Carl Evans made his Planet Swans debut and looks at some of those players that have flown the Swans flock

August 2011

1. Introduction
2. Flown from the Flock
3. Marcos Painter
4. Marvin Emnes
5. Fabio Borini
6. Nathan Tyson
7. Pawel Abbott
8. Staying inWales
9. All the Goals

Introduction

2011 will inarguably be an unforgettable year in the history ofSwanseaCityfootball club. As the club ventures onwards into territory unfamiliar to the younger generation of Swans fans, those who remember the clubs’ prior stint in the top division will find the 1981/82 incomparable to the coming season.

With Multi-Millions being flaunted by the clubs around them, competing for another remarkable top six place in the modern age of the Premiership seems a lot less likely.

The Swans, however, have not been so miserly as they embark on their first top flight season in 30 years. Obliterating all former transfer record fees with swoops for the likes of Danny Graham, Leroy Lita, Wayne Routledge and Michel Vorm, the £10.5m spent in the summer by Brendan and Huw ranks higher than seven fellow clubs in the league (and just short of one other) signalling the clubs’ serious intention to avoid the prevalently predicted bottom three finish.

Not that money alone guarantees success. As fans who have followed the Swans – whether starting since before the rocketing rise and the subsequent meteoric downfall, or at any time during the last decade – will know the balance sheets at the club have ranged from unimpressive to hair-raising. Throughout most of its recent history, the club has operated on tight budgets, relying on cheap or even free signings to progress, fight and survive season by season. This figurative revolving door has seen its fair share of ins and outs as players came and went. Some of them will be looked back upon fondly, others not so.

As the Swans wave goodbye to the football league for the first time since the early 80’s, with it they leave behind an ensemble cast of players and personnel who had at some point pulled on the black and white shirt of the Swans, most having contributed in some way to the clubs rise from the bottom tier of English football to the lucrative prize of the Premier League.

While the Swans attempt to reach the pinnacle of their history, these players will be watched (and some missed) as their careers pan out with a little bit of Swansea City still within them, bearing the ethos “Once A Jack…Always A Jack.”

Flown from the Flock

With an influx of fresh and exciting talent, the club parted ways with a number of players who had recently played their part in the Swans ascension. Talent wise, the two faces who may be most sorely missed are that of Dutch stopper Dorus DeVries and midfield engine Darren Pratley, who both opted to leave the club following the end of their contracts. Retraining their focus to a new challenge, joining Wolves andBolton respectively, they could line up against the Swans during this momentous season for their former club.

Another pair stepping into a top division are Spaniards Gorka Pintado & Albert Serran, who have both joined Cypriot First Division side, AEK Larnaca. Pintado had already played for the Larnaca side on loan last season, scoring 4 goals before picking up an injury.

Local boy Shaun MacDonald finally moved away from his beloved club where he had been since a youngster. Signing forBournemouth, the move could spell an ideal opportunity for Shaun’s career to progress with regular first team football.

The strangest of outgoings from the Swans was perhaps Ryan Harley, who, having only just joined the club from Exeter City, moved on to Championship new boys Brighton without playing a single competitive game for the Swans.

Yves Makalambay and Cedric Van Der Gun also saw their contracts expire and are both yet to be snapped up by a club. Kerry Morgan, also out of contract this Summer, made the short journey East to sign for Neath Athletic. 

Perhaps a player who will be regarded with a heavy heart in South Wales is Fabio Borini, who had already returned to his homeland of Italy to sign for Parma early in the summer. Before kicking a ball for the Northern-Italian side, a loan move to Roma was soon arranged with the Giallorossi securing an option to buy for €7m. But more on Fabio later.

Many fans this season will remember Shefki Kuqi. The hard working Fin chipped in with a handful of goals (and a howler of a missed open goal) while at the Swans before being released. He was, rather bizarrely, snapped up by a Premier League Newcastle United, fresh from their promotion back into the big time. His career in the top flight didn’t last much beyond a handful of substitute appearances and he soon found himself out of contract again until Oldham Athletic offered the Swan-diving Finland International a one year contract.

So far, Rory Fallon has not had such luxury, as he currently finds himself without a club following his release from Plymouth. Despite a short trial with Yeovil Town, the Glovers decided not to offer the Kiwi Striker a contract. Kevin Amankwaah is also a free agent following his release fromSwindonTown. 

Moving abroad, Jordi Lopez joined Crete based club OFI, while Dimitrious Konstantopoulos joined AEK Athens.

Controversially, Nathan Tyson made the daring move fromNottinghamForest to East-Midland rivals Derby County. 

Other movers include Chris Todd to Forest Green Rovers, Darryl Duffy to Cheltenham Town, Jason Price to Morecambe, Kevin Austin to Boston United, Lee Thorpe to Fylde AFC, Marc Goodfellow to Gresley, Owain Tudur-Jones to Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Stephen O’Halloran to Carlisle United, Steven Watt to Dover Athletic and Warren Feeney to cash-strapped Plymouth Argyle. Izzy Iriekpen and Jamie Wood are both without clubs. 

Marcos Painter 

One former player who will be hoping to follow in the slipstream of the Swans’ flight into the Premier League is Marcos Painter. The ex-Republic ofIrelandU21 left back joinedBrighton, initially on loan, from the Swans in 2010 and has since been a mainstay in Gus Poyet’s entertaining side. The South coast club are aiming for back-to-back promotions following their League One victory last season.

Marcos personified all that it means to be a Jack when he was booked in the Seagulls 3-1 win atCardiff. The offence? Performing the Swimaway in front of theCardifffaithful. It was a well deserved yellow card – but well worth it! 

Marcos joined the Swans fromBirminghamon loan in 2006 to cover injuries. He impressed enough during his 3 month stay that Kenny Jackett signed Painter on the last day of the transfer window in January. It was one of the Manager’s final actions as Swans boss, leaving his post just two weeks later. What Kenny left us with was a very competent left back that racked up 60 league appearances for the Swans. 

Unfortunately, a knee injury struck Painter in late 2008 and he never featured for the Swans again. He moved on loan to Brighton for the tail end of the following season before signing a permanent deal withAlbion. Playing the football that Gus Poyet encourages, Painter is a good bet to be lining up against Premier League opposition next season. 

Marvin Emnes 

A player that will need no introduction to Swans fans is Emnes. The Dutch forward will be forever etched inSwanseaCityfolklore thanks to his exceptional goal that sealed a famous 1-0 win atCardifflast season. It was one of his two goals in a Swans shirt in just four loan appearances for the club and it was enough for Brendan to attempt to lure Emnes back to the club in the summer. The clubs’ advances were rejected byMiddlesbroughand Emnes eventually ended speculation that he might return by signing a long term contract with the Northeast club. 

Middlesbroughrejoiced in their ability to hold onto their man as Emnes started the 2011-12 Championship campaign with a bang. He opened Middlesbrough’s account at home againstPortsmouthas they played out a 2-2 draw. A hat-trick in the Carling Cup against Walsall preceded a winning goal atLeedsthat gave Boro an impressive away win.

Emnes wasn’t done for the month there, though, as he managed goals against Barnsley andCoventrythat placed him at the top end of the scorers charts and embeddedMiddlesbroughinto the play-off spots at the early stage. Tony Mowbray, who rebuffed the approach for theRotterdamwinger, will be hoping he maintains his form to take the club back into the Premiership. 

No doubt, the crowning moment of Emnes’ spell at the Swans will be that goal atCardiff. A tense and anxious affair that was crying out for a piece of individual brilliance that the dreadlocked forward duly delivered with less than twenty minutes remaining. Trapping a ball in to his feet from Joe Allen, with his back to goal, Emnes held off the interest of two Cardiff City defenders before turning away from them both and unleashing a left foot shot at goal, just creeping inside the post following a touch from the keeper. 

At 23 years old, Marvin has the potential to play in the top flight, just as he will surely have his sights set on representing Netherlands, which he has done so at U-17, U-19 and U-21 level. A return to the Swans in the future may not yet be written off. 

Fabio Borini 

Also engraving his presence in the memory of Swans fans after such a short spell at the club, Fabio Borini has left a trace of class and quality that sets the bar very high for future signings to live up to. Pace, technique and impeccable movement, Fabio slotted straight in to Brendan’s side at the back-end of last season, as the Swans pushed for their famous promotion. Borini led the line exquisitely; he contributed more to the team than the 6 goals in 9 appearances. Arriving on loan fromChelseawith some pedigree, the influence of the footballing quality of the likes of Didier Drogba showed in the young Italian as he put in consistent, classy performances. 

It would be difficult to pinpoint a lasting memory of Borini. The brilliant free-kick againstNorwichimmediately stands out as his magnum opus. The deft side footed freekick that glided into the top corner was a joy to watch from the stands and on television alike. But perhaps his contribution in the two huge games in which he didn’t score should be remembered just as well. His incredible work rate in the play-off first leg againstForest, a game in which everybody had to dig deep. The play-off final, also, where his earned penalty was much needed to relieve the pressure and anxiety fromReading’s sprightly comeback.  

Unfortunately, Borini had already signed a pre-contract agreement withParma– based in the same region as his home town – before he had even arrived inSouth Wales. But his homecoming did not last there as AS Roma saw enough quality in him to offer a significant sum for a loan move with an option of buying Fabio at a later date. The opportunity to play for such an illustrious club as Roma was a big lure for Fabio and he moved on to the capital, ready to begin the Serie A season. Swans fans and Brendan alike, however, may rue not unearthing Borini sooner and signing him to a permanent deal before anybody else. 

Nathan Tyson 

One of the more controversial switches of the summer centered aroundNottinghamForeststriker Nathan Tyson. Tyson managed to provoke the fans of their East Midlands rivals,DerbyCounty, by waving aForestflag in front of the visiting supporters at the final whistle of their game in August 2009 – a game in which he scored what turned out to be the winning goal. Despite this incident, Tyson made the move toPrideParkthis summer.

However, he has yet to get his season rolling after picking up a groin injury in pre-season for the Rams. 

Tyson enjoyed a short loan spell at the Swans in 2001, where he scored his first ever league goal. He made 11 appearances overall before returning toReading, where he was soon shipped back out on loan toCheltenham. It signified the start of a career that has so far seen him play for seven clubs, five of which he played some time on loan. 

Tyson appeared in both play-off games against the Swans last season - coming on for Robert Earnshaw in the first leg, before being withdrawn from the return leg at theLiberty. Expected to return to action in a couple of weeks, Tyson will be looking to continue scoring goals. His record stands just short of 100 goals in 360+ games. 

Pawel Abbott 

In a similar mould, Pawel Abbott stands at 94 career league goals. Pawel, born inEnglandto a Polish Mother, began his career inPolandwith LKS Lodz as a Youth player before moving to theUK. He returned toPolandearly this year to sign for Ekstraklasa side Ruch Chorzów. Opening his account for his new club in July, Abbott struck twice in August to move his tally to 3 goals in 5 appearances for the Polish top flight club. 

Abbott joined the Swans for £150,000 fromHuddersfieldTownwith an impressive goal-scoring record at theYorkshireclub. In fact, just a month prior to signing forSwansea, he scored twice against them to turn around a 2-0 deficit for his then-club at the Galpharm. However, his record at theLibertywas disappointing as he only managed to find the net once in 18 league appearances. It was no surprise then, that less than 6 months later, he was sold toDarlingtonat a £50,000 loss. 

Pawel seems to have fit right in inPolandand is looking likely to recapture his early career goal scoring form there.  

Staying in Wales 

Not all former players are quite as far flung. Many decide to ply their trade in the Welsh Premier League, opting not to stray too far from SA1. With Neath Athletic and Llanelli AFC among others housing a number of the clubs’ former players, an ex-Swan is commonly on the scoresheet inWales. 

Kerry Morgan has found himself on the scoresheet twice so far this season for the Eagles. Joining after being released from the Swans in the summer, Morgan found the net in the 2-0 win over Bangor City as well as in the 4-2 victory over Aberystwyth Town. Fan’s favorite Lee Trundle also got himself amongst the scorers in that game, undoubtedly prompting some Swans fans to proclaim that Magic Daps would be cut out for the Premiership.

Anthony Finselbach, a youth product from the Swans, playing alongside Michael Howard at Aberystwyth, managed to grab a goal in their 4-1 win overNewtown. 

All the Goals 

Big name and big player, Adebayo Akinfenwa has gotten himself off to a good start despite Northampton Town struggling in the opening stages of the season. Bayo struck Town’s goal in their 2-1 loss to Bristol Rovers, and he also managed to grab one in a 3-2 loss to a Cheltenham Town. Two of the Cheltenham goals came courtesy of Darryl Duffy. Keith Lowe also lined up forCheltenham in this match.

Guillem Bauza also has two goals to his name this term. The Spaniard netted for Exeter City from the spot in their loss to Brentford (featuring Marcus Bean) and again in The Grecians 2-0 win over Yeovil Town. The aforementioned Bean, who had two separate loan spells at the Swans, scored for Brentford in their 5-0 demolishing of Leyton Orient, but it wasn’t to be his day when Tranmere were in town, as Andy Robinson scored to give Rovers a 2-0 win. 

Shaun MacDonald got hisBournemouth career off to a good start. His goal was the icing on the Cherry cake as they beatHereford 4-1 in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy.

The Carling Cup also featured an ex-Swan goalscorer, but it was already all too late for Exeterwhen Daniel Nardiello scored an 80^th minute penalty in their 3-1 loss toLiverpool. 

Jason Scotland managed to score in Ipswich’s 2-1 win over Leeds, but he will be thankful that he did not feature in the Tractor Boy’s heavy 7-1 defeat to Peterborough. Jermaine Easter is off the mark forCrystalPalace after scoring againstCoventryCity.

Ryan Harley delivered the pick of the bunch with a sublime 30 yard free-kick as Brighton marched to the top of the table with a 2-0 win overPeterborough.

Dropping out of the league, Paul Connor took just 3 minutes of the season before scoring against Bath City as Mansfield Town picked up a 1-0 win. Scott Fitzgerald scored in Wealdstones 2-2 draw withPottersBarTown.

Always lively, Adrian Forbes earned and then converted a penalty for his side,LowestoftTown. It was the equalizing goal before they went on to beatMildenhallTown 4-1.

Controversial figure, Leon Knight, scored Coleraine’s first goal of the season in their 1-1 draw with Cliftonville. 

Into the Premiership, Frank Lampard slotted home a penalty asChelsea beat Premiership new boysNorwichCity. 

Outside of scoring, Swans fans got a close look at Jordi Gomez¸ who stole many a Jack’s breath as his shot hit the bar when the Swans met Roberto Martinez’s Wigan in their 0-0 draw. Darren Pratley has so far been limited to cameo appearances in the league but did make a start in the Carling Cup win over Macclesfield. Dorus De Vries has also only seen limited action, starting his only game in the Carling Cup againstNorthamptonTown. 

Meanwhile, for the third consecutive season, the Swans welcomed back a familiar face in Federico Bessone. The Argentinian joins an exclusive famous club of players who had once left the Swans only to return later in their career. Ivor Allchurch, Robbie James, Lee Trundle and Leon Britton were all welcomed back with open arms by the Jack Army. After all… 

Once a Jack…Always a Jack!

Photo: Action Images

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