Swansea City's Ben Davies relishing big occasions
BEN Davies is ready to swim with the big fish next week having been thrown in the deep end at Swansea City this season.
Davies has made a rapid rise from little known youth product to top-flight regular and Welsh international.
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Ben Davies
Now the teenage starlet is bracing himself for what is arguably the most demanding sequence of fixtures Swansea have ever faced.
Michael Laudrup’s men go to the Etihad Stadium to take on Premier League champions Manchester City this Saturday before hosting Champions League winners Chelsea the following weekend.
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And in between those two colossal fixtures is a reunion with former boss Brendan Rodgers, as Swansea battle Liverpool at Anfield for a place in the quarter-finals of the Capital One Cup. “We’ve got big games coming up, but they are games I’m really excited about,” Davies said.
“I think it’s the only way you can think about games when you are young and new to the Premier League, you can’t worry about the opposition and who you may be up against.”
Davies has shown little sign of stage-fright since Neil Taylor’s season-ending ankle injury paved the way for his Premier League baptism.
The Neath product had not played a first-team game before this season, but he has not missed a minute of action for Swansea at left-back since Taylor was stretchered off against Sunderland on September 1.
Experience
The 19-year-old has also filled in for his club-mate at international level, winning his first Wales caps against Scotland and Croatia earlier this month.
“My experience with Wales, playing against some of the best players in the world like Luka Modric, will help me going into these big games just like my other Premier League games prepared me for playing for Wales,” Davies added.
“I’m hoping the international experience will benefit me in the short term and also going forward for the rest of the season.
“It’s been a bit of a manic couple of weeks for me, first of all getting my first Wales cap and then coming straight back in to the Premier League.
“It was important to get the win against Wigan last Saturday and things are going well for me at the moment — I’m feeling good.”
Novice
Swansea’s run of fixtures against some of the biggest clubs in the land could be considered daunting even for the club’s most experienced players.
But Davies, who remains a relative novice in the senior game, is relishing the prospect of three mouthwatering fixtures.
“It’s been an incredible season for me so far and every time I get out on to the pitch I feel like I am learning something new,” he said.
“I think being thrown in at the deep end like I have could be the best way for me to learn because if you don’t learn from your mistakes at this level, you will get found out.
“I’m not taking my place in the team for granted at all, but I do feel like I am settling in much more and that comes from playing more games.”
Comments
by brochadav
Wednesday, October 24 2012, 4:12PM
“He's a real find at when Taylor is fit again we have good competition at left back.
I don't understand those worrying about his confidence, he says himself you have to learn from your mistakes. Any player who falls apart after few set backs is obviously not mentally strong enough for the grind of pro football.”
by morton1947
Wednesday, October 24 2012, 7:52AM
“The lad has done well since he was thrown to the Lions but he has emerged as becoming a potentially excellent full back and has not really looked out of place or off the pace. I do fear though that too much early exposure may cause problems especially as he is also in the Welsh Squad at such an early age and if he does have a "horror" game against someone special I sincerely hope that it will not damage his growing confidence.”
by tannkerboy
Wednesday, October 24 2012, 1:18AM
“You are Swansea, you can do all they can do, Remember SWANSEA CITY IS THE BEST , JACK'S ARMY IS AT YOU BACK , Good luck guy's kick ass .”
by tannkerboy
Wednesday, October 24 2012, 1:15AM
“REMEMBER YOU ARE SWAN'S YOU HAVE COME A LONG WAY BOY'S, SO GO KICK THE **** OUT OF THEM ,WE ARE ALL AT YOU BACK;S GO SWANS .”
by trncjack
Tuesday, October 23 2012, 6:36PM
“At the moment ben has shown he has the ability to go far in the game, but we have seen so many young guys coming into the game, only to get stuffed a few times by the opo , and get their confidence shattered, never to be the same again, He cannot be expected to carry on all season, and will need a few weeks out of the game, but at the moment he is holding up really well, good luck to the guy”
by Hadoken632
Tuesday, October 23 2012, 4:38PM
“I meant wigan.”
by Hadoken632
Tuesday, October 23 2012, 4:22PM
“I am a strong believer in throwing people into the deep end, you either sink or swim. If he has what it takes he will swim. I think he does and its always nice to have home grown talent.
We are still giving away too many goals though, we were lucky to not give away 2 against reading.
We still get 1 point if we draw games, so IMO, we should be more biased towards that as the reality is, we will lose about 20 games, win about 10 and draw the rest.
So for me, the biggest area we can improve on is those games we are more likely to lose, and looking to turn those into as many draws as possible seems the most logical step.
I think that is the one thing BR really understood.”
by swanseaola
Tuesday, October 23 2012, 2:23PM
“.......And here we were worrying about who would replace Neil, shouldn't have been concerned after watching Ben's performances this season.
The more he plays the better he acquits himself!”