SCFC2 has asked a number of our site users for their views on our League cup winning season. We asked 15 questions about the season, their favourite moments and their thoughts on new players for next season! Here is part one of three of those responses but first a who’s who of those answering the questions and the first 3 questions we asked! Part 2 of the season review will be published next Monday 3rd June.
1. Shawn Bevan (SB) – A Swans fan who now lives in Hereford but who has been a Jack since the early 80’s
2. Cellan Thomas (CT) – A 46 year old Swansea man who has been watching the Swans for over 40 years
3. Richard Lloyd (RL) – A 52 year old exiled jack who has been watching the Swans since 1969 but who now lives in Cheltenham
4. Daniel Edwards (DE) – A 28 year old Swans mad fan who has relocated recently to live in Vienna, Austria
5. Nick Cole (NC) – 31 years old, living in Dunvant but with memories of his first game at the Vetch when Curt’s wonder goal finished off Leeds in 1981!
6. Lisa Phillips (LP) – A 23 year old ‘jackette’ who follows the Swans all over the country – Twitter ID @swansforever
7. Michael Esau (ME) – A 39 year old Swans fan who now lives in Cheshire
8. Darren Grifiths (DG) – A 33 year old Swans nut from Trallwn – Twitter ID @dazthejack
9. Paul Smith (PS) – A 25 year old Jack bastard who has supported the Swans since he can walk! Twitter @paulo11smith
10. Peter and Amanda Rowe (PR) – A 56 and 52 year old married couple who support the Swans from Waunarlwydd
11. Ryan Smith – A 19 year old jack from Dunvant – Twitter @Ryan_Smith93
12. Neil O’Connor (NOC) – A 40ish year old jack who lives in Oxford
13. Lyn Williams (LW) – A 50 year old Swans fan from Llantrisant whose first game was in 1976
14. Adrian O’Connor (AOC) – A sprightly 68 year old Swans fan who has been rooting for the Swans for more years than he cares to remember!
15. Owen Midha (OM) – A 16 year old Jack living in Mumbles
16. Clive Mitchell (CM) – A 59 year old from Skewen who has been supporting the Swans since the early 60’s
17. Jonathan Taylor (JT) – A 55 year old Gloucester Jack who was one of the original founders of the MAGS
We asked 13 questions in all but these were the first 4
1. What were your honest expectations going into the season?
2. Who was the best team we played against last season?
3. Who was the best individual opposition player from last season?
4. Which game had the best atmosphere and why?
What were your honest expectations going into the season?
SB – I predicted 9th place on my Facebook after the pre-season friendlies
CT – Honestly my expectations were 14-15th. I was just hoping to avoid relegation because as you know a lot of key players and the manager had left. It looked bad but since the 5-0 thrashing over QPR we have done much better than anyone could have expected. Not even mentioning the cup win!
RL – To avoid relegation!
DE – I just remember being absolutely devastated after Rodgers and Allen left. I felt especially hopeless when Siggy refused to sign for us. I didn’t want to think the worst, but I wouldn’t argue with those who tipped us for relegation. I guess in some ways I knew we’d be ok though. We managed to move forward when Martinez left us, I just hoped we could do it again. Huw Jenkins has proved himself reliable on more than enough occasions.
NC – Hoping that Michael Laudrup was the right choice and knowing that more often than not Huw and Co have got it spot on with their appointments. I need not have worried.
LP – Mid table finish
ME – To stay in the Premier League
DG – Would have been the same as last year: Staying up, and it probably will be again this season. That’s not being pessimistic. We are a small team in a big league, and we have to aim for security first and everything else is a bonus.
PS – I thought we’d do ok, Laudrup had brought in a lot of talented attacking players and I thought we’d score a lot of goals but also concede a few a well, so I did honestly think come the end of the season we wouldn’t be worrying too much. Little did I know that we had 20-goal-a-season player in our side, achieve 40 points as quickly as we did and win a major trophy… Unbelievable Jeff!
PR/AR – PR – I firmly believed we would have a top 10 finish. AR – That we would remain in the Premiership
RS – When Brendan left I really thought we would struggle, but I never thought we would go down, even though we had lost Rodgers and Allen I thought we still had a lot more quality than a lot of teams in the Premiership. I was much more hopeful after QPR, it looked like Laudrup had made some great signings.
NOC – 11th – 14th position
LW – I don’t think that you can expect anything in football but I was hoping for 17th place in the League and any higher would be a bonus. I was happy to go out of the Cups early!
AOC – Lower mid-table and usual Cup exits
OM – With pundits suggesting relegation was a likely probability for the Swans, I thought a mid-bottom half finish would be realistic for us. Never did I think we’d have any chance in either of the cup competitions, let alone winning 5-0 at Wembley and securing a place in Europe next season.
CM – I was optimistic I thought we would improve on last year. For the first time I actually put £5 each way on us to win the league cup (this was on the advice of a bluebirds season ticket holder that I worked with) chuffed to win £193. I always go to game hoping for the best I am very much glass half full when it comes to the Swans
JT – Given that Laudrup was an unknown quantity in terms of the Premier League, I was a little less certain about progress than if Rodgers had still been in charge, but I was still quietly confident that we’d finish mid-table. And watching the pre-seasons against Blackpool and Stuttgart strengthened that belief, especially after seeing Michu’s performances in those games.
Who was the best team we played against last season?
SB – Arsenal at the liberty, the away fans were fantastic
CT – This is a hard question! I can’t think of a team that has really dominated us but for the simple reason they had a double over us i will say Spurs.
RL – Tottenham Hotspur. Chelsea away were the only team that outplayed us but I prefer Spurs’ style
DE – I’m gonna say Everton. They really gave us a hiding at our home ground, and even though we drew at their home ground, we failed to score over both legs and they really kept us pinned back in our own half. A very tough team.
NC – Liverpool looked dangerous throughout when they played down here, but I’d have to go for
Man Utd. That draw was a massive result for us, especially after going down when Evra scored and set us up nicely for our little run over Christmas and the New Year
LP – I’d have to say Everton – just because we never beat them!
ME – Chelsea
DG – Tough one. Man City were a bunch of good individuals who didn’t perform. Man Utd were a well organised and efficient machine, but i think i would have to go for Tottenham. If they strengthen well, get rid of some deadwood and keep Bale, they will co close to winning the league next season.
PS – Avoiding the obvious, I’m going to say Everton – They did a real number on us when they came down to the Liberty at the start of the season and we really had to battle hard to get a point up at Goodison.
PR/AR – Everton for Peter and Spurs for Amanda
RS – I would say Everton at home. They just completely dominated and really did a job on us, it was 3-0 but it honestly could have been more, we never looked like winning it, I was really impressed with them.
NOC – Spurs over the 2 games
LW – Best team is a difficult one as we have not been in awe of anyone. I would have to say us at home against WBA, now they ‘were’ in awe of us and simply could not cope with the way we played in that first half
AOC – Everton
OM – Our heaviest defeat came against Liverpool, but I don’t think they were the best team we played. We beat them in the cup for one, and drew with them at home in the league. The only team who totally dominated us at home were Everton, but we earned a draw at Goodison Park. Therefore, I’ll have to go for Spurs who were the only team to beat us twice in the season (and we know who to thank for that)
CM – I thought Liverpool gave us a heck of game down here and Suarez Who I cannot stand as a person was a real handful
JT – We played a lot of very good sides, but in terms of the best team performance against us, I’d have to say Everton at the Liberty. A well-drilled, well-organised unit, both strong and skilful where the team needed to be and with some great understanding between players; especially down their left flank, where Baines and Pienaar were virtually telepathic, and tore us to bits. Full credit to David Moyes, he’d completely sussed us out.
Who was the best individual opposition player from last season?
SB – Everton’s Marouane Fellaini
CT – Gareth Bale, simply the best in the PL in my eyes. Wizzed past our defenders and made the rest of the Spurs team look average against us
RL – David Luis at Stamford Bridge
DE – I’ll pick 2 players here. 1st is Hernandez from Man United. He’s such a quick and crafty little b******! He was pretty much running rings around us in Fergies last home game of the season. Why they took him off in the 2nd half I’ll never know, but he was almost impossible to keep quiet.
2nd is Jose Enrique. During our home game against Liverpool, he was a physically dominant down that left hand side. He had a goal disallowed for offside, but I don’t mind saying that we were lucky to come away with a draw.
NC – Suarez or Bale. Both outstanding but Luis Suarez had that something about him that had the place buzzing as soon as he had the ball
LP – Gareth Bale
ME – Juan Mata
DG – Gareth Bale for the first half at home versus Spurs. Unplayable. No-one could keep track of him and pick him up. His finish was excellent and showed his ability to think quickly and finish comprehensively. Thankfully he had a quieter second half.
PS – Gareth Bale – I know he didn’t play against us at White Hart Lane, but down the Liberty he scored a fantastic goal. The term “constant threat” is made for him, every time he is in possession; opponents are scared to death of him and really don’t know how to deal with him.
PR/AR – Marouane Fellaini for Peter and Demba Ba for Amanda
RS – Lukaku at the Hawthorns, he was a handful all afternoon and took his goal well. Hopefully see him in a Swans shirt next season
NOC – Gareth Bale; unplayable at times
LW – Sessegnon and Pienaar impressed me the season before but struggling to choose the best opposition player for last season. I worry when Baines has a free kick outside our box!
AOC – Gareth Bale
OM – Luis Suarez along with few more of the Liverpool lads are up there with the best, as are the likes of Juan Mata and Frank Lampard from Chelsea. However, I think that there is only one player who can earn that tag, and that is Wales’ very own Gareth Bale, even if he was born in that place down the road. As mentioned earlier, his strike against us at the end of March was something else, and his performances throughout this season have been superb.
CM – Robin Van Persie looked the business
JT – Chelsea’s Juan Mata. I think it’s to our credit that we managed to keep him reasonably quiet at times in our various encounters, but he’s the type of player that I love watching; well-balanced, great awareness of play developing around him, great vision, and laser-guided passing. Whenever he got on the ball against us you felt something might happen.
Which game had the best atmosphere and why?
SB – Chelsea at the liberty – Capital one cup
CT – Final game of the season against Fulham, singing the whole game and even when we were 3 down still singing. How i love the east corner!
RL – I can’t think of one game that stood out!
DE – Living in Austria makes it pretty much impossible to watch the Swans live, so I can’t give an adequate answer. However, from the ‘feel’ of the games, I’d say it was either Chelsea away during the Capital One Cup semi-final, or West Brom at the Liberty. You could see and even feel the buzz in the stadium during those games
NC – Liverpool, awesome. A lot of it was probably to do with Brendan coming back but it was a great atmosphere.
LP – Man U away – Fergie’s last game and both sets of supporters were making noise. Chelsea away in the cup semi-final has to get a mention as well.
ME – Newcastle Away – the first “big” away win and scoring 2 late goals was immense
DG – Two for different reasons: Firstly, Chelsea in the Cup Semi 2nd Leg. The way the team nullified every threat they had, the crowd knowing we weren’t going to lose, the Hazard incident and knowing we were going to a major cup final.
Secondly: Man Utd Home. The Utd fans get some stick at home for being quiet or from London, but the noise they made throughout the game rallied the East Stand to give the best atmosphere and ‘banter’ we had all season
PS – That Semi-Final home game against Chelsea was electric, I was sitting in the West Stand, and was not in my normal East Stand seat and watching/listening to the East Stand in full voice that night was amazing.
PR/AR – Peter – Our last game of the season against Fulham because of the hope and expectation of finishing 8th – Amanda it was the Capital One Cup game at Anfield. Our support was amazing and we went there and showed that Brendan Rogers was not the key to our success
RS – Chelsea in the league cup was a special night, creating history and there was a great buzz around the Liberty. I just couldn’t believe we might actually make the final of a major competition.
NOC – Liverpool away in the cup. Beating Brendan, Joe and Colin!
LW – Best atmosphere was Crawley as it brought back so many memories. Atmosphere away in the PL has been poor from the home fans generally, with Swans fans’ support generally very good away from home.
AOC – League Cup Final – huge occasion and we won
OM – I have to say, atmosphere at the Liberty in the past year has not be as good as our first season in the Premier League. I was expecting a lot from the second leg of the League Cup semi-final, but everything seemed a bit subdued. Liverpool away in the cup has to be the best. With the Anfield crowd silenced by our magic on the pitch, the travelling support could be heard for miles around hurling abuse at Mr Suarez. Definitely one of my favourite games of the season.
CM – Chelsea in the semi final. The weather had meant I had to abandon my car on the way home from work. I was not going to go to the match. I phoned my mate and we both decided to give the game a miss. I then watched the BBC news live from the ground saying the game was on. I phoned my mate and we agreed to try to get there. It was still snowing . My wife said I was crazy as I walked a mile through the snow to meet my lift. We came the long way around and got to the Liberty 10 mins from kick off. So glad we made the effort. I thought we played very well and also thought the ball boy thing would take the gloss off the victory. Amazing game.
JT – Arsenal at the Emirates, because of the marked contrast between the increasingly disgruntled Gooners (this game came at what seemed, in retrospect, to be the height of the discontent with Wenger) and the seemingly constant joy and belief in the away end. They started booing, we carried on singing our support for the Swans. It was a pleasure to be there.