Season 20/21: The Official Swansea City v Nottingham Forest FA Cup 4th Round Match Thread

[Official Site News]

SWANSEA CITY DONATE VIRTUAL MASCOT PACKAGES FOR FOREST TIE

Source: Swansea Official Site

Junior Jacks Callum Williams and Osian Pirotte have been recognized for their outstanding bravery by Swansea City, and will be our virtual mascots for Saturday’s FA Cup tie against Nottingham Forest.

The pair will receive personalised messages and a signed shirt from one of their favourite players, and will also feature in our official matchday programme and on the club’s social media channels.

Here are Callum’s and Osian’s stories:

Callum, 16, is a proud season ticket holder who is a regular face at the Liberty Stadium and away fixtures.

He was born with club feet, for which he has had to undergo numerous operations and, in 2015, Callum made the extremely brave decision to opt for a double amputation.

Six months after the amputation Callum fulfilled his dream of walking out with his favourite player, Wayne Routledge, for the match against West Brom.

Callum plays wheelchair basketball for Wales and Swansea Storm, and was training for a trial with the Great Britain squad. A week before Christmas, Callum bravely underwent further surgery which entailed having his bones shaved and both stumps reshaped.

Callum’s mum Diane said: “Callum loves Swansea City and looks forward to watching the games on SwansTV. He can’t wait to get back inside Liberty Stadium to see everyone.”

The club have gifted Callum two shirts, which he will have laminated onto his new legs.

Osian, nine, is also a massive Swans fan. He has hemiplegia, a form of cerebral palsy, but does not let that stand in his way.

“He loves playing football for Margam Stags Inclusion Football and is always trying to help others,” said Osian’s father, Simon.

Osian is raising money for Maggie’s Cancer Centre, a charity that offers free support to people with cancer. Osian has decided to take on the task of running five kilometres, which is quite a challenge for him, but he is determined to do it.

Osian is raising money for Maggie’s in honour of his late uncle Mark. His fundraising efforts are off to a great start and the Jack Army can support Osian’s cause by donating to his Just Giving page at the following link: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/osian-pirotte1

Swansea City wish Callum and Osian all the very best on their respective journeys. We, and the Jack Army, are proud to of you.

 

[Official Site News]

RYAN BENNETT AND CONOR HOURIHANE IN CONTENTION FOR FA CUP TIE

Source: Swansea Official Site

Ryan Bennett is in contention to return from a hamstring injury for Swansea City’s FA Cup clash with Nottingham Forest.

The defender has been sidelined by a hamstring injury since the goalless draw with Reading in December, but has returned to training this week and is available to face the Reds in the fourth-round tie at the Liberty Stadium.

“Ryan is back on the grass, whether he starts I am still not sure, we will see how it goes on Friday,” said head coach Steve Cooper.

“But he has had a couple of days of training which is good news.

“His week changed for the better with the Blackburn game being called off, as we have trained a bit more and he could be included in that.”

Cooper also confirmed that loan signing Conor Hourihane will be in the mix for a Swansea debut, following his arrival from Aston Villa on Wednesday.

The Republic of Ireland international did not feature for his parent club in the third round, meaning he is not cup-tied.

“He will be in the mix, when you join a new club the first thing you want to do is get your kit on and get out there and get going,” added Cooper.

“How much he does will depend, but he is in contention and he’s not cup-tied which gives us the opportunity and luxury to do that.”

Ben Hamer is cup-tied after playing for Huddersfield in the last round, while Steven Benda, Brandon Cooper and Tivonge Rushesha are long-term absentees.

 

[Official Site News]

Hughton aims to prise open stingy Swans

Source: Nottingham Forest Official Site

Nottingham Forest manager Chris Hughton admits his side will have to be at their very best to get past high-flying Swansea City in Saturday's Emirates FA Cup fourth-round tie at the Liberty Stadium.

Steve Cooper's men have conceded the fewest amount of goals in the Sky Bet Championship this season, just 13, and Hughton knows they will make life exceptionally difficult for his side when the teams meet in South Wales this weekend.

Speaking ahead of the game, he said: "Swansea are a team who are doing very well in the league and they've added quality players to their squad recently. They're a very resolute side who don't concede a lot of goals so that will present a big challenge for us away from home. It's a one-off game though and we will need to perform much better than we did against Middlesbrough to make it through to the next round.

"The FA Cup certainly presents some of our players who haven't featured reguarly to get some game time but at the same time, we're trying to build some continuity. As with any competition, we're heading into the game looking to progress to the next round and it's about trying to build on our recent good form and make sure we continue to lift our confidence levels even further.

"Thankfully for me, I've got a really good group of lads who always train really well and I've always been impressed with the attitude in training of those lads who haven't had as much game time as they would have liked."

Hughton will be without the services of Ryan Yates after the midfielder limped off injured in Wednesday's defeat to Middlesbrough and the Forest boss says he is expecting to make significant changes to his starting line-up for this weekend's cup tie.

He said: "Ryan felt his calf during the game and at one stage he looked like he could continue but that proved not to be the case. It's a little bit sore this morning and he'll certainly miss Saturday's game but the next few days will determine how long he's going to be out for and that's a big blow for us considering how consistent Ryan's performances have been.

"Fouad Bachirou has been back in training for a couple of weeks now so he will be in the squad for this weekend but Harry Arter and Jack Colback are still a little way off returning yet. We're conscious that Fouad hasn't played competitively since September but he has trained really well and we're really pleased to be able to put him back into the squad.

"I think it's fair to say we will make a number of changes but as we showed in the last round, we have a group of players who haven't started the last few league games who will want to come into the side and put on a good performance. All of those players have terrific fitness levels, they have trained really well and you always hope the occasion will help to lift them."

 

[swansnews]

Meet The Referee

View attachment Kevin Friend.jpg

Saturday's Referee Is Kevin Friend

We will see a familiar face in charge of the Swans this weekend as Kevin Friend has been appointed as referee for the FA Cup tie with Nottingham Forest.

It will be Friend's 28th time in charge of the Swans - 16 of those having come in our time in the Premier League. He has also been appointed previously to take charge of three FA Cup ties of ours as well as, of course, being the man in charge when we won the League Cup at Wembley back in 2013. Twice he has sent off Swansea players - Darren Pratley at Brighton in 2006 and Jonjo Shelvey at Everton in 2014.



Friend has been a member of the Select Group of referees since the 2009/10 season, after a successful career outside of the top-flight.

Friend took up refereeing as a 14-year-old and plied his trade in local football and Midlands leagues before he started to progress through the Football League pyramid.

Prior to his appearance in the Premier League, he was regularly officiating in the Championship and refereed more than 100 matches before being appointed to Select Group One.

He will be assisted by Simon Beck and Jonathan Hunt whilst Bobby Madley will be the fourth official (and the less said about him the better)

View attachment Friend Swans Spurs.jpg

Kevin Friend's Swansea City Record

View attachment Friend Record.jpg

 

[Official Site News]

STEVE COOPER | WE CAN'T LOOK TOO FAR AHEAD, WE HAVE A JOB TO DO

Source: Swansea Official Site

Steve Cooper has warned Swansea City they can now allow themselves to be thinking about potential fifth-round opponents when they face Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup on Saturday.

The Swans take on Chris Hughton’s Reds at the Liberty Stadium in the fourth round of the famous old knockout competition.

Swansea have enjoyed some success in the cup in recent years, reaching the quarter-finals in 2018 and 2019.

And the reality of a congested season means they are in the unusual position of knowing who they will face in the next round should they manage to beat Forest.

The winner of Cheltenham’s tie against Manchester City would await, allowing supporters to dream of a rematch of the thrilling 2019 quarter-final against Pep Guardiola’s side.

But head coach Cooper and his players will be paying full respect to Forest, particularly on the back of a hard-fought meeting between the sides in the Championship earlier this season.

“I guess with how things have worked out there is an incentive to get through to the next round, and that’s how it is in cup competitions,” he said.

“It’s all on the day, and if we end up pitting our wits against a top Premier League team then great.

“But we cannot be thinking about that right now. It’s about the gameplan of how we win against Forest, because if we don’t commit to that then there might not be a game in the next round to worry about.

“The focus is on this game, and doing everything we can to get the result we want.”

This season there are no replays in the FA Cup, with ties now decided on the day via extra-time and penalties if needed.

And Cooper will have his players working on their spot-kicks ahead of this weekend’s game.

“We will have a go at practising penalties as we have done for all cup games this season with ties being decided on the day,” he added.

“I think that’s the right way to do it, to make sure we are ready.

“We’ll have some thoughts about the penalty-takers."

 

[Scottishjack]

Am I going to be able to watch this on the iPlayer in England? I’ve put the settings for my area to Wales, so I should get BBC1 Wales. Just wondering if they’ll block it on the platform the same way they do with the radio?

I’m not explaining it well, but does anyone know if this will work?

 

[thefranchise]

Am I going to be able to watch this on the iPlayer in England? I’ve put the settings for my area to Wales, so I should get BBC1 Wales. Just wondering if they’ll block it on the platform the same way they do with the radio?

I’m not explaining it well, but does anyone know if this will work?

BT Sport Extra have it too.

 

[Scottishjack]

Am I going to be able to watch this on the iPlayer in England? I’ve put the settings for my area to Wales, so I should get BBC1 Wales. Just wondering if they’ll block it on the platform the same way they do with the radio?

I’m not explaining it well, but does anyone know if this will work?

BT Sport Extra have it too.

Sadly not an option for me tomorrow, and also the reason I think there might be a block on it.

 

[airedale]

BT Sport Extra have it too.

Sadly not an option for me tomorrow, and also the reason I think there might be a block on it.

Do you have a satellite receiver box? I was under the impression that they have all the BBC channels on them.

 

[Scottishjack]

Sadly not an option for me tomorrow, and also the reason I think there might be a block on it.

Do you have a satellite receiver box? I was under the impression that they have all the BBC channels on them.

Just an internet connection and a smart tv for this weekend. Guess I’ll find out at 3pm tomorrow, fingers crossed.

 

[MrSwerve]

Am I going to be able to watch this on the iPlayer in England? I’ve put the settings for my area to Wales, so I should get BBC1 Wales. Just wondering if they’ll block it on the platform the same way they do with the radio?

I’m not explaining it well, but does anyone know if this will work?

On iPlayer in a web browser, you can click 'categories' and then 'Wales'...some live TV in there, I'm guessing it will be in there.

 

[swansnews]

READ OUR FREE DIGITAL FA CUP MATCHDAY PROGRAMME

Source: Swansea Official Site

You can check out the latest free digital matchday programme of the season as Swansea City host Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday.

The 13th Jack Magazine of the 2020-21 campaign includes the usual head coach and captain’s notes, plus features from the first team and around the club.

We have a feature interview with Jay Fulton as the midfielder reflects on signing a new contract that will see him bring up a decade of service for the Swans, talks about his development in SA1, and why he was keen to commit his future to the club.

We also take a look back at some of Swansea City’s classic FA Cup encounters from down the years, and bring you the latest news from our academy set-up following the recent appointment of new boss Mark Allen.

We also bring you all the information on our opponents, and reports from our recent fixtures.

We will also be embedding some video features within the programme, including match highlights and player features.

You can read the Swans v Nottingham Forest Jack Magazine online for free HERE.

Hard copies of the programme are available to purchase HERE.

 

[Scottishjack]

Am I going to be able to watch this on the iPlayer in England? I’ve put the settings for my area to Wales, so I should get BBC1 Wales. Just wondering if they’ll block it on the platform the same way they do with the radio?

I’m not explaining it well, but does anyone know if this will work?

On iPlayer in a web browser, you can click 'categories' and then 'Wales'...some live TV in there, I'm guessing it will be in there.

Cheers, I’ll give it a go!

 

[Jinxy]

Looking forward to this after the disappointment of the game called off in the week. So, a nice lunch, light the fire and cwtch up with a cold beer or two! 3-1 to the mighty Swans.

 

[swansnews]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aBlGxvXJR0