This was supposed to
be a turning point for the Swans. Games against teams in and around the lower
end of the table have so far resulted in back to back away defeats and a dire
19th place thanks only to superior goal difference over Hull City –
COME ON! What’s going so wrong?
West Ham haven’t come to Swansea and won since 1983 – I’ll
be honest, I wasn’t even born the last time West Ham took us down in our back
yard – but they are looking for a third successive Premier League win as they
make the trip on Boxing Day.
This isn’t great news overall as we’re on a run of
consecutive losses and they’re on a run of consecutive wins – the form guide
clearly suggests we’re up against it here no matter how history paints the
fixture out to be.
We have won our last two Boxing Day games against Villa in
2014 and West Brom 2015 but they were both narrow 1-0 wins. A repeat
performance would be good but it would be nice to see a bit more than a single
goal – it’s meant to be the season of goodwill not crap shooting.
Good news! Fernandez and Ki are both back having recovered
from broken toes – how they both managed to suffer the same fate is beyond me
but never mind. Naughton and Cork are probably going to get the nod to start as
Bradders finally admitted that change was needed if we’re to develop any semblance
of form over the winter period.
There’s a fair few West Ham players set to miss out
including Zaza, Sakho, Tore, Obiang and Oxford all out of the running for a spot
in the squad. Sadly, Payet remains available and in form so it’ll probably be
up to Fernandez to keep him under wraps – he’s going to need to work hard!
The last time we faced West Ham we thumped them 4-1 in one
of our most confident performances of the previous campaign but we’ve only won
that one game in the last seven against the Hammers. Three draws and three
losses make up the rest of the numbers – not good.
January needs to bring three things to Swansea. Confidence,
Victories and signings – I’m not sure Bradders is the man to entrust with a
transfer budget but it’s better than nothing. Fingers crossed we focus on
defence and pace – you can’t buy confidence but a faster, more solid side will
go a long way to developing belief!
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