Season 20/21: The Swansea City v Manchester City FA Cup 5th Round Match Thread

[thefranchise]

https://twitter.com/philblanche/status/1358781741838778373?s=24

 

[Itchysphincter]

Not at all bothered about this. Don’t want to get bummed but happy to see it out of the way whatever.

 

[Fireboy]

Not at all bothered about this. Don’t want to get bummed but happy to see it out of the way whatever.

Without injuries.

 

[monmouth]

Not at all bothered about this. Don’t want to get bummed but happy to see it out of the way whatever.

Without injuries.

and without losing.

 

[MrSwerve]

Imagine we do put out a strong side and sneak a win though. Confidence will skyrocket.

 

[monmouth]

Imagine we do put out a strong side and sneak a win though. Confidence will skyrocket.

I tried that one. Not popular

 

[PSumbler]

Imagine we do put out a strong side and sneak a win though. Confidence will skyrocket.

Imagine we put out a strong side and lose 11-3 :lol:

 

[swansnews]

Swansea / Manchester City Classic
FA Cup – 2019

View attachment 2019 FA Cup Programme.jpg

Swansea City 2 Manchester City 3
16 March 2019

Match Report – BBC Sport

Sergio Aguero's controversial late winner ensured Manchester City dramatically kept their quadruple bid on track as they came from two goals down to beat Swansea and reach the FA Cup semi-finals.

Substitute Aguero beat Swansea keeper Kristoffer Nordfeldt with a diving header off Bernardo Silva's low cross at the end of a superb move in the 88th minute.

View attachment 2019 FA Cup 3.jpg

Replays showed the Argentina striker was marginally offside but the video assistant review system was not in use at the Liberty Stadium, despite having been used in City's third and fourth-round ties at their Etihad Stadium home.

City had levelled in contentious circumstances too when Cameron Carter-Vickers was judged to have tripped replacement Raheem Sterling in the area and Aguero's penalty hit the post before rebounding in off Nordfeldt for an own goal.

Defeat was harsh on the impressive hosts, who led 2-0 inside 30 minutes through Matt Grimes' penalty and Bersant Celina's spectacular second.
The former City player, who was mocked for an extraordinary penalty miss against West Brom on Wednesday, curled a sumptuous first-time effort beyond Ederson at the end of a tremendous, flowing move.

City fielded a strong side but needed Sterling and Aguero to come off the bench to shake them out of their fatigue, the latter setting up Bernardo for the visitors' opener, which sparked their thrilling comeback in the last half hour.

Having scored 16 goals in three previous FA Cup games this season and after thrashing Schalke 7-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday, City's bright start to this game seemed to indicate that this would be another stroll.

Yet after missing a few chances, with Nordfeldt also making two fine saves, the front three of Gabriel Jesus, Leroy Sane and Riyad Mahrez started to lose their composure - and so did City's defence.



Fabian Delph, who was sent off in his side's fifth-round defeat by Wigan last year, was caught out by Connor Roberts' deft touch to bring down a long pass and felled the Swansea right-back from behind to concede a clear penalty for the opener.

The visitors then failed to track the runners as Swansea swept forward, leaving Celina unmarked for the second.

The Premier League leaders carried limited threat in the early stages of the second half and looked on course for a tame exit to a side who are 15th in the Championship.

Yet Sterling and Aguero proved to be the difference after they were brought on either side of the hour mark, the latter calmly picking out Bernardo after his own effort was blocked before the excellent Portugal midfielder curved a fine effort into the far corner.

Sterling then feinted past Carter-Vickers before falling under the challenge. Andre Marriner awarded a penalty but replays suggested the centre-back touched the ball before clipping Sterling's ankle, and Swansea's injustice was compounded by Aguero's fortunate conversion.
Pep Guardiola's ruthless side were not prepared to settle for extra time, pushing forward once more and working the ball out to Bernardo on the left of the area to pick out Aguero perfectly, with the lack of VAR working in City's favour.

"I'm sorry it was offside. I don't understand why VAR is not used in this competition at this stage. Hopefully next season this won't happen," Guardiola told BBC Sport.

"The penalty was really lucky but you need it, especially when you're in four competitions."

Swansea are having a disappointing season in the Championship, but they took on the Premier League champions with a brave and assured performance.

They rode their luck early on, allowing Sane too much space out wide on several occasions, but took advantage of an increasingly disjointed City to go ahead on 20 minutes when Grimes sent Ederson the wrong way from the spot.

Swansea's second was a goal you would more readily associate with a Guardiola-coached side.

Nordfeldt played out from the back, and two passes later Swansea had released the rapid Daniel James down the left. He cut inside and found the onrushing Nathan Dyer, who picked out Celina to finish.

Even when City surged back, the hosts put in fine blocks to deny them, with Roberts repelling David Silva's close-range shot on the line and Nordfeldt particularly impressive.

The Sweden keeper made a stunning double save at 2-2, pushing Jesus' header onto the post before flicking out his leg to deny Aguero's follow-up.

But ultimately his side could not withstand the onslaught to at least force extra time.

View attachment 2019 FA Cup 2.jpg

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola:

The most incredible thing after what we achieved last season is in this stage we are fighting for everything.

The most important for the club - more than winning one title - is having the mentality to be there until the end and fight for the titles in this stage of the season.

That's important because for the future, for the new players and managers who are coming, they will learn from this group of players, and this group of people, that we never give up and fight for every single game and title until the end.

Swansea manager Graham Potter:

The players are disappointed of course but they can also be proud about how they have conducted themselves in the game.

They showed courage and quality against a tough team. I have nothing but pride and admiration for my players.

VAR is not here so that's life and I wouldn't like that to take away from the quality of our performance and from Manchester City.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OegFa-44Oig

 

[BBC Sport]

FA Cup: Swansea City's Joel Latibeaudiere eyes Manchester City chance

Source: BBC Sport

Phil Foden, Rhian Brewster and Jadon Sancho. Emile Smith Rowe, Conor Gallagher and Callum Hudson-Odoi.

It is no wonder Steve Cooper describes the squad he led to 2017 Under-17 World Cup glory as a particularly talented crop of young English players.

The captain of that team has not yet flourished in senior football as some of his team-mates have.

But Joel Latibeaudiere, who will be reunited with Manchester City when they face Swansea City in the FA Cup on Wednesday night, is confident his time will come.

"I really believe in the manager," Latibeaudiere says.

"When the time's right, I know he'll put me in, keep me going and give me more game-time."

The manager in question is Cooper, who brought Latibeaudiere to Swansea from Manchester City last October.

Latibeaudiere, who turned 21 last month, got a maiden taste of first-team football while on loan at Dutch club FC Twente last season.

At Swansea, the former Manchester City Under-23s captain has had a first taste of the senior game on these shores.

There have been only four appearances to date, but that is no surprise given that Cooper signed Latibeaudiere as a player to develop rather than one to thrust into Swansea's team.

The centre-back is prepared to be patient, although he will be particularly keen for action when Manchester City come to the Liberty Stadium in the FA Cup fifth round.

"Playing against the team where I grew up, came through and kicked off my career - it would be great," Latibeaudiere tells BBC Sport Wales.

Born in Yorkshire and part of Leeds United's youth set-up in his early days, Latibeaudiere moved across the Pennines to Manchester City aged 13.

He says he could not have asked for a better footballing education, on or off the field.

"You all go to the same school throughout the academy, St Bede's. Everything is top quality and you're really looked after," Latibeaudiere explains.

Among his classmates were Sancho, who is now at Borussia Dortmund and was linked with £100m move to Manchester United last year, and Foden, the supremely gifted attacking midfielder currently thriving in Pep Guardiola's Manchester City side.

"We had a great team," smiles Latibeaudiere, who played for them from under-16s level through to the under-23s.

"Phil has always been that one guy who had something special about him.

"He loves Manchester, loves Man City. I couldn't be happier for him now that he is finally getting the game time he deserves."

Latibeaudiere came close to a senior City debut in the Champions League, when he was summoned from the development squad by Guardiola, but did not make the pitch, and would often train with the club's senior stars.

Though he never played for Guardiola, Latibeaudiere's level of respect for the Spaniard could not be greater.

"As soon as you are up there he treats you as part of the first team, so there's no going easy on you or anything like that," he explains.

"Then he spends time getting to know you as well. He doesn't just want you there for the training session, he wants to get to know you as a person away from football.

"Then his tactics, his training, he is so passionate. He is just a really good guy all round."

Perhaps the biggest influence on Latibeaudiere was former England defender Joleon Lescott, Manchester City's loan player manager and a mentor for younger players.

"He really took to me and took me under his wing," Latibeaudiere says.

"I learned a lot from Joleon and I am lucky enough to still be in touch with him."

They have discussed the FA Cup, and Latibeaudiere's potential meeting with the club that shaped him.

He was with Manchester City's under-23 squad when Guardiola's side won a cup quarter-final at Swansea two seasons ago.

Graham Potter's Swansea lost that tie 3-2 having gone 2-0 up, with defeat particularly hard to take given that the visitors' winner was offside and their equaliser came from a debatable penalty.

"It was controversial - I have heard!" says Latibeaudiere.

"It's a bit of a personal one for the staff who were here."

Latibeaudiere knows better than most the size of Swansea's task as they attempt to halt Manchester City's 14-game winning streak.

He could still have been at the Etihad Stadium now, but felt the time was right to move on in search of first-team football when Cooper called last autumn.

"It was difficult on a personal level, leaving my friends and people I have grown up with, but Swansea have taken me in like one of their own," Latibeaudiere says.

"It's a great changing room. Every person will put 100% in because we are all striving for the same goal."

Almost years since relegation from the Premier League, that goal is a return to the top flight, and to regular fixtures against the likes of Manchester City.

For the moment a cup tie, and the chance to cause a sizeable shock, will have to do.

A Swansea victory would mean one of those nights when match shirts are kept as mementoes.

In Latibeaudiere's case, that normally prompts complaints in the kit room courtesy of his 13-letter surname.

"My dad is Jamaican and his dad's Jamaican, but the name is French. I must have some French heritage," he says.

"The kitmen aren't happy when I take match shirts home because they have got to reprint."

On this occasion, he would surely be forgiven.

 

[Swans Cast]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oq-AugrBn4c

 

[Wales Online]

What made Jordan Morris sit up and take note in Swansea City's dressing room, Man City aims and why future is up in the air

Source: Wales Online

January signing Jordan Morris has spoken about his move to Swansea City, his talks with Steve Cooper and the FA Cup contest against Man City

Jordan Morris is hoping to get the chance to prove his worth in front of the TV cameras as Swansea City host Man City in the FA Cup this evening.

The January signing has made two appearances off the bench since joining the Swans on loan from Seattle Sounders last month.

And the 26-year-old has revealed he has watched the FA Cup from afar while plying his trade in MLS, adding that he is relishing the opportunity to come against Pep Guardiola's side.

"Really excited. One of my buddies from the national team plays there, Zack Steffen," he said.

"It's obviously a massive game so it'll be exciting to take part in it.

"It's an amazing competition. I've watched from afar for sure, so to take part in that game would be amazing.

"I think the group here, there is a belief within the team. Obviously we know they're a really good team but I think the team is flying right now and is excited for the challenge."

Morris impressed after being summoned from the bench in the latter stages of Swansea's 2-0 triumph over Championship leaders Norwich City last time out.

And the American admits he's been taken aback by the positive vibes within the dressing room at present.

"First and foremost, they've been so welcoming to me, it's made my transition really easy, which I really appreciate," he explained.

"On the field, some really good players. It's been exciting for me to be a part of it for this short time and I'm just excited to help in any way I can.

"The first thing I noticed when I came into this team was the mentality the group has, so coming into a game like this [Norwich], I think everyone understood how important it was. The guys performed really well."

Morris excelled during a trial with Werder Bremen in 2016 but turned down the chance to join the Bundesliga outfit on a permanent basis.

However, after learning his trade in MLS while also starring for the United States Men's National Team, the versatile attacker felt the time was right to take the plunge and try his luck in Europe.

"I just had this itch. I was enjoying myself in Seattle a lot and the team was doing well, and I feel like I was developing really well there, but I had this itch that I wanted to try something new," he added.

"There was some talk for the last few years, but I really felt this was the time to go, and I felt ready to make that jump.

"My wife is here with me, so that obviously helps. But I was excited and ready for a new adventure.

"I'm loving Swansea so far and the atmosphere and the group we have here is special."

Morris had numerous conversations with Steve Cooper prior to his switch to south Wales.

And after being impressed by the head coach's vision for the club as well as looking at Swansea's trajectory, Morris signed a short-term deal with the Swans - who have the option to make his contract permanent in the summer.

However, the forward admits his sole focus is on helping Swansea in the latter half of the 2020/21 campaign rather than looking ahead to next season.

"It's [future] a little bit up in the air right now," admitted Morris.

"I'm here for the short term now, and I'm going to try to contribute in any way that I can, but for the team it's a one-game-at-a-time mentality just to do whatever we can in each game and keep pushing forward.

"The manager called me, and that's one of the things that sold me on it.

"He showed a lot of interest and just told me about the group and it got me really excited about the opportunity."

 

[Baron Goblet]

To win this game I feel we need Ayew and Lowe to start.

 

[Official Site News]

JAKE BIDWELL | SUPPORTING MAN CITY, PLAYING IN GOAL AT EVERTON, AND BEING CONNOR ROBERTS' NEIGHBOUR

Source: Swansea Official Site

As a youngster Jake Bidwell had a Manchester City season ticket, but this evening he will be looking to end the FA Cup hopes of the club he supported as a boy.

Here, he talks about his impressive assist tally this season, starting his career as a goalkeeper in the Everton academy, and reveals what it’s really like to live next door to Connor Roberts.

For anyone who has been watching their fair share of Premier League football recently – and let’s face it, there’s so much of it on at the moment it’s hard to entirely miss it – you will have noticed a certain stat that keeps cropping up.

That is the one compiling the number of assists by defenders so far this season. At the time of writing Everton’s Lucas Digne has six, while the Liverpool full-backs Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold have five and three respectively.

Those three are tremendous players without question, but – while admittedly playing in the division above – none of them can top Jake Bidwell’s assist tally for the 2020-21 campaign.

Officially the Swansea City wing-back – like Digne - has six to his name, although there is a justifiable case for that tally being one higher, given his header against the post allowed Andre Ayew to open the scoring at QPR on Boxing Day.

In the Championship, regardless of position, only Reading’s Michael Olise and Blackburn’s Harvey Elliott can top that tally with eight.

Now you can argue as to whether a wing-back should be classed as an outright defender, or as a midfielder, but the principle remains broadly the same when it comes to the responsibility of getting forward at every opportunity whilst maintaining a defensive solidity.

Jake Bidwell
Few would argue that Bidwell and Roberts – his neighbour who has five assists of his own this term – have provided those qualities in spades for the Swans this season.

For the pair, this season is their best return on such numbers – Bidwell has also found the net once with Roberts scoring twice – but it is typical of a humble, down-to-earth, character that any talk about numbers does not come near the top of the Everton academy product’s priorities.

Indeed, Bidwell himself is unaware of where his assist tally stands compared to others, and it should be said that the contribution of he and Roberts is about far more than just statistics and numbers, but it does highlight how effective the pair have been.

“I don’t necessarily know all the numbers, but it definitely feels like I am playing a part in something that is going well,” says the 27-year-old.

“But there are no prizes for that at the moment. We are pushing to keep improving, but I feel I am playing my part.

“I have enjoyed playing at wing-back. I played there for QPR for a while, but it was a different style. We were more of a back five, whereas this season Connor and I find ourselves high up the pitch quite often.

“It’s the same formation, but the mindset is completely different. There’s an emphasis to join in the attacks, and we are seeing rewards for that. Hopefully, that continues.

“It’s hard work getting up and down, you are asked to join the attacks a lot more, but you want that responsibility. I am really enjoying it and I just hope it continues like that.

“The gaffer has given us the freedom to make things happen.

“You have to have threats from midfield and wing-back to make the system work, and we are thriving on the responsibility.

“But you cannot get carried away, no-one is handing prizes out for anything when the season has barely reached halfway.”

While Bidwell and Roberts spend some of their time on the pitch separated by almost its entire width, they spend a lot of time in closer proximity off it as neighbours.

Despite Bidwell being a more reserved character and Roberts more extrovert, they get on well.

Bidwell is an admirer of Roberts’ impressive array of products made in his own woodwork and carpentry workshop, even if the number of orders the Wales international has been receiving has meant he has yet to get any new furniture himself.

But he appreciates the approach of his colleague who is no different on the pitch from how he is off it.

“Yeah, we are neighbours. We live next door to each other so I can hear him sawing away when he is doing all his woodwork stuff,” laughs Bidwell.

“He is good as gold, to be fair. He has his three dogs and his girlfriend so he keeps himself busy on top of that with the woodwork. I don’t think he is ever bored, that’s for sure.

“His garage is next to my living room, so there will be nights I sit down and put the TV on to chill out and the next thing I can hear the saw going and it sounds like he’s going to saw through my wall.

“He makes some really good stuff, to be fair to him. I think he is fully booked up at the moment because of the standard of the stuff he does.

“It’s really impressive and he’s a great lad.

“The way he plays the game reflects who he is off the pitch. He is full of energy, he is positive and we always have a good laugh.

“What you see on the pitch, is what you see off it.”

Roberts was, of course, part of the Swansea side that came so close to stunning Manchester City in the FA Cup two years ago, winning the penalty that allowed Matt Grimes to score the opener in an eventual and eventful 3-2 defeat. The sides meet again in the fifth round of the same competition this evening.

It may come as a surprise to many that Bidwell was once a City season ticket holder. Given he was born in Southport and spent a number of years with Everton, it would be easy to incorrectly assume – as this writer did – that any season ticket he possessed would have been for Goodison Park rather than Maine Road or the Etihad Stadium.

But it was the light blue of the Citizens, rather than the royal blue of the Toffees, that a young Bidwell would go to watch with his father at a time when he was part of City’s centre of excellence.

“It goes back even further than when I first joined the Everton academy,” he said of his links to this evening’s opponents.

“When I was about five or six I ended up going to the Manchester City academy, and I was there for a year or so.

“From there my dad ended up taking me down to a few City games. We had season tickets for a few years and that sort of stuck with me.

“I can’t really say I support them anymore because it’s been more than 10 years since I went to one of their games.

“But I watched them a lot as a kid. When I was going, I can remember being there the year they won the Championship, and I remember it being around the crossover between Maine Road and the Etihad.

“There were players like Stuart Pearce, then a bit later on there was Shaun Goater, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Richard Dunne, and Sylvain Distin.

“It was that era, I caught the back end of the time before the new owners came in and obviously it’s a very different club now to what it was then.”

Bidwell’s links with Everton started young and he joined their academy as an 11-year-old, but it was not in his familiar left-sided role.

In fact, he first signed on as a goalkeeper for the Merseyside club due to a twist of fate, although he’s quick to point out that Freddie Woodman and the rest of the Swansea goalkeepers probably don’t have too much to worry about.

“We are from Southport and it’s obviously a big football area. From as young as I can remember I played football with my brother, it would be in the house or outside. We would break stuff and it would send our mother mad,” Bidwell recalls with a grin.

“I then joined the local club juniors, but we just played whenever and wherever we could. I was an outfield player to start, but when I got to 11 our goalkeeper went to Australia for six weeks to see some family.

“I had to go in goal while he was away and during that time I was scouted by a guy called Martin Waldron and picked up by Everton. The trial went well, I signed on and spent two years there as a keeper.

“But, as time went on, I was not really enjoying it anymore and I wanted to be back as an outfield player.

“So, I left the academy, but ended up being back six months later as an outfield player after being spotted by a different scout. I sort of fell into being a goalkeeper and then fell out again.

“I can’t say I was particularly great. I didn’t think I was the next Neville Southall or anything like that, I didn’t really play the position long enough to think like that!

“I don’t think I’d have given any of the goalkeepers I have played with too much to worry about had I stayed in net, to be fair.”

An England age-grade international, Bidwell would go on to play for Everton in their Europa League clash with BATE Borisov in 2009.

Aged 16 years and 271 days, it made him the youngest player to represent the club in Europe and – at the time – the third-youngest to ever pull on the royal blue shirt behind Jose Baxter and James Vaughan.

It would prove to be Bidwell’s only senior appearance for the Toffees, and he would join Brentford in 2013 after two successful seasons on loan with the Bees.

While Bidwell wished there had been more than that one Everton appearance, he is still proud to have represented the club, and also underlines how much he took from being around a squad filled with model professionals, including the likes of Leighton Baines, Phil Neville, Phil Jagielka, Tim Cahill and Tim Howard.

Lessons were learned during that period that he carries with him to this day.

“With the Borisov game, at the time you think that’s just the next step on your road. I didn’t really stop to think about the record or things like that, it’s more a case of when I look back now I am more aware of it,” says Bidwell.

“It ended up being my only appearance for Everton, but I am very proud of that because that is one more than an awful lot of people have.

“Would I have liked more? Of course, I would have, but I am still proud of it. There are people out there who would give their right arm to play for Everton, and I was able to do it.

“I learnt a lot there too, you pick up things from being around a group of players like that. They were really good professionals.

“Guys like Leighton Baines, Sylvain Distin, Phil Jagielka, Mikel Arteta and Phil Neville, they set such high standards in everything.

“It did not matter if it was on the pitch, in the gym, meeting the fans. They always did their best job.

“I can remember Phil Neville, who was getting towards the end of his career at the time, always doing his extra bits to keep himself in the best possible shape. It instils a work ethic in you that I still carry in my career now.

“They knew that it would not just happen for them on a matchday, it had to be about good habits, about the right approach and mentality.”

And Bidwell acknowledges he sees a similar dedication to high standards in the current Swansea set-up.

“I do see that in terms of the standards the gaffer and his staff set,” he added.

“He is early in his journey as a manager, but he really does set very high standards every time we go out on a pitch.

“In some ways he is a little more relaxed than it was at Everton. For example, we don’t have a fines system because it is self-governed and the squad is disciplined enough for that not to be needed.

“But when we are out on the grass and he is coaching, he demands the highest standards and there is absolutely no room for negotiation on that.

“That’s how we improve, how we have improved and hopefully we can continue to do that.

“It’s more of a football discipline if you like, and it suits us as a group. Those standards he demands are the standards we want to be playing at.

“But it never stops, that desire to improve, to get better, and be the best team we can is always there.”

Bidwell enjoyed a fine stint with Brentford, helping the west London club win promotion to the Championship and firmly establish themselves in the second tier.

From there he made the short move to QPR at what was occasionally a turbulent time for the Rs, before making the switch to Swansea as a free agent in the summer of 2019.

He has not looked back since, whether featuring at left-back, centre-back or wing-back.

He helped the Swans on that unforgettable march to the play-offs last term, and has again been a key figure with Steve Cooper’s side well placed in the promotion battle.

Like his head coach, Bidwell is loathe to look too far ahead and talk about what might be. The focus is on the here and now.

But he happily admits his switch to South Wales has been great for him on a professional and personal level.

“It has been a good move for me, no question,” he said.

“I love the city and the surrounding area, there are some lovely places where I can take the dogs for walks, maybe around the beaches, and just chill out.

“But on the field things have been going well. The facilities and the environment we work in are very good.

“We have a coaching staff who are always pushing you to get better, to develop you as a player.

“The standard and the bar is set high, and you are striving to reach those standards. That’s how you improve.

“I feel I have improved, I feel the squad has improved and I think you can see that, and with how we have been going it is such a shame that we cannot have fans in the stadium, that they are not able to be there to cheer the side on because there’s no doubt they would love to and the Liberty would be rocking.

“It’s been hard for people, to go in and out of lockdown, and we are fully aware that we are representing a city and a community that is proud of its football club.

“We, as a team, are ourselves proud to be representing the city and the community. We hope we can be successful for them and give them a lift.

“But, as I said earlier, no-one hands out any prizes at this time of year. There is plenty of work to do, but it’s work we are eager to get on with.”

With that Bidwell is off and back to work, looking at what’s immediately ahead, the challenge of taking on his boyhood club.

It’s one you know he will be relishing.

 

[swansnews]

https://twitter.com/liamgallagher/status/1359384404423045122

 

[sainthelens]

To win this game I feel we need Ayew and Lowe to start.

And to be sure of beating us they'll need Foden, Stirling and Gundogan to start....which they won't.