Everton face a difficult trip to South Wales on Saturday. We caught up with Read Swansea editor Declan Terry ahead of the match.
1. Hi Declan, thanks for taking the time to speak to us. Let’s start with a brief overview of Swansea’s start to the season, then. Are the club in good enough shape to challenge for Europe?
It’s been a very decent start for the Swans. If you offered us eight points from the first five games I’d have taken that all day long. An opening day draw away at reigning champions Chelsea was terrific, along with a comfortable win over Newcastle a week later. An away draw against Sunderland was then followed up by a third successive win over Manchester United which then put is in the top four. However, last week’s loss at newly-promoted Watford has put a dampener on things. As for the European race, who knows? I can definitely see us finish in the top ten again this season, but anything beyond that is just a bonus really.
2. How is Garry Monk getting on? From the outside it looks like he’s a top young manager that is really improving the squad at his disposal- would you agree with that sentiment?
I’d definitely agree with that. Garry Monk is probably the most adored man in Swansea at the minute, guiding Swansea City to one of the best periods in its existence. After taking over from Michael Laudrup in 2014, he’s proven every doubter wrong and has become one of the most praised young managers in the world – and rightfully so. With Monk in charge, the squad is forever improving and he is getting the best out of every single player which is great to see. The worrying thing that lingers in all of the Swansea fans’ minds is what will happen when a big club come in for him? It’s inevitable that it’ll happen at some point, but after speaking to Monk a few weeks ago he said he’s one hundred percent happy at Swansea and he won’t be leaving anytime soon (get in!).
3. What do you make of Swansea’s new signings? Are there any areas you think have been neglected?
I’m thoroughly impressed with the business we’ve done in the transfer window. Of course the main signing is that of Andre Ayew who’s the stand-out name and rightfully so after his amazing start to the Premier League, scoring three goals and earning August’s Player of the Month award. Portuguese striker Eder is another good signing, although it’s hard to see him making much appearances with Bafetimbi Gomis in red-hot form. And then there’s left-back Franck Tabanou who signed from Saint-Etienne. Tabanou really impressed in pre-season, but is yet to appear on the field which is quite disappointing – I really thought that Tabanou would hit it off, but he hasn’t been given the chance. Also, we signed goalkeeper Kristoffer Nordfeldt from Dutch side Heerenveen, but he will play as Lukasz Fabianski’s understudy. With keeping pretty much every player in the squad from last season and adding the new signings, we now have two capable players in every single position. I think it’s an ideal squad, so no position has been neglected.
4. How do you view Everton?
I like Everton very much. They always play entertaining, attacking football and always provide us with a great game. However, even with a superb team and a good manager, you’re just missing one thing – a trophy. I think Everton are long overdue silverware, and with a few more trophies in the cabinet then you can have the platform to improve on that.
5. How do you expect us to do this season?
I’m expecting you to finish in a Europa League place. In all honestly, I can’t see Liverpool or Tottenham overtaking you, so after a decent start to the season, I think a fifth place finish would be about right. After the fifth position, I can see it being Swansea, Liverpool, Spurs, Stoke and Crystal Palace contesting for the sixth and seventh positions.
6. How highly do you rate Roberto Martinez? After leaving Swansea for Wigan back in 2009, will he get a good reception?
I rate Martinez very highly. I’ll always have a soft-spot for him after everything he’s done for Swansea City. He took a massive downgrade to join us in 2003 when we looked like going out of business, but he captained us from the bottom of League Two up until League One, where he eventually took over as manager. He then got us promoted into the Championship, but eventually left to go to Premier League side Wigan after promising to stay with us. It was tough to see him leave, but it’s something you’ve got to expect when you’re a Swansea fan. I’m happy to see him doing well, but some Swansea fans are still rather bitter towards him. At the end of the day, two seasons after he left we got promoted into the Premier League anyway, and look at where we are now. People can’t surely still hold a grudge over him?
7. Which 3 Everton players would you take to the Liberty Stadium given the chance?
This is probably everybody’s first choice, but I’ll go for Romelu Lukaku – a player with frightening ability; strength, pace, power, finishing, heading, and more. Secondly, I’ll go for Seamus Coleman. I honestly think that Coleman’s the best right-back in the league; he’s got tremendous attacking ability, but also he’s ever so reliable in defence too. Lastly, I’ll go for James McCarthy. McCarthy is an outstanding midfielder, and I think every team needs a player like him in the middle. He’s a player that controls, dictates, but also contributes massively in defence and attack, and I think he’s a great asset to Everton.
8. Which Swansea players should Everton be wary of on Saturday?
The duo of Bafetimbi Gomis and Andre Ayew, without a doubt. The two have had unbelievable starts to the season, scoring seven goals between them and they caused Manchester United no end of problems a few weeks back. And then there’s Jefferson Montero who’s gained many plaudits recently after his impressive start to the Premier League season. Montero absolutely destroyed Branislav Ivanovic at Chelsea, he forced Daryl Janmaat to get sent off after just forty minutes and when he faced Sunderland’s Billy Jones, it was a mismatch. However, when coming up against Coleman on Saturday, I think he’ll have a much tougher experience on the wing.
9. And who will Swans fans fear in a blue shirt?
Lukaku would be the first name highlighted by Garry Monk, I think. Ashley Williams and Federico Fernandez will be in for a tough time against the big Belgian. Ross Barkley will be a nuisance too, and the midfield will need to track back often to keep tabs on him as he will punish us if we give him room to do so.
10. Likely Swans team and score prediction.
I’m going for the usual Swansea XI, but with Montero replacing Routledge on the left-wing. Fabianski; Naughton, Fernandez, Williams, Taylor; Cork, Shelvey, Sigurdsson; Montero, Ayew, Gomis.
As for my prediction, I’m going for a 2-2 draw. I think it’ll be a very entertaining game with the two sides playing very open, expansive football.
Thanks once again to Declan for his time. Be sure to check out @ReadSwansea in the build up to Saturday’s clash.
