Whatever happened to... Dorus De Vries?

Dutch stopper broke club clean sheets record before departing for Wolves

There was a time when Swansea's goalkeeper didn't pass the ball. As is still the case at most clubs, the role of our goalkeeper was simply to keep goal, protecting his net from anything that threatened it and then return the ball upfield with a big boot. Ok, all goalkeepers give a percentage of ball short to a well-placed defender, but the majority of passes played by a 'keeper are long and we were no different. We'd also had a couple of heroes between the sticks in recent memory - Willy Gueret had endeared himself to fans by getting arrested whilst celebrating our League Two promotion at Bury while before him Roger Freestone had long been a resounding fan favourite. Everybody loves Roger.

The stage was set for a revolution - of the footballing variety. Roberto Martinez had been appointed manager in February of 2007, and had swiftly set about changing the way we do things in SA1 - and what's more key to the new style of play was the goalkeeper being used as an outfield player when we were in possession of the ball - something that was happening more and more regularly as time went on. The goalkeeper needed to be reliable with the ball at his feet, and able to relieve pressure without having to whack it it downfield every time.

When it came to the summer of 2007 Martinez dipped into the transfer market and brought in Dutchman Dorus De Vries from Dunfermline, spelling the end for Willy Gueret who joined MK Dons on the opening day of the 07/08 season. De Vries came highly rated despite throwing one in on the last day of the prior season (costing Dunfermline their SPL status), and so it proved to be that over the course of his first season with the Swans he'd easily establish himself as our no1 keeper, but crucially he was a footballing goalkeeper. 

We're all too accustomed to Michel Vorm (and sometimes Gerhard Tremmel) coolly receiving a pass in a tight situation, opening their body up and playing a ball out to the full-back, but it wasn't always this way. De Vries was the first keeper to operate in a distinctly tika-taka system for Swansea City, and he did it with aplomb. In his first season with the club we won the League One title and gained promotion, and then two seasons later he broke Roger Freestone's record of 22 clean sheets in a season (set during the 99/00 Third Division title-winning season), keeping 25 clean sheets under Paolo Sousa after Martinez had left for Wigan. 

Hard to top that, you'd think? Not so - Brendan Rodgers arrival meant that the "play out from the back" philosophy remained very much in tact, and De Vries remained first-choice 'keeper. That season would go on to be the season the Swans clinched promotion to the Premiership, and De Vries featured in the Playoff Final against Reading which would ultimately prove to be his last game for the club. 

His contract had expired that summer, and originally he had said he was going to stay...but then Wolves offered him more money. So the rumour goes anyway, and given the Swans fiscally-prudent approach it's hard not to believe their offer wasn't around double what we'd put on the table. At the time, it really could have royally shafted the Swans but somehow, just somehow, we pulled another Dutch rabbit out of a hat and signed Michel Vorm for £1.5million. Quality bit of business, that!

De Vries had famously (infamously?) said when he departed the Swans that expectations were higher at Wolves and that "Swansea hoped to stay in the league - Wolves expect to". Seeing as this article is supposed to be looking at what he's done since the Swans I suppose it's best to stop rambling and address the issue at hand, so just how has it gone for Dorus since signing for the Midlands most gold-coloured club? 

Not well, if we're being completely honest. He was signed by Wolves when they already had Wayne Hennessey and Carl Ikeme on their books, and if truth be told he came nowhere near the team (apart from the odd cup appearance) until Wayne Hennessey damaged his cruciate ligament, at which point De Vries finally made his first PL appearance. By that point though, Wolves were already certainties for relegation and in reality he only played in a couple of dead rubbers - how galling it must have been to see his replacement (and compatriot) Michel Vorm excelling at Swansea we can't say, but you make your bed and you lie in it. 

He did also get to enjoy a return to the Liberty Stadium. Well, I say enjoy - he conceded four goals as we somehow contrived to draw 4-4, but Wolves were then relegated out of the Premiership and that's the last most of us have seen of Dorus since. Where has he gone? Is he still at Wolves? That's what I thought I'd find out.

The season after Wolves' relegation, they got a new manager in (Stale Solbakken) who again didn't fancy making Dorus his number one. With Hennessey still injured, he once again had to bide his time and until Ikeme injured his hand in March 2013 his only appearance that season had been in a 6-0 League Cup loss to Chelsea. Ouch. Similarly to the season before though, De Vries again came in for an injured 'keeper (by this point Dean Saunders had replaced Solbakken) late in the day, and ultimately couldn't help the club avoid relegation. Two consecutive relegations? Double ouch!

A nice little Swansea connection here sees Kenny Jackett enter the picture. Appointed Wolves' boss following their relegation to League One he told De Vries he was free to find another club (waiving the final year of his contract) and he joined Nottingham Forest on a free transfer. I know what you're all thinking here - has he played? Sadly for Dorus, the answer is just the once, away at Sheffield United in the FA Cup last month. They lost 3-1. Since leaving the Swans he's made fourteen league appearances and seven cup appearances in three seasons - this from a goalkeeper who was ever-present throughout three of the four seasons he played for us.

Also, there's a bit of a pattern if you are willing to allow me a pointless observation. Swansea signed De Vries from Dunfermline following their relegation. Dorus comes to Swansea, does well, then signs for Wolves. Who are relegated. Then relegated again. Nottingham Forest to be relegated? They've got 55 points already, so they should be safe. Should be...

It seems that Dorus is one of a growing group of players who've left Swansea thinking the grass was greener elsewhere, only to find that (predictably) the grass is greenest in South Wales. There was a fair bit of animosity about the deal when he left, but I do feel a little sorry for him that things have panned out as they have. It can't be nice watching from the sidelines, but I suppose it's probably easier when you're getting paid tens of thousands of pounds a week to do it. It is likely though that I wouldn't be feeling quite so sympathetic if Vorm hadn't been such a good acquisition, that's for sure. We did alright there, eh?

So, that's what happened to Dorus De Vries. Keep an eye out for him on the bench for Nottingham Forest...

First Vorm's error led to Chico red card, now THIS?

Dutch 'keeper humbled by Manchester United striker in Holland training

Swansea goalkeeper Michel Vorm has made a name for himself as a cool, collected customer who rarely finds himself flapping under pressure. He's proven himself to be one of the outstanding keepers outside the elite clubs in the Premiership, but on Sunday we saw a rare error of judgement which saw him come for the ball, swing, and miss. Glenn Murray got there first, Chico had to manhandle him to the ground, and (despite the incident being just outside the area) it cost us a goal, a red card and two points. These things happen though, especially when you're a goalkeeper! 

Moving on from that though, it seems Vorm really isn't the luckiest man alive right now. With this video coming to light yesterday (Monday) it seems that the day after that incident against Palace, THIS then happened to him in Holland training...

Unlucky Michel, unlucky. I'm sure there's a joke in there somewhere about Michelle needing to close her legs (and something about balls), but I'll refrain and get on with looking at some other stats for a post later this week. Until then!

Swansea 1 - 1 Palace - Chalkboards & statistical analysis

Our newly appointed International Data & Statistics Executive Dan Barnett takes a look at the numbers from Saturday's game. Original article here: link

How you feel after this game is probably a pretty good indicator for your outlook on life.  Either this was a disaster and everything's going to shit or given being a man down for the last 10 minutes you're just grateful we got something from the game.

I don't think I can remember a game anytime recently where possession was so one sided but in terms of chances things were equal:

Passing by Minute: Swansea were on course at half time for almost 1,000
passes but the second half was pretty much even in terms of pass volume

Looking at that over time as a % of total passes, Swansea made 84% of all passes in the first half which had dropped to 70% by the end of the match.

% of all passes by both teams that were made by Swansea - Consistently over
80% in the first half but dropping dramatically as the 2nd half progressed

Chance wise this was very much the proverbial 'game of two halves' with Palace only managing a single shot in the first half and Swansea only 2 efforts in the second.

Total Shots by minute - not a huge amount of action from either side as Palace looked to keep things tight

The risk of overplaying Pablo is something I've looked at before and will return to in the next couple of weeks, that combined with Ash and Bony's illness meant that players were pretty much out on their feet towards the end although that doesn't excuse Vorm's rush of blood.

With two weeks rest (3 for Chico) and hopefully the return of Michu we should over the closing 10 weeks hopefully see a preview of the level of football we'd expect to get next season with no Europa distraction, aside from whenever the Arsenal game is re-arranged it'll be 1 game a week for the remainder of the season with close to a fully fit squad.

You can follow Dan on Twitter: @we_r_pl - Match stats created using Statszone , Whoscored  and Squawka. Dan has his own website at www.wearepremierleague.com

Swansea's injury woes examined

The Domino Effect of Swansea Injuries 

This article by Dan Barnett was originally posted on his website at the end of January, but I felt it was well worth including as it's a fascinating read. The original article is available here.

With 3 points against Fulham and the return of several players from injury, things are suddenly a lot rosier. It was less than a few weeks ago that Swansea were top of the Phsyioroom Injury table with 8 first team players out, and what's more most of them would arguably be included in Swansea's strongest line-up.

Much has been made of the demands of the Europa League and the impact of extra games and travel on Swansea's league position; it's purely speculation and maybe a bit biased but I'd argue that our level would be closer to that of Southampton without the extra games (Swansea have played 10 Europa League games but 2 fewer matches in the League Cup compared to Southampton).

As at end of Jan 2014, Swansea have already played 36 competitive matches (23 League, 10 Europa League, 2 FA Cup and 1 League Cup) with late Nov until early Jan being particularly busy with the absence of any international breaks and 2 games a week for 5 of the 6 weeks.

Swansea Minutes Played per week - All Competitions

The heavier than normal schedule, combined with a couple of key injuries, resulted in a domino effect of injuries within the Swansea squad, with the available pool of players diminishing rapidly. Those that remained were required to play when ideally they would have been rested - resulting in Leon Britton being the only fit midfielder of the 4 main squad members with Shelvey, Canas and De Guzman all being injured at the same time.

The chain arguably starts with Bony having a succession of injuries early on in the season, where he picked up an ankle/foot injury (Aug 25th) followed by a rib injury (Sep 15th). These, combined with a lack of a full pre-season and then suffering a hamstring injury in a Europa League game on Nov 28th meant that earlier this season he missed quite a bit of game time..

Bony - Minutes played per week.

After a stop-start beginning to the season, Bony is now starting to play on a regular basis and is in great form, but his absence in the early months of the season arguably placed extra pressure on Michu.

In has time with Swansea, due to his importance to the team Michu has very
rarely been substituted and has played despite not being fully fit this season -
resulting in problems with both ankles. Playing time above excludes his 57
minutes for Spain in mid October.

With injuries at various points to Bony and Michu, this placed extra pressure on the midfield, where some games you would only have needed 2 of the 4 central midfielders (if both Bony and Michu starting), and so with one or both being unavailable there have been more games three central midfielders would be required (with Pozuelo also contributing to the attacking midfield role at times).

The reasoning that some games you'd need 2 and others 3 of the central midfielders was why Ki was loaned out to Sunderland as unless there was a run on injuries he'd get very little game time (I know there are other conspiracy theories around his relationship with Laudrup but apart from the issue of helping a potential relegation rival, Ki is better of this season at Sunderland).

The gradual build up of injuries meant that instead of a regular rotation that happened earlier on in the season, Shelvey and Canas in particular were called on even more during the Nov/Dec period which may well have had an impact on their fitness.

Shelvey has possibly been Swansea's player of the season so far but a heavy
 schedule in recent weeks had arguably knackered him out to some extent.

As with Shelvey, Canas has gone from playing equivalent of around 1 game per 

week to regularly playing 2 games a week.

As well as the problems up front and in midfield, injuries to Dyer, Lamah and Pablo meant that this area was also stretched. Pablo has gained a reputation this season as being 'made of glass' but last season was an almost ever-present - maybe he's been pushed backed too quickly this season, only to relapse?

Playing 2 matches in a week might not seem the greatest hardship in the world,
but going from nothing to multiple games may be too much of a rush for some
players.

If players were parts of a machine instead of human then it would make sense to have had Ki around all season to be used in an emergency, but in reality an unhappy player can disrupt the squad not to mention do nothing for their potential resale value if they do look to move on.

Over the season so far Chico has played by far the most minutes (Williams was often rested in Europa League games partly due to a niggling ankle injury but also to give Amat experience).

Chico has played 2745 minutes this season, 489 minutes more than Ashley Williams in 2nd.

Pozuelo has featured in the most games this season (34 of the 36) although only 19 of those have been starts.

Pozuelo's been regularly involved, if not as heavily as some but played an
important role in keeping things going during late November/early December.

Any patterns of injury will be a matter of training, match volume and luck (no matter how fit or how sensible your playing schedule, impact injuries can just be split second collisions that cause long term injury), and it's easy to look back when there's been a run of injuries and say that x or y caused them - but it's a fine line between a well oiled machine running at optimum levels, and having to end up playing a defender in midfield. Small decisions can end up having far larger repercussions.

Dan runs his own site at www.wearepremierleague.com, and you can follow him on Twitter @We_R_PL

*All statistics correct as of 31/01/14

Swansea 1 - 1 Crystal Palace - Two points lost? Lucky to get a point? Possibly both...

If ever there was a game of two halves...

Swansea. Moody sky.

Only a few weeks ago we were playing a fixture on a quintessential cold, windy Wednesday night in Stoke, and our matchup against Crystal Palace turned into a soggy Sunday afternoon in Swansea, where the vast majority of supporters were thoroughly drenched by the time the referee blew his whistle to start the game. Traditional Welsh weather aside, Monk named essentially a first-choice team (recalling Dyer, Leon & Davies) and we set about out-passing and out-thinking Crystal Palace in one of the most complete first-half dominations I've ever seen. Stoke seemed happy to afford us the ball and it seemed they were going to pay for their generosity.

Early signs were good - Pablo played a neat triangle with Dyer releasing the winger but he was flagged offside, before the Spaniard struck a left-footed effort just past the far post. Sadly, that was his last involvement and I can only hope that he's not been struck with yet another injury. Fingers crossed. Monk replaced him with Canas, and for me the first half of football we saw today perfectly demonstrated what I've been saying for so long about two defensive midfielders being the key to success for Swansea City.

De Guzman is rapidly improving in a holding role, but once he was moved to attacking midfield (after Canas' introduction) and he had a solid base behind him to work off we improved massively. Before we had two defensive midfielders on the field we were retaining possession and looking the better team, but lacked penetration. Once Canas was on, however, the shape of the team improved and we started to create. There's a saying about having to know the rules before you can break them, and I think by having that much more of a solid shape to the team it then allows your creative players to interchange and drift across the field in the final third. The base is crucial though.

Back to the game itself and the presence of De Guzman alongside Bony was causing havoc in the Palace backline. A lovely team move saw the Dutchman open the scoring, latching onto a Leon Britton pass after god knows how many passes and a Bony flick before guiding the ball past Julian Speroni, and it wasn't long until he went close again - almost connecting with a great ball over the top but sadly just failing to get anything on it. Before half-time came we also saw Bony test Speroni with a low first time shot, and he again produced another save, though this one was a truly excellent effort. Low and to his right he got down well to stop the Ivorian doubling the Swans' tally, and it proved a crucial moment in the game given how the second half panned out. 

Tom Ince hadn't enjoyed the first half at all, having a mare and having to endure loud chants of "Daddy's boy, daddy's boy, daddy's boy!" from the home fans (who clearly didn't appreciate his Tour De Bigger Contract), and he was subbed at half time. I didn't find out until Match Of The Day that his father Paul was in the stands - how he reacted to the chants we can't say but he can't have argued with Pulis' decision, though I was surprised to see a half-time sub given he'd already had to bring on Cameron Jerome for Marouane Chamakh, who'd picked up an injury. 

So, Ince came off for Glenn Murray and boy did it change the game! Gone was the complete domination of the first half (where we enjoyed eighty-two percent of the possession - eighty-two percent!!!) and instead we had to deal with Palace pressing us high up the field and getting in our faces - something they simply hadn't been doing in the first half. Garry Monk said after the match that it was simply a case of fourty-five minutes too much football, and we had played three games in ten days, so I can understand if it was simply fatigue catching up with us. It is hard though to not be disappointed after a first-half performance which saw us completely outplay our opponents, though to focus on what we weren't doing would be a disservice to Crystal Palace as they thoroughly fought their way back into the match.

I've talked about Palace and Pulis quite a bit in the last few weeks on here and on both The Jackcast & the EPL Roundtable podcasts, and I've been saying how Palace have impressed me by playing a bit of football to go with the direct stuff Pulis likes. Well, I'd like to retract those comments if I may. Palace did excellently in the second half - they stopped us playing out from the back and they harried us into mistakes, but their only outlet was the big hoof downfield. Sadly, we seemed suddenly susceptible to it in the second half (Chico seemed to have very little joy in the air in particular) and under a concerted aerial bombardment we eventually wilted.

Crystal Palace's goal then. Long ball hoofed downfield, Vorm comes for it, decides he doesn't want it, and Glenn Murray gets there first. There's a big open goal so Chico takes one for the team and wrestles his man to the ground just outside the area, but that doesn't stop Mike Dean (about 50 yards away keeping up with play excellently) from being able to decide that it was indeed in the box, and that Chico should be sent off. The linesman didn't flag, and he was a lot closer Mike - personally though I'd say it was a free-kick and a red card. Either way, Murray got up to put the penalty into Vorm's top right corner and level the scores, and it was hard not to feel glad for him given how long he's had to watch from the sidelines as he recovered from a serious injury. Hard, but not impossible.

What was Vorm doing? Why didn't he just cream it out of the stadium? Who knows. Whatever the reason, we had a torrid ten minutes (the goal came in the 82nd minute) where we had no Ash (subbed reportedly due to illness) and Wilfried Bony (reported injury?) had long since departed for Leroy Lita. Previously a forgotten man at the Liberty, it's the second time Lita has featured under Monk but to be honest I thought he was very, very poor. Bony offers a lot defending set pieces, and the combined loss of him & Ash, plus Chico's sending off, means that managing to hold on for a point turned into a very good result indeed. We could have easily lost that game in the end, but you have to take positives from every performance and I'm sure that's what Garry Monk is doing. 

We've now got the best part of two weeks until we play next, and I bet the boys are absolutely drooling at the prospect of a week which doesn't involve two competitive fixtures. They've earned a bit of a rest, and anyone who's not away on international duty will undoubtedly appreciate the prolonged rest period. This is the first chance Monk & his team will have had to actually take stock and plan training sessions, plus god knows what else, and I'm sure the longer he has to work with the squad the more positive results we'll see. 

So, very much a Swansea team vs a Pulis team, and after a lot of sparring it ended 1-1. Was it two points dropped, or a hard-earned point we were lucky to hold onto? Was it both? Can it be both? Who cares, it's in the past now and all eyes go to West Brom. Another six-pointer, and another chance for us to pull away from the relegation zone. Bring it on. 

Swansea vs Crystal Palace preview, statistics, team news, predicted lineups & analysis

The Match

Swansea now have to focus on the league after going out of the Europa League in the cruelest of fashions. While going out to Napoli could be considered harsh given the Swans' performance over the two legs, we had enough chances to win the game and we could have been a couple of goals ahead in both the first and second legs. It must have been a great experience for the players, but the key now is taking anything learned from our foray into Europe and applying it to our league games - starting with Crystal Palace.

Crystal Palace have been absolutely on fire since Pulis took charge, and this Palace side is vastly, vastly improved from the one we beat at Selhurst earlier in the season. A win against the Swans would see Palace leapfrog the Swans into 12th place, and they've actually got a game in hand on us so this really is a six pointer. Palace have got a run of games coming up where they can look to secure the points they need to avoid relegation, and they'll be looking to get back to winning ways (after going down 2-0 at home to United last time out) against a Swansea team they'll expect to be able to bully. Whether they achieve this depends on how quickly Monk's men have recovered from their jaunt to Italy, but with several Swansea players rested they could well be in for a tough time of it.

Team News

Provided by resident fitness guru @BenDinnery - make sure to follow him on Twitter for the latest injury news and views

Swansea take on Crystal Palace at the Liberty this weekend hoping to secure three points and put a 

little daylight between themselves and the chasing relegation threatened sides. After a disappointing 

result in Naples Garry Monk can at least take solace from another decent performance as the Jacks 

try to make it three home wins on the spin. Leon Britton missed the Europa loss due to a minor knee 

problem but the midfielder is expected to return, while team-mate Nathan Dyer (heel) should also 

be fine. Concerns mount regarding the availability of Jonjo Shelvey who continues to struggle with 

an ongoing hamstring issue, the player scored against his former club last weekend before being

replaced at half-time. Alejandro Pozuelo made his comeback on Thursday in a ten minute cameo; he 

will be assessed for any reaction while Spanish international Michu is once again likely to miss out.

No such problems for Crystal Palace who travel to South Wales with a fully fit squad. Striker Glenn 

Murray (ACL) is challenging Chamakh for a regular place up-front after his first start in over nine

months last weekend while Jerome Thomas should recover in-time after recent calf and back 

injuries.

Completely guessed lineups

Statistics & Trivia

• Swansea have scored the highest proportion of second half goals of any team in the Barclays Premier League this season (75%).
• Crystal Palace have recovered just one point from losing positions in the Barclays Premier League this term, fewer than any other team. 
• Swansea City have won the last four games against Crystal Palace in all competitions. 
• The south Londoners have failed to score in each of their last five competitive matches against the Swans. 
• Crystal Palace have the worst shot conversion rate in the top flight this season scoring with just 7.9% of their shots. 
• Palace have conceded just nine goals in their last nine Premier League games and just one of those came in the first half of a match. 
• Wilfried Bony has scored six goals in his last eight Premier League appearances.
• Crystal Palace have conceded the joint-most penalties in the Premier League this season (six, along with Everton). 
• Swansea have benefited from a league-high six own goals this season, accounting for one in six of their total goals scored (17%). 
• 22% of Crystal Palace's goals have been scored in the opening 15 minutes of matches, a league high proportion.
• Swansea have kept a clean sheet in their last 5 matches against Crystal Palace in all competitions. 
• Swansea have been winning at both half time and full time in their last 4 matches against Crystal Palace in all competitions.
• There have been under 2.5 goals scored in 8 of Crystal Palace's last 9 games in the Premier League. 
• Swansea have won their last 4 matches against Crystal Palace in all competitions.
• Crystal Palace have failed to score in their last 3 away matches in the Premier League. 
• Swansea have scored at least 2 goals in their last 3 matches against Crystal Palace in all competitions.

Straight from the horse's mouth

Tom Ince clearly can't list confidence amongst his failings:

"Swansea play nice football and did ever so well against Napoli - but will they be able to handle the threat we give them with Glenn Murray, Marouane Chamakh, Cameron Jerome, Yannick Bolasie, Jason Puncheon and myself? They will want to play their fluid type of football and be expansive - but look at the amount of times we counter-attacked West Brom.  

"It`s different when you play Manchester United because they keep the ball so well. Swansea play similar but are probably not as effective - they haven`t got the Wayne Rooneys and Robin van Persies who, when you do give them the space, will kill you off. We have to nullify what Swansea do and then play our own game. I`m sure Swansea won`t be able to handle what we do. 

http://www.swansea.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=350870#ixzz2uLIZIaY3

Ben Davies has clearly seen those Tom Ince comments…:

“We will just let our football do the talking on the pitch. If we win the game we won’t be having to make any comments afterwards. We’ll just be able to look at the league table.”

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/367675/Swansea-defender-Ben-Davies-tells-Tom-Ince-to-let-his-feet-do-the-talking

Analysis

The first in Swansea's run of three "winnable" home games, and this one has had a bit of spice added to it by Tom Ince proclaiming that he feels Swansea "can't handle what they do". Personally, I think if we play to anywhere near the levee we have done for the majority of Monk's reign, we'll be absolutely fine.

I'm a big fan of Jedinak in the Palace midfield, but he surely can't stand up to a Swansea midfield on top form? Joe Ledley has shown a couple of times that he struggles to keep up with a tika-taka approach from the opposition, and I also wouldn't bet against him picking up a booking early on. History, and all that.

Swansea will have to watch for Palace's big men up front. While Pulis' critics lambast his style of play, I do feel the style his current Palace team play is a lot different to the Stoke team he moulded so resolutely for so many years. Ok, they do go long but there is more of an emphasis on passing the ball, and I think that could well be their downfall. If they try and play us at our own game, I'm convinced we'll have too much for them, and if Bony is anywhere near 100% (which would be remarkable given the games he's played of late) I fancy him to give Palace's centre-backs a lot of problems.

Out wide, of course, they're liable to have Tom Ince & Jason Puncheon - two players who do need to be watched. Both are capable of breaking from midfield into space if given the opportunity, so the Swans' fullbacks will have to be on their game. Given Ince's comments it seems sod's law that he'll score, but I fancy us to score a couple.

I've stopped doing predictions really, but this has to be a home win. With Norwich and West Brom visiting the Liberty in the near future, we've got an excellent opportunity to cement our Premier League status for another year and what's more, in beating Palace we'll make it three wins out of our last three home league games. A welcome return to some good home form, and hopefully we can build on that.

The Eagles versus the Swans then! I guess if you were to make an ornathalogical analogy, you'd say  that eagles are stronger and nastier, but swans generally seem to fly in flocks. Teamwork for the win.

Napoli 3 - 1 Swansea - Stats & review

The Swansea Way has once again dipped into the transfer market, and is pleased to introduce new contributor Dan Barnett of www.wearepremierleague.com. Dan loves stats even more than I do, so expect the amount of graphs featuring on the site to increase exponentially! Welcome aboard, Dan!

There's been plenty of mentions of 'brave' or 'battling' Swansea but for me that doesn't do justice to the performance over the two legs.  Those words suggest a 'backs to the wall', blood and guts approach when in reality we created the better chances and had control of the two games for large periods.

Shots by minute from the 2nd leg: Napoli with early pressure but Swans with plenty of chances

Over the two legs, Swansea had 20 shots on target to Napoli's 5, partly due to some poor attempts by Higuain.

Overall the Swans will be left with plenty of if-only's but the fact that there was no discernable difference in ability of the two teams is a huge credit to the team.

Sunday's game against Palace is a huge one, win and the feel-good factor continues and creates a decent sized cushion over the bottom teams, lose and it's 3 defeats in a row and people will start to get twitchy again especially given it'll be two weeks before the West Brom game with a number of other sides playing a game on 8th/9th March.

The main jobs for a manager are motivation and organisation and so far Monk has shown impressive qualities which will be needed again for the Palace match.  As well as the change in atmosphere, there's also been a shift in approach which I'll look in to in more detail after the Palace game.

Check out Dan's website at www.wearepremierleague.com, or on Twitter @We_R_PL

All statistics used sourced from www.whoscored.com