Planet Swans ArchivesKen Gorman states in his column in today’s Sunday Mirror that it takes at least one to four years for a side to adapt to the footballing mecca that many state is the Championship.
In a week where both Ferrie Bodde and Darren Pratley have stated that the quality in the division surprises them in it’s mediocrity rather than it’s brilliance it is clear that it is hitting back against those comments.
Gorman writes “Swansea City will continue to win friends in the Championship with their refreshing attacking outlook but they won’t win promotion this season.
“That’s not a criticism but a reality check. It takes any newly promoted team at least a year or four to become streetwise to this most competitive of all divisions.
“Therein lies the rub for the impressive Roberto Martinez who faces the hardest challenge of his fledgling career come January.
“That’s when the transfer window re-opens and at least a couple of Premier League clubs will move for his Dutch midfield playmaker Ferrie Bodde.
“Bodde has been the orchestrator of so much that is good about Swansea since he arrive from Den Haag in the summer of last year. Good enough for Swansea to have to turn down £2 million bid from Derby at the start of the season.
“Even a bid from a club jsut relegated into the Championship was enough for Bodde to throw in a transfer request, although he eventually withdrew it and pledged his future to Swansea. But what happens if West Brom or Middlesbrough who have both watched him – move in?
“Martinez acknowledges that his Dutchman is already good enough to grace the Premier League but insists Swansea are stong enough financially to resist any offers.
“But Bodde is 26, still dreaming of winning an international call from Holland and old enought o realise that time is vital for him. Cardiff manager Dave Jones was talking about his own team in midweek, but his words are a warning to Swansea and every other ambitious Championship Club. Jones asked “How do you tell a player he can’t gho when he has the chance to increase his wages by 400 per cent and play in the big league?”
“A question to which there is no ready answer”
Ken Gorman is a life long Cardiff City fan.
