What does the future hold for Ashley Williams?

Ashley Williams has been a true revelation in South Wales, as the Swansea skipper has lead the club to a top half finish in the Premier League, cup glory in the Capital One Cup and Europa League football next season.

The Swansea captain has since been heavily linked with a move away from the Liberty Stadium, with Arsenal rumoured to be his club of choice.

Just a few weeks ago, Williams was reportedly very close to finalising a deal to join the Gunners though the transfer has seemingly stumbled in recent weeks.

Despite this, the speculation surrounding Ashley Williams’ future has been on-going with several newspapers publishing articles claiming that the Swansea and Wales captain is ready to quit the club in search of a new challenge.

Although the main club that look to be chasing Williams’ signature is Arsenal, both Merseyside clubs - Liverpool and Everton - have also been linked with moves for the man who completed 86% of his passes last season in the Premier League.

Liverpool, and manager Brendan Rodgers in particular, are reportedly keen to link up with Rodgers' former defensive star, Ashley Williams, as a replacement for Martin Skrtel, who has been heavily rumoured with a move away from Anfield.

Everton have also emerged as a destination for Williams since the appointment of former Swans’ boss Roberto Martinez as the club’s new manager. Martinez was the manager to first notice Williams’ talent as he spent around £400,000 on the former Stockport centre-half.

Arsenal have been linked with a move for Ashley Williams as a replacement for an outgoing centre-half that is currently on the Arsenal books.

The two players who may be heading for the exit door at the Emirates are Thomas Vermaelen - who is said to be keen to push a move through after falling out of favour with manager Arsene Wenger towards the end of the season - and Laurent Koscielny, to whom Barcelona and Bayern Munich are said to be interested.

Williams would undoubtedly be a good fit for Arsenal should he decide to move to the North London club. He has won more aerial duels than Per Mertersacker, made over 100 more accurate passes than Vermaelen, and has also won more ground 50-50s than Laurent Koscielny.

With Swansea’s style of play being similar to the style of play that Arsenal are famous for, Williams looks a perfect replacement for either Laurent Koscielny or Thomas Vermaelen.

However, Swansea will not let one of their prized assets go for anything less than £10 million, while Chairman Huw Jenkins has reiterated the fact that the club are in no rush to sell their best players. This reluctance to sell seems to have put off Arsenal from purchasing the man who has 41 international caps, and is most likely the reason why the deal has stalled recently.

The Swans are of course used to seeing players come and go, with former stars such as Joe Allen, Gylfi Sigurdson and Scott Sinclair all top performers who have recently left the club.

If Williams did leave the Liberty Stadium outfit, the on field captaincy would more than likely go to club stalwart and midfield maestro Leon Britton, with Gary Monk remaining as Club captain.

The current Champions, Manchester United, are heading to the Liberty on the opening weekend of the season and it is not yet clear whether Williams will still be playing for Wales’ top footballing side. If he did go, who does Laudrup see as his successor at the back?

Sevilla defender Alberto Botia looks the likely candidate to fill Williams’ boots with Michael Laudrup confirming interest in the player, and Botia himself claims that Swansea did make a bid for him in the January transfer window.

Espanyol defender Jordi Amat has also been rumoured with a £2 million switch to the Principality as Laudrup once again looks to the good value Spanish market to replenish his squad. 

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Hughes replaces Pulis at Stoke

Stoke City have appointed their second successive Welsh manager with the announcement Mark Hughes is to replace Tony Pulis.

The former Wales national boss has been out of work since being sacked by QPR back in November, and has welcomed the chance to get back in to football management. His appointment hasn’t been universally welcomed by supporters at the Britannia Stadium, but he spoke about proving the doubters wrong in his opening press conference and thanked the Coates family, who own the club, for his chance.

He said: “I am absolutely delighted to be here at Stoke. The Coates family have given me this opportunity and I am really grateful. They have looked at my career as a whole, and I am delighted to have the opportunity of working with great people.

“I don't regret moving to QPR. A lot of managers have gone in there and found it difficult. It was tough, and mistakes were made. I made mistakes and other people made mistakes too. I was given the task of keeping them in the Premier League and thankfully I did that. Twelve games later though I lost my job, because we didn't get the results we wanted at that time.”

“I’ve had something like 270 games as a Premier League manager, but people do tend to look at the last year or so. If anything it gives me greater determination to go out there and prove people wrong.”

He also paid tribute to his predecessor, adding: “Tony enjoyed huge success here, and because of that I have a better chance of succeeding here. He has left a very good club behind him. He has done a wonderful job.”

Since leaving the Welsh job to take over at Blackburn Rovers, the North Walian also spent time at Manchester City and Fulham before taking the reins at QPR.

He of course had a stellar playing career which took in stints at Manchester United, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Chelsea, among others.

Newport-born Pulis had been at Stoke since 2006 for his second spell managing the club, taking over while Hughes was at Blackburn.

He guided the club back in to the top flight for the first time in 23 years and helped them establish themselves at the top table. They reached their first FA Cup final in 2011, going down 1-0 to Manchester City, before embarking on their first ever European adventure in the Europa League, eventually falling to Spanish giants Valencia.

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Cardiff capitalise on rivals’ blips to increase Championship lead

Cardiff City’s 2-0 victory at Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday (March 16) tasted all the sweeter with news of defeats for Hull and Watford, and then Crystal Palace on Sunday (March 17).

The Bluebirds increased their lead at the top of the table to seven points again courtesy of Don Cowie and Matt Connolly goals, while Hull crashed 2-1 at home to Nottingham Forest and Watford went down 1-0 at Barnsley. Palace were them thumped 3-0 by fierce rivals Brighton at lunch time on Sunday.

Those results brought a sense of relief to Cardiff fans who were starting to get a bit jittery with their own team’s recent stuttering form. But the match wasn’t without its share of heart in mouth moments, particularly when former Swansea striker Leroy Lita had the ball in the net in the final minutes as the linesman raised his flag for offside.

“It’s another three points towards where we want to go,” said boss Malky Mackay, whose side still have a game in hand over the chasing pack. “We’ve been top since November 24 and it’s a long time to be there and be shot at, discussed, debated – I’m very pleased with the mental strength of our players to deal with that.

“They just keep taking on the team that’s in front of them and going on to the next one. You have to keep entering into those battles and eventually you start to win them. We kept at it and got the result we deserved.”

In the Premiership, Swansea City lost their second successive fixture as Arsenal avenged their victory at the Emirates earlier this season with a 2-0 win.

Nacho Monreal and Gervinho scored in the last quarter of an hour to inflict Swansea’s third home defeat of the season, whose best chances were squandered by Michu and Angel Rangel, a heavy touch ending the full-back’s one-on-one chance with Gunners’ ‘keeper Lukasz Fabianski.

Arsenal could even have had a third, but Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain saw his effort rattle the crossbar after cutting inside Rangel.

Captain Ashley Williams expressed his dismay at the Jacks’ “flat” performance, urging them not to ruin what has been a brilliant season for the club.

“I don’t think we played very well,” he said. “It was the same as last week, maybe even worse.

“It’s disappointing to lose 2-0 at home. It was flat, I’m not too sure why. I’d never question the lack of effort, there was just no intensity, no tempo, no urgency. In the second half we never looked like scoring.

“We’ve got to find that motivation. If that’s what some people are lacking, they’ve got to find it. I can’t imagine that they are, but it’s important for us [to win] as much as anybody else.”

In the Conference, Newport’s game against Macclesfield was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch at Rodney Parade, while Wrexham were held to a goal-less draw with Luton Town at the Racecourse.

The result saw the Dragons blow the chance to climb back above Mansfield to the top of the table, as Luton cleared efforts from Dele Adebola and Martin Riley off the line, while veteran Hatters ‘keeper Mark Tyler stopped efforts from Adebola and Brett Ormerod.

Stephen Wright could have nicked it at the end, but he nodded wide from six yards.

The top two were due to face each other at the Racecourse tonight (March 19), but that game has been called off due to an unplayable pitch.

Newport, on the other hand, return to action with a crunch promotion clash with play-off rivals Kidderminster Harriers tonight (March 19). A win for The Exiles would move them within two points of their visitors, who currently sit third in the table, but Newport do have four games in hand over them and Wrexham, and three over Mansfield, whom they trail by eight points.

In the Blue Square North, Colwyn Bay’s mini revival under player/manager Frank Sinclair was further halted with a disappointing home defeat to Altrincham.

Former Chelsea defender Sinclair saw red after 83 minutes for using what the referee deemed to be an elbow in an off-the-ball clash with the league’s leading goalscorer, Damian Reeves, to round off a miserable day for the strugglers.

The visitors shaded the first half, and took the lead after 22 minutes. A low cross from Shaun Densmore saw Reeves fire home from close range.

They got their second on 54 minutes when Reeves converted a Nicky Clee cut back, but almost immediately, Bay pulled one back when substitute Jason Lampkin scored with almost his first touch.

Any hopes Seagulls fans had of a comeback were then halted when Duncan Watmore beat two defenders and expertly finished inside the area to kill the game on 80 minutes, before Sinclair’s dismissal three minutes later.

They remain in the relegation zone going in to tonight’s game with promotion contenders FC Halifax, four points from Corby and safety, although with two games in hand over them.

“We’ve given it a go, tried to be positive and been a bit unlucky at times, but it was always going to be a hard test because they are a good side and are not fifth in the table for nothing,” said Sinclair after the Altrincham defeat. “They’ve got the league’s top scorer in their side, and unfortunately we have caught him at a time when he has just started scoring goals again after a lean spell.

“But we go again. These aren’t the games that will get us relegated. We’re still in touch with teams immediately above us which is important, and we’ve got some big games coming up against teams that are down there with us. It is the results in those games that are going to decide things.”

Finally, Merthyr Town’s Evo-Stik League Southern Division One South & West match away at Didcot Town also had to be postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

They sit fourth in the table as they chase promotion, but hold games in hand over most of the sides around them.

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Michu extends Swansea stay

Swansea City’s Spanish sensation Michu has signed a contract extension with the club that will keep him at the Liberty Stadium until 2016.

“It was an easy decision for me,’’ Michu told swanseacity.net. “I am living a dream here at Swansea. I’m probably enjoying my football more than ever. It’s easy to play with this team and tonight [against Chelsea in the Capital One Cup semi-final second leg, January 23] I have the chance to reach the first final of my career.

“I’m really happy here in the city with the people, the club and the fans. Everyone has been so nice to me since I arrived.

“I think the club are happy with me because they have given me a new contract. I am certainly happy with the club.’’

The 26-year-old has hit the ground running in the Premier League, netting a brace in the club’s 5-0 win at Queens Park Rangers on the opening day of the season. He has gone on to bag 16 goals in 28 appearances since his £2.2m move from Rayo Vellacano in July, leading Swans boss Michael Laudrup to hail him as the “bargain of the season”.

Michu has this month been linked with a move away from south Wales, with a return to Spain and Atletico Madrid mooted. But he has now committed himself to the club, adding:

“I’ve read and listened to all the speculation, but it doesn’t interest me, and that’s why I’ve signed a new contract. I’m enjoying myself too much because the team always tries to play football. All I think about is the next game and helping Swansea be successful. This is my life.”

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Rangel an Angel for Swansea homeless

Swans fans have been used to cheering Angel Rangel’s battling performances in a white shirt, but on Friday night they were singing his praises off the field.

The Spanish defender took to the streets with wife Nikki to deliver food to the city’s homeless as the snow battered south Wales and other parts of the UK.

Using social networking website Twitter, the 30-year-old asked his followers where he would be able to find the less fortunate in the city as he and his wife “got food going spare”.

It has been reported that Mr and Mrs Rangel had been at a food chain when the manager informed them that the leftovers would be thrown away when they closed. Shocked, the pair drove the streets with the food looking for those in need, and ended up at a homeless shelter.

But he didn’t want to take all the credit, telling the world: “Thanks so much for the suggestions. It was @MI55Y_28 [wife Nikki’s account] idea so we are driving around. Terrible to be out in this weather.”

Shocked Twitter users lavished the pair with praise. BBC favourite Juliette Ferrington beamed: “especially when players are criticised so often it's good to hear about @arangelz giving out food.”

The Times’ Tony Barrett added: “The coldest night in a long time & Swansea City's @arangelz has been out on the streets giving food to the homeless. #topclass.”

One Swansea fan described them as “role models”.

Rangel later Tweeted to those singing his praises: “Wow we r amazed at the amount of tweets we r receiving. Thanks a lot but it was just a little gesture we drove for only 1 hour and felt great.”

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