Swansea limp to a single-goal defeat on Humberside
Ask most fans what they think the biggest problem with our performance against Hull was and almost unanimously the reaction you'll get is a stinging criticism of work rate, desire...call it what you will. I however am firmly of the belief that it was a tactical gamble by Monk that didn't pay off, and it remains to be seen if he keeps trying to accommodate both Michu and Bony in the starting eleven.
Against Norwich we never really found top, top gear (though that's not to say we didn't easily deserve the three points) but given how I've often said in the past that Michu has a destructive influence on our midfield I did see things in the game against the Canaries which caused me some concern, as well as frustrating me massively. Monk clearly gambled that these issues would dissipate sufficiently by the time the Hull match came around, and that Bony & Michu would figure out how to work alongside each other. Sadly, that wasn't the case.
So just what am I on about? Well firstly, Michu seems to think that no matter where he's selected in the team, he's essentially got a free role. Against Arsenal when he operated beyond our midfield diamond but behind Bony it seemed to work to good effect (before he tired dramatically after half time), but as the attacking midfielder in a traditional Swansea 4-2-3-1 system he is simply doesn't have the tactical discipline to do the simple things over and over again, retaining possession whilst also feeding the ball through to the centre-forward.
Another thing I've noticed in the last two matches is that he wants to occupy the same positions on the field as Bony. If you're playing one up top and your attacking midfielder looks to latch onto a "final ball" every time, you're essentially playing 4-4-2 and that doesn't do the Swans any favours at all in terms of creation in the final third. It's imperative (as the resurgent Pablo has shown) that if you're to operate effectively in that role you need to continuously show for the ball, being brave and taking the ball in tight situations, before giving it back to someone else and busting a gut into space in the hope of creating something either for yourself or one of your teammates. I have to be honest, I can't recall Michu doing that much at all against either Hull or Norwich.
The most frustrating thing for me is that we had finally started to use our centre-forward as a pivot point off which to build attacks, and we were once again using the entire pitch to stretch the opposition. Against Hull we simply didn't do that, and the lack of a link between midfield and attack (and effective support in and around Bony) meant we hardly created anything for the entirety of the match.
When you look at where our goals have come from over the last few season, I'd argue that since we sold Jason Scotland we haven't had a centre-forward who is, in terms of ability, on a par with his teammates. Danny Graham did well once he got going but the arrival of Gylfi, and the subsequent shift in emphasis from DG on to the Icelander for the remainder of the season, meant that while the Gylf was making headlines Graham himself struggled to find the net.
The problem then rolled into last year - all our goals were coming from Michu who, for some reason, doesn't want to play up front (has anyone told him you can get away with running around less?!) and again - if they dry up where does that leave you? You have a team set up to get the ball most of the way up the field, but the striker remains isolated. It's much better to have your centre-forward as your goal-threat, and no matter how prolific your attacking midfielder is his primary focus should always be on feeding the ball in to his striker.
Someone I would like to give a positive mention to (and let's be honest, it's not going to be Vorm or Angel Rangel) is Wayne Routledge. Many have said he's the only Swansea player who can take any real credit from our trip to Humberside, and while Monk's comments regarding Routledge's chances of an England callup might be a bit wide of the mark he once again worked his balls off for the Swans cause. What's more, I'm pretty sure I saw him giving the team a rousing teamtalk at the end of the pre-match huddle, and it's always good to see that kind of passion and responsibility amongst your players. It clearly didn't do any good, but still...
So, we move on to Chelsea at home and hopefully we'll perform significantly better than we did against Steve Bruce's Hull side. Anything less than a much-improved showing will almost undoubtedly result in a drubbing, but we can take solace from the fact that we've drawn with Chelsea on all their three visits to the Liberty since our promotion to the Premier League. Trends are made to be broken, but let's hope that one continues for a while at least.