If ever there was a "wet, windy Wednesday night in Stoke"...
Super Garry Monk!
I was very tempted to make those three words the entire match review, given how enthused I am by the start Monk has made to his managerial career, but I might as well elaborate a tad seeing as how the performance again bore the hallmarks of positive change.
Pre-match, I'd prayed Leon Britton would be retained in the starting lineup with Canas coming in for De Guzman, and I got my wish. Monk clearly felt the game warranted what he considered his first choice lineup, and with this weekend's game being the FA Cup tie against Everton it appears the league has been prioritised - and rightly so. Elsewhere, Pablo came in for Emnes in an otherwise unchanged side.
The early signs were great I thought. Pressing high up the field, good use of width - it came as a real sucker-punch when Stoke took the lead in the 15th minute as up until then the Swans had already stamped their authority on the match. The goal came, predictably, from a high ball near the Swansea area - Chico challenging Crouch and getting nowhere near it, but in truth you should be able to cover for a centre-back going for a header against the languid centre-forward. As it happened, Ben Davies had come a long way inside, missed a tackle, and this allowed Odemwingie a huge amount of time and space to rifle a shot across goal. The original shot cannoned off the post but our luck didn't hold - Crouch fired home via a deflection, and the Swans were now chasing the game. It's far from the first time Ben has been caught out of position for a goal this season, but he's so young and has so much improving to do I'm confident that soon he'll stamp that kind of thing out.
You may have noticed Charlie Adam got a mention in the title. I've long felt Charlie Adam is such a waste of a footballer - he's obviously got bags of talent, but as long as he spends more of his time going around cynically hacking at people I'm going to have a problem with him. By the end of the first half he'd already taken Dyer out late as well as kicking out at Routledge after the ball had gone. This ultimately resulted in some handbags which saw both Adam & Ash pick up yellow cards (Adam's was for the challenge on Dyer), but the back and fore between the two continued for the rest of the match. As much as I love seeing Ash stick up for his teammates (nobody messes with his mate Nathan Dyer), I'd trade that in an instant if it meant Charlie Adam would stop being such a vindictive... football player.
So, the first half was played out much in the same manner as in the first 15 minutes. Swansea bossed possession, while Stoke seemed happy to play on the break. Nathan Dyer probably had Swansea's best chance of the half, but his shot went just too far across goal, while Arnautovic let fly from 35 yards and Vorm did well to parry it up and over the bar with the wind no doubt affecting the flight of the ball.
The second half started in much the same manner as it did against Cardiff - the Swans came flying out of the traps and really took the game to Stoke. Perhaps it's a sign of Monk's influence on the team, but in fairness we've often performed better in the second half this season. Either way, we didn't have to wait long for our equaliser, and it came through a player who'd had his every touch booed throughout the match.
Chico Flores was the subject of pantomime abuse from the first to the last whistle, and it begs the question; why?! Solidarity with their hoofball compatriots West Ham & Andy Carroll? We can only assume so. Either way, that made it spectacularly brilliant when he glanced home Pablo's cross (after the Spaniard's corner had been half-cleared), and Chico looked like he thoroughly enjoyed his third goal of the season.
I thought Canas (as much as I love him) did look a bit ring rusty, but I'm still sure that he gave a more disciplined midfield display alongside Leon than De Guzman would have. For his part, Leon put himself about a bit and when De Guzman replaced Pablo on 75 minutes I thought the Dutchman also made a positive impact. He drew a fine save from Stoke 'keeper Begovic with an outrageous effort from 30 odd yards, and even looked like he wanted to put himself about a bit. Well in, Jonny.
Monk has said how, if he feels a player warrants dropping, he'll explain his reasoning, and I'm wondering if the new Swansea head coach had a few words with the Dutchman in the wake of the derby which Laudrup never felt necessary. Either way, he looked fired up and if he does that over ninety minutes he'll be a much improved player. He also benefited from playing in front of Leon & Canas - I feel this is a much more natural position for De Guzman as he's clearly an attacking midfielder who enjoys getting forward more than keeping things ticking over at the back.
Wilfried Bony spurned possibly the Swans best chance of the match, and a chance which would probably have proven to be the winner had it found the back of the net. Great play from the Swans released Dyer down the right, and his centre found Bony free in front of goal. The ball was slightly under the Ivorian's feet, and as much as I love his "daddy cool" persona I thought he did take a little too long to get his shot off - apparently waiting for Begovic to go to ground before trying to lift an effort over him side-footed. Begovic got a hand to it, but the ball was still heading in until Ryan Shawcross cleared well off the line. Bony's wait for an away PL goal goes on.
Overall, another positive performance from Garry Monk's Swansea City. We played with more desire, and more commitment to "The Swansea Way" than we've seen in any match other than the derby for a long time. If we keep this up, worries about drifting down towards the relegation zone will soon be a thing of the past, and Monk will continue to seriously enhance his credentials as a potential Swansea City manager. A point away at Stoke isn't to be sniffed at (they've now lost only one of their last ten home PL games), but with our next two domestic games coming against Roberto Martinez's Everton and Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool, our tika-taka credentials are likely to be tested somewhat more thoroughly in the coming weeks.
No doubt Garry Monk is drooling at the prospect of locking horns with his old bosses, and who could blame him. Garry Monk's Barmy Army!
