Graham Hunter speaks on Swansea City FC before his appearance at the Dylan Thomas Festival

Oct. 30, 2012 - PRLog -- A top football journalist and author has spoken of the ‘romantic’ name of Swansea City ahead of a talk at the Dylan Thomas Centre on Saturday 3 November.

Graham Hunter author of the bestselling book Barca - The Making of the Greatest Team in the World said that he first took notice of Swansea during the 1980s.

Mr Hunter said “I’m of an age which means the Swans are a romantic football name. I was about 13 when they started their rise and rise under John Toshack, with whom I’m friendly and often work with. What they achieved at the Vetch was immensely thrilling”.

“In those days Swansea used one or two players who I liked hugely, Leighton James, Tommy Craig an ex Aberdeen player which are my team, and of course the mighty, mighty Tommy Hutchison - for a long time my favourite player”.

More recently, Graham Hunter has taken notice of the Swansea City name once again, thanks to former manager Brendan Rodgers and current manager Michael Laudrup.

“Just before he joined Swansea, Brendan Rodgers got in touch with me a lot in the 2008/9 season because he was keen to come over and study Pep Guardiola´s training”.

“And even though the recent weeks have been hard work for Michael Laudrup he’s another guy I’ve worked with, respect and who was a player of undervalued genius.

“I hope he starts getting the results his football deserves at Swansea City”.

Graham is pleased to be part of the Dylan Thomas Festival. He continued “it’s a privilege that a festival as prestigious as that of Dylan Thomas has extended its vista to include my work.

“I’m very eager to meet the people who are coming and to answer their questions.

“Swansea here I come, it will be nice for the club to get three points against Chelsea, before enjoying a top night of book chat.”

Cllr Nick Bradley, Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration, said: “We’re delighted that a sports writer of Graham’s calibre is part of this year’s Dylan Thomas Festival.

“FC Barcelona is known for its unique footballing style which has seen the team dominate the world game.

“But from a local point of view, Swansea City FC has adopted a similar playing approach which is fantastic to watch. Graham’s passion for the game is clearly evident in his writing, demonstrating how sport can influence literature and vice versa. We hope the event will attract football fans from across the city and beyond.”

Graham Hunter will be appearing at the Dylan Thomas Festival on Saturday 3 November where he be discussing his book which details how Barcelona redefined football and became the biggest club in the world. He will also be discussing the similarities between the philosophies of Barca and Swansea City.

Visit http://www.ticketsource.co.uk/dylanthomas to book tickets. They are priced from £8 and £5 concessions and are also available from the Dylan Thomas Centre on 01792 463980.

The Dylan Thomas Festival returns from 27 October to 9 November and features Fernhill, Paul Durcan, Nigel Jenkins, Menna Elfyn, Ros Barber, Kevin Barry and Roshi Fernando.