Andrew McGlashan returns to suggest some things the Swans would benefit from aiming for in the New Year
It’s that time of the year again where conversations unfailingly turn to talk of resolutions for the New Year. Whether it’s on the first day back in the office, during small talk with visiting distant relatives or pleasantries with people you sort of know on the bus, everyone will get asked. Of course losing weight, being more healthy or getting fit are the “go to” responses which may be said with conviction but carry very little real intention.
So what will Garry Monk’s list of resolutions look like this year? Well to help him out (as I’m sure he’s busy enough trying to come to terms with Monday’s result and the enigma that is Shelvey) I’ve put together a list:
1. Keep Bony
Slowly but surely we are coming to terms that our beloved Wilf of Wind Street will eventually leave us. His goal scoring record (he is the top goal scorer in 2014) is now too impressive to ignore and the bigger clubs are circling. However, it’s imperative to keep him until the summer so that we can continue to build on our impressive start. Should Bony leave in January I fear that our season may peter out and a 12th - 14th position finish looms despite having Gomis and now Oliveira in our ranks.
Now admittedly that’s still not a bad season and we’ll have £25-30m to spend but that money will also come if we sell him in the summer. If we keep Bony and the goals he brings, an 8th position finish is very much on the cards and a decent cup run too. Then we can say our goodbyes and start spending in the summer to bring in 3 or 4 quality signings.
2. Stop letting points slip through our fingers
It’s been well documented that Swansea have let slip 16 points so far this season. Sixteen! If we could have even converted only 6 of those points we would be in 4th position. I’m thinking the Newcastle, Spurs and Palace games, in particular, are games we should have come away with 3 points.
How do we do this? Well for me it’s a combination of (i) being more clinical and (ii) learning to close games out. This season we have only won games by two goals twice and by three goals once. All the rest have been wins by 1 goal. If we can start converting our chances whilst on top (which includes Bony - remember the Spurs game?), then these draws will fast become wins. Hopefully Oliveira can assist in this department.
The reality is however that do not have a team blessed with clinical finishers. Bony and Siggy aside (12 league goals between them), we only have 5 other league scorers this year (11 league goals combined). So if we aren’t able to continuously go ahead by 2 or more goals, we need to be able to see games out. We were able to do this against Villa and Hull recently but I think we can all agree we did not play well in these games and only just held on against Villa. In fact, we played to the same level against Liverpool and got the treatment Villa and Hull were unable to give us.
If the goals aren’t coming, we need to continue to play our own game and keep the ball, no matter how much the other team are pressing. This is something that is going away from our games, especially late on, and needs to be rectified. Please someone stop Shelvey hitting the long ball!
3. Sort the full back dilemma
It is becoming more and more apparent how weak we are at full back. I think Taylor has done ok this year but his number of bookings (seven so far) shows he has struggled on a number of occasions. Rangel has, for his standards, had a poor season so far. His performance against West Ham in particular was the worst performance I’ve seen from him in a Swans shirt. At 32, he will only continue to struggle against pacey wingers and his failings in the air (Harry Kane the latest example), are a constant worry. It has to be said though that both players have given their all for the Swans for a number of years so I only have respect and gratitude for them.
Jazz has played a number of games and although he’s had one or two bright performances, he isn’t the long term answer at right full back. With only Tiendelli left, and I don’t need to go into detail on him, this is by far our weakest position.
So as the transfer window opens we must surely be looking to bring in at least one quality full back. How much money we have to spend remains to be seen and we traditionally don’t spend big in January. If we don’t address this now, and in all honesty I wouldn’t be surprised if we roll with what we have until the summer, it will be the priority ahead of next season.
So that’s my list of New Year resolutions. I’m sure you all have opinions on additional ones (another winger / defensive midfielder perhaps) but I think we can all agree that the first half to the season has been a success. Sitting in 9th position is at the top end of what we could have hoped for at this point and long may it continue.
Happy New Year you Jack bastards. See you at QPR to hopefully start the New Year in style!
Many thanks to Andrew for his ongoing contribution - you can follow him on Twitter here: @ajmcglashan