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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Swansea City v Everton: Premier League – live! | Swansea City v Everton: Premier League – live! |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 12.10pm BST12:10 | |
| While we’re waiting for this one, how about a celebration of some happy couples? This gallery of sport stars’ weddings is a joy, particularly Donald Campbell and Tonia Bern shooting the breeze with Terry Thomas... | |
| ...and Babe Ruth, full of the joy of his special day when marrying former stage star Claire Hodgson... | |
| ...and Mark Hughes’s hair. | |
| 11.48am BST11:48 | 11.48am BST11:48 |
| Team news | Team news |
| Swansea | Swansea |
| Fabianski; Rangel, Fernandez, Williams, Taylor; Cork, Ki; Shelvey, Sigurdsson, Routledge; Gomis. Subs: Tremmel, Amat, Britton, Emnes, Dyer, Grimes, Fulton. | Fabianski; Rangel, Fernandez, Williams, Taylor; Cork, Ki; Shelvey, Sigurdsson, Routledge; Gomis. Subs: Tremmel, Amat, Britton, Emnes, Dyer, Grimes, Fulton. |
| Everton | Everton |
| Howard; Coleman, Jagielka, Stones, Baines; Barry, McCarthy; Lennon, Barkley, Osman; Kone. Subs: Robles, Alcaraz, Garbutt, Besic, Pienaar, Naismith, Mirallas | Howard; Coleman, Jagielka, Stones, Baines; Barry, McCarthy; Lennon, Barkley, Osman; Kone. Subs: Robles, Alcaraz, Garbutt, Besic, Pienaar, Naismith, Mirallas |
| Referee: Michael Oliver (Ashington) | Referee: Michael Oliver (Ashington) |
| 11.40am BST11:40 | 11.40am BST11:40 |
| Preamble | Preamble |
| It’s that point in the season. The point where, if everyone’s really honest, they’d like to call it. Done. Everyone go home. We’ve all got a decent rest ahead of us in the summer so why not get it started now? Let’s stop kidding ourselves that a ‘strong end to the season’ or ‘finishing as high up the table as possible’ are real achievements. Neither Everton nor Swansea have anything to play for, so all of this - this playing out of the remaining games in the schedule, is essentially admin. It’s box-ticking, making sure that all is proper and taken care of, that the holy and established fixture list is respected and adhered to. | It’s that point in the season. The point where, if everyone’s really honest, they’d like to call it. Done. Everyone go home. We’ve all got a decent rest ahead of us in the summer so why not get it started now? Let’s stop kidding ourselves that a ‘strong end to the season’ or ‘finishing as high up the table as possible’ are real achievements. Neither Everton nor Swansea have anything to play for, so all of this - this playing out of the remaining games in the schedule, is essentially admin. It’s box-ticking, making sure that all is proper and taken care of, that the holy and established fixture list is respected and adhered to. |
| But still, there are appearance bonuses to be claimed, points to be won, goals and starts to be tallied up. And, of course, football to be played. For the other side of the long summer rest, aside from the Women’s World Cup, which we will actually be interested in, and some youth tournaments that we’ll pretend to be interested in, is no football. And that’s a disquieting thought. No football. Not that we really have much emotional investment in, anyway. And, on balance, Some Football is most clearly better than No Football. | But still, there are appearance bonuses to be claimed, points to be won, goals and starts to be tallied up. And, of course, football to be played. For the other side of the long summer rest, aside from the Women’s World Cup, which we will actually be interested in, and some youth tournaments that we’ll pretend to be interested in, is no football. And that’s a disquieting thought. No football. Not that we really have much emotional investment in, anyway. And, on balance, Some Football is most clearly better than No Football. |
| So, to Swansea and Everton. These are two clubs with managers whose reputations really don’t reflect their performances this season. Roberto Martinez is, despite a campaign that even his mother would struggle to call anything but ‘a colossal sigh of a season’, still enjoys plenty of kudos, brownie points and respect. He’s a good manager because he did a good job at Wigan under the circumstances, despite getting them relegated (although their subsequent travails after his departure might, oddly enough, be more of an indication of his quality than anything he did while there), and because people like some of the things he does, and people who have worked with him say he’s excellent. Which is all fair enough, but it doesn’t really explain why, the season after they bloody nearly doubled their transfer record, it’s all gone a bit wrong, and those concerns about Martinez being able to organise a defence have resurfaced, and so on and etc and so forth. | So, to Swansea and Everton. These are two clubs with managers whose reputations really don’t reflect their performances this season. Roberto Martinez is, despite a campaign that even his mother would struggle to call anything but ‘a colossal sigh of a season’, still enjoys plenty of kudos, brownie points and respect. He’s a good manager because he did a good job at Wigan under the circumstances, despite getting them relegated (although their subsequent travails after his departure might, oddly enough, be more of an indication of his quality than anything he did while there), and because people like some of the things he does, and people who have worked with him say he’s excellent. Which is all fair enough, but it doesn’t really explain why, the season after they bloody nearly doubled their transfer record, it’s all gone a bit wrong, and those concerns about Martinez being able to organise a defence have resurfaced, and so on and etc and so forth. |
| In the other dugout, Garry Monk. While he may slot firmly into the ‘Footballers Who Look Like Estate Agents XI’ (also Harry Kane, Alan Pardew - any and all nominations welcome), Monk has done a pretty splendid job at Swansea, despite losing his best striker to the great pit of transfer Sarlaac known as Manchester City. And, as an aside, last week’s win over Hull meant that Swansea’s record this season without the healthily-posteriored Ivory Coast striker is actually slightly better than with him. Huh. Imagine that. “I think it was a huge risk when you think about it,” said Monk this week, about his appointment, straight from the first team squad, to replace Michael Laudrup last year, and he’s right, but it’s paid off. Monk is in line to record a better finish than both Laudrup and Brendan Rodgers at the Liberty, which is quite the achievement. | In the other dugout, Garry Monk. While he may slot firmly into the ‘Footballers Who Look Like Estate Agents XI’ (also Harry Kane, Alan Pardew - any and all nominations welcome), Monk has done a pretty splendid job at Swansea, despite losing his best striker to the great pit of transfer Sarlaac known as Manchester City. And, as an aside, last week’s win over Hull meant that Swansea’s record this season without the healthily-posteriored Ivory Coast striker is actually slightly better than with him. Huh. Imagine that. “I think it was a huge risk when you think about it,” said Monk this week, about his appointment, straight from the first team squad, to replace Michael Laudrup last year, and he’s right, but it’s paid off. Monk is in line to record a better finish than both Laudrup and Brendan Rodgers at the Liberty, which is quite the achievement. |
| Which is not to say that all is rot at Everton while all is sunshine at Swansea. But the point stands. Two managers, not alike in reputation. One is better than t’other for sure, but which? Perhaps we shall find out today. | Which is not to say that all is rot at Everton while all is sunshine at Swansea. But the point stands. Two managers, not alike in reputation. One is better than t’other for sure, but which? Perhaps we shall find out today. |
| Kick-off: 12.45 BST | Kick-off: 12.45 BST |
| Updated at 11.44am BST | Updated at 11.44am BST |