Josh Kilmister on whether we should be looking to revert to type tactically, or whether our new-look system should stick around for a while yet
It’s six points out of a possible six with Garry Monk’s take on a midfield diamond, but should we be expecting a return to 4-2-3-1 anytime soon?
It’s been a pretty crazy seven days for Swans’ fans. After utilising every ounce of quality to overcome Premier League powerhouses Man United for the second time this season, many thought that might’ve been the end of our ‘Christmas tree’ formation. That wasn’t the case, as Garry Monk stuck to his guns and definitely caught some Swans fans by surprise. So with our game against Spurs just a few days away, should we be sticking with our Christmas tree, or reverting back to our famous 4-2-3-1?
First of all, I can’t see there being any alterations to our defence. If there was to be a change, I’d assume it would be at right back - but would it be wise to prevent the former Spurs man from playing at his old stomping ground? If Naughton feels he can thrive in said conditions, I think he’s the better choice. Maybe Fernandez could be given a rest to give Amat some game time, but even that’s pretty unlikely.
As for the formation, I’m all for keeping it the same – though I think I’d probably switch it up a little in terms of who plays where. Oliveira looked up for it when he came on; but that doesn’t mean he should start over Bafe. It’s clear that he’s still lacking confidence - something that dropping him won’t fix at all – while I still think his defensive contributions from set pieces have been crucial since Bony’s departure. Believe it or not one of Bafe’s best attributes is his finishing, and there’s plenty of time left this season for him to prove that. Besides, I think this formation was thought up to give the Frenchman more support in the final third because despite his size, he isn’t strong enough to play the same role as Bony did for us.
One thing I would change is the player in support of the striker, where Routledge has been playing of late and where we have further options available. Don’t get me wrong, I thought Routs was superb against United and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him work so hard, but he still isn’t quite cutting it for me at the moment. When we’ve got Jeff Montero on the bench it’s difficult to see why we’re not opting for him over Wayne, because going forward at least, he is much, much better. You could also argue that Oliveira could partner Bafe up top as a sort of deep-lying striker, but the absence of a pacey forward might leave us with problems when trying to counter.
Tom Carroll stepped in to replace Gylfi against Burnley as Jonjo pushed further up the field, but he won’t be available on Wednesday as Spurs are his parent club. Should Gylfi be fit, I’d imagine Jonjo would drop back to partner Ki with the Iceman spearheading the diamond. If not then I think Fulton would get the nod over Leon, simply because we wouldn’t need two purely defensive minded midfielders on the field.
Spurs face Chelsea in the Capital One Cup final today, so that could potentially give us a slight edge over them, but that’s not to say they won’t be up for it. They have some really outstanding players and on their day they can beat anyone, but the same can be said for us.
We currently sit eighth in the Premier League having reached that holy fourty-point mark earlier than we ever have before, so there’s no reason why we can’t be optimistic. If Garry Monk thinks this formation works, then he has my 100% backing. After all, he is a tactical genius.