Jack the Lad: The best goal of all

Loyal Swans fan and website columnist Jack the Lad tries to select the best goal Swansea City have ever scored.

Writing last week about Mark Hughes’ acrobatic volley for Wales against Spain back in 1985 got me thinking about the best Swans goal I had ever seen live.

It seemed a topical subject seeing as they have produced a couple of contenders already this season.

For years, my personal out-and-out favourite has been – perhaps unsurprisingly and unoriginally – Alan Curtis’s brilliant solo effort against Leeds United back in 1981.

There were so many reasons to love that goal. It was scored during Swansea’s first ever game in the top flight, it rounded off an unforgettable 5-1 win, it was scored against Curtis’s former club, if featured one of my favourite celebrations, I could go on...

Above all, it was an absolute stunner scored by my favourite player.

Curtis’s goal was just a taster for what was to be a season of stunning Swans strikes.

Leighton James’s fierce free-kick against Liverpool, Gary Stanley’s Exocet against Man City, Max Thompson’s Arsenal volley, along with further Curtis crackers against Liverpool, Ipswich and Southampton.

Since then, there have been some serious contenders for Curtis’s crown. James Thomas’s priceless chip against Hull. Rory Fallon’s overhead kick in the League One play-off final of 2006. Ferrie Bodde’s implausibly long-range effort against Preston.

And then there’s Lee Trundle. Where do we start there? The outrageous lob against Yeovil? The Football League Trophy Final cracker against Carlisle?

To be honest, LT10 could challenge Curtis to a pretty decent ‘Who’s scored the most worldies for the Swans?’ competition.

There were some Premier League pearlers to enjoy too, like Jonjo Shelvey’s long-distance lob against this Saturday's opponents Villa and Wayne Routledge’s improvised volley against West Bromwich Albion.

I suppose it’s all subjective. We all have different favourites, whether it’s long-range strikes, improvised finishes, solo efforts or team goals.

Talking of team goals, let's bring this right up to date with the 35-pass, 10-player move against QPR which eventually led to Jay Fulton finding the net.

And what about Bersant Celina's goal against Ipswich here at the Liberty little over a week ago?

It was the kind of goal that halfway through the move you start to think: If we score here…

Mind you, right at the start of the move I was thinking more along the lines of: Don’t mess about with it back there!

There can’t be many goals that start with a series of one-touch passes – involving the goalkeeper – inside the scoring team's six-yard box.

However, this is the way Graham Potter wants his team to play, and to be perfectly honest, so do the fans – especially when it leads to this kind of goal.

Long may this approach continue, particularly if it keeps producing more goals to store in my memory bank of Swans sizzlers.

C'mon you Swans!