Thought this might be interesting Tactical talking point: Swansea City's slump Swansea's downfall has not been a gradual one. They have won just seven of their last 33 Premier League games, with the last of those victories coming at the beginning of December. Their most recent disappointment came at home to Tottenham on Sunday, and it was a case of the same old Swansea, who pass the ball to death and rarely go anywhere with it. Swansea dominated the game until the visitors scored with their first shot in the match, but after the opening goal they lost their confidence and poise, with Spurs running out as comfortable 3-1 winners. Swansea have a habit of doing too little with their possession, but Spurs are a good example of what Michael Laudrup's side must do to turn things around. Tottenham kept the ball and moved it too slowly in the wrong areas towards the end of Andre Villas-Boas' tenure, and while Tim Sherwood's appointment did not convince every Spurs fan, he has made the side more efficient. They move the ball forward quicker, with greater variation, and, most importantly, they are taking the chances presented to them. Swansea must see that as a lesson if they are to get over this extended slump, but there are valid reasons behind their struggles. Their Europa League commitments haven't helped, but they haven't had to play after a Thursday night game in over a month. The increase in matches has taken its toll on the squad though. Michel Vorm, Jonathan De Guzman, Pablo Hernández and Michu have all been absent and, considering that these three outfield players rank among the side's top four players in terms of key passes per game, it's little surprise they're lacking end product. Nathan Dyer is also absent, ridding the side of his pace. Leon Britton and José Canas (also now sidelined) have played the majority of games recently and are too similar. It's ironic then that Ki Sung-Yueng, a player owned by Swansea, is flourishing on loan at Sunderland. In addition to the extra games and injuries, Swansea's fixture list over the last month has been unenviable to say the least. Five defeats and just one point from six league matches have come courtesy of defeats to Everton, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham, with a draw away at Aston Villa sandwiched in between. While they might have hoped for more at Villa, not many Swansea fans could reasonably expect much change out of the other fixtures. Indeed, Swansea picked up just the one point in the corresponding matches last season, and their goal difference was -9 compared to -7 in the same fixtures this season. Furthermore, Swansea have suffered nine of their 11 defeats in the league this season to teams in the top seven and just one to a side in the bottom half â undoubtedly the hardest to swallow of all against Welsh rivals Cardiff City. They drew against West Ham, Stoke City, Hull City, Norwich City and Aston Villa this season despite having possession figures ranging from between 63% to 73% in those games. The chances they created weren't taken frequently enough, with only four sides holding a worse conversion rate than the Swans' 7.6%. The return of Michu, the upturn in form of Wilfried Bony â the real source for encouragement over the last few weeks â and the return of their creative players will help relieve the burden on Jonjo Shelvey, who can be temperamental. Come the end of the season, Swansea should be competing for a place in the top half of the table rather than battling against relegation.
This is really quite an astute analysis of our issues and why we need to also keep things in perspective. We need to finish off the smaller teams more and try not to get any more injuries. I'd be happy for us to field a youth team against Birmingham, I know it degrades the FA Cup which sucks but we really can't afford to risk more first team injuries.
Can someone force post this link to certain doom-mongers on thsi board.... I have been saying basically this for the past few weeks, if not months... 'In addition to the extra games and injuries, Swansea's fixture list over the last month has been unenviable to say the least. Five defeats and just one point from six league matches have come courtesy of defeats to Everton, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham, with a draw away at Aston Villa sandwiched in between.......Furthermore, Swansea have suffered nine of their 11 defeats in the league this season to teams in the top seven and just one to a side in the bottom half '....That last bit still hurts!
A one off game which they've been building up for since their open top tour of the of their town .As much as it hurt at the time I was more disappointed in the points being dropped . As to the cockle picker , what ever's written ,it'll never be the same as his point of view so don't worry what he thinks ,it's only an opinion .
Well lets analyze those 33 a little farther than the guadian . The last six games against dominant teams while infested with injuries speaks for itself . Now last year we got to 40 points the game after our glorious Cup final . The ten games after that were a let down because we secured anotherPremier league season. Now that leaves 16 games in between . During those 16 games in between , we played 11 other cup games including europe and league cup .We have nothing to fear but----------
you don't need to analyze anything as you can make anything look better if you tried. all it does is distort the facts. just accept that we have won 7 games out of 33 as that is the reality and not any analyzing you may do. My only hope is that there will be 3 teams on less points than us and we wont know that until the season is over. but even if we do survive by the skin of our teeth i still would not class laudrup as anywhere near good enough to take us forward...
I'm pretty sure everyone knows you're stance on Laudrup so you're beating a dead horsey dai. I've heard a lot being said about the " 33 games " dai , and a few things have been left out. I got a feeling you're going look a bit silly a few months from now so you better get you're shots in while the gettin's good buddy , cheers
Why am i going to feel silly??? Im not on about relegation im on about our season and how bad we are...everyone is saying so if you look. I am saying that laudrup is not as good as fans thought he would be and he has took us to the brink of relegation. Now if we survive or go down is irreverent as its all about his skill as a manager of the type of football that won us countless admirers that is being questioned here and its plain and so obvious that he has ruined what we have built up as a team and because of that and where we are today then he has to go, So how can i look silly, Im in the majority here with exactly the same view and if i had a choice i would have sacked him months ago not now....he was a great player but as a manager then he has a lot to learn and is way above his head as a premiership manager...
Interesting article. I think there are a few issues, The Europa league and steady flow of injuries has not allowed us to develop a settled team. If any team had suffered the number of injuries to first team players that we have, they would also struggle. Some of our attacking players are a little clumsy with the ball. Pablo, Shelvey & Poz are all guilty and don't think we can afford to play these at the same time particularly in midfield. Much has been said about our lack of goals but I think the difference is that we are leaking goals at home. We have often gone behind and the nature of the game changes. Are we suddenly poor in defence or are teams working us out. Teams seem to let us have the ball and then press us hard and wait for us to make a mistake. Like many teams, including Liverpool and Everton we use our full backs to go forward and width while our wingers cut inside. Teams then seem to catch us out on the counter. I am guessing the holding midfielders should be covering ( Britton tries) but we don't a player with the speed or engine to do this job. I think Vorm would have saved some of goals that have got past Tremmel. We get bullied in midfield. This is not new, it happens every year, including the Championship since we lost Bodde. Williams, due to injury and rotation has not been ever present in defence and seems to have lost his commanding role. Our offside traps often fails. Williams looks bulky and slower, maybe due to injury or too much time on the weights. Ki is another example of a transfer window mess up. Someone should have known what the contract said and called him back. Our squad is too thin even when we just had one midfielder out. Not matter what the board want or think Laudrup will do in the summer, they must back him in this transfer window. When they did not back Sousa or Martinez we did do so well. Things may have been very different if they did not get Borini or Gylfi under Rogers. The consequences of not backing Laudrup could be drastic. They are many positives, we are still playing very good football and with luck our return could be much better. Bony is scoring and hopefully player will return soon. We need to get behind the team, we have a relegation battle , FA & Europa cup to play for.
Great post neathjack, and completely agree with every word, good to see a Jack calling it as it is, too many ostriches on here!.................. Your point about the lack of a midfield general since Bodde is on the money too!
I don't think this makes great reading.We may have only lost one to bottom half teams, but we haven't won many either. Getting draws against bottom half teams and losing to top teams in final matches will get us relegated. We've won 7 out of 33 and are 3 points off the bottom. Lets all rejoice, as things are going really well.
Maybe it's injuries then maybe not, we were not exactly tearing up trees when our players were fit, now were we? All very well good getting the top teams out of the way, but we don't exactly raise our game for the cannon fodder at the bottom either. What needs to be done is to now take each game as it comes, every game must now be a cup final, every game must be targeted as a win, and that must start with Birmingham, we need the confidence back in the dressing room, and it has to start on Saturday in the Cup, one step at a time, I want us to smash Birmingham..................
