a possible link with the Old Trafford giants as he looks to overhaul the crisis Vetch club from top to bottom. Ferguson has done his homework and pinpointed west Wales as a footballing hot-bed over the past five decades. A flood of top Welsh internationals have come from the area...from John Hartson and Dean Saunders in recent times, through to Flynn himself, Alan Curtis and Leighton James in the 1970s and stretching back to greats like John Charles and Ivor in the 1950s and '60s. "Don't ask me why it happens here, but it just does," said new Swans boss Flynn. "There are certain cities where footballers seem to come from. Newcastle is one, Glasgow another, Liverpool, Dublin... and Swansea is right up there too. "Alex has noted this because I discussed it with him when I was Wrexham manager. United already have tie-ups with clubs in other countries, like FC Antwerp in Belgium, for example. "So I went to him and asked, `Do you want to link up with Wrexham?' He said no, explaining that we were virtually on his doorstep anyway. "He also mentioned that, in any case, United had done their research and identified Swansea as the main area for producing Welsh internationals. "It doesn't surprise me that Alex knew that because he is very thorough. "Obviously, once things settle down a bit here, I will speak to Alex about it again and see if we can sort something out in due course. "It could be something that is advantageous for the two clubs." Flynn has a special rapport with Ferguson, having worked closely with him on the League Managers Association for years. Ferguson often sent some of his talented United youngsters to The Race-course on loan, to give them first team football experiences. Among the teenagers Fergie gave to Flynn were Terry Cooke, Mark Wilson, Lee Roche and Brian Carey. Darren Ferguson, of course, was also persuaded by Alex to join Flynn at Wrexham where he became captain. "One of the big compliments Alex used to pay us was that he was keen for his youngsters to play for Wrexham because he knew we did things the right way," said Flynn. "We played the right brand of football. We did things the right way off the pitch. "He knows that will happen down here with Swansea, too." It remains unclear exactly how any tie-up would work. But one assumes United could give Swansea some of their youngsters on loan again, while Flynn would tip United off about the best Welsh teenage players. "Clearly it's a major football hot-bed down here in Swansea," said Flynn. "Yet look at a city like Sheffield and its surrounding area. We're talking about a vast population there - yet I can't think of a single major player to come from there." As he tries to stabilise the first team at the Vetch, Flynn is also keen for an over-haul of the youth system. He developed one of the best conveyor belts of young talent in the lower leagues at Wrexham, giving 37 teenagers their Football League debut. Flynn says that is a policy he hopes to pursue with the Swans, insisting: "Eventu-ally, it is the way forward. "We've got to identify the local talent and try to sign the lot of them. But even those youngsters, going right down to the age of 10, need to know that there will be stability at the club a few years down the line. "That can help make their decision for them. It is why we succeeded so well with our youth system at Wrexham." But Flynn pointed out: "There is a big difference between the two clubs. The potential at Swansea is much greater than it was at Wrexham. "Hey, they've been there - up at the top of the First Division." As Flynn knows to his cost, because he was part of the Leeds team thrashed 5-1 by the Swans in that famous opening day of the season match as John Toshack's men marched to the summit. Flynn smiled: "Alan Curtis, who played for the Swans that day, has already taken me around the pitch and said, `This is the spot'! "But joking aside, I remember going back on the Leeds bus that night thinking how great it was for Wales that the Swans were doing so well." Those table-topping days will never return, of course. But if Flynn has his way, the good times for the Swans will come back. With a little help from his old mate Fergie, it would appear. |
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Sunday, September 22, 2002 FLYNN'S CAN ONLY GET BETTER |
| Wales On Sunday WELL, if Brian Flynn didn't know it before, he certainly does today. He has one humungous task on his hands as manager of Swansea City. David Graham's 30th-minute goal condemned Flynn's men to defeat in his first match since taking over as boss from Nick Cusack. They say league tables don't tell fibs. Flynn will know, after watching this, the Swans are not 92nd and rock bottom of the pile for no reason. There was plenty of huff and puff from his team yesterday, as you would expect from a side with the buzz of a new manager in charge. But you need a lot more than that to win football matches at this level. Like shots on goal, for example. The Swans, despite having a glut of possession, didn't test Torquay goalkeeper Kevin Dearden until the 89th minute. They were positively shot-shy. Flynn will have to digest these 90 minutes and work out how he puts right the many problems he has inherited in this Swans side. Among the things Flynn will have learned is that, the hard-working James Thomas apart, the Swans are punchless up front at present. They haven't gone three games on the trot without a goal for no reason. Confidence is understandably low. Guile and creativity in midfield or down the flanks is non-existent. The Swans' use of set-pieces needs to be sharpened up. But Flynn's biggest single problem is the fact he has taken over a side with 10 new signings, many of whom are just not good enough. The quality is simply not there. Flynn will want to bring in his own men, yet purse strings dictate that is just not possible. So it becomes a chicken and the egg situation. How can the cash-hit Swans afford to give Flynn the new players he needs, when they have already given contracts to a whole new bunch signed by Cusack during the summer? Flynn, I have not the slightest doubt, will turn things around at The Vetch. But even he admits it could be one big haul, possibly going until the last few games of the season. Not that every Swans fan agrees with me. Far from it. Even though Cusack took their team to rock-bottom of the league, many supporters still bemoan his departure and have yet to be won over by the decision to appoint Flynn. As close as five minutes before kick-off, those cynics seemed to be voting with their feet, such were the gaping gaps in the terracing in the main stand. It looked as if we would be lucky to get a gate much above 2,000, but the spaces suddenly began to fill quite dramatically and Flynn received a good welcome when he was introduced on the pitch, before taking up his customary position, not in the dugout, but in the directors' box. `Brian Flynn's Barmy Army', chanted the fans as the game got under way, before the mixed loyalties became quickly apparent as that one was followed by `There's only one Nicky Cusack.' Still, this is the Flynn era and the new manager put his own stamp on the team by axing Paul Reid, Jamie Wood and Matt Murphy from the side who lost at Boston, while Cusack himself was also obviously missing. In came Lee Jenkins and Gareth Phillips to bring drive, energy and pace to the midfield, while Steve Watkin and John Williams were drafted in next to James Thomas in a three-pronged front line. Certainly the Swans looked far more fired up early on, Phillips and Jenkins tackling like tigers, Terry Evans busy down the right and Thomas trying desperately to get behind the Torquay rearguard. The front three never worked prop-erly as a unit and what the Swans needed to do make the most of the few half-chances which did come their way early on. One fell to Jenkins early on, but he drove his half-volley over. Williams then badly sliced wide after Hazell had headed a deep Michael Howard cross straight into his path 12 yards out. Then Flynn's worst nightmare came true as his team fell behind in the 30th minute to a blistering Graham drive. The goal came after Jenkins clumsily upended Bedeau 30 yards out, receiving a yellow card for his troubles. There seemed little obvious danger, but Graham suddenly hit his low shot through a clutch of bodies. The effort seemed to take Freestone by surprise and by the time he reacted, he could only help divert the ball into his net. And that, I'm afraid, was it. There were still 60 minutes of the match to go, but it had got to the point where you couldn't see the Swans scoring. They gave it a go in the second half, but were just not good enough and, once more, fell down around the Torquay penalty area, either crossing badly or choosing not to cross and going backwards instead. The two chances which did fall the Swans' way came in the 66th and 89th minutes. From the first, Thomas hooked a left-foot volley just over the bar. He deserved a goal because he was one of the better players on show. The effort in the closing minute came when Jenkins, another of the more impressive players, drove a 25-yard effort which Dearden had to stop. "It was disappointing," said Flynn afterwards. "But it's going to be a gradual process here. I've always said it will take time." |
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Sunday, September 22, 2002 WHY THE SWANS WENT FOR FLYNN |
| Wales on Sunday WORD has it that when talks between Brian Flynn and the Swans directors broke down last April, his parting shot was: `You will be back for me before Christmas.' I can't guarantee the accuracy of that alleged remark. But it stuck in the back of my mind and gathered in momentum six weeks ago when I received a tip-off that Hugh Jenkins, the main powerbroker on the Vetch board, wanted to make a new attempt to bring Flynn to the Vetch. Again, I don't know for certain whether that was the case. But in football, there is seldom no smoke without fire, so I made a few discreet inquiries in the week building up to the Bournemouth game. The word came back that the matter hadn't been discussed by the Board. Still, however, people were telling me that Jenkins wanted Flynn. Nick Cusack had seven games to get it right. I don't know if news of my inquiries reached Cusack. But that Saturday, after the Swans had beaten Bournemouth to earn only their second win under his command, he said to the media: `I hear I was getting the famous vote of confidence if we had lost.' The Bournemouth victory clearly just papered over a few cracks. Within the Vetch boardroom, alarm was beginning to set in. Gates were about to dip, in the space of just FOUR League matches, from over 6,800 on the opening day of the season to just 3,300. The club had budgeted for 4,500. If this were to carry on, they were going to incur a huge six-figure loss by the end of the season. The directors wanted some wheeling and dealing done to cut costs, with Jason Smith and Steve Watkin, not in the team, the obvious candidates to leave. For whatever reason, it didn't happen, even though Smith was hotly tipped to join Bristol City. There were reasons for the falling gates. The cost for three consecutive home games was one theory put forward. Wales playing Finland when the Swans met Hartlepool, was another. But a side dropping towards the bottom of the League was the most cogent argument of the lot. Something had to be done to arrest the slide, it was decided. The panic button was pressed in earnest after the 4-0 hiding at Wrexham last weekend. Local bookmaker Jack Brown immediately offered odds on Cusack's successor. The Board had previously arranged a meeting with Cusack about general football matters for the following Monday. Invariably, though, Cusack's future became the new agenda. The Board told Cusack that he needed help. They wanted to bring in Flynn. Cusack was to make inquiries with the PFA, the players' union, about whether the job they were prepared to give him in the summer was still open. He was told it was. And then things gathered in momentum. Flynn and his No2 Kevin Reeves met Jenkins in Manchester on Wednesday and then travelled to Boston to watch the Swans lose 1-0 and go bottom of the League. Flynn and Reeves then made the five-hour journey to south Wales, arriving at 3am Thursday morning. After a few hours sleep, final loose ends on a contract until the end of the season were tied up and the new management pair were officially unveiled to the media at 2.30pm that afternoon. A Swans insider told us: "One of the concerns of the Board was that they had given Nick leeway to bring in so many new players and yet weren't giving him enough time." The deal to bring in Flynn and Reeves is believed to be costing the club in excess of £60,000. On the tight budget they are running, it is money they cannot really afford. Ultimately, though, the Board decided they couldn't afford not to do it. As our insider told us: "The directors felt they simply had to act. The Swans' very Football League future was at stake." For that, £60,000 is chickenfeed. |
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