Most fans, myself included, simply don't know what to expect from a top-level striker over ninety minutes
So far this season, there has been a vocal minority (what other type of minority is there?) who have felt it prudent to lay into Wilfried Bony both during matches and at any other juncture they can get their point heard. What good people expect to achieve by screaming obscenities at him while he's trying to score goals for us I don't know, but it's still happening. Even after he scored twice against Stoke, some fans were still reportedly giving him grief, and that to me is simply mind-boggling.
I've been thinking for a while that maybe there's an underlying reason he's coming in for stick. The only other striker who has received this level of criticism from Swansea fans in recent times was Jason Scotland, and let's be honest, he did well for us. Frustrations about him "not running around enough" were in my eyes laughable, and similar accusations are now being levelled at Bony.
Here's my thinking. I'm 27, and spent my formative years watching the Swans battle it out at various levels of lower league football - however we spent most of the time playing poor football with little quality up front. Let's have a look at some of the strikers I grew up watching. Steve Torpey, Aiden Newhouse, Tony Bird, Walter Boyd, Tommy Mutton, John Williams, Steve Watkin, Mamady Sidibe, Kevin Nugent... the list goes on, but it goes on without really inspiring. Giovanni Savarese was a cut above the rest, and Lee Trundle was obviously...Lee Trundle, but if we're being honest apart from those two none of the strikers in the list above were particularly likely to wow fans with their goalscoring exploits, much less put on a masterful display of centre-forwardery.
We can look back further. Since the Swans fall from grace in the early eighties, it's likely to have been much of the same. I can't speak from experience as I wasn't alive/in a position to witness many of these seasons, however it seems unlikely we had a top-level striker plying his trade in the number 9 or 10 shirt. This all leads me to the conclusion that for a good twenty years (or thereabouts), fans will have been used to watching their strikers spend more time chasing lost causes into the corner than pulling a rabbit out of a hat and stuffing one in from 30 yards.
This is exemplified by the criticisms of Bony and Scotland before him. "Run around more", "get into him", "move about some more" - these are all things I regularly hear shouted from the stands but I disagree completely. I've stated my tactical reasoning before - we have one striker and if he did spend 90 minutes chasing shadows we wouldn't have a focal point to build off when we do regain possession. I'm pretty sure we didn't spend £12million on a striker only for him to "run around a lot".
My point is though that, myself included, it's unlikely many Swansea fans know what a top level striker looks like in the flesh for ninety minutes. Do they charge around like a bull in a china shop for the entirety of every match? No doubt some do, but I'd wager more operate like Bony - cerebral, and capable of doing nothing for large swathes of the game before popping up with some important goals.
I don't know what Robin Van Persie does for ninety minutes. I never saw Ruud Van Nistelrooy in the flesh. I've no idea what fat Ronaldo used to for most of the match, but I'd wager all had a habit of simply biding their time before their opportunity arose. By playing in this manner, it also allows them to retain extra energy to deploy as and when needed. No point shooting your load too early. Ahem.
Let's have a look at Bony's stats. He's started thirteen games and come off the bench five times, and he now has ten goals. Not bad eh? When you take into consideration that, in the Premier League, he's now got a goal every 133 minutes (8th best of any player) it appears criticism has been unfounded. He's clearly still gaining a degree of match fitness, and is still adjusting to his new team, but his performances so far give reason for us to believe we could have signed an absolute gem. Don't forget he missed most of our pre-season too - AND had to adjust from what is a bit of a joke league to arguably the best league in the world. For him to have racked up this many goals (albeit, four of his ten have come in the Europa League) deserves credit in my opinion - not abuse from the stands.
Much like Wilfried Bony is adapting to a new style of playing, we as fans are still adapting to top level football. It's not our fault if we're not used to seeing an actual quality centre-forward - but the least we can do is give him the time he needs to succeed.