And that would only be 9 less than Toshack. As your hero put it so well, "but I put that achievement down to the attitude of the players”
So what happened last season to see the players attitude plunge into consignment to relegation? Monk wasn't in charge then, some other dude was.
Player attitude was good - tired but good, 12th in the league, going great guns in the Europa and FA Cup. Only when one jealous little man who was becoming surplus to requirement (but still allowed to be club captain) started manoeuvring behind the scenes did we start getting problems. And not for the first time. I'm pleased Monk has got his record perhaps we can get back to playing football. Yesterday he was forced into playing the old Swans formation and apart from some defensive lapses we won playing attractive and effective football. Ad for that I congratulate the team and Monk.
As long as we get points i don't give a flying fig how we play.....it has worked this season a treat and monk made some mistakes that ruined our chances of winning a few more but that is to be expected in his first season and he is a quick learner who have still seen off previous managers in his first full season. He has certainly made the football world sit up and take note. If he keeps producing results it will be tough to keep hold of him for a lengthy period as somebody will want him that's for sure....He deserves all the praise for his outstanding achievements so far as a manager.....
Some complain about our style, but it's not been as bad as some are making out, though I prefer our 4-3-2-1 formation as it gives us more width to our game, and provides better space for Siggy to play make, and we do keep possession better also, but clearly Monk has given us a plan B, and that is credit to Monk, and provides us with another option, depending on the opposition, may not be pretty football, but it has been effective, and produced the much needed points.......
Monk is a rookie and will make mistakes so by comparison with other managers (ours and other teams) he's done well in picking up points. Unlike some who don't care how we play 'it's all about the points' types I can't agree. I honestly don't care about who we are playing, I go to games to watch the Swans, not Man United or Liverpool or Chelsea - it's all about the Swans. Winning is important and it is great to be in the Premier League but if we revert to pre Roberto style football it will be a crying shame and, unless we invest in a team of Stoke like qualities, it will take us down. Yesterday's performance was in stark contrast to most of the games we've played this season and it is no surprise it came when three things happened; We reverted to a formation & style we know and play well Jonjo was kept under wraps - maintained his position and concentration which led to space to pass the ball and frustrate the opposition
Fantastic that we've hit 50 points so far - well done to the club. I was very worried before the season kicked off that with Garry Monk in charge, we could be in for our last season in the sun but credit where credits due - he's certainly done an effective job. However, I still can't shake this feeling that it's been my least enjoyable season in the PL due to the amount of drab football we've seen from our club. In the middle of the season, even when we got a few wins, it was just plain boring and uninspiring - particularly that away win at Southampton. If we played that match again a hundred times we'd get beaten 99 times. Of course I was happy that we won, but it did nothing to make me believe we were a good side - we simply got lucky. WBA away - kill me now. I hope we can get another 6 points or so this season as performances have got a bit better on average the last few weeks (Leicester apart) and that we go into next season with belief we can get an even better points haul.
I also go to the games to watch the Swans, but there must also be respect for the opposition. Football games consist of two teams, and two Premier League teams at that, so respect must always be shown to the opposition as they are always high calibre. If you only focus on the Swans then you will end up chastising players for making mistakes against high quality opposition, when the reality is that sometimes the opposition either have the reputation or show some sublime ability to force the mistakes. It happens in football. Sometimes you just have to put it down to the opposition, and you only get that from watching the opposition as well as the Swans at any given match. I don't believe Monk was forced into playing any formation. He could easily have adopted the same formation as at Leicester with Monty playing off Olly. Montero did a lot of good work down the flank, but from up in the Gods at St James you could see him cutting in and doing some smart work infield as well, so he certainly could play upfront ahead of the midfield diamond. Monk learned from his mistake at Leicester, saw that we were too narrow against them - given the intensity and high nature of their press - and applied the correct change to the formation to rectify against Newcastle (who, like Leicester, were also desperate for a win and would have been up for it). Our formation and width nullified their high press and allowed us to catch Newcastle with their pants down numerous times, even using Williams' and Shelvey's long ball ability to free Dyer and Montero when needed if Newcastle's backline had come up to half way. It worked so well that after about 20-25, Newcastle eased off as they weren't getting joy with their pressing. Leicester would have eased also last week if we'd had the width to escape. I saw the quote "we reverted to a style and formation we know and play well" by someone. Well we also play the midfield diamond formation well as well. We do them both well. Showing that we are still a side capable of winning pretty, but we're also a side with an effective tactic for winning ugly. With the right additions for next year we could really become quite a complete unit under Monk. We're doing under him what I got immensely frustrated about under Laudrup when we went to sleep after winning the cup - finishing the season strongly. That's not an insult to Laudrup, just stating how I felt at that time - it frustrated me massively. I let Rodgers off because it was our first season and our target was only to survive. We were a really good team when we won the cup and had no excuses to pick up only 6 points from the last 10 games. To keep the players going until this stage of the season is testament to Monk, he is by no means the finished article, but he's successfully managed to find the correct seasonal targets to keep his players interested, hungry and fighting for points at this stage of the season (Leicester aside) - something other managers have failed to do. Pardew, Allardyce, Hughes and Koeman have all faded in recent games, no doubt through a lack of belief/intensity from their players as a result of not managing the mental side of things properly. Props to Monk for that. Two more winnable games against Stoke and Palace to come, and as fans lets just enjoy the Arsenal and City games. Even if we get battered, it may be to be expected, both Arsenal and City are fighting to ensure automatic Champions League qualification, and City are in a tussle to finish above United to keep their bragging rights. I'm sure Monk will continue to motivate his players, but against a fully-firing Arsenal/City when our players have nothing to play for with the record already achieved and 50 points surpassed, it may be very hard now.
very well done .......I hate the past glories being over shadowed by the so called "PREMIERSHIP" mind.......tosh`s lot played the game when football was football .......while football these days is more like dancing on ice. ps dai tut tut for claiming vetch doesn't like the swans doing well>>>>>>>>>>you got one mother fking short memory going on there fella>>>or is it just a selective one either way its hypocritical tbh
