112211 - ZOO Magazine DannyGraham

							   Bad Hair Day Santos president Luis Alvaro Ribeiro says Jose Mourinho
   would make Neymar cut off his fauxhawk if he moved to Real Madrid


                            ZOO CHATS TO DANN Y GRAHAM

“We’re more Barça than Blackpool!”
Swansea frontman Danny Graham talks about playing like the Catalan giants, being a
poster boy for lower league players and speaking Geordie to the Welsh


H
            i, Danny. Swansea have           But you started in the Prem…                 picked up any Welsh yet?
            made a good start to the         Yeah, I was at Middlesbrough as a            It’s too tough to learn. I’m a
            season. You must be fed          youngster, in the same team as Stewart       Geordie and we sound totally
            up with being called the         Downing and Adam Johnson. I played a         different. Thankfully, you
“new Blackpool”?                             few games and did OK, but I got injured      don’t have to sing an initiation
Blackpool came up to the Premier             and found it tough to get back into the      song in Welsh!
League and surprised everyone. They          side ahead of the likes of Mark Viduka       With your good results at
were also an attacking team, but we          and Yakubu. In the end, it was decided       home, you must fancy
have our own style and that seems to         I was going to move, so I could play         yourselves against Aston
be working out so far. Hopefully that will   regularly and show what I could do. It       Villa on Sunday?
continue and we can stop the                 was a risk moving down from the              Villa have a new manager
comparisons by staying up!                   Premier League, but it’s worked out OK!      who’s got them playing,
You’re more like                             Despite being only 26, you’ve played         but Norwich gave them a
Barcelona, aren’t you?                       for eight clubs. Does that make you a        good game recently and
The way we play is similar                   journeyman striker?                          we always fancy our
to Barcelona. We keep                        You could say that! Like a lot of young      chances at home.
possession and pass the                      Prem players nowadays, I’ve had a lot of      Danny Graham is
ball well. We work hard                        loan moves to get first-team football.     represented by the
on the training ground                          I then had two good seasons at            Wasserman Media
on our shape and                                Carlisle, before moving up to the         Group, joining other
getting in the right                            Championship with Watford. I loved it     clients such as Jack
positions, to make sure we                            there, but when Swansea came        Wilshere, Darren Bent
have a lot of options when                               calling with Prem football, it   and Steven Gerrard
we have the ball. We know                                  was too good to turn down.
how good we are and we’re                                  I’ve worked hard to get
confident we can give                                       myself back in
anyone we come up against                                    the Prem.
a good game. But we know                                     Have
we’re not Barcelona!                                         you
Do you think your form
proves that clubs should
look to the lower leagues,
rather than abroad?
Yes, but it’s not just me. Steve
Morison was a non-league
player a couple of years ago
and he’s scored a few for
Norwich and so has Grant Holt.
Players are good enough in the
lower leagues. It’s just about
getting that chance. It’s
great if my goals mean
more managers
will look down
the divisions.




                                             “ViDukA AND
                                             YAkubu kepT                                                             SwANSeA vs ASTON VillA
                                                                                                                      SuNDAY 27 NOVeMbeR
                                             Me OuT Of                                                                 1.30pm, Sk Y SpORTS 1
                                             bORO SiDe!”
 Danny Graham has had to change roommates three times, as he keeps taking photos of them while they’re asleep! GET facT!                   77