Eric Imhof picks through the bones of yesterday's result, to see if anything positive can be gleaned from our 5-0 humbling at the hands of Chelsea
Let’s just get this out of the way: the Swans at full strength would not be tipped to beat Chelsea, even at home. The Swans without their leading scorer, without their best winger, and without three (three!) key midfield holders were never going to stand a chance in this one. Even Mourinho gave Monk an out, saying that the game was lost before the ball was even kicked.
I know that five-nil sounds terrible, and the game was the hardest of any to watch all season, but with just three wins in the remaining 16 games (sounds attainable, right?), that goal difference will probably, like everything always does with the Swans, even out over the stretch as the Swans climb towards safety. Best to forget this one and move on.
And that’s exactly the challenge facing Monk. He can’t let this result ruin morale just as his side’s resolve is being tested by so many simultaneous changes; readjusting to Bony’s absence, incorporating new players (hopefully defenders and a big bully in midfield), and dealing with monkeywrenching injuries. If this current segment of the season, with West Ham, Chelsea, and Southampton all in sequence, isn’t the toughest Monk has faced in his still-green tenure, it’s at least tied with his previous trial by fire, the Everton-Arsenal-City run last November. In the former test, Monk passed with flying colors. What must he do to ace this one as well?
Aside from tactics, which I think will resolve themselves as players become available (oh how great it will be to see Montero and Britton back in the starting XI), the most important thing Monk needs to do is keep the confidence high and weed out mental mistakes. The aforementioned inevitability of Chelsea’s win aside, all of the goals today were avoidable; Chelsea didn’t so much unlock the Swansea defense as the Swans accidentally left the door swinging wide open as they got drunk, metaphorically speaking, elsewhere.
If Monk is as good of a coach as I think he is, he’ll be able to sober them up - I suggest a “coffee is for closers” speech at the grounds this week. We should see renewed energy and organization following what hopefully is looked back on as an erratic (and embarrassing) blip.
With Bony gone for good, the Europa League is now most likely out of reach, but other commendable goals are still in play: finishing in the top 8, going far in the FA Cup, and of course if nothing else, getting to safety much earlier than they did last season. I don’t think the Swans are going to go to St. Mary’s and win (sorry), but what I’ll be looking for is scoring more than one goal against Blackburn, scoring in the second half against the Saints, and then beating Sunderland at home.
If Monk can at least wring that out of this side in flux, he’ll have settled everyone down and put a strong foundation in place for finishing the season on the upswing. After the Sunderland game is a trip to West Brom, which should be another three points - if the Swans are truly progressing.
The worry, of course, is that Monk will repeat Laudrup’s “feat” from last year of going eight Premier-League games without a win (which would’ve been ten games, sputtering into the loss at West Ham, without a life-line visit from bottom-dweller Fulham).
So far, Monk has shown wisdom, adaptability, and even brashness beyond what is expected of a first-year manager. He’ll need all three of those qualities if he is to avoid a disappointing end to his first full season as a manager - made all the more so because of the bright start. In the meantime, the next match can’t come soon enough.
Thanks to Eric for his ongoing contribution - follow him on Twitter @AustinJackArmy. The next few months are certainly an interesting time for Monk, and I heartily endorse the sentiment that the next match can't come soon enough!