Montero- Can the flying winger stay grounded at Swansea?
Blog written by BarneyLW
Published: 17th August 2015 15:01
It could-and probably should be- one of Garry Monk's greatest achievements so far, that after a record breaking season he garnered enough respect from the squad and the pundits alike to enjoy a positive pre-season without any big name departures from the club. Not just this, but the usual speculation about star players leaving has not been an issue this time around. It is now a club that players want to join, and players want to stay at.
Yet, the career of a footballer is short in relative terms, players are rewarded for loyalty but also ambition. With this in mind, it is surely a matter of time before a big club will come sniffing around for Jefferson Montero. The little Ecuadorian winger has earned plaudits for his displays against Chelsea and Newcastle, despite the fact this is nothing new to the Jack Army. What we saw from the opening two weeks is essentially what we saw all of last season from 'Baby Jeff'. We saw it last season, when the likes of Callum Chambers and Ritchie De Laet were two notable examples of full backs haunted by him. This time around, the man who cost £4 million made fools out of Branislav Ivanovic and Daryl Janmaat, the latter being disturbed enough by his opponent to earn two yellow cards on Saturday.
Should a big club come around, it will most likely end up being good business. Purchased for a relative bargain, Huw Jenkins could demand a transfer fee for astronomical amounts more than the fee they paid for him. Admittedly, for all his positive play a definite down side to his game is lack of goals, just the one last season. If Monk can find a way to get the South American firing in the goals at the Liberty and away from home, the Swans will have a real asset.
On a personal note, Jeff is definitely one I hope we keep. Undoubtedly one of the most exciting players I have seen consistently for the club, always fearless, always ambitious and attacking, as well as being predictably unpredictable. All it took was Rio Ferdinand to tweet about the winger's worth and you can imagine as the transfer window comes to the end there will be all kinds of speculation. Yet the fact is, there is nothing new about this talent, where was the summer gossip about a big club wanting him? If I am Montero, it would be worth evaluating my next step. It is clear, with the squad arguably the best Swansea squad ever assembled that Jeff can be a key part of that. The grass is not always greener, and ex players' transfer advice is not always one that everyone involved should go along with.
More blogs by BarneyLW:
Gylfi Not Irreplaceable- But Not Trying To Directly Replace Him Is SmartSo the dust has finally settled. In what seemed like the most painstaking saga in living memory, Gylfi Sigurdsson is an Everton player. A man the club were silently resigned to eventually losing has moved on and like so often in the past, the club must plan for life without their star player.
Published: 17th August 2017 20:17
A New Hope At the Liberty?A feeling of déjà vu rose with the sun over Swansea this morning. Another manager out the door, another few days of links, speculation, supposed sightings of candidates spotted outside Rossi’s sampling the scampi. But for the first time in recent memory, there is hope in the air.
Published: 28th December 2016 17:17
Guidolin and Conte- An Italian Managerial Head to HeadA different league in a different country for two familiar foes; on Sunday Francesco Guidolin's Swansea host Antonio Conte's Chelsea side. So how does the head to head record look from their previous encounters in Italy?
Published: 9th September 2016 13:23
The Mood: What's going on at Swansea City?There is nothing new or indeed out of the ordinary with a defeat being met by raucous displeasure among the Jack Army. There is nothing particularly new about a hyperbolic spread of opinion in where things should be going better, or if things really are that bad at all. But there is a strange feeling around Swansea City at the moment.
Published: 31st August 2016 8:26
Go for it against Chelsea- History shows it isn't always a bad choiceWhat do you do in a season that has very few highlights and lots of talking points? You discuss, debate and analyse until you are exhausted. This seems to be the modus operandi for the Swansea City faithful. One of the less enjoyable seasons seems to be drawing to a close, while Francesco Guidolin has seemingly masterminded survival while the ill fate of relegation seemed doomed to happen in January, the Italian has got the Swans to 37 points with 6 games remaining, losing only 3 times. Questions remain, nonetheless.
Published: 9th April 2016 8:34
Perspective is CriticalIt says an awful lot for where the club is that a narrow defeat at Anfield yesterday was met with disappointment. It is understandable, the visitors came away hugely unlucky not to pick up a point after a debatable penalty converted by James Milner put Liverpool ahead, and they eventually held out for a 1-0 win.
Published: 1st December 2015 18:02
Plans To Leave, Pals and Panther Crawls: The Up and Down Story of Bafé GomisThanks to the app 'Timehop', which allows one to roll back the years at their social media activity, earlier in the summer I was able to look back my reaction to the signing of Bafétimbi Gomis. What a year is has been concerning the big Frenchman ever since. I imagine I will look back in a year from now at the excitement I illustrated at the considerable coup bringing in Andre Ayew- But you would hope his tenure at the club will not be as up and down.
Published: 31st August 2015 20:57
Strength in Depth Will Please Monk MostA 3-0 win at home to York City will hardly send shock waves around the football world. Yet, you can only beat what is in front of you, and with the next round of the Capital One Cup looming, a draw away to recently relegated Hull was the reward for a comfortable win against Russ Wilcox' men.
Published: 26th August 2015 20:28
In Jack Cork, Monk May Have a New Main ManFor anyone who attended the Aston Villa game on Saturday, it had all the hallmarks of a fantastic away day. The most important factor being that Garry Monk's men came away with a win, despite it not being a fantastic game.
Published: 24th March 2015 6:52
Frustrating, but not entirely surprisingLast week was a strange experience. Even the most hardened Swans fan would have to admit that the defeat last week was thoroughly deserved. It was not something a lot of the fans would be used to, but Garry Monk's side were blown away in a manner that I personally have never seen. Our only crime was perhaps the mentality, that sense that the game was a write off. They looked like they never believed a win was possible, and by the time it got to 4-0, the players looked shy, scared even, to lose the ball and possibly concede another.
Published: 24th January 2015 17:04
Recent Weeks Have Left Us WantingOne major criticism I had from the Newcastle game a fortnight ago-and this was the first real complaint I had all season-was that the team lacked a bit of ambition. The way we played that day, in comparison to the visitors, it seemed like with the slightest upping of the gears and the 3 points would've almost certainly gone to the Swans.
Published: 20th October 2014 14:26
Jacks on the Silver ScreenFriday was a strange night. On the eve of undoubtedly Swansea's toughest game so far this season (which eventually proved to be the case, as the Blues secured a 4-2 victory) I went to see Swansea in a different way. I have yet to even see the highlights of the Chelsea game, yet I have seen a movie about them. How many fans of other clubs can say that?!
Published: 14th September 2014 15:45
Time For The Monk Doubters to Get Behind the TeamAs a club, Swansea have never minded being written off by the rest of the football world. Its fun. For the last decade or so, it meant a smug feeling around the club for fans and players alike when promotion has been followed by promotion, which was followed by a European campaign and three successful seasons in highest tier of English (and Welsh) football.
Published: 13th August 2014 18:03
There's No Place Like HomeWith just over two weeks to go before the season opens with a tough game away at Louis Van Gaal's Manchester United, pre-season seems to have been going well for Garry Monk's men. A solid 4-0 win at Home Park yesterday against Plymouth Argyle, with a potentially tricky home game coming up against Villareal, all after a seemingly positive tour of the US. Not to mention a blockbuster 20 minutes from substitute Gylfi Sigurdsson. Two goals and an assist yesterday, if he can save some of that talent for Old Trafford, he could make himself a hero once again to the Jack Army.
Published: 29th July 2014 7:45
I Suppose Cats Do Like Doing NothingNo news is good news, I suppose? A week ago it looked a dead certainty that star striker, Wilfried Bony was Anfield-bound, as Liverpool look to splash out to compensate for losing teething superstar Luis Suarez by adding quality and quantity to their squad. Now, the focus very much remains on QPR striker Loic Remy, who has flown out to the States to discuss a move, taking the focus very much away from a move for the Ivorian.
Published: 22nd July 2014 7:40
Transfer gossip: Egos, replacements and Liberty returnsIt isn't the most shocking thing that as the group stages of the World Cup are almost over and people are slowly coming to the terrible realisation that from here there will be less and less games (sometimes even days off with NO football) that transfer gossip is on the increase. Summers without international tournaments usually mean the rumours are all we have to sustain our craving for the round ball kicking, from May until August. So let me be the giver of good news, as I must say, with all the usual 'who is going to leave' pessimism, it is refreshing to be linked with a variety of players.
Published: 24th June 2014 21:45
The Marvin EffectIt's rare to see such warmth for a player who actually before January was not our own; but as the permanent transfer of Marvin Emnes looks increasingly likely, few would be unhappy at this news.
Published: 18th June 2014 17:55