 |
Press cuttings |
|
Saturday, October 26, 2002 Jones aims for career revival at Vetch |
| Western Mail FORMER Manchester United schoolboy Stuart Jones aims to move another step closer to earning a professional contract with Swansea City in the Third Division basement battle at Carlisle United. Jones, who spent three years at Old Trafford before being released at the age of 15, was outstanding on his Swans debut in the embarrassing LDV Vans Trophy defeat at Stevenage in midweek. The Aberystwyth-born defender is almost certain to continue at right-back today in the absence of Leigh De-Vulgt as Swansea go in search of another vital three league points. Brian Flynn has been fulsome in his praise of Jones and the 18-year-old scholar hopes to once again impress the Swans director of football with the aim of securing a contract at the Vetch. "I was really pleased with my performance at Stevenage and tried not to let nerves get the better of me," said Jones. "A debut is just that - something you remember for the rest of your life. I think I've got a good chance of being in the frame for Carlisle, and I'm really looking forward to it. "I'm in the final year of my youth contract now, so you could say I'm playing for my career. And I'm hoping the club will offer me something next summer." The Vetch Field is a far cry from where Jones began his youth career and the defender, a current Wales Under-19 international, admitted he was "devastated" when United released him. "I used to train alongside the big stars," recalled Jones. "People like Ryan Giggs and David Beckham walked about freely and I even took penalties against first-team players. "But they told me I was too small and I felt that they didn't believe I was quick enough either. "Being such a big club, United decided to concentrate on others who they felt were a better bet." Jones, who joined the Swans as a 15-year-old, added, "I was devastated when they let me go, but Swansea were on the phone straight away. "The funny thing is that since I have left Old Trafford, I have shot up and my pace has increased." Jones, who will face a Carlisle side buoyed by a shock 4-3 LDV Vans Trophy victory against Second Division Oldham, received a glowing tribute from his manager. "He had a marvellous debut against Stevenage, but Stuart has impressed us from day one and we said that as soon as we had the opportunity to play him we would," said Flynn. "We earmarked the LDV Vans Trophy game to play him, regardless of the injury problems we had leading up to the game." After that most humbling of defeats in Hertfordshire, Flynn said Swansea must concentrate on gaining some Third Division momentum in Cumbria. "It becomes a bit blase when you label every game as a `must-win,' but the fact is we need to go to Carlisle and get three points," he said. "We have to get the Stevenage result out of our system and try to build on the success we had against Southend last Saturday." The injury and illness crisis that hampered Swansea in midweek has eased slightly with Andrew |
|
Friday, October 25, 2002 Four return for Swans' crunch clash |
| Western Mail STRUGGLING Swansea City are boosted by the return of four first-team players for tomorrow's crunch bottom-of-the-table clash at Carlisle. Swans director of football Brian Flynn took his Third Division side to Stevenage for Tuesday's first-round LDV Vans Trophy clash missing 10 players through injury or illness. The squad was stripped to its bare bones and, with the Vetch Field youngsters on FA Youth Cup duty, Flynn was only able to name three substitutes for the 2-1 defeat. But Swansea head to Cumbria today with Andrew Mumford, Gareth Phillips, Steve Watkin and Jonathan Keaveny all available again after shaking off various aches and ailments. And defender Jason Smith, who injured a shoulder in last Saturday's 1-0 victory against Southend, will have a late fitness test to determine whether he too can return. Still missing are John Williams (chest infection), David Smith (calf strain), David Moss (hamstring) as well as long-term absentees Neil Sharp and Terry Evans. Defeat against Stevenage again highlighted the need for goals to come from other areas of the pitch to relieve the burden on James Thomas. The former Blackburn striker boasts an impressive ratio of seven goals in 13 games this season, but no other Swans player has hit the target since September 7. Jamie Wood, who returned from suspension to partner Thomas up front against the Conference club, aims to address the problem. "I'd love to bag a couple of goals at Carlisle," said the former Halifax striker, who has scored twice in the league since joining Swansea in the summer. "But it's also important that we put in a much better team performance than we did at Stevenage. All of us know that we were just not good enough. "We've got to put the disappointment of Stevenage behind us and concentrate on collecting some league points - at Carlisle and at home to Kidderminster on Tuesday." |
|
Friday, October 25, 2002 Swans welcome progress on proposed cash boost |
| Western Mail SWANSEA CITY have welcomed Football League comments that a "great deal of progress" has been made to try and raise funds for their cash-strapped clubs. The league have confirmed they are in talks with the Football Association, the Premier League and the Professional Footballers'Association regarding the financial situation of their members. The collapse of the ITV Digital deal has left many teams outside the Premiership facing an uncertain future - and it is understood the Football League are looking for a sum in the region of £30m spread over a period of time with 60-80 per cent of that going to First Division clubs. "Any extra money would be welcomed," said Swansea City communications manager Peter Owen. "It would be a nice touch if the Premiership clubs decided to give the smaller teams a hand. "Our problems over the last year have been well documented. We've had some difficult times regarding the ownership and things have been tight. "There have been a lot of cutbacks, but now we are beginning to come through it." The monies forwarded to the league could come in the shape of a gift, a grant or a loan. Whether that cash will go to clubs seen as financially solvent remains un-clear. Football League spokesman John Nagle said, "The Football League have approached the Football Association, the Premier League and the Professional Footballers' Association to discuss a number of matters relating to the financial situation facing our clubs. "We have had positive discussions with all three bodies about alleviating these problems, both in the long and short term. "Nothing has yet been agreed. However, a great deal of progress has been made." The league accept they have to show good housekeeping should they be given the cash. It is under-stood a committee are already in place to investigate wage capping. The league are also looking at divisional contracts. When a team are promoted a player's wage would go up by a certain percentage. Should his team be relegated his wage would go down by a certain percentage. Second Division Wigan suffered a £500,000 shortfall in their budget due to the ITV Digital crisis and, even though they have a wealthy owner in Dave Whelan, they could still do with cash aid. Club spokesman Chris Allonds said, "A lot of clubs are suffering and anything that can help ease the financial burden would be fantastic." |
|
Thursday, October 24, 2002 FLYNN'S SURVIVAL TARGET |
| Evening Post Brian Flynn has set himself a six-month target to ensure Swansea City stay in the Football League. The director of football said he knew how difficult his job would be when he came to the club and had not changed his mind after a difficult start to his Vetch Field career. Swansea are at Carlisle on Saturday for a crucial bottom-of-the-table Third Division clash. Defeat would see Flynn's men slip to rock bottom of the League for the third time this season. The former Welsh international knows the importance of the game at Brunton Park but is looking further into the future. ''People will look at it as a six-pointer, even at this stage of the season,'' admitted Flynn. ''I am not trying to keep it low key, far from it. It's an important game and we need to win to get closer to the ones above us. ''That's important too. It's not the one below us we're worrying about it's those above us and getting points ourselves. ''But it's all about survival and staying in the division,'' he added. ''I haven't set a points target. As long as we finish with one point more at least than the team in 23rd place then that's the aim. ''My short-term plan is looking at six months to turn things round. ''The short term is survival and the next figure I look at is 18 months' time.After that the next target is five years.'' Flynn will be hoping that this weekend will see his side step a little closer to his first aim with a win in the north west. Tommy Taylor has become the latest managerial casualty. The former West Ham defender has been sacked by Third Division Darlington after a year in charge at Feethams.?The Quakers lie in 20th place having won only three games this season.
|
|
Wednesday, October 23, 2002 FLYNN: NO EXCUSES FOR CUP SHOCK |
| Evening Post
Brian Flynn believes the shock 2-1 defeat in the LDV Vans Trophy at Stevenage last night might benefit his Swansea City side in the long run. |
|
Wednesday, October 23, 2002 SWANS SO SLOPPY |
| Evening Post
Brian Flynn must have thought he was in for a rough night when he stepped on the team bus to see only 14 fit players as the squad set off for Broadhall Way. |
|
Tuesday, October 22, 2002 FED-UP FANS TARGET VOTERS |
| Evening Post
Swans fans are plotting to oust leading councillors over their handling of the Morfa Stadium affair. |
|
Tuesday, October 22, 2002 Onus on Flynn and players to lure back fans |
| Western Mail BRIAN FLYNN believes the onus is on him and his players to attract thousands of stay-away Swansea City supporters back to the Vetch. Attendances fell as the Swans slumped to the bottom of the Football League under Nick Cu-sack, one of the factors that trig-gered the club into sacking the former player-coach and replacing him with Flynn. But the ex-Wrexham manager's arrival a month ago has so far failed to entice back the droves of missing Swans fans. Only 3,623 - the second lowest of the season - witnessed Flynn collect his first victory as Swansea director of football against Southend on Saturday and attendances over the course of the campaign have come nowhere near the 6,327 crowd for the visit of Rushden & Diamonds on the opening day. But Flynn, whose side now travel to Stevenage for an LDV Vans Trophy game before heading north for a crunch bottom-of-the-table clash against Carlisle, said he was confident the fans would return if the team built on his first win by stringing together a decent run of results. "I would obviously love to see two or three thousand more people coming along," said Flynn, who picked up two draws and two defeats in his first four games in charge. "But it is up to us to get the missing supporters back - me, the team and everybody within the club. "We want as many fans as possible turning up because their support is absolutely vital. Their support, their backing can really help us. That's what happened against Southend; it was getting a bit anxious as the five minutes of extra time turned into seven minutes, but the fans urged us on. "If they can see that everybody is giving 100 per cent and the commitment is there, then they will accept that." It was hardly vintage stuff against Southend, but with Swansea still occupying one of the Third Division relegation places, Flynn said he would settle for results being ground out until safety is secured. "It wasn't a great match on Saturday, but I thought we played well in patches and the result was always going to be more important than the performance. "We just have to grind out as many wins as possible and then when we are safe we can start to worry about the type of football we are playing." Flynn, who handed loan signing Brian Cash his debut against the Shrimpers, added, "It was pleasing that we kept a clean sheet. When I first arrived it was clear to see that we were conceding too many goals. We seem to have reversed that trend and we are a lot tighter at the back." |
|
Tuesday, October 22, 2002 Swans boss calls for maximum points |
| Western Mail SWANSEA CITY boss Brian Flynn insists his Third Division strugglers must aim for maximum points in Saturday's bottom-of-the-table clash against Carlisle to haul themselves out of the relegation zone. The Swans director of football breathed a huge sigh of relief on Saturday when he collected his first victory since taking charge at the Vetch a month ago and the club registered only their second win of the season. Swansea's 1-0 triumph against Southend United lifted them off the bottom, with Carlisle now occupying 24th place spot in Division Three following their 2-2 draw at Macclesfield and Boston's success at Darlington. And Flynn, whose side travel to Nationwide Conference outfit Stevenage in the first round of the LDV Vans Trophy, said the Swans must build on Saturday's victory when they travel to Brunton Park and use it as the catalyst to kick-start their season. "It was so important for the players to get that first win under our reign," he said. "There are certain times in the season when you must win a game and Southend was one. |
|
Tuesday, October 22, 2002 Wales's feel-good factor lifts Swansea to success |
| Western Mail JAMES THOMAS revealed how the feel-good factor generated by Wales's sensational 2-1 victory over Italy in last week's European Championship qualifier helped inspire Swansea City to success against Southend. The top-scoring striker's goal from the penalty spot handed director of football Brian Flynn his first win since taking charge a month ago and consigned Carlisle, with whom Swansea do battle at the weekend, to the Third Division's bottom spot. Thomas, fast becoming something of a saviour at the Vetch given the fact that no other Swans player has scored in the last six games, said the players were "massively relieved" to have collected only their second victory of the season - relief that was almost tangible as they left the pitch to a standing ovation from home supporters. And the 23-year-old striker said the fervour created by the national side's success at the Millennium Stadium three days earlier not only filtered down to the Vetch before the game, but helped inspire Swansea over the 90 minutes. "There was a buzz about the place after the win against Italy, and as a Welshman I was very proud of the result and the performance," said Thomas. "You look at that and you want to achieve that kind of success at club level. "And though there is obviously a big gulf between international football and the Third Division, I think that the feel-good factor generated by the Wales result does filter down. During the game our supporters were giving the away fans some stick about England's result against Macedonia. "Being able to cheer about Wales gives the fans a lift. It got the players going and helped us to achieve a result we desperately needed." Scrapping for points at the bottom of Division Three may seem light years away from beating the likes of Italy, Germany and Finland on the international stage, but Thomas - a former Wales Under-21 international who harbours ambitions of making the senior side - needs only to look at Cardiff City pair Danny Gabbidon and Robert Earnshaw to see how things can change. Two years ago Gabbidon and Earnshaw were part of a Bluebirds side grinding out results in the Football League's basement division but now, playing their domestic football just one level above the Swans, are important components in Mark Hughes's squad. "Of course I would love to play for the senior side one day," said Thomas, who was called into Hughes's injury-ravaged squad for the friendly against Croatia in August but had to decline the invitation because of his own injury. "All I can do is keep scoring goals and playing the way I am and you never know what might happen." It is Thomas's all-round game that makes him such an asset to Swansea and could one day earn him further international recognition. Not only does he have six goals to his credit this season, his work-rate and movement is first class. Always threatening, always coming close, Thomas showed some wonderful touches on Saturday, most notably in the 64th minute when he collected a loose ball in his own half before turning, evading his marker, running 30 yards and firing a left-foot effort just wide of the right-hand post. Twelve minutes earlier the Swansea-born striker had given the home side the lead from the penalty spot after Lee Jenkins - restored to the starting line-up at the expense of Damien Lacey - was upended by Southend's Mark Beard. The first half had been a scrappy, untidy affair in which Southend scored but had the "goal" disallowed when Worcestershire referee Mick Fletcher adjudged, somewhat harshly, that Shrimpers defender Phil Whealan had fouled Roger Freestone. Having been shackled by Southend's five-man midfield, Swansea broke free in the second 45 minutes and produced some much better football. Brian Cash, making his Swans debut after joining on a one-month loan from Nottingham Forest, took a while to get into the game but showed genuine class when he did, accelerating down the right-hand flank and providing some accurate crosses. "I enjoyed the game; it was great to play first-team football in front of a crowd on a Saturday afternoon," said the 19-year-old Irishman. "And it was a very pleasing result for my first match. The manager said to us beforehand that it was a must-win game and we got the three points we needed. "Plus, I thought the Swansea supporters were brilliant. They stuck behind us even when Southend put on a bit of pressure in the second half. "To be honest, I'm surprised that Swansea were bottom of the league before the game. From what I've seen, the players looked good in training and we played well. "The spirit among the lads is as good as I've known it at a football club. There's no talk about being bottom of the league." |
|
Monday, October 21, 2002 NOT A CLASSIC, SAYS BOSS, BUT FRANKLY WHO CARES? |
| Evening Post
Welcome it may have been, good to see it was not. |
|
Monday, October 21, 2002 BATTLE STATIONS! |
| Evening Post
Brian Flynn admitted things could get ugly in the battle for Nationwide League survival after sealing his first Swansea City win on Saturday. |
|
Monday, October 21, 2002 Penalty lifts Swans off bottom of league |
| Western Mail This wasn't vintage but it was three points, and for Swansea City that was enough to lift them off the foot of the Nationwide Third Division. Much of the pre-match talk was about Wales's midweek victory over Italy as the Swans supporters recalled their experiences of the memorable victory at the Millennium Stadium. And the 2-1 win by Mark Hughes's men seemed to lift the home side as they claimed only their second win of the season. The optimism that has been created as a result of Wednesday night seems to have rubbed off on both the players and the supporters at the Vetch. Brian Flynn's men played with passion, scrapped for every ball and worked hard as a unit. This was never Flynn's side - too many of the players were brought in by ex-manager Nick Cusack, but at last they are starting to play with vigour and determination that characterises all of his teams. And there was even a new face in the Swans line-up - 20-year-old Brian Cash, who has joined skint Swansea from Nottingham Forest on a month's loan. He is not a world-class player but he stood out. As the youngster gains more first-team football and nears full fitness, he will turn out to be a very useful acquisition for Flynn. A James Thomas penalty secured all three points for Swansea. Thomas sent Southend keeper Darryl Flahaven the wrong way to send the Swans supports delirious. The penalty was fully deserved, Mark Beard blatantly tripping Swans defender Lee Jenkins as he attempted to strike the ball from six yards out. The only other hightlight in a dour game was a howling miss from Jason Smith midway through the first half - blazing a shot against the bar from three yards out. But, in the end, it was a job well down from Flynn's side - and they will be confident of building on this victory when they travel to Carlisle next weekend. |
|
Sunday, October 20, 2002 NEWMAN IN A FURY |
| Sunday Mirror MANAGER Rob Newman claimed his side was robbed by a controversial decision. The incident came in the 16th minute when Swansea goalkeeper Roger Freestone, under pressure from Phil Whelan, appeared to punch the ball into his own net. But referee Mick Fletcher decided it was Whelan's hand which had made contact - and booked the striker. "Whelan was adamant that he didn't touch the ball - and I believe him," said Newman. James Thomas's penalty clinched victory for Swansea |
Click here to go back to start page