279 England

Welcome to the first ever England279 Club Focus, in Edition 1 we will be looking at Swansea City and their boss Fred Dodger. Fred has been at the Liberty Stadium since pre-season and currently has them sitting in 14^th place just 11 points off an SMFA shield position, but also just 12 points off safety. It has been an up and down Season for the Swans as they got to the English Shield Final beating title contenders West Ham at the ¼ final stage and then overcoming Cardiff City in a giant all Welsh affair in the semi-final beating the Blue Birds 2-0. The final though, was a different affair as he came up against a very resilient Leeds United led by John Vinnicombe, there wasn’t much to separate between the 2 clubs apart from a couple of Morgan De Sanctis match winning saves as Danny Drinkwater scored the winner to leave Fred’s Swansea City down in the dumps, as was proved with Swansea taking 5 games to get back to winning ways!

We'll start off with a few questions to get to know Swansea City boss Fred Dodger...

Favourite Football Team: Manchester United (since the mid 70’s if anybody is interested) ;)

Favourite Footballer of all Time: Eric Cantona

Favourite Band/Singer: Tough one but probably Jackson Browne

Favourite Film: Tough one again but I’ll go for Alien

Favourite Actor: Matthew McConaughey

Favourite Food: Steak and kidney pudding, chips, mushy peas and gravy. On a foam tray if possible

Favourite Drink: Malt Whiskey

Spouse/Kids: Long term/permanent girlfriend with one daughter

Favourite Joke: Q: What do drummers never say? A: Can we do one of my songs?

Now onto the serious part...

Q.Fred, you are coming to the end of your first season in charge of Swansea City having took over the club in pre-season, how do you feel your first season has gone so far?

A. Hi Frank, it's been an enjoyable season but if I'm honest, results have been a mixed bag. I came in without much money to spend but with a squad good enough to be getting on with. I was hoping to make a few improvements and I've brought in Marcell Jansen. I know he is never got to go up to 91 or anything but I needed a better left back than I had and I think he's safe at 89 for a while. I need to keep an eye on the wage bill too so anybody over 89 becomes a bit of a drain. I took a punt on Lukasz Fabianski, hoping he would rise to 88 or even 89 but unfortunately he only made it to 87 so it seems like I've wasted a bit of money there. The idea was to sell Michael Vorm, who I think will go down soon, to free up some cash and promote Fabianski. Maybe a re-think on the cards there.

Q. You managed to get your side to the final of the English Shield, but lost a very even final to Division 2’s Leeds United, what did that do to your team’s confidence?

A. I think the lads took it quite hard and you maybe question your decisions as a manager. We'd had a great cup run and I really fancied ourselves against Leeds, no disrespect intended. Fair play to them though, I put out my strongest side and Leeds nicked at the death. 

Q. Who do you feel is/are your key players moving forward with Swansea City?

A. I think Kostas Manolas is going to be a star player. I was disappointed, but not totally surprised, to see Gomis drop to 89 recently. I think he still has a big part to play though and may well go up again by next season. Marvin Emnes is one to watch too. Also a special mention for an unsung hero of the squad; Nathan Dyer who has come in and done a great job, mostly playing out of position.

Q. You won 2-1 at home to a very strong Independiente, do u feel you can finish the job in Argentina and bring the Euro Shield back to Wales?

A. That was a great result and a massive boost. I think we can definitely get a result away from home but it won't be easy. As you say, they're a very strong side, probably one of the strongest teams in the competition. If we get through that, I think we'd have a very good chance of at least making the final if we get a decent draw.

I will say though, it's a distraction from the league. Our league form has suffered from our good runs in the domestic and euro shield. I'm not complaining, it's just a fact of life. 

Q. What is your aim for next season?

A. I'd like to strengthen the squad and challenge for at least a top six place. A trophy would great too, after going so close this time. 

That is all for this edition of Club Focus, a big thank you to Fred for a very speedy interview. Look out for the next edition coming to the 279England blog soon.