A couple of defensive mix-ups, a bizarre mistake from Lukasz Fabianski and an unfortunate own-goal from Jonjo Shelvey (who had an overall dreadful evening) saw the Swans pretty much dead and buried with over 20 minutes left to play.
It's annoying, but is it that bad?
In a 'grand scheme of things' kind of way, no - it's not that bad at all. Garry Monk - still only half-way through his first full season in charge - has navigated his team through a tough few months of fixtures and injuries, and is ending the year ninth in the Premier League.
 |
| Right on cue: Shelvey played his part in an awful game. |
And having already played teams like Liverpool, Man United, Chelsea, Man City and West Ham away from home, the second half of the season should be a little smoother, fixtures-wise at least.
Of course, losing Wilfried Bony and Ki Sung Yeung to their nations for respective national competitions is a big blow considering the impact both those players have had; Bony with his creativity and goals, and Ki with his strength and composure in the middle of the pitch.
But their absence will allow Bafetimbi Gomis - who looked pretty good against Liverpool - some time in the spotlight, while midfield is deep enough to cope without Ki for a month (providing Shelvey pulls his finger out a bit). And of course we'll finally be able to see Nelson Oliveira in action.
So it's been a good year; certainly ending better than it started (I need not remind any Swansea fan of the way 2014 began, with Michael Laudrup slowly guiding the team towards relegation). In reflection, losing to Liverpool - and Brendan Rodgers - was in no way desirable, but it's not the end of the world.
All that's left to do is say Happy New Year and see you all in 2015! (And don't waste those Christmas vouchers on something boring - instead, buy your copy of Swansea City's Greatest Games today!).
Can't agree I'm afraid. It was a dire result and we won't stay in the top half long if the recent trend of performances continues, By the way, remind me of our lowest position that season under ML.
ReplyDeleteThat's fair enough - by no means am I endorsing the result, which was abysmal! I just think in the grand scheme of Swansea City there have been worse losses. But you are right in saying that if the poor performances continue it could be a long second half of the season. Only time will tell I guess!
DeleteWithout Bony and Ki, the second half will be horrible. Gomis is no Wilfried. Bony is always seemingly in the right position, while Gomis is not. Physically Gomis dominates, but he just doesn't have the experience and wisdom, yet. Yesterday's performance would have been quite different had Ki started as MF. He doesn't have the physicals and pure talent, but his defensive positioning and switching with backs; his accuracy oriented short passing; his overall intelligence and coordination with his teammates; his workrate (it's top 5 in PL)-these factors are what allowed us to be radically different from the last season. We are defensively solid and possession oriented while Ki plays in that central DMF slot. Shelvey, or it really doesn't matter who, then usually plays the more attack oriented MF, balls recycle through DMF and repeat. These are the reasons why Monk played Ki in every single game this season, and why we suddenly went from relegation fighters to European seekers. The second half will be horrible, just like the last season.
ReplyDelete