Question Time with SCFC2

As with every week, to give us larger context for the match we wanted to have a chat with the enemy. Usually we need look no further than our lovely network to find some, but this week we had to step out into the cold and frightening reaches of the internet. Finding a reliable Swansea blog isn't terribly easy, dear reader, but that's how much we care about you. Luckily for us, Jim White, the owner and admin of SCFC2, kindly obliged our Swan-related questions. Hit the jump to find said questions and Jim's answers handily placed in sequential order for you.

JW: Pure elation. You just wish that you could bottle the emotion you feel when the final whistle goes and you realise that the club you love and which you have supported since you were 5 is about to go into the greatest football league in the world. It also makes all the trips to Boston on a cold Tuesday night in old Division 4 so so worth it!

In winning promotion, Swansea became the first Welsh club to reach the Premiership since it's inception in 1992. Are you proud of this? Is the fact that you are a Welsh club important to the identity of the club in general?

JW: We are very proud to be welsh and we are very very very proud to be the first Welsh club to reach the Premiership. It has also proved that we are the number 1 club in Wales which we knew for some time but our little cousins 40 miles down the road didn't. They know now though!

Right now you sit 15th in the Premiership, are you relatively pleased with the team's performance so far? Additionally, what do you see as a reasonable goal for the club to achieve this season? Is simply staying in the division enough or do you have loftier ambitions?

JW: We are very happy with 15th and whilst we would love to finish as high as we can, simply finishing in 17th position will be a huge achievement for our club based on the financial footing we work on. With regard to performance then we have been awesome at home (not conceding a goal yet) but have had a few challenges away but in general the performances have been very good. People thought we would struggle to score (as we pass the ball for fun) but we all knew that there were goals in the team and our recent results have shown this!

Swansea have yet to concede a goal at home. What is the largest contributing factor to that? Do you think that's going to change this weekend?

JW: We defend as a team and we have a solid back 5. The back 5 would stay the same all season (bar maybe Stephen Caulker coming in at centre back) if we were injury and suspension free and that is a big factor. We also have a midfield 3 that work hard to win the ball back when we lose it and so this coupled with our vocal support means that teams generally come to not lose and try and hit us on the break rather than go at us from the start. We are going to concede at some time and there is no reason to think it won't be this weekend but hopefully not!

This summer we picked up Darren Pratley from Swansea, a club he spent 5 seasons at. Have you missed him this season so far? What do you think he has to offer Bolton? 

JW: Pratley has a great engine and was great for us and contributed plenty from midfield. However, in the last season, our game plan changed somewhat and he was not always picked. Darren's game is based upon a fantastic engine and box to box running whereas we like to play more of a pass and move game. We have missed him at the end of games (where his energy makes an impact) and its always a shame to lose good players but its one of those things! He should be able to offer Bolton an incredible amount of energy and a few goals from midfield!

And finally, can I have a prediction for Saturday please?

JW: Whilst everyone respects Bolton and what they have achieved, Swans fans (and management) also realise that at home, these are the games that we need to be winning. I think it will be 2-1 to us with Sinclair and Graham on the mark! All we hope for is a good game and a safe trip there and back for any Bolton fans making the journey!