Agree. First 20 minutes we couldn't get the ball moving at all. Kane was a bloody nuisance today. We could do with a frontman like that. Someone like a Joel Campbell.
We used to have a front man like him, that would track back, get in their faces. His name was Pintado. But he never scoredI will stick with Bony thanks.
As a plan B rather than Gomis who is very similar to Bony.


Monk and Laudrup were our managers last season, so the comparison of our results is not part of the Monk v Laudrup debate, it is merely a crude tool to see how we as a Club are doing compared to last season. As the manager, Monk will be a failure or a success depending on our results, so as a rough assessment of him it is fair to say that he has probably exceeded everyone's expectations.
Enjoy it for what it is - and long may we continue to have a points tally in the "better off" category![]()

Yes it does Phil, it tells us that we have not got the Europa League to contend withBut don't let that cloud your judgement, and get in the way of your little snipe at our old manager
Monk has definitely exceeded my expectations though.

Must admit that I never expected to have as many points as this at Christmas, looks as though we will have at least 28 points at the turn and that's not to be sniffed at....if we beat Villa we are on course for a 56 point season (in reality I think we will drop off the pace a touch but a 50 + point season is achievable and would be progress indeed for Swansea City).
So my half-term assessment of Monk is that he must be doing a good job, has shut up his critics (the likes of myself) and deserves a lot of credit.
Is he my cup of tea? No. Don't understand his substitutions, don't like his interviews, was embarrassed by his attack on referees (I agree with what he said but that is for us as fans to moan about and the club to deal with along the proper channels....doesn't look too clever from our manager on live TV imo but there you go, that's a personal opinion).
Things he deserves some credit for;
- Getting the team to work hard for eachother and the club...I don't know why some of the same characters stopped working so hard for the cause under Laudrup but I definitely feel that they did, now, having watched them apply themselves better this season.
- Getting the best out of Ki....honestly didn't believe he had it in him having watched him coast around the midfield under Laudrup. He is now working his bollocks off and dominating that area. His tackling and closing down has improved immensely.
- Signing Montero....plays a lot more than Hernandez ever did due to superior fitness, creates at least as many goalscoring opportunities and is a more effective outlet and danger himself due to his superior pace and willingness to shoot. Just needs to add some goals now.
- Signing Fabianski....I seriously doubted whether he would stay fit due to his injury record and certainly didn't expect him to be as competent a goalkeeper as he clearly is. Has been an upgrade on Vorm and is the biggest factor I feel in our superior goals against column. We are still shaky at the back and get done in the air but now we have a keeper who comes and takes crosses and dominates his area.
- putting some faith in Jazz
- Loan signing of Tom Carroll....I'd trust him playing in there for us regardless of the opposition, and I wouldn't have thought that would be the outcome when we signed him.
- Giving Barrow his head...a gamble worth taking and it has paid off so far.
- Evolving our style....regardless of what anyone says we are more direct now and don't keep the ball as well because we take more risks whilst trying to create. This is a good thing and had to happen, I see it as a continuation of what Laudrup started, we had become too predictable. This season we have looked capable of creating good chances against any opposition (especially if Bony, Siggy, Montero and Routledge start) much like Laudrup's 1st season. Last season we went into our shells somewhat and returned to possession for possession's sake, we couldn't find the final ball (I don't know if this was because of tiredness/mental fatigue with the extra games in the Europa or whether it was the pressure brought on by defensive mistakes at crucial times resulting in some disappointing results)....whatever the reason it is good to see the ability to cut up the opposition and create clear cut chances return.
Concerns
- Gomis might be a very expensive mistake....not writing him off yet though, he looked sharp early on in the season so maybe it's a lack of match fitness that is the issue that has caused his form to dip so alarmingly.
- Taylor...getting better though
- Shelvey...truly awful at pressing and tackling, doesn't move well off the ball either to make himself available for a pass. Of course he still has some excellent attacking qualities but I am a bit worried that him starting next to Leon/Carroll while Ki is away will expose us somewhat. Would prefer Leon and Carroll to start against tougher opposition during this period.
- Defensive organisation at set pieces
In conclusion it's an A- from me for Garry Monk this Christmas time.

Less of those blue smarties Dai!.............![]()