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 scored I will stick with Bony thanks.
That's a stretch Valley. I think the similarity ends in skin color. Other than that, either offensively, defensively or link up there really is little to compare. Bony is in a different class, so much so, that when Bony went off we lost our best set piece defender and a person that is the top Prem scorer in calendar 2014. There was a song (I think) about a "team of Alan Tates" .... give me a team of Bony's and we could win this league going away. Actually, we'd only need him in three positions - CB x 2 and CF .... and we haven't seen what he can do in goal yet
A scrappy game where the Swans should have been out of sight well before the final whistle. but it's a great away win and leaves us 8 points better off than the corresponding fixtures last season. Current Points Total = 25pts Last Seasons Points Total = 42pts We are currently on schedule for = 50pts Man Utd 1-2 Swansea (+3) Swansea 1-0 Burnley (Same) * Swansea 3-0 West Brom (+3) Chelsea 4-2 Swansea (Same) Swansea 0-1 Southampton (Same) Sunderland 0-0 Swansea (-2) Swansea 2-2 Newcastle (-2) Stoke 2-1 Swansea (-1) Swansea 2-0 Leicester (Same)** Everton 0-0 Swansea (+1) Swansea 2 Arsenal 1 (+3) Man City 2 Swansea 1 (Same) Swansea 1 Crystal Palace 1 (Same) Swansea 2 QPR 0 (Same)*** West Ham 3 Swansea 1 (Same) Swansea 1 Spurs 2 (Same) Hull City 0 Swansea 1 (+3) *Replaced Fulham ** Replaced Norwich *** Replaced Cardiff
Yes it does Phil, it tells us that we have not got the Europa League to contend with But 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.
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
Hell I can't even remember our last mangers name, so no snipe from me, just a general feeling of a better season overall, so stop imputing a wrong motive on my part, who's this old manager you speak off anyway................
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.
Yes but he's got in early in the transfer window and the lad sounds as if he's up for it ! http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30587905
Excellent post Terror, can't fault anything here you have posted, and Monk is not completely my cup of tea either, but he has got us going in the right direction, you have to give him his due on that!.........
Excellent post terror but i do disagree with the part about the rant at referees, i feel that it was a breath of fresh air him coming out like that as it shows that he is his own man and not afraid of saying it as it is and he cares about our club, it says it all that the fa done fa about the interview after they investigated as they are spineless when it comes to comments about referees. But hey well done GM keep up the good work and keep proving your doubters wrong
Monk will end up the best manager we have ever had. His work rate and passion is far better than the last ten managers combined...He will go far and a future England manager in the making..
