Maybe panic is a little strong... but a sense of unease always creeps in when your club is rock bottom of a table, regardless of how many games have been played.
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| Rock bottom. |
But we all knew it would be like this before the season started! Didn't we?
Okay, I was quite confident before the Man United game and assumed the Swans would pick up at least a point, but a loss to the champions was quite a predictable result in retrospect. And away to Spurs? That too was likely to end in a loss, a draw at best (that didn't stop me putting money on Swansea to win 2-1).
What I'm saying is most Swans fans expected to have zero points from two games. Maybe we didn't expect to be rock bottom (especially with Cardiff in the mix), but things aren't always predictable in football (if they were I wouldn't be giving £20 a week to Mr William Hill...)
So now isn't the time to panic if you are a fan of Swansea.
Despite a very difficult start, Swansea finally have a chance to put some points on the board. West Brom away won't be the simplest game, but a point there is certainly up for grabs - if the players play like they want it. Then Liverpool at home? It's not too far fetched to say at least a point is available in that game too.
However, these points will only come with good performances. I don't really agree with Rangel insisting that Swansea deserved a point at White Heart Lane - Swansea's performance there was way too patchy and messy. If anything Spurs probably deserved a higher victory. Thankfully Michel Vorm was on hand to save face.
One thing we may all agree on is that if Swansea are going to start picking up points, Wilfried Bony has to start. I'm not sure if player fatigue is still a concern for Michael Laudrup, but he seems to be bringing Bony on when it's too late to change the game. I'd love to see him (Bony, not Laudrup) start against West Brom, alongside Michu. It's an attacking set-up, yes, but it's surely what we need to see some Premier League goals!
To conclude, let's all calm down for now. This was to be expected. We have another nine months of this and if the negativity starts now it's going to be a long season! As many of you have said: "let's see what the table looks like at Christmas time" - a sentiment I wholeheartedly agree with.
Now let's finish off Petrolul Ploiesti mid-week to regain some confidence!
Agreed on Bony. He and Michu look to already have a real chemistry. The bigger problem, as I see it after two weeks (big grain of salt), is that the central midfield has no chemistry. De Guzman in particular looked terrible and Canas seemed lost. Far too often you saw them practically bumping into each other, running into the same space, and failing to spread the field at all.
ReplyDeleteYeah I haven't been overly impressed with de Guzman so far this season. I like Canas, but he didn't do the job against Spurs. I think Leon Britton has been overlooked at times - he is usually solid in midfield, and is the one player who should still be starting week in, week out (fatigue permitting!)
DeleteNew Swans fan here and I did my research prior to the season. (I'm in the U.S. and have an irrational love for small market teams competing against big market payrolls) Did my research and loved the Spanish style that Swansea played. Loved the first half against Man U (2 goal giving mistakes aside) and the ball movement they showed there. The only thing that worried me is that though they scored their only goal with Bony, the second half showed a much more long ball, crossing based attack. Maybe my football watching acumen isn't quite there yet and I'm mistaken (played for 14 years but have been away from the sport for most of 5-6 years). But, I'll just ask then. Was the short passing build-up play constant last season or was it more of a half and half with a long ball crossing style?
ReplyDeleteHi, it's always nice to have new Swans fans around the world!
DeleteLast season the ball was played on the ground a lot more than it was in the air. Probably 80%. This season already we've seen longer balls being played, mainly thanks to Shelvey who likes to spray them around. It's good to keep the opposition guessing, but we tend to sacrifice accuracy with long balls.
These are the pening games, if we have 6 or 7 points after our opening 6 games i will be a happy man, I agree with being slightly more defensive against the likes of Spurs away and search for a point. the midfield will blend nicely, and the back four will settle down. I still say now we will be safe by February. And then possibly push from then. Everyone needs to rememberwe are playing in 4 competitions this year and have to target certain games. I doubt if Laudrup had ticks against our opening 2 games.
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