Sheehan aims to maintain record as Swans face Blades
Sheehan also claimed two wins from three home fixtures in his spell as caretaker boss during the 2023-24 season, giving him an overall record of 22 points from 10 league fixtures in Swansea's own backyard."Our fans were wonderful towards the end of last season when we built wonderful momentum," he added."We have got to get there again. When you are winning there is a wonderful feel to that. You get that extra couple of per cent when the fans are behind you."The players respond to it - they love it. Obviously we want to create that again."Swansea will again be without Ricardo Santos against the Blades, with the centre-back expected back in September after suffering a leg injury in pre-season.But Kaelan Casey is available after coming off against Crawley with cramp, while club skipper Ben Cabango (pictured above) has responded well after returning from injury in the Boro defeat.
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North Wales Chronicle
2 hours ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Ruben Amorim defends Altay Bayindir after Man Utd keeper blunder boosts Arsenal
Bayindir flapped at a 13th-minute corner under pressure from William Saliba, allowing Riccardo Calafiori to nod in at the far post. United were otherwise the better team as new signings Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo revitalised their attack, but they could not find a way to beat David Raya despite registering 22 shots on goal. That put the focus even more sharply on Bayindir, who started in place of the injured Andre Onana. 'You're allowed to do a lot of things in the corner, we need to do the same,' Amorim said when asked if he was disappointed with the goal. 'When you touch that way the goalkeeper he needs to use his hands to catch the ball, not push players, or he chooses to push players and let the ball past. 'It is the rules, it is allowed and we need to do the same thing. No (I'm not saying he should have acted differently), I am saying you choose to push a player or to get the ball. He chose to get the ball, but he's getting pushed so he cannot defend it. 'That is my feeling when I see the play but again, we need to do the same thing.' Last season Bayindir conceded directly from a Son Heung-min corner in a 4-3 Carabao Cup defeat at Tottenham, but Amorim rejected criticism of the Turkey international when asked if he had considered starting third-choice Tom Heaton against a team renowned for their threat from corners. 'He suffered a goal like this where? Against Tottenham? It was without VAR. With VAR it was a foul,' Amorim said. 'Then in the next game against Arsenal, who saved the penalty? Who saved the game? You don't remember the game but I remember the game and Altay was unbelievable in that game. I considered everything to put in one or another and I chose Altay… 'I am happy with the three goalkeepers.' Despite looking much the sharper of the two teams, United could not recover from that early setback as David Raya repelled the best that Cunha and Mbeumo could throw at him, while Patrick Dorgu hit the outside of a post. 'We were the better team but in the end we lost the game,' Amorim said. 'I'm really proud of the work we put on the field and that is important moving forward.' Arsenal took the points but in a poor performance littered with poor passes and sloppy touches, the only other things to take away was their ability to win on a bad day at the office. 'We did very well to take the set-piece and then there's the mistakes, some of them unnecessary, some of them unusual, but the way every single player reacted gave us an opportunity to win the game,' Mikel Arteta said. 'That gives you momentum and confidence, two very important things. Our standards weren't there to be fair, but we can still come away and find a way to win the game. The team has to find that resilience throughout the season for 10 months.'
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
Amorim defends Bayindir after Manchester United keeper's blunder helps Arsenal win
Ruben Amorim defended Altay Bayindir after goalkeeping blunders returned to haunt Old Trafford when the Turkish player's error allowed Riccardo Calafiori to head in the winner for Arsenal. Amorim was also forced to deny that he had dropped André Onana from Manchester United's matchday squad, saying the keeper had not yet trained enough after injury. Bayindir's mistake came from Declan Rice's 13th-minute corner, the Turk managing only to palm the ball on for Calafiori to head in. United complained that Bayindir had been impeded – William Saliba appeared to block him – to which Amorim pointed after the defeat. 'If you watch the ball, [the opponent] is allowed to do a lot of things at the corners,' Amorim said. 'We need to do the same. But when you touch that way [block], the goalkeeper needs to [be able to] use his hands to catch the ball, not push players [out of the way]. He chooses to push players and let the ball pass. But again, it's the rules. If it's allowed, we need to do the same thing.' Amorim was defiant when asked if he considered starting Tom Heaton ahead of Bayindir after the latter's similar error allowed a Son Heung‑min corner to go straight in during the 4-3 Carabao Cup defeat at Tottenham last season. Amorim referred to Bayindir's next display, in the FA Cup third-round 5-3 penalty shootout win against Arsenal in January. 'Why? Without VAR [in the competition],' the 40-year-old head coach said. 'With VAR, it's a foul. And then what happened in the next game? Arsenal. Who saved the penalty? Who saved the game?' The Portuguese denied dropping Onana, citing his recovery from a hamstring problem. Amorim said: 'No, I didn't drop Onana from the squad. I didn't drop one of the other two from the squad [Bayindir, Heaton]. So it's not the case of dropping Onana. It's not putting André Onana in just one week without seeing the game, without time, with training.' Amorim was asked if he is content with Onana, Bayindir and Heaton. 'We proved today that we can win any game in the Premier League, especially against a great team like Arsenal, and we were the better team. I'm happy with the three goalkeepers.' After United signed the No 9 Benjamin Sesko for £73.7m, Amorim excluded Rasmus Højlund, another centre-forward, from the matchday squad. He was asked if this meant the Dane would depart. 'We'll see what is going to happen in the market.' Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion Of the defeat, Amorim said: 'We deserved more and we were the better team, that is clear but in the end we lost. We need to work on the things we need to improve. We need to defend set pieces. 'We did a lot of things right. There are a lot of things without seeing the video that we need to work on. I am really proud of my players. We stuck to the plan even when the stadium was nervous, we continued to play the way we played and that will help us in the future.' Mikel Arteta was delighted with the victory. 'Big, big result,' the Arsenal manager said. 'When you feel that they [United] are building something special [and] want to [start] the season in a good way and you are able to come away with a win, I think I'm very happy for our team.' Arteta was asked about the debut of his new No 9, Viktor Gyökeres. 'He did a lot of things very well. Coming away from Manchester United, you win your first game with Arsenal, it's a good start,' the Spaniard said.
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
Calafiori strikes after goalkeeper's error as Arsenal grind to win at Manchester United
Blazing sunshine and a busy new marquee serving craft ale behind the Stretford End: Manchester United began in a shiny new world and finished in the gloom of another defeat. First look at Altay Bayindir's howler that handed Riccardo Calafiori an easy header. But then zoom out and you see this: a crisis at No 1 for United that features Ruben Amorim going all summer not fancying André Onana and still turning up for the season opener without a high-end replacement. Result: Bayindir's ricket. The head coach defended preferring Bayindir to Tom Heaton when reminded how the Turk allowed a similar goal – straight in from a Son Heung-min corner – last season in the 4-3 Carabao Cup defeat at Spurs. He denied, too, dropping Onana as he had not 'trained' enough after injury and stated contentment with his trio of keepers. The 40-year-old has to say this of course yet Onana and Bayindir have a record of goal-costing errors. Arsenal failed to fire throughout – Viktor Gyökeres's 60-minute debut was a non-event – but they did not need to with United so dismal at both ends. Towards the close Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo tripped over Arsenal players in a hectic scramble to cancel out Calafiori's strike: a snapshot of United's chronic toothlessness. Moments later, a better Mbeumo headed effort drew a good save from David Raya. There were further goalmouth scrambles but no United player could stick the ball in the net. In a middling contest, Amorim's team had to do what the visiting left‑back did – with this 13th-minute goal a disaster for United and a joy for him. Declan Rice arrowed a corner in from the left, a clownish Bayindir merely palmed the ball on and Calafiori nodded home a ball already heading in. 'One‑nil to the Arsenal' came the ecstatic taunt from the faithful. At the time, United complained that Bayindir was caught in a melee. Afterwards, Bruno Fernandes said: 'When you touch the goalkeeper and he can't jump, that makes it difficult for Bayindir. We know in the Premier League they don't give much. Even if they had a meeting with us saying that they will whistle more if players block and don't look at the ball but it is more of [them] saying [this].' Just as suspect as the goalkeeping was the XI sent out that could be marked 'curio', with Amorim preferring Casemiro to Manuel Ugarte in midfield and Mason Mount the nominal No 9 (no squad place for Rasmus Højlund), though Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha started. The new boys began fast – Mbeumo barged over Martín Zubimendi (also on debut), Cunha ran in, howled for his twin-10 to pass, he did, but Arsenal escaped. Mikel Arteta, who issued a trademark moan at Mbeumo's challenge, had to watch as Mbeumo again motored along his right corridor but the shot was a pea-roller into Raya's hands. At this juncture, United were fast and furious, even when defending. From a Fernandes corner Arsenal broke and Mount hared back to help out. Then, after Calafiori's winner, United were back in counterattack mode. A proposition of serial moments but none of the patterns Amorim (surely) craves. Patrick Dorgu hit a post. The livewire Cunha wriggled in a left zone and turned and forced a Raya reflex save. Zubimendi's foul on Fernandes had the latter hitting the wall to the right of the area. A scintillating Cunha run took him from halfway through a thicket of opponents and clear but the effort was scuffed. Mbeumo's cute layoff was followed by a 25‑yard Cunha shot straight at Raya. Yet without Bayindir's howler Arteta would have had the harder half-time chat as his team were no smooth unit, tapping the ball about, manoeuvring those in red like Subbuteo pieces. Rice and Zubimendi exerted scant control in central areas and Gyökeres laboured and suffered from his teammates' creation deficit. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion United, brighter in this department, saw Mount fluff their latest attempt, so Amorim had to do something – be patient (in hope) or make a change. He chose the latter. Diallo (another surprising exclusion) entered for the average Diogo Dalot and the Ivorian impressed – one more Amorim team selection puzzler. Benjamin Sesko, continually warming up, watched as Fernandes flipped in a dead-ball from the left corner flag and Raya rose and punched away – as Bayindir fatally failed to do. To boos Gyökeres was hooked on the hour for Kai Havertz. The derision came from spurned suitors after the Swede chose north London not south Manchester. But jeers became cheers as Sesko was given a 25-minute debut – for the anonymous Mount. Ugarte, too, was introduced, for Casemiro. Immediately, a tangle with Noni Madueke, another visiting substitute, was the midfield bite United lacked. Amorim's men were lacking all over the park. A tight win for Arsenal. One more chastening day for the Portuguese's project. Fernandes was left clutching straws. 'I really liked the reaction of the fans at the end. That was more a sign of hope than what we did during the game.' Amorim was more pithy. 'We need to win more than last season,' he said.
