Swansea City

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Andy Robinson feels Swansea City have "gone backwards" in attack following their goalless draw with Sheffield Wednesday.

The Swans managed just one shot on target against the Owls at Hillsborough and have failed to score in four successive Championship matches.

"It was difficult viewing [at Sheffield Wednesday]," ex-Swansea player Robinson told BBC Radio Wales.

"When Matty Grimes is giving the ball away, you know you're struggling in a game of football.

"Not just in the final third, I'm talking all over the pitch, the lack of quality was awful. I don't think the five changes helped.

"In terms of the quality on that football pitch, it was dire.

"In terms of creating chances and getting into the final third, I think they've gone backwards in the last few games."

Luke Williams' side were seventh in the Championship after beating Coventry City 2-1 in September.

But having failed to win in five matches Swansea are 13th, and find themselves closer to the bottom three than the top six when it comes to points gained so far this season.

And while Robinson says Williams can at least take positives from earning a point away from home against Wednesday, the former attacking midfielder felt neither side deserved three points.

"Over the course of the 90 minutes, neither team showed the quality to win the game, but again, it's a point on the board and it's a clean sheet defensively," he added.

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Adam Reach has left Swansea City but the Championship club are still considering whether to offer a deal to fellow free agent Cyrus Christie.

Midfielder Reach and defender Christie, who have been without clubs since the end of last season, began training with Swansea during the October international break.

Swansea head coach Luke Williams says ex-West Bromwich Albion player Reach, 31, has now said his farewells.

But Republic of Ireland international Christie, 32, is still working with Williams’ squad.

Christie has impressed with his fitness levels given that he has not played since last season, while he appeals to Swansea’s coaching staff because of his ability to offer cover across the back four.

Even so, it remains to be seen whether former loanee Christie will get the chance to sign for the Welsh side for a second time.

“Adam Reach is not training with us anymore,” Williams revealed after Tuesday’s goalless draw at Sheffield Wednesday.

“It was great to have him with us, but we have moved on from there.

“Cyrus Christie is still training with us so as soon as I can give you a further update, I will do.”

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Swansea City and Jamal Lowe will be reunited on Tuesday with Luke Williams suggesting “most” Championship clubs would be happy to have the forward in their ranks.

Lowe was joint top scorer at Swansea last season, when he netted nine times in 35 appearances – 24 of which were starts – after returning to the club on loan from Bournemouth.

Lowe became a free agent in the summer, with Williams not ruling out the idea of Swansea offering the Jamaica international a permanent deal when he was asked in April.

However, Williams added that Lowe’s earning power may make a permanent move unlikely.

On top of that, as things turned out, Swansea spent the summer transfer window focusing on young players with potential to earn the club profit in the future.

Lowe, who turned 30 in July, ended up joining Sheffield Wednesday on a free transfer.

A meeting with his former club will mean extra incentive for Lowe when Swansea visit Hillsborough.

Williams, meanwhile, says he would have been happy to keep hold of the former Wigan and Portsmouth player.

“I think most Championship squads would be very pleased to have Jamal Lowe,” said the Swansea head coach.

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“But you can’t have everything and we are happy with the squad we have, and we are also really happy that Jamal has a club and is playing regular football.

“Not everything is perfect in life, but I think in the end it was a good solution for both sides.”

Lowe has scored twice in nine appearances for the Owls, with his one league goal to date for the Yorkshire club coming on the opening weekend of the season.

“He is a very gifted player, we know that,” added Williams.

“He is very creative, he has good physicality and is a difficult player to deal with. But of course we do have some guys with some experience of playing with him - some players in the squad know him very well, so hopefully that gives us a better chance of being able to cope with him.

“We look forward to seeing him because he is a great guy, but we hope he has a quiet game.”

Williams said a “number of factors” meant Lowe did not join Swansea on a permanent basis for a second time, having previously done so when Steve Cooper was in charge in 2020.

He acknowledged that a lack of potential resale value was one issue, adding: “The most important thing is to be absolutely clear, nobody doubts Jamal Lowe’s quality or his character.

“He is an excellent footballer and he’s a pleasure to work with, but squads have to be shaped in different ways with many different views, so tough decisions have to be made.”

Gareth Vincent
BBC Sport Wales

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Swansea City reached the first landmark in their season as they played league game number 10 of the campaign at Blackburn Rovers over the weekend.

For Luke Williams’ team, the record at this point offers a sharp illustration of what they have got right and where things are going wrong.

Swansea have conceded just seven Championship goals so far, a record bettered only by two teams who have just come down from the Premier League, Burnley (four goals conceded) and Sheffield United (five).

But at the other end of the field, it is a much bleaker story.

Swansea have scored only eight league goals in 2024-25. After Cardiff City’s weekend thrashing of Plymouth Argyle, no team in the second tier has managed fewer goals than Swansea, who are the division’s joint-lowest scorers alongside Preston North End.

Sheffield Wednesday, who host Swansea on Tuesday, may be thinking that should they open the scoring at Hillsborough, they will be well on their way to securing three points against Williams’ side.

There were question marks about the goalscoring power within Swansea’s squad right from the start this season and, as yet, they have not been answered.

Nevertheless, Williams’ players are keeping the faith.

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“The strikers we have are more than capable, but something is just not quite clicking, so as a team we have really got work on it on the training pitch,” said Swansea defender Josh Key.

“We work so hard every day that it’s got to click at some point.”

Right-back Key was one of Swansea’s most threatening players as they went down 1-0 at Blackburn Rovers on Saturday, which says much about their struggles in the final third.

The good news for Swansea is that their defensive successes represent significant progress, given that the Welsh side have had something of a soft underbelly ever since Steve Cooper departed in 2021.

“We have got to take the positives from that,” Key said.

“Our defensive record is very good, so we can only go up from here once the goals start going in.”

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Carl Rushworth would be forgiven for wondering whether he would have been better off rejoining Swansea City.

For their part, Swansea would have been delighted to take the goalkeeper on a second season-long loan from Brighton after he excelled at the Championship club in 2023-24.

But with no immediate prospect of the Seagulls sanctioning another loan move for Rushworth during the summer, Swansea instead signed Lawrence Vigouroux.

Rushworth eventually ended up going out on loan again – and to another Championship side, rather than a club at a higher level – when he signed for Hull City just before the August transfer deadline.

Since then, Rushworth has not played a minute of first-team football, with Croatia Under-21 international Ivor Pandur preferred in the Tigers' goal.

And now things have gone from bad to worse for Rushworth, with suggestions that an ankle injury suffered in training last week could keep him out for three months.

The timing looks particularly unfortunate given that there were some reports that but for the injury, Rushworth would have been handed his Hull debut in their game against Sunderland on Sunday.

Instead, Rushworth looks like heading into the new year without getting any game-time in 2024-25, having played every minute in the Championship at Swansea last term.

Would Rushworth have had happier time had he come back to Swansea this season? He certainly had more joy in Wales than he has thus far in Humberside.

Swansea, meantime, can be very pleased with their decision to turn to Vigouroux, one of their star performers in the first chunk of this campaign.

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Luke Williams has told his players to embrace the chance to take points on their travels as Swansea City prepare for Tuesday’s trip to Sheffield Wednesday.

Swansea are back on the road after Saturday’s defeat at Blackburn Rovers, when they controlled possession for long spells and created opportunities but could not find a way back into the contest after conceding an early set-piece goal.

Swansea have lost four of their five away games this season, with the one exception being a 2-1 win at Coventry a month ago.

The four defeats have all ended 1-0 to the home side.

Williams believes Swansea’s struggles outside south Wales are down to mentality rather than a lack of quality.

“There will be key moments in the [Blackburn] game that can be extracted to try to demonstrate to the players that a different decision [would mean] a different outcome,” said the Swansea head coach.

“I need to try to convince them that there are more opportunities than we can see, because we can go away from home and turn these trips into really positive ones.”

Swansea's next challenge comes at Hillsborough, where the Owls will be looking to respond having lost on their own patch against Burnley over the weekend.

That defeat means Danny Rohl's side have taken seven points from five home league games this season.

“We are expecting a tough game, a team that are really well organised and coached with a good manager,” Williams said.

“But we have to try to look at the opportunity we have to try to improve our season by getting more points on the road.”

Luca Muzzupappa
BBC Sport Wales

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Swansea head to the Steel City on Tuesday looking to bounce back from a loss against Blackburn.

The Swans make the 450 mile round trip to Hillsborough and are likely to see a familiar face among the Owls line-up in Jamaican striker Jamal Lowe.

Lowe, who has not scored since Wednesday’s opening game of the season against Plymouth Argyle, will be looking to double his tally for the season.

Should he find the net, it would not be the first time Lowe has scored against Swansea, having opened the scoring for Queens Park Rangers in a 1-1 draw in January 2023.

Lowe is one of many ex-Swansea players to score against his former club; BBC Sport Wales recalls some of the other times the ghosts of Swansea came back to haunt them.

Despite never scoring during his loan spell at Swansea, Steven Caulker headed home the winner in the Premier League’s first taste of the south Wales derby, in a 1-0 victory for Cardiff City.

Former striker Wilfried Bony holds a perfect record against the Swans, scoring four goals in three games, including his only two goals for Stoke City. The pick of the bunch a right-footed shot from a Joe Allen assist.

Two years later and Allen would continue to haunt the Swans, this time scoring the only goal in a 1-0 victory for Stoke at the Bet365 Stadium.

Once a club record signing, Sam Clucas left Swansea after just one season in south Wales, scoring only three goals as the Swans were relegated to the Championship.

However, Clucas is a name that Swans fans will not forget any time soon. After joining Stoke City, the midfielder found the net three times in three consecutive starts against the Swans, infamously celebrating by holding his shirt up to the home crowd, in a 3-1 Potters victory in Swansea.

This made him the third ex-Swansea player to score against their former club whilst playing for the Potters.

No Swansea player has scored a league hat trick since Scott Sinclair completed the feat in the 2011 Championship play-off final. Sinclair’s next goal in the division would come nine years later for Preston North End in a 1-1 draw against the Swans in February 2020.

Despite the Swans not scoring a league hat trick in more than 13 years, former Swansea loanee Sam Surridge scored three times in a 5-1 win for Steve Cooper’s Nottingham Forest over the Swans in 2022.

And Swansea fans must have been fearing the worst as three former Swans lined up for Leeds United in November last year. Welsh internationals Joe Rodon, Dan James and Dutch striker Joel Piroe started in a 3-1 victory for the Yorkshire side.

It will have come as no surprise when Piroe calmly slotted the ball past oncoming goalkeeper Carl Rushworth, before Dan James capped off the win at Elland Road, making it a double for the former Swansea pair.

The ex-player curse has haunted the Swans for nearly 70 years. Swansea’s all-time top scorer Ivor Allchurch left the black and white of south Wales for the black and white of Newcastle in 1958 for a fee of £28,000.

In Allchurch’s first appearance against his former side he scored the opener in a 2-2 draw. And this would not be the last time the Swansea legend scored against the Swans, also bagging a hat trick for Cardiff City in a 5-0 win in 1965, a season which saw Swansea relegated to the Third Division.

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Luke Williams says Swansea City can take inspiration from their defeat at Sheffield United as they look to become the first team this season to take points off Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park.

Rovers will aim to make it five wins from five home league fixtures in 2024-25 when they host Swansea on Saturday (15:00 BST).

Swansea head north having failed to win in three matches, with home draws against Stoke City and Bristol City sandwiching a loss at Bramall Lane.

Williams says his side’s performance in their 1-0 defeat to the high-flying Blades set the benchmark for future away days.

“I think we played very well in our last away game,” said the Swansea boss.

“If we hit that type of level consistently on the road, we’ll have a really good return because Sheffield United is one of the toughest away games for any team this season.”

John Eustace’s Rovers went unbeaten in their first seven league games this term, only to suffer successive defeats at Coventry City and Plymouth Argyle prior to the international break.

They have scored 15 league goals already, a tally bettered by only two Championship teams heading into the weekend.

“It’s a proper tough Championship game, there’s no doubt about it,” Williams added.

“We know what we are expecting from them and we have to go there and be a good side to get anything.”

After losing Eom Ji-Sung to injury this week, Swansea are again set to be without Sam Parker, who is ill, and Kristian Pedersen, who is not quite ready to return from a hamstring problem. Andy Fisher and Josh Ginnelly also remain on the sidelines.

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Luke Williams says Florian Bianchini can become “a very good player” for Swansea City as the French winger eyes a chance for game-time in the absence of Eom Ji-Sung.

Bianchini is yet to start a Championship game since joining Swansea from Bastia in a deal worth around £2m in August.

The 23-year-old has made four substitute appearances in the league so far, with his one Swansea start coming in their miserable League Cup defeat to Wycombe.

But with Eom – who has started every league game this season – facing six weeks out, Bianchini is one of those who will come into contention for Saturday’s trip to Blackburn Rovers.

Asked about the Frenchman’s start to life at Swansea, head coach Williams said: “I think it’s been a mixed bag which I would expect. He came in late and has had to learn plenty of things.

“We have some guys who have been starting games regularly so he has had to jump into games in different circumstances.

“I think there have been some real positive signs, some encouraging things, and some games where he has not hit that level. That’s why we continue to work with him and I am sure he is going to become a very good player for us.”

If Bianchini does not start at Ewood Park, Williams could turn to academy product Azeem Abdulai or Myles Peart-Harris, who was signed on loan from Brentford as an attacking midfielder.

Another option could be to switch Ollie Cooper to the wing, though he has impressed in a central role this season.

“We have seen guys coming off the bench and starting games in the wide positions so we have some options there,” Williams added.

“We are very disappointed to lose Eom and we would never want to have him out of the squad, but it gives an opportunity for someone to try to stake a claim and potentially create even more competition amongst the players.”

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Blackburn Rovers have been boosted by the return of three players ahead of their Championship fixture with Swansea City on Saturday (15:00 BST).

Full-back Callum Brittain and forward Harry Leonard both returned to training during the international break and are set to feature for the club's under-21s against Benfica in the Premier League International Cup on Thursday night.

Wales Under-21 international Owen Beck will also be available for the home side at Ewood Park after serving a three-match suspension following the red card he received during Blackburn's 0-0 draw with Preston North End on 22 September.

“The squad’s looking strong, it’s looking fit and everyone’s available,” said Eustace, who was close to becoming Swansea boss in the summer of 2021 prior to the appointment of Russell Martin.

“We’ve proven already this season that it’s all about the squad and that everyone’s competitive and ready when they’re called upon.

“I think we’re still growing, everyone’s still gelling and it’s important to keep working hard because we have players who are very committed and hungry to do well for the football club."

Defender Scott Wharton is the only definite absentee for Rovers as he continues his recovery from a serious knee injury.

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Swansea City’s Welsh contingent have had a busy spell under Craig Bellamy, while there are other members of Luke Williams’ squad who have been an action during the international break.

Joe Allen’s return to international duty, with the veteran midfielder coming off the bench during Monday’s 1-0 win over Montenegro, meant four Swansea players were used by Craig Bellamy in his second camp as Wales head coach.

Ollie Cooper started last Friday’s 2-2 draw in Iceland and then featured as a late substitute in the Montenegro win.

Liam Cullen made his first competitive start for Wales against Montenegro having got his first minutes in a competitive international game as a second-half substitute in Iceland.

Ben Cabango also came off the bench in Reykjavik and then started against Montenegro, a game in which no fewer than seven Swansea academy graduates had time on the pitch.

That number could have been higher had Wales regular Connor Roberts not been on left on a bench which also featured Rhys Norrington-Davies, who spent time at Swansea before being released as a youngster.

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Another player left kicking his heels in this international break was Swansea goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux.

He was an unused substitute in defeats to Brazil and Colombia despite Chile making a change in goal, with Colo-Colo’s Brayan Cortes replacing Gabriel Arias.

Swansea striker Zan Vipotnik featured as a substitute in both Slovenia’s Nations League games, playing 31 minutes of a 3-0 to defeat to Norway – for whom Erling Haaland scored twice – and another 19 minutes in a 1-0 win in Kazakhstan.

Nathan Tjoe-A-On played twice for Indonesia, featuring as a late substitute in a 2-2 draw with Bahrain before playing 90 minutes as his nation were beaten 2-1 in China on Tuesday.

Eom Ji-Sung, meanwhile, missed South Korea’s 3-2 win over Iraq on Tuesday having returned to Wales early as a result of a knee injury picked up in last Thursday’s 2-0 win over Jordan.

Ethan Latham
BBC Sport Wales

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Swansea City head to Lancashire this Saturday looking for a return to winning ways after a goalless draw against Stoke City before the international break.

With sights set on a second away win of the season, the Swans face a Blackburn Rovers side also in search of a response.

Rovers suffered back-to-back league defeats for the first time under manager John Eustace before the break, losing 3-0 at Coventry City, before former Swansea winger Morgan Whittaker's dramatic 97th-minute winner also saw Blackburn taste defeat at Plymouth Argyle.

However, like Swansea, Blackburn remain unbeaten at home this season in the league and currently sit one point outside the Championship play-off places.

Over the years Ewood Park has not been a happy hunting ground for the Swans, with only one win coming at the venue in the last 53 years.

A first half Liam Cullen strike was enough to earn Swansea all three points in October last year, a victory that would turn out to be Michael Duff's final win in charge of the club.

Before that sole victory, the Swans had conceded 15 goals in the past seven visits to the ground, suffering four defeats in the process.

Saturday's task might become all the more difficult for Swansea, with the club still awaiting news on the fitness of South Korea midfielder Eom Ji-Sung after reports of a knee injury suffered on international duty.

A 490-mile round trip awaits the Swans, with boss Luke Williams making his first visit to Ewood Park as a manager.

You really get the sense that a win would be huge for both clubs heading into a busy autumn schedule.

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Leon Britton hailed Wales manager Craig Bellamy's decision to bring Joe Allen back into the international fold as a "good move".

Central midfielder Allen retired from Wales duty little more than two months after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar but was included in Bellamy's squad for his country's Nations League matches with Iceland and Montenegro this month.

Allen was omitted from the 23-man matchday squad for Friday night's 2-2 draw in Iceland, although he is expected to be included for Monday night's contest against Montenegro at Cardiff City Stadium (19:45 BST).

The need for a midfielder is all the more pressing given that Ethan Ampadu is sidelined through injury, while Jordan James is suspended for the visit of Montenegro - paving the way for Allen to feature in some shape or form.

Ahead of the game, Bellamy said on Allen: "Hopefully he kicks a ball for me tomorrow [Monday]."

And former Swans midfielder Britton believes the experience Allen will bring to the international setup will only benefit Wales.

"I don't know how much he'll play. He's coming towards the end of his career," Britton said on the Feast of Football podcast.

"But you can understand why Craig wants him in his squad, because of the experience he's got, helping the younger players.

"It might not be on the pitch as such, but it'll be in the lead-up to games, on the training pitch with his experience of playing in big games and big tournaments.

"I think it's only a plus for the squad. I'm sure Craig would have spoken with Joe about the minutes that he'll play.

"I'm sure Joe is not expecting to start all the time or play as many minutes as he has before, but he'll know his role in that squad will be to try and help the younger players with his experience.

"I think it's a really good move from Craig Bellamy to get him back, and it's great to see Joe Allen back in the fold."

The full episode of Feast of Football is available now.