u/TeilwrTenau

There's a very clear development in our play in the two games this season, something I've been wanting to see for a while. That's the one touch, on the deck, short passing triangles. It isn't just good to watch, but absolutely central to our goal threat. Both goals came from build up play of this kind. The first goal from a clever short dinked pass from Stamenic to Fulton, who then played a lovely one two with Tymon before releasing Yeo with a beautifully weighted through ball. It was a similar story with the second goal, with Eom heavily involved in the initial play before Fulton played another superb throughball for Tymon to expertly deliver to Idah, who times his run well. Pretty much all our goal threat in both games has been with us playing through the thirds in this way. Wonderful stuff.

This, combined with our top level pressing game out of possession, gives me confidence that we will challenge near the top this season. When you combine graft with elite level, dynamic football, you're on to a winner.

Acquiring a further centre back was a priority even before Burgess got injured, but now it's a priority. A couple of names have been suggested as potentially being of interest.

Eiran Cashin will probably be available on loan from Brighton. Excellent record at Championship level. Wouldn't be cheap, and would probably displace Welsh from the starting line up, which may not be great for his long term development.

A second option on loan (possibly on a loan to buy basis) is Tyler Bindon, from Forest. Only 21, but did well last season with Sheffield United, averaging 7 on Fotmob. Right footed, but played mainly on the left side of defence, but also played on the right. A Kiwi, so would be familiar playing with Stamenic and Just. Wouldn't automatically displace Welsh, which is a good thing.

Chances are we'll go for an inexperienced loanee, or a youngster from Europe, with a view to them being a backup at first.

Speaks really well. Comes across as an intelligent level headed, well adjusted guy.

Without a ball being kicked we will start in a higher position than most seasons, if not ever. With 5 teams starting with the letter "W" in the league (surely a record?) we start comfortably outside the relegation places. The only way is up (unless you look at the table in Welsh, in which case holding on to top spot may prove a challenge).

There's been a lot of debate about the Galbraith move but if this comment is to believed then Galbraith was pushed out of the door:

"Sporting director Jon Walters said: "The fact that he became available was a bit of a shock. I think I said it in a meeting with staff that it had to be done within 24 hours. We had to work really hard, really quickly to make that happen."

Those quotes, and the timing at the very end of the financial year for Swansea, indicates that this sale was initiated by us, to satisfy PSR. On that basis the claim from the Stoke end that the fee was £5 million rising to £10 is more believable than the claims emanating from our club. The truth could of course lie between the two extremes.

Any fans tempted to boo Galbraith tomorrow should reflect on the likelihood that we needed to get rid for financially expedient reasons. I very much doubt he agitated for this move. He was probably a pawn in a bigger game.

Available on a free from Brighton. Missed the entirety of last season with knee ligament damage, so would be a risk. But a fully fit Webster would definitely be an asset. Worth assessing where he's at in his recovery. Only 31, young for a CB. Right footed but plays on the left.

Been linked with both of these players. Both have good attacking stats: expected assists, chances created and big chances created. Both average defensive stats. The former is only 20, the latter 26 and a regular with top flight mid table Portuguese side Estoril.

Strange that we seem to be after yet more 8s / 10s, although with Cullen, Galbraith and Cooper all leaving it kind of makes sense. Rabby Nzingoula would probably be more of a long term proposition, whereas Holsgrove would be a potential starter.

Having watched the match back there was much to be encouraged by, especially in the first half.

The main difference from last season was our attacking intent and verticality. The additions to the squad played a big part in this, with Opoku and Just in particular carrying the ball at pace whenever space opened up. We rarely saw this last season, mainly because we lacked that capability. It's worth noting that all our good chances in the first half came from passing moves with the ball on the deck. One was started by an excellent pass on the floor from Vigouroux to Tymon that evaded a high press, opening up loads of space for Tymon to advance into at pace. I fully expect to see a lot more of this, this season, which is an exciting prospect.

On the negative side, our aerial game was pretty unrewarding. We didn't create a single opportunity directly from open play all game from lofted long balls, although to be fair we did win some set piece opportunities, mainly in the second half, from long balls, which then led to goalscoring opportunities. I don't want to overstate the issue, it's not as if this is a major platform of our gameplan (we were 14th for accurate long balls last season with an accuracy of 35.7 per cent, a bit below average), but I would like to see us being more discerning, like Middlesbrough (who were 18th for accurate long balls but with an accuracy of 44 per cent). Welsh will help in that regard, who had a long ball accuracy of 59 per cent, 96th percentile i.e. nearly best in league.

I also thought we lacked composure at times yesterday, which was reflected in some low passing accuracies (Yeo 59 per cent, Lissah 62 per cent, Stamenic 71 per cent). The players that came on in the second half looked after the ball better, which gave us control after Birmingham bossed the first quarter of the second half. Getting that balance right between verticality and control is no easy thing, but as players get more used to each other we will see fewer passes going astray, which was an issue at times, as could be expected with so many new faces.

All in all much to be optimistic about. A ball playing 6 in this window could work wonders for our prospects.

My biggest concern today is over Tymon. Not his performance on the pitch, but off it. Specifically the length of time he takes to take throw ins. Guaranteed we'll have several throws of ours overturned in favour of Birmingham. With a bit of luck we'll have established a Tymon specific training programme to deal with this issue.

Another season is upon us, and there's so much to be excited about.

Just to calm myself down there are a number of reasons why we could yet experience a mid table finish. For a start, there was much to be excited about this time last season. Great things were expected of Widell, Yalcouye, Burgess, Inoussa, Galbraith and Idah. None really hit the heights, although all showed glimpses of their capabilities. But the lack of Championship experience in most of those signings probably contributed to our difficult start. The same could happen again.

There are also question marks about Matos. His, at times pragmatic, brand of football got us comfortably away from trouble, but although we had an excellent record against bottom half teams we struggled against teams in the top half. We generally had difficulty building through the thirds and gain controlled possession in the opposition third or carry enough direct goal threat.

These are important caveats, but it really seems to me that we've addressed a lot of these concerns with our incomings. Not only do the signings look very promising in terms of individual stats and highlights reels, but there is clearly an intent to make us a formidable outfit collectively. We were already strong as a pressing and counter pressing team, but we could easily be best in league in this regard this season. We will miss Galbraith's qualities in possession, and Vipotnik's goals if (when) he leaves, but neither are well suited to a high intensity press. Stewart (and Idah possibly) will give us the opportunity to press high up the pitch in a way we can't with Vip up top.

To be able to compete more consistently with the top teams we needed more footballing ability from the back. The addition of Welsh and Lissah should provide this, and the desire to sign Almeida and Seck points to a recognition that we need to replace Galbraith's creativity. I'm confident we will address this gap before the end of the transfer window. There are also signs in pre season that we are looking to make throughballs on a more consistent basis. In Just, Walta and hopefully an Almeida type 6/8, we will be able to provide the ammunition to the likes of Idah and Opoku. I'm hopeful that we will attack in more diverse ways generally, with the benefit of a full pre-season and a squad with more varied qualities.

More than just the improved outlook for this season, it's the long term trajectory that gives me the greatest confidence. The return to Cat One status, the impending stadium and training ground acquisition, and just about everything right now is pointing in the right direction. As astute as Huw Jenkins was (until he wasn't), I don't think even at the zenith of his time in charge were there as many reasons for confidence in where we were heading as there are now. These really are promising to be the best of times.

This is probably the hardest to understand transfer attempt this summer.

Firstly his main position is given as an AM, albeit he also plays more centrally. In Matos' system I imagine he plays as an 8. Do we really need another 8?

Almeida's goal and shot output is very low, and his assists tally isn't great either.

So why are we interested? For a start his numbers are for a La Liga side and his average Fotmob rating in each of the last season has been 6.8, which is decent, especially considering the level. His passing stats are good and defensive ones excellent, so, like all our signings, bar Opoku (young enough to develop), he will fit the high intensity game plan.

Looking at his highlights reels he's clearly an excellent dribbler and is capable of finessed passes, including beautifully weighted through balls. So perhaps there's underlying data, not in the public domain, that Jamestown have identified that suggests his headline stats understate his capabilities.

I certainly wouldn't hold his reluctance to join us against him. You can't blame him that he sees the Championship as a step down, especially given he's in his prime. If he can be persuaded to join it will be a big vote of confidence in the project and should be seen in that light.

I guess Almeida is seen as a Galbraith/Cullen replacement, with superior defensive stats. It's still hard to understand why a ball playing DM challenging Stamenic for a starting berth isn't a higher priority, but this could be a timing thing.

Based on his highlights reels I think he would be a baller, but given his poor goal contribution stats it's by no means certain he would be a hit. Thought provoking for sure.

There are recurring rumours that you're interested in signing him. This is somewhat bemusing to Swansea fans, given the low regard in which he's held. However he does have excellent defensive stats, so it's not beyond the realms of possibility. Any indications at your end of the truth in this?

Rumours we're about to sign him from MLS side Vancouver Whitecaps. If true, this would be pretty much exactly what I've been asking for in terms of dynamism, intensity and creativity from a deep lying midfielder.

https://www.reddit.com/a/answers/s/HSN884xE5R

His goalscoring and creativity for a DM is phenomenal:

4 goals (xG 2.92 all four goals from outside the box) and 10 assists in 2025, 6 goals (xG 3.4, 3 from out of box) and 4 assists from just 14 games in the MLS in 2026. Above average defensive stats too.

Contract is up at the end of the calendar year, so should be available for a modest fee.

This would be a terrific signing, just from a pure footballing perspective, but being a current USA international (1 goal one assist in World cup) would be of huge marketing benefit.

Really hope this comes off.

Our recruitment of late has one consistent theme - strong defensive stats, whatever the position. This is true of Yeo and, to a slightly lesser extent, Walta. This makes perfect sense, as it's crucial to effecting a high intensity pressing game that you need most, if not all players able to contribute. So far so good.

However, if you look at the key creative metrics of expected assists, chances created and big chances created, Ronald, Widell and Stamenic are all well below average, whilst Franco is average. Even the departing Galbraith was only average, although his stats were impacted by him playing a lot at right back. Only Eom of last year's players was well above average on these three key creative metrics. Walta and Inoussa had good creative stats before they joined us, so hopefully they'll deliver on that promise. Likewise Yeo, who has excellent all round stats.

However, I feel if we're truly ambitious for this season a more creative and dynamic 6, in the Joe Allen mold, should be high on our wish list. Don't get me wrong, Stamenic is decent, but the right 6, alongside Franco and Walta, with Yeo and Eom out wide, could see us challenge for the top two. Caicedo joined Brighton for £4 million, so you never know what bargains Jamestown may be able to identify.

Although the financial regulations are changing from this season I assume PSR will still apply to the financial year just concluded, based on Hull's actions in selling players at the last minute. I would welcome any correction if this assumption is wrong.

How close are we to being in breach of PSR? The deferred purchase of Walta suggests we're pretty close. Also, if you look at the accounts for the past two years our loses after tax were £36 million, £21.5 million of which were in the last year. A generous assumption is that our loss this year will be of the order of £22 million. If so, our three year loss would come to £58 million. That's against a threshold of £41.5 million. Money spent on the academy, women's team and infrastructure can be deducted. If this is £5 million a year then that would put us in breach by £1.5 million.

That figure of £22 million is a total guess, but given that we had a managerial sacking and our player trading was surely down from the £8.1 profit the previous season (did we even make a loss?), then that assumption may be generous. However, Tom Gorringe did make substantial savings of the order of £3.5 million if my memory serves.

If we did in fact, as claimed in some quarters, sell Galbraith for only £5 million up front then the profit would only be £3.6 million. Would that be enough to save our bacon if we're running close to the limit? Selling Galbraith for a meagre fee would be a big disappointment but that would pale into insignificance against a points deduction.

I would welcome any corrections or clarifications to the above. Hopefully my concerns are misplaced, but the delayed Walta signing at the very least points to things being tight.

Left for Man U. Not clear if we received a transfer fee, although if not presumably we will get money for his training development in the academy.

It will be interesting to see what sort of replacement we'll get for Galbraith. Given we have Franco, Widell and Walta fighting for the two 8 positions, with Eom and Ronald perhaps able to play in the position if needed, perhaps we'll be looking at a more mobile 6, or a 6/8 hybrid, a bit like Joe Allen? Stamenic did well for us in his first Championship season, but I feel his position needs to be challenged if we're to seriously challenge at the top of the table.

You better get your skates on if you're serious about signing him. As a Swansea fan I'll be sad to see him go, but as classy as he is, he's not a good fit for Matos' high intensity pressing game. I don't get the impression that Wrexham are a high intensity side, so Galbraith may well be a better fit. He's certainly a class act.

Now we're partnered with Jamestown Analytics we can look forward to the transfer window with something approaching confidence. It's particularly timely as we're very likely to see Vipotnik leave. Galbraith could well move on too, possibly Tymon and even Stamenic. If the first two go we should have £30 million or so in the bank albeit some will have to be set on one side given the nature of our player trading model.

I'll be sad to see Vipotnik and Galbraith leave, but their departures could have the way to us building a squad that's a better fit to Matosball. Brilliant though Vipotnik's finishing and link play is he lacks the pace to allow us to play a high press, or to play balls over the top or through balls. I imagine his replacement will be strong in those areas, especially as, in Idah, we have a similar player to Vipotnik already in house.

We would certainly miss Galbraith's class, but it's also the case his slight build, relative lack of physicality and athleticism is a bit problematic when it comes to our high intensity press. I expect to see a potential Galbraith replacement to have those qualities. It's unlikely they'll be as good on the ball as the full package would cost serious money.

Interesting times to be a Swans fan.

Swans fan here in peace. The Swans have partnered with Jamestown Analytics for the forthcoming season. I was wondering what Ipswich's experience was of your partnership. Was it key to you winning promotion? Any duff signings?

Congratulations on your promotion. Your owner is clearly switched on, and the signs are promising with the Swans ownership in that regard.

Who knows, perhaps we'll be tussling at the top of the Premier league again in the not too distant future, as we were back in the old Division one in the early eighties. One can but dream...