The opportunity for Cup glory rolls around now, with the area semi finals of the LDV Trophy. This is a competition that it’s not easy to get too excited about in the early stages, but the teams are now just a couple of games away from a possible Cardiff Final and the possible financial rewards of that. It’s just a pity that we have to play a weakened team again! The other downside is a visit to Swansea (or Abertawe, as they insist on calling it, but only when there are English about), birthplace of Catherine Zeta Jones and Dylan Thomas. You’ll note that they both left as soon as possible, one to Laugharne and the other, even more sensibly, out of Wales and to California.

Joe Murphy has returned to Sunderland, his loan period having ended, so, unless he signs permanently in today, Oakes will return. Fox should return at left back, but out of the team will go the Cup Tied Leary (played for Bristol Rovers) and James (played for Forest). Osborn and Roper will both be absent through injury, as will, most likely, be Devlin.

I’d expect that we will line up:-

Oakes, Pead, Gerrard, Westwood, Fox, Wright, Standing, Smith, Demontagnac, Timm, Constable.

The bench is likely to be Gilmartin, Kinsella, Dann, Larossa and Bradley.

As for Swansea, they are currently flying high in League One (3rd), with the lowest number of defeats in the Division, but they have got off to a relatively poor start to 2006 with one win and three draws. It’s a shame, but this might have been a good time to have played them in the League, following their home draw with struggling Hartlepool on Saturday. In fact, when you look at their recent record, they have won only two of their last 9 Division 1 games!

They have been missing top scorer Lee Trundle during most of their bad run, however, and he is now fit to return to action and came on as a sub on Saturday. He may well start to boost his match fitness. Leon Knight has arrived from Brighton (and scored a hat-trick on his debut) and they have the awkward Adebayo Akinfenwa, but they have danger men all round, including midfielder Marc Goodfellow. Former Saddler Roberto Martinez would, undoubtably, fancy scoring against us again! It’s difficult to know what their line up is likely to be, as that tends to depend on how seriously Manager Kenny Jackett is treating this competition, but new boys Darren Way, a 150,000 signing from Yeovil, and Chelsea loanee Watt are likely to make their debuts. Even so, no fewer than 12 of their 28 first team squad are described as strikers, so your guess is as good as mine as to who’ll be playing “up top”!

Their injury worries consist of Owain Tudur-Jones, Kris O’Leary (both knee ligaments), Paul Connor and Tom Williams (both groin).

Paul Merson has made the LDV more of a priority than most managers, so that is one thing in our favour, but, with Cardiff beckoning, Swansea will probably be more interested. They beat us very comfortably at Bescot, 5 – 2, but that was a very different Saddlers team, as we included a few who have gone and Steve Staunton had a mare, being at fault with four of the goals, but it was also a Swansea side missing the dangerous Trundle. Everywhere you look for this one, it’s a matter of “swings and roundabouts”, but, with a full strength team and their run of form, I’d be confident. As it happens, we don’t have a full strength team and I’ll have to go for a home win.

Grant Smith has said that he would appreciate a permanent move to the Saddlers, following his first goal for the club on Saturday, despite the fact that we are the 11th club in the 25 year old’s career!

His move from Swindon to Bristol City hasn’t worked out at all well, as the Manager who bought him, Brian Tinnion, was sacked and new man Gary Johnson didn’t seem to have Smith as part of his plans.

He told the Express and Star:- “I never really got a chance in the centre of midfield that I had hoped for”.

Smith left Wycombe for Reading in 1998 but five months later headed to Scotland, where he spent time with Hearts, Livingston and Clydebank.
He returned south of the border to join Sheffield United in 2001 and had loan spells at Halifax and Plymouth before signing for Swindon, where he impressed last season to earn a move to Bristol.

However, before we get too optimistic about the prospects of signing the player, he still has 18 months of his contract remaining at City, which means either them coming to some arrangement to terminate his contract, or a fee – and we all know what that tends to mean!

He also makes it plain that he hasn’t given up hopes of making it at Bristol, or, indeed, impressing scouts of other clubs while he is here.