Swansea City - A Funny Old Year

A new year approaching, and another TSW debut. @BastardReferee debuts by taking a comic look back at 2014 - a year which saw the Swans play in Europe, change manager, and a whole lot more

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For most Swans fans of a certain age ‘Later with Jules’ means an evening in with the youth team and some bananas, whilst a ‘HooteNanny’ is an elderly waitress at Wayne Rooney’s favourite restaurant chain. What's more, for some sections of the East Stand celebrating ‘2015’ means having a drink at  quarter past eight at night.

At the time of year when we let off more fireworks than Balotelli’s bathroom and pop more Alan Cork’s than you can shake a Micky Adams contract at, let us take a look back at 2014 – the year of the Horse, and also (some might say) the year of the Mighty Swans.

Whilst dreaming of a February trip to Napoli, January 2014 started with a trio of losses, albeit to Man City, Spurs and Man Utd, and with more injuries than you’d get from a cage fighting transvestite on a night out on Wind street, Michael ‘Nice guy, nice scarf’ Laudrup was refusing to recall in form Ki Sung-Yeung from fellow relegation candidates Sunderland after the South Korean scored his third goal in eight games.

"There is a possibility to bring him back but I don't think it is a good idea,"

Said Laudrup who was high on drugs at the time.

Around the same time Spanish lightweight Chico Florist was picking up a brick in training and aiming it at Garry Monk’s head - the only thing Chico had successfully picked up that season [all allegedly of course - though I'd argue he picked up a few cards as well! - Ed]. A great FA cup away win at Old Trafford only served to mask the inner fighting going on at the club, and when Swans fight they fight nasty.

On the first day of February Michael ‘I am Chocolate’ Laudrup was sacked by email and was not too pleased about it:

"I spoke to someone from the club called Wilfried Bony?, who later brought me my things. (Scarf, Bacon, and a love letter from Jose Canas) I said 'could I speak to the staff and players?' He called me back and said 'the chairman thinks that's a bad idea'. I still have not said goodbye to anyone and don’t know who this Wilfried Bony is. Was he that big fella I used to leave on the bench?"

Laudrup did a lot for Swansea and history will judge him well, but in the end he lost his Fabian way and was soon on it.

With Brick freshly embedded in head, Ginger stalwart Garry Monk came to the rescue and brought in revolutionary training methods picked up whilst doing his UEFA Pro Licence Diploma in Aberystwyth, such as ‘speaking to staff and players’ ‘turning up for training’ and having two ‘R’s’ in your name.

Things got even better without Laudrup as fellow Scandinavian ‘Ole Gunnar finish above Swansea’ and his Red faced army were sent packing with a comprehensive 3-0 defeat, and a 0-0 home draw and agonizing defeat away to Napoli showed a marked improvement in the Swans’ performances.

We did however pee our pants on the bus outside the Stadio San Paulo for the first 30 minutes of the match as the nasty Italian police kept us locked up like caged animals. We would soon get our own back though by loaning them glass ankled Michu for the entirety of the next season.

A 2-2 draw away to Arsenal in March saw proverbial brick outhouse Wilfried Bony score his 20th goal of the campaign, and a 3-0 demolition of Norwich meant my hilarious friend could stop using his idiot idiom ‘Dim Gobaith Caneri / Not a Canaries chance’ every time we bloody played them!! The Canary was one bird I was glad to see relegated. Can’t recall the other one, can you?!

April saw a bonnie Bony double up at Newcastle that finally meant we could all breathe a sigh of relief on the relegation front, and a demolition of Villa at home was capped by a lazy strike from Jonjo Shelvey from the half way line. All was good down in SA1 once again. People cheered, street parties commenced, and local folk swapped mythical stories about Alvaro Vasquez’s disallowed goal in the Europa League.

Much changed in the Summer as we said goodbye to club legends Roland Lamah and Leroy Lita. We were N’impressed with N’gog and we also said Adios to the Spanish bunch, who had upset the apple cart by speaking Spanish, doing Spanish things together, throwing Spanish bricks, and being too God damn Spanish!!

We saw four Swans stars play in the World Cup ( three-ish with one on loan) and thoughts turned to the new season ahead.

The club cleaner rejoiced as she no longer had to pick up the toys thrown from Michu’s pram, and as with Chico’s pony tail it was a case of ‘hair today, gone tomorrow’. Time to move on and get back to The Swansea Way.

Garry ‘no contacts’ Monk brought in the likes of Gylfi Sigurdsson, Jefferson Montero, Bafetimbi Gomis and World Cup defender Federico Fernandez, and promptly started the season with four wins out of four, including a 2-1 away win at Old Trafford which left Dutch Messiah Louis Van Gaal ‘schitting schilently on the schidelines’, which made for a very long trip home to London for those home fans.

Off the pitch September saw the release of ‘Jack to a King’  - a propaganda film highlighting the fact that a group of Directors saved the club from oblivion, turning it into an exciting investment proposition for potential American investors. No Kenny Jacket’s, Alan Tate’s, or fans’ were hurt in the making of this film but it probably hurt a bit that they were omitted from our history. A good watch nevertheless.

On the pitch a somewhat out of sorts September and October saw us questioning whether a number of referees were born outside of marriage. This was most evident when Victor ‘Thou shall not dive like a cheating b*stard’ Moses gave Tom Daley a run for his money in our away game v Stoke.

Meanwhile, Garry Monk’s neighbour was questioning why we were only 6th in the "best league in the world" and not top. To which Garry hopefully replied with the letters T,W,A, and T through his neighbours letterbox.

The ups and downs continued in the November game against Arsenal as we all watched Wenger trying to grapple with his zip, and Alexi ‘Nostradamus’ Sanchez was trolled by our own players for his epic tweet,

‘Going to sleep! Tomorrow those 3 points are coming to London!!!’

So as Santa (dressed in next seasons Cardiff City kit) emptied his sack, we ended an eventful year with a three-win, three-defeat December, enjoying our finest position at Christmas for many a decade, whist finishing on a bum note by playing like headless turkeys at Anfield. But don’t let that mask a great 2014 where we played in Europe, saw Swansea players grace the World Cup, and won twice at Old Trafford.

So what of the future? What of 2015?

If Marty Mcfly is to be believed we will be riding around on Hoverboards. If only we could have picked up the ‘Grays Sports Almanac’ and put down a bet on January 1st 2005 after our League 2 home defeat to Yeovil, that we will be in the top half of the Premier League playing QPR on January 1st 2015. That in that time we would have changed stadiums, gone up through every division, won our first major cup, competed in Europe, and are heading towards our fifth season in the Premier League.

All signs indeed point to a fifth consecutive Premier League season, and who knows - if luck and referees go our way we could even find ourselves peeing our pants on Italian buses again.

So as we enter the year of the sheep..,(ahem) you can be sure of one thing. The Swans will keep on flying in 2015.

Blwyddyn Newydd dda and Happy New Year!

A big thank you to @BastardReferee for taking the time to put this together for us. Hopefully we'll have more from him in the future!

Swansea’s New Year Resolutions

Andrew McGlashan returns to suggest some things the Swans would benefit from aiming for in the New Year

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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

Swansea Bingo! Play along at home!

Eric Imhof was looking for something to cheer him up after the Liverpool debacle...and by jove he found it

Hell hath no fury like Twitter after a loss such as our defeat at Liverpool. While Monk himself called the result “sickening,” I was, even in my own vexed state, shocked at just how quickly many people were imploring the guillotine. Jazz out. Bony out. (Yes, Bony out.) Monk out. Shelvey out. (Okay that one kind of makes sense.)

I guess people often forget that soccer is an entirely capricious affair, where “luck” - or the “footballing gods” as it’s often personified - is usually hard to come by. Not that Swansea didn’t play poorly in every position, which they did, but sometimes it’s just not your night, especially at Anfield. Liverpool likes to position itself as a scrappy underdog, and the narrative-hungry pundits are all-too happy to oblige, but the reality is that the Reds are Premier League royalty, and as such they have enough in the treasure chest to make Solomon blush. Imagine if Monk had 60 million pounds to throw around. 

Anyway, while Monk now has many questions to answer following arguably the worst performance since Laudrup’s waterloo at Upton Park, there’s still no reason to hit the reset button. 

Call me crazy, but I thought supporting a team meant rooting for the players and manager to improve, not demanding that they all be replaced after one terrible (and, yes, it was terrible) performance. I could’ve opened up the fixture list last summer and told you that Swansea would lose at Anfield after a hectic Christmas run, and that’s without the foresight that they would be without Jefferson Montero, a winger perfectly suited to exploiting Liverpool’s weaknesses at the back. 

Alas, it wasn’t to be, but let’s not become lugubrious Arsenal fans, people! 

In that spirit of lightening the mood, I’ve put together a Swans BINGO card, so that you can follow along at home in good cheer. Even when Monk puts his shortest defender on the other team’s tallest striker, or when Bony scores a goal in 15 minutes and then they park the bus as if they’re playing Chelsea, there should be something here to keep an eye out for! 

Thanks to Eric for taking the time to put together this Swans bingo card, which most definitely gave me a giggle! I'll definitely be playing tomorrow, will you? 

If you have any suggestions for other things which could have made the list, feel free to send them in!

Shelvey charged but Sterling escapes unpunished? Incredible.

Swansea man may well deserve ban for swinging elbow, but not charging Sterling shows ludicrous nature of FA laws surrounding "raising your hand"

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Someone, somewhere at the FA, is having a good laugh over this one. In their wisdom, the FA have decided to charge Jonjo Shelvey with violent conduct for swinging an arm at Emre Can - an incident which even Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers described as "accidental" - but somehow Raheem Sterling has escaped unpunished for raising his hand and striking Fede Fernandez in the face. I say striking, I'm not saying it was a punch but he moved his arm so quickly - when you do that in someone's face nine times out of ten you'll see red on the spot.

As mentioned on Sky after the game, part of the problem is the FA's rules. For the FA to charge a player retrospectively the referee cannot have included the incident in his match report - ie. it has to have been something which went unnoticed at the time. This makes me wonder just what was in that match report; the Shelvey incident is definitely easier to pass off as something which the referee missed, but if the Sterling incident wasn't in the match report either why hasn't he been charged? 

What's more, if the incident did make the match report, just what was Andre Marriner's explanation for not taking any action against Sterling? What was his assistant's excuse for not flagging up (literally!) Sterling reaching over his shoulder to get to Fernandez? That little set-to came about as a result of the Liverpool man pushing Fernandez into touch, which was pretty dangerous on it's own. Fernandez came back and tapped the back of his head, sure, but Sterling's reaction was ridiculous and, in my opinion, warranted a red card based on similar incidents which have gone before. 

I've spoken a few times in recent weeks about how the Swans have had some decisions go our way - decisions which we would have heavily criticised had they gone the other way - so I'm aware that some go your way and others don't. I do think though that this is the biggest example of ineptitude we've seen so far from the Football Association this season. You see players sent off for doing what Sterling did week in week out, and while it's soft it seems a fairly blanket rule. 

What seems to have gone against us in this case is that, inkeeping with Monk's wishes, Fernandez didn't hit the deck and roll around Platoon-stylee. Perhaps if he'd have gone down like he'd been shot we wouldn't be having this discussion, but I'm against that and it's not something I'd want to see from our players. What I do want is referees and a football association able to make sensible judgements based on the information available to them. 

I do acknowledge the Premier League probably has the best standard of refereeing in the world, but quite simply when the prizes at stake are worth many, many millions of pounds inconsistencies such as these are unacceptable. If this is a result of the rules not fitting their purpose, they need to be changed. 

It seems likely Shelvey will be hit with a three-match ban as Cisse has just been given the same punishment for a similar (if more aggravated) offence, and I can't see us contesting the charge. Given Sterling hasn't even been charged, it seems unlikely we'd see a positive outcome.

Liverpool 4-1 Swansea: Player ratings

Josh Kilmister gives his take on Liverpool's 4-1 win over the Swans

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After back-to-back victories, a match at Anfield live on Sky was surely the perfect chance to show the world what we’re all about this season; apparently not. Taken apart by a disheartened Liverpool side, Garry Monk will be down right fuming and he won’t be the only one. 

Starting XI

Lukasz Fabianski – 6

Fabianski will be criticised for the mistakes he made against Liverpool, but all in all he had a fairly decent game. To say that he should’ve done better with Liverpool’s opener I feel is harsh, as any shot from five yards is going to be tough to save whether you get a touch to it or not. The next goal however was entirely his fault, as his confidence perhaps got the better of him. I’ve often praised him for his distribution, but this time around instead of finding Rangel on the right flank he found Lallana’s back, and the ball floated into the empty net. Not an  overall poor game, but certainly not one of his best.

Jazz Richards – 5

Jazz had an absolutely nightmare of a first half; so much so that he got taken off at half-time. He struggled to cope with the pace of Liverpool’s Moreno and left our right flank exposed. The lack of communication between him and Nathan Dyer was blatantly obvious, but the same can be said about the communication between him and Fede Fernandez. Poor marking led to Liverpool’s opener, and it wall went downhill from there. 

Ashley Williams – 6

It’s not often that we see Ash bullied in set-pieces, but Martin Skrtel was a handful to say the least. Like Fabianski, overall he didn’t have a dreadful game, but to concede four goals it’s obvious he didn’t have a stormer. Liverpool’s front three run riot in and around our back four, and no matter how hard he tried Ash simply couldn’t do anything about it.

Fede Fernandez – 7 (Man of the match)

You might be thinking why I’ve given one of our centre-backs the man of the match award when we conceded four, but anyone who actually watched the game will join me in saying that £8m for this guy is proving to be a shrewd piece of business. His positioning at Anfield was some of the best I’ve seen in a while, and he has seven interceptions to show for that. Given the job of dealing with Raheem Sterling, Fede did a fairly good job of keeping him out of the game; if only he could have done the same with Coutinho and Lallana.

Neil Taylor – 6

Taylor was fairly good against Liverpool, but that was mainly in attack rather than defence. He added width to our game and when on the ball looked confident in his attacking ability, but he didn’t looks as good in defence. It could be said that his marking was a contributing factor to Liverpool’s first goal, but I think that’s just being picky. 

Jonjo Shelvey – 4.5

Yep, four and a half. For anyone who follows me on Twitter this rating won’t come as a surprise. For the full ninety minutes Shelvey didn’t want anything to do with the game and I honestly don’t think he broke into a sweat all game. There were a few incidents however that stood out to me, the first that I expect him to face disciplinary action for. After probably the most promising five seconds of the fist half, Shelvey used his undoubted talent to get amongst the Liverpool defence; only to hit out at makeshift centre-back Emre Can with an elbow. 

After Garry Monk went public to criticise Jonjo about his lack of discipline, it’s quite ironic that he chose to show his aggression in front of millions of Sky TV viewers. I could go on and on about what had me ranting on Twitter, but what annoyed me most wasn’t the own goal, it was the lead up to it. When you’re 3-1 down and perhaps shouldn’t even be on the field anymore, the last thing you want to do is have a laugh with the opposition’s best player on the night. For anyone who hasn’t seen it, Jonjo and Adam Lallana seemed to be having a great time in the box, right before Shelvey’s header caught Fabianski wrong-footed. His return to Anfield couldn’t have gone much worse.

Leon Britton – 6.5

In a two man midfield where your partner is all but missing, no matter how good Leon is, he was always going to struggle in the midfield battle.  His passing was impressive as ever, but he made it hard to impact the game as much as he normally does. The gap between defence and midfield – usually occupied by the more physical Ki – was obvious, and without Shelvey, Leon couldn’t do much to help.

Wayne Routledge – 5.5

In a game where more than ever we needed our wingers to shine, Routledge didn’t. Honestly, the best thing he did all game was have his shorts ripped by Skrtel; the whole ground was laughing, even Garry Monk. Up against pacey wing-back Manquillo, Routledge failed to impress as his delivery left Bony very much stuck. He did have a decent chance to decrease the deficit but saw his shot sail over the bar.

Gylfi Sigurdsson – 6.5

Gylfi tried his best to impact the game, but struggled to do so with Liverpool’s dominance. He did manage to get himself a goal, reacting well to a scrappy piece of defending from the reds. He did try to pull of a few fancy flicks to liven things up, but couldn’t stop Liverpool from taking all three points.

Nathan Dyer – 5.5

Like Routledge, Dyer failed to make an impact when we needed him most. There’s not many full-backs that beat him for pace but Alberto Moreno did exactly that, and Dyer was marked out of the game completely. He did get a header on goal but it didn’t trouble Mignolet. One of many of our average performers at Anfield.

Wilfried Bony – 6

All but confirmed as 2014’s top goalscorer but Bony couldn’t add to his tally of twenty. Admittedly he was feeding off scraps for most of the game, and only had a handful of chances to change the game. He did have a shot from outside of the area well saved by Mignolet right after Gylfi’s goal, but was taken off for Gomis when the game was out of reach. 

Substitutes

Angel Rangel – 6 (for Richards, half-time)

An improvement on Richards’ performance, Rangel definitely strengthened the right side of our defence. Although statistically our defence was stronger with Richards, Rangel looked more composed on the ball and improved our game ever so slightly. 

Bafetimbi Gomis – 6 (for Bony, 63)

Gomis certainly has a point to prove after speculation surrounding him regarding a possible move to Crystal Palace and he almost got on the score sheet, hitting the crossbar with a well struck shot. In all fairness he did more in the time he was on than Bony did, but still didn’t manage to test Mignolet.

Ki Sung-Yueng – 5.5 (for Britton, 66)

Monk opted to give Britton a break instead of removing Shelvey, but Ki was not much of an improvement. The game was very much lost leaving Ki with little to work with in midfield. Used as a more defensive midfielder at Anfield, his introduction only allowed Liverpool to grab the game with two hands and kill it completely.

Summary

Honestly, not the best performance I’ve ever seen. Completely outplayed by a Brendan Rodgers team that was clearly set up to stop us playing our natural game. Their wing-backs marked our wingers excellently and they exploited our weaknesses at full-back. 

Monk won’t be happy, and neither will the players. Away to QPR on New Years Day, I’m sure we’ll be heading to London with only one thing in mind, and that’s three points. To start the New Year off with a bang would be excellent, and I’m sure Monk will be looking to make the most of Ki and Bony while they’re both still available. 

Agree with Josh's ratings? Get in touch using the comment section below. 

Liverpool v Swansea: Preview, predicted lineups, team news, prior form, stats, quotes & analysis

The Match

Liverpool have, for all the money they spent in the summer, simply not got back to the levels they achieved last season. Granted, they lost Suarez and Sturridge has been unavailable for the majority of the season, so it's understandable they'd be hit by that, but more worrying for Brendan Rodgers will be the manner of so many of the performances this season. Last season they, more often than not, simply steamrollered their opposition. This season they have, on occasion, seemed bereft of confidence and whilst I don't think Rodgers' position is in any threat, he'll be under no illusions that things need to improve. The return of Sturridge in the near future will help, but in the meantime a win over the Swans would definitely paper over some of the cracks which have formed over the course of this season.

Swansea come into the game against Liverpool off the back of their first consecutive league victories since the opening weeks of the season. What we've lost in pretty possession football we've gained in steel and grit at the back, but the key question is now whether we can combine the two in a way which brings victories and a good playing style. We're still far, far from a long ball team, but in the last few weeks we've seen more and more signs that when Leon Britton is absent, we're missing a presence at defensive midfield. After seemingly making a comeback from injury he's now missed the last two games, and we're definitely a worse team without him. Key to getting a result at Liverpool will be how we deal with the lack of a holding midfielder - adjust and we could be in with a chance of a result.

Prior Form

Sourced from whoscored.com

Completely guessed lineups

Team News

From http://www.physioroom.com/news/english_premier_league/epl_injury_table.php

Statistics & Trivia

• Liverpool have won their last 3 home matches against Swansea in all competitions.
• Liverpool have scored at least 2 goals in their last 4 matches against Swansea in all competitions.
• Swansea lie one place (8th) above Liverpool, having scored one more goal (23 to 22) and conceded five less (19 to 24) in eighteen league games.
• The Swans have never won a league match at Anfield (D3, L10).
• Liverpool have the fewest home wins (three) among teams in the top half prior to the latest round of fixtures. They have only taken 13 points from their first nine home games - last season they had 24.
• Liverpool have won one of their last five home games in all competitions (D3, L1).
• Raheem Sterling has scored three goals in his last three appearances (all competitions) after a 17-match goalless run.
• Swansea have only won two of their nine away games in all competitions this season.
• Wilfried Bony has scored the first goal of the game in three of his last four starts away from home.
• Jonjo Shelvey has scored in both of his Swansea appearances against his former club Liverpool.

Straight from the horse's mouth

  

Garry Monk is confident the Swans can put in a good showing at Anfield:

“We’re looking forward to it. Liverpool have had a difficult start to the season, but Brendan has made changes and they’re becoming a very good team again. He’s one of the most mentally strong people I know. He’s been through a difficult period, but now he’s producing good results and the team are playing a lot better.

“It will be a difficult game, but Anfield is a great place to play football. We have to take belief there. We should go into the game with confidence. We didn’t deserve to lose the game in the Capital One Cup against them. But knowing we can go up there and perform like that gives us belief.

“Every game this season, barring a few minutes in each, we’ve been fantastic. We’re getting good results, which is all credit to the staff and the players. But we always strive for more.

“It’s been a great start, but we can’t get carried away. 28 points at this stage of the season is the best start we’ve had, but football can change very quickly. A couple of bad results and you start thinking differently.

“We have an understanding of what is expected of us.”

http://www.swanseacity.net/news/article/garry-monk-well-head-to-anfield-in-confident-mood-2167318.aspx#Q1ha4MJVCXk0AUw4.99

Gylfi Sigurdsson acknowledges that sometimes it's about the result more than the performance:

“To win two games 1-0 on the trot is very important to us. Even though we didn’t play our best football in the second half against Villa we managed to get a clean sheet and three points. If you look at the Tottenham game, we dominated but lost. Sometimes it’s about getting the three points and not about how you play.

“It would be great to get a third straight win - it’s going to be tough because Liverpool are turning their season around with their recent performances and we know Anfield is a tough place to go. 

"They are playing better than were at the beginning of the season but we’ve ground out those two victories in a row and we know we can go there and compete with them and hopefully get a good result to maintain our form.”

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/swansea-city-target-brendan-rodgers-8351444?

Analysis

With the games coming thick & fast, Swansea to travel to a Liverpool side whose recent results have given encouragement that a return to better form may be imminent. There may only have been two wins in their last six but there also a draw against Arsenal, as well as a game against Man Utd where despite creating enough chances to win the game, they contrived to lose 3-0. They haven't performed consistently though, and this is one of the reasons they find themselves lying in tenth in the table. I don't think many would have predicted that, on the brink of the halfway point of the season, the Swans would be sitting two points above a Liverpool side who looked certain to win last year's Premier League for so long.

Swansea haven't retained possession this season anywhere near as readily as we're used to. Against Liverpool, this is where we need to return to form. If we can get hold of the ball, we have the players to hurt them. They've struggled at the back this season, with many goals conceded coming from individual errors, and with Wilf & Sigurdsson still riding on the crest of a wave we do have reason to be confident. We press high and hard, and we have the quality to punish Liverpool if we can regain possession close to their goal - especially if they play with three at the back.

The main question - and a crucial one no doubt - is how much rotation will take place, on both sides. Ki Sung-Yueng has run 3km further than any other player in the Premier League this season and has been central to our continued success, but surely he will need a rest at some point this week? The same could be said all over the pitch - Neil Taylor has played a lot of football of late, Ash hasn't missed a game in a good while now, while Sigurdsson has also racked up a lot of minutes.

With Gomis, Emnes (who scored what looked for so long to be a famous winner at Anfield in the cup earlier this season) and others pushing for a place in the team, it could well be we see some rotation in the Swansea camp. As for Liverpool, I can't say I'm confident in predicting their formation and lineup, but I had a go for fun's sake and I do think it's likely he'll go with three at the back again. Key for them, I'd say, will be isolating Sterling, Coutinho and their other tricky operators against our less pacy defenders. If Rangel starts it could be that he's tested severely for the duration, as they have the players to put us to the sword if they can get one on one. This is why we need to retain possession, and stop them playing football high up the pitch.

Do that, and I think we can stop them playing. I'm always confident, but my usual prediction of 3-1 to the Swans doesn't seem fair given I think Liverpool are a good side, who could well give us real problems. I just hope they don't find their form against us. 2-1 Swansea.

Fabianski find of the season, but Monk key in clean sheet record

Swansea once again had a "gritty rearguard action" to thank for their three points yesterday, but it's just reward for hard work on the training ground

View image | gettyimages.com

When the final whistle blew against Aston Villa yesterday it marked the eighth occasion that the Swans had managed to shut out their opposition this season - a record only matched by one other club (Southampton) - and something which has, in my opinion, not been given it's fair share of the praise this season. 

Yes, we've spoken about it here and on The JackCast, but because Southampton started the season posting such crazy defensive statistics it was understandable they drew all the plaudits. By their twelfth game of the season they'd only conceded six goals - quite remarkable for a team outside the "big four/five/six" - but that form was unsustainable and they've dropped back into the pack now, so to speak. Granted, they still have the second best defence behind Chelsea (who've conceded 13 goals to Saints' 14), but a look at the Premier League table sorted by "Goals Conceded" paints an interesting picture.

Image from whoscored.com

As you can see, the Swans sit fifth when the league is organised by goals conceded. As mentioned, Southampton & Swansea both lead the way in terms of clean sheets with eight (Chelsea & Man City have both kept seven), but I think given how much Southampton were heralded for their defence earlier this season, it's only fair the Swans get held up for having a much improved rearguard too. 

What do I think has been the deciding factor? There are a few which have undoubtedly helped, but I honestly believe the biggest influence on our defensive rigidity has been Garry Monk. I've referred to it often, but you only have to look at how much Ashley Williams improved whilst playing alongside him to acknowledge that Monk has an excellent understanding of how to organise a defence.

What's more, on numerous occasions Monk did an excellent job for us whilst, essentially, not being able to run. He played with an injury in the playoff final, and (I think it was our second Premiership season) came into the team when we had a defensive injury crisis - obviously not fit - and was still able to do an excellent job. You can only do that when you have a thorough understanding of defensive formations, shape, who to mark... I'm by no means an expert in this department - I'm just glad Monk is!

There are, of course, other factors to consider which have helped our defence become tighter week by week, and I'd say the most notable of these would be the form of Lukasz Fabianski. From day one I was of the belief he'd be a massive upgrade on Vorm, and so far I've seen nothing which would lead me to question my opinion - in fact I'd go as far as to say he's performed even better than I expected! Some of his stops against Villa were outstanding, and it's so nice to have a 'keeper between the sticks who seems to enjoy coming for high balls. 

The effect having a quality goalkeeper has on the defence is a calming one, and this can also be said to have had an effect in how we defend. If defenders know their goalkeeper will be coming for the ball every time it means they can mark another man instead, or scan around to see where else they should be.

Considering the changes we've had to make at the back throughout this season, our record of only nineteen goals conceded in eighteen games becomes even more impressive. Ash started out being partnered by Jordi Amat, injury brought in Fede Fernandez before he himself was replaced by Kyle Bartley. 

All three impressed during their stint in the team, but Fernandez's return at the expense of Bartley against Hull definitely gave us a more assured look at the back, and he's showing now why we paid £8million to bring him to the club. He followed that up with another excellent showing against Villa, though whether he'll be deemed fit enough to complete the next two matches is another question. I hope he can though - we've kept five clean sheets in the eight Premier League games he's started so far this season. That said, while statistics show we're better off with Fede in the team, I'm confident in Bartley & Amat. 

If either are picked to rest Fernandez I'm sure they'll give a good account of themselves, but what's pleasing is our defensive stability is borne of a number of factors, not just the good form of our expensively-acquired Argentinian. Fabianski has been excellent and a definite improvement, as has Fernandez, while the continued improvement of Amat & Bartley means we have four quality centre-backs to choose from. Jazz has looked tidy when called upon (one pass aside), while Taylor has been performing steadily and Rangel looked back to his best against Villa. 

If we continue to improve as we have been, there's every reason to believe we'll become as known for our solid defence as we have been - until this point - for our patient possession football.

Finding the balance between the two, that's the key...

Bony uses cryochamber to maximise recovery between games

Wilf (and possibly other Swans) utilise cutting-edge technology in bid to maximise performance levels

Well I never. I guess this story shouldn't come as too much of a surprise - after all it wasn't too long ago we saw Michu utilising a reduced gravity treadmill in a bid to come back from injury - but this photo really did make me grin! Swans' physio Kate Rees posted this to her Twitter account not long ago, showing Ivorian Striker Wilfried Bony very much chilling out as he prepares for our game at Liverpool on Monday night:

RT @katereesphysio: Bony recovering in the cryochamber for the next game @RehabRoomCryo @SwansOfficial pic.twitter.com/GoT9Gmaj9o

— The Swansea Way (@TheSwanseaWay) December 27, 2014

Crazy stuff! Who would have thought that the Swans would be in a position to utilise technology like this? The nice people at Rehab Room Cryotherapy tweeted me this article from the Telegraph (link), giving an account of what it's like to receive the treatment, and it does make fascinating reading. 

Let's hope it does the trick, and Wilf comes out firing at Anfield.

Swansea 1-0 Aston Villa: Player Ratings

Josh Kilmister's take on who fared well, and who didn't in our Boxing Day victory over Aston Villa

View image | gettyimages.com

On one of the coldest days at the Liberty I’ve experienced as a Swans fan, we came out victorious against Paul Lambert’s Aston Villa. For the second time in the space of a week Garry Monk and his side managed to do something that many thought we were not able to, and that’s hold on to a game when up against it. Here’s how I saw the Villa game, and how the players performed.

Starting XI

Lukasz Fabianski - 8 (Man of The Match)

Fabianski didn’t have all that much to do throughout the game, but everything he did do, he did excellently. The awful conditions can make a goalkeeper’s life a misery, but this didn’t faze the big Pole. Battling in the air with Christian Benteke is something no goalkeeper will find easy, but there were multiple times where Fabianski plucked the ball out of the air with ease, even with the rain making it difficult. It wasn’t until late on that Fabianski earned his stripes, making a magnificent diving save to prevent a Benteke header from finding the back of the net, before showcasing his stunning reflexes to deny Gabby Agbonlahor from close range. 

Neil Taylor - 6.5  

Taylor enjoyed an excellent first twenty minutes, showing the Liberty crowd that himself and Jefferson Montero are starting to build up quite a partnership. However, with Jeff being forced off with injury, Taylor didn't have such a striking seventy minutes. Perhaps more noticed for his assistance in attack this season, Taylor has an impressive 85.3% pass success percentage - better than Manchester United’s Luke Shaw and Man City’s Gael Clichy and less than one percent less than Chelsea’s Cesar Azpilicueta - and that was no different today. If I had to give someone the most improved award so far this season, there’s no doubt in my mind who would be getting it.

Federico Fernandez - 7.5 

Another one of Monk’s summer signings who shone against Villa, Fede Fernandez made some beautifully times tackles and was consistent for the majority of the game. Ruthless in the air, the only time the Argentine was beaten was when Benteke’s header was brilliantly saved by Fabianski. Proving to everyone that Monk’s decision to put him straight back into the side, Fernandez doesn't look like a man who will be dropped any time soon.

Ashley Williams - 7

The Hull game lead to Williams being praised for both his technical and mental ability, and the same will be the case for this game. Williams is never one for backing out of a challenge, and his physical presence really impacted the game today. Something else that impressed me today was his range of passing, as Ash picked out some incredible balls to get us off the back foot. Wrong footed just once - where again Fabianski bailed us out - Williams’ leadership held the defence together for the final fifteen minutes where it looked as if Villa would knick a point, and for the second game in a row was a huge factor in a satisfying victory.

Angel Rangel - 7

I’ve been critical of the Spaniard of late, but partnered with Nathan Dyer on the right flank today I thought he was excellent. Rangel looked to have rolled back the years as his passing, tackling and overall play was better today than I feel it has been for a while. Some crucial blocks in our third of the pitch and some great passing play at the opposite end justify the praise that Rangel got on Friday, but whether he will keep his place for Monday’s trip to Anfield is another question.

Ki Sung-Yueng - 7

One of the two players making their last Liberty appearance of the calendar year, Ki kept his position of the sitting midfielder as Leon Britton missed out through injury; and he didn't have a great first half. The second half however saw the Korean come into his own, dictating the play from his deep midfield position, as well as making his way forward from time to time. A good piece of football between him and Sigurdsson had him through on goal, but at a difficult angle and with an awkward bounce he hit it over the bar.

Jonjo Shelvey - 5.5

It always excites me to see Jonjo starting, but he disappointed me this game. Playing in a role that we see Ki play so well in, he offered next to nothing in midfield and I feel this was largely behind Monk’s decision to take him off. To say he may as well not have been there is a little extreme, but he was very much absent the middle of the park, allowing Villa to gain control of the match. Not to mention the fact that he picked up another yellow card, his sixth in ten games (seventh if you include his second yellow at Everton). It’s no secret that Shelvey much prefers playing in an attacking midfield role, but if he wants to get into our team he has to adapt; especially with such strong competition on the bench.

Jefferson Montero - 7.5

Montero is probably the most difficult to rate this time around, as he only managed twenty minutes. Despite going off with an injury, Jeff had plenty of time to make an impact on the game. Torturing Villa’s five-man defence and winning the free-kick that led to our goal, I’m sure his rating would’ve been higher had he stayed on. Hopefully he won’t be out for too long, as he has really made the left-wing position his own over the last few games.

Gylfi Sigurdsson - 7.5

Back in the squad after picking up a slight injury in training last week, Sigurdsson done what we’ve come to expect of him this season - put a shift in. The Villa defence looked dodgy from the off, and Gylfi’s pressure only made it worse for them. Another thing I wouldn't mind coming accustomed to is his ‘worldie’ free-kicks; one of which flew into the far corner of Brad Guzan’s goal. Goals from this man could be vital going into January, and I’m certain he’s ready to step up to the plate.

Nathan Dyer - 6.5

An all-round decent game from Dyer, who’s pace troubled the Villa defence now and again. A good piece of footwork in the Villa area should've resulted in a goal, but his feeble shot slotted straight into the hands of Guzan. 

Wilfried Bony - 6.5

With the most of the battling taking place in the midfield, Wilf had a fairly quiet game by his standards. He did drop deep to help out now and again, but his only chance - which he put away well - was judged as offside. One thing I have to mention is Bony’s strength, which had even the Villa fans impressed towards the end of the game. Seeing out the game by the corner flag, Fabian Delph was made to look a fool as Bony used his arm to hold off the England international. Despite his best efforts Delph couldn't get a glimpse of the ball, and I’m sure I caught Wilf having a bit of a giggle to himself about it. 

Substitutes

Wayne Routledge - 6 (for Montero, 22)

Routs did very little in terms of impacting the game when he came on, and the one thing I really don’t like about him was blatantly obvious today - his positioning. When Routledge plays the whole team seems to play deeper, and that really affected us today. You could even go to the extreme to say that he (along with Shelvey) was Villa’s catalyst, as his lack of ambition allowed them to take control in midfield. Maybe I’m being a little critical, but next to Montero neither he or Dyer look as good as they once did. 

Tom Carroll - 6.5 (for Shelvey, 60)

Carroll tried his best to add an element of control back to our midfield, and to some extent he did. It was obvious as soon as he came on that it was someone like him that we had missed this game, as we started to pick up possession again. He did the best he could defensively and allowed Ki to push up a little while he offered a link between the defence and midfield. 

Marvin Emnes - 6 (for Sigurdsson, 78)

I’m really not sure what to make of Emnes in the Premier League yet, and his cameo appearance against Villa didn't help much. He played a good ball across the box to Dyer - from which he should have scored - but even then I’m not sure that ball was intentional. Looked a tad lazy for a player who doesn't have much game time, but lazy would be a good word to sum up most of the players in the time that Emnes played. 

Summary

It comes to something when winning scrappy feels as good, if not better than winning easily. After so much doubt was cast over our ability to hold on to a win, there has clearly been some work done on the training ground as we’ve done exactly that for two games on the bounce. 

The team we started today was perhaps one of the strongest we could field, but the performance definitely didn’t show that. Of course, at this time of year it’s the points that matter, not the performances; and I couldn't be happier with the three points we picked up.

A tough trip to Anfield on Monday will be a real test for Monk and his players, and they us much as us will be hoping to make good for the loss there in the Capital One Cup in October. One thing I will say is that I expect there to be some rotation in the squad; where exactly, I’m not too sure. If Leon is back fit I’d expect him to slot back in, be that for Ki or Shelvey, and Jazz Richards might even get another start if Monk wants to rest Rangel. 

For anyone not making the journey to Merseyside, the game will be shown live on Sky Sports 2 at 8pm on Monday.

As Josh states, it's nice to win gritty for a change, and if we can combine the steel displayed in the last two games with some of the football we've played this season we'll really be a force to be reckoned with. Agree with Josh's ratings? Disagree? Get in touch below!

Swansea to sign Nelson Oliveira on loan

Club confirm loan capture of young Portuguese striker, who will join on loan once the transfer window opens on January 1st

Swansea City have today announced we'll sign 23-year-old Portuguese striker Nelson Oliveira on loan from Benfica until the end of the season. The move comes with first-choice forward Wilfried Bony leaving to compete in the African Cup of Nations, and with Bafetimbi Gomis still yet to make an impact cover in this area of the squad is definitely a positive.

Oliveira, for his part, seems genuinely keen to come here and push for a place in the team:

"I’m really looking forward to it. I already know quite a bit about Swansea and it was their style of play and the ambience at the club that attracted me. It was an easy decision to make. The deal was agreed early so I can spend an extra 10 days in Swansea training with the squad and getting to know my new teammates. That way I hope to be ready to offer my services to the team that much earlier. 

“I want to prepare properly for the challenge. It’s going to be a big challenge because I have a lot of respect for fellow strikers Wilfried Bony and Bafetimbi Gomis. I have to earn the right and respect from the manager and my teammates on the training ground to play, but I’m highly motivated to score goals and help the team.’ 

http://www.swanseacity.net/news/article/swans-seal-oliveira-loan-deal-2161528.aspx#dGlmFtsliYsOPzBU.99

I can't say I know the first thing about Oliveira, but I'll endeavour to remedy that and put together a statistical profile. Until then, here's the ubiquitous montage making him look like a world-beater.

The Swansea City Christmas XI

On this week's JackCast podcast we featured the best pun names sent in by Swansea City fans, so here's your first XI!

When Matt Harrison suggested a Christmas XI featuring Swansea City players past and present, I'll admit that the nerd in me became most excited. I do love puns. We had some excellent suggestions (listen in full here), but I thought it was worth putting together a first-team to record the weird, wonderful & absurd puns we were sent. Without further ado...

As you can see, the standard of the entries was simultaneously awful yet awesome. There were more - check out the Jackcast Twitter feed (link) for all the entries which were retweeted. My favourite though, has to be Kwame Ampadu-they know it's Christmas, sent in by @voodoo_canape. Outstanding work.

On behalf of The Swansea Way team, I'd like to wish all our readers a merry Christmas. Hopefully we'll have three points to celebrate on Boxing day!

Think you can do better with Christmas puns? Use the comment section to suggest your own Swansea Xmas 11 players!

Hull 0-1 Swansea: Player ratings

Josh Kilmister gives his customary take on how our boys fared in their last outing

View image | gettyimages.com

After two consecutive losses, a win away at Hull was somewhat imperative. Despite fielding a surprisingly weakened team with seven changes from the loss to Spurs, The Swans walked away with all three points to make Christmas that little bit better.

Starting XI

Lukasz Fabianski - 8/10

The big Pole in our goal was back after a one match suspension and if Tremmel’s performance last week wasn’t enough evidence that we missed him, then Fabianski’s performance today certainly was. Superb in the air, controlled his box with ease and when called upon made some brilliant saves. His distribution was excellent, and one incredibly long throw in particular almost set Nathan Dyer in on goal; it sure is great to have him back in net.

Neil Taylor - 8/10

Solid again at the back, making some great tackles in our defensive third. Contributions to attack worth mentioning, linking up with Routledge on the left flank in an attempt to increase our lead. Took a knock in the second half and needed extensive treatment before leaving the pitch - he came back on to echoes of jeers from the Hull fans. Seemed to recover well from what looked originally looked like a reasonably bad injury but received a yellow card minutes later.

Federico Fernandez - 8/10

As I expected, Fede regained his place in the side despite a run of solid performances from Kyle Bartley. Though it was said he was fit last week, an extra few days recovery did the Argentine no harm as him and Williams played a huge role in keeping our seventh clean sheet in seventeen games. He did have a chance to get his first goal in a Swansea shirt but couldn’t direct his header on target. Bartley has served us well over recent weeks, but Fernandez is quite clearly on another level.

Ashley Williams - 8.5/10

An outstanding performance from the Swans’ skipper who was a rock at the back for the full ninety minutes. Linked with a move to Liverpool this week, Williams showed that if anyone wants him he’s not going to come cheap; his leadership shone through as he held the line of defence excellently and - even if there is a slight language barrier - him and Fernandez look like a partnership that really can thrive in the Premier League.

Ashley Richards - 8/10

Jazz was quick to apologise for his error last Sunday, but the mistake didn’t deceive Garry Monk. Starting ahead of Angel Rangel, Jazz showed that he’s more than capable of making that right-back position his own. Jazz - formerly a winger - showed that he hasn’t forgotten every aspect to the attacking side of the game, making a few good runs outside of Nathan Dyer on the right. Though I don’t have a stat for it, his pass accuracy seemed excellent, playing some tidy one-twos on the right flank. Taken off for Rangel with ten minutes to go, I would only assume that it was to prevent a second yellow card. Perhaps I was a little harsh with his rating last week, but this week he’s done more than enough to earn his place in the side on Boxing Day.

Tom Carroll - 7.5/10

I really struggled with this one as the Spurs loanee was replaced early on in the second half. Until then, Carroll looked comfortable on the ball whilst also offering himself to the defence when needed. He was central to numerous attacks, with has ability to place a pass, together with his quick feet, taking its toll on the Hull defence. Though his performance will be overshadowed by that of Ki, he certainly hasn’t done his position in the squad any harm. 

Ki Sung-Yeung - 9/10 (Man of the match)

With Sigurdsson and Britton both missing through injury, Ki was the only of our three midfielders to keep his place from last week’s game. Alongside the young Tom Carroll and behind the talented - but somewhat precarious - Jonjo Shelvey, Ki had the duties of controlling the midfield and making the game ours. He didn’t disappoint, and even when Hull were putting on the pressure he rarely misplaced a pass. As well as his incredible defensive efforts, Ki’s creativity in front of goal didn’t go unseen either. Although the goal was credited to him, I don’t think Ki knew much about it. A left-footed strike from Jonjo Shelvey deflected off the Korean and into Allan McGregor’s net; that’s his third this season!

Wayne Routledge - 7/10

Although Routs didn’t do much wrong, he did little to impact the game in my opinion. Apart from a chance early on where he refused to use his often criticised left foot to test the Hull City ‘keeper, I never really felt that he made the most of the obvious gap between Hull’s defence and midfield. Wasteful at times, but by no means bad. 

Jonjo Shelvey - 7.5/10

Ah, Jonjo. Starting in the ‘Gylfi role’, it’s difficult to predict what sort of performance we’re going to get from the England international. One thing for sure is that he isn’t afraid to shoot, and that certainly worked to our benefit today. Although he may not be able to claim the goal, he can certainly claim an assist as he saw an ambitious shot deflect off Ki and into the back of the net. He almost got a goal to his name later in the match, as another trademark long shot beat McGregor, but struck against the post. Forced to drop back after the introduction of Emnes, Shelvey again showed his adaptability and worked well for the last third of the game to grind out the win. 

Nathan Dyer - 7/10

Like Routledge, Dyer was very much ineffective but by no means poor. His final ball into the box wasn’t up to scratch and there were times where his decision making wasn’t on point, but the same could be said for Routs. With Gomis up front, perhaps it’s more difficult for the wide players to impact the game, so that will have to be seen to come January. 

Bafetimbi Gomis - 7.5/10

I feel for Baf, I really do. As I mentioned in a piece last week, the time he’s been given to prove himself simply isn’t enough for a striker like him. I thought he was brilliant today, and brought a whole new element to the game that Wilf doesn’t offer. Making runs into the channels, Shelvey was given a world of space to work with in midfield. As well as that he managed to get his fair share of shots away, hitting the post with a volley inside the box - though the likelihood is that the deflection would’ve seen it go down as an own goal. Until we change out methods in the final third, we’re never going to see the full potential of Gomis. Our game is set up for Bony, and that has to change in January. 

Substitutes

Marvin Emnes - 7/10 (for Carroll, 56) 

His first appearance for quite a while after he lost his place on the bench to Mo Barrow, Emnes showed his ability immediately after coming on and saw a volley go just wide of the post. 

Wilfried Bony - 8/10 (for Gomis, 76)

It was clear to see that despite the efforts of Gomis, Bony is the better of the two at the moment. Only on the field for fifteen minutes, Wilf got himself into a few really good positions along the front line, forcing McGregor into action late on. 

Angel Rangel - 7/10 (for Richards, 80)

Brought on for Richards who was in danger of a second yellow card, there really isn’t too much to write about Rangel here, who didn’t have much to do in the ten minutes he played; though I guess he did nothing wrong!

Summary

A first away win since the opening day and players fresh ready for Boxing Day; I don’t think we could’ve asked for much more. Although people were quick to question Monk’s team selection, that won’t be the case as much this evening. 

Perhaps had we started with Bony up front the last ten minutes wouldn’t have been as nervy, but that’s all part of the game.

One thing that was made clear today is that as well as Bony, Ki will be a huge loss in January. Hopefully, the likes of Tom Carroll and Jonjo - who both showed their capabilities today - will be able to step up to the plate. With a busy couple of weeks ahead, Monk will be hoping for maximum points with potentially rotated squads; and we’ve certainly got the strength in depth to get them.

Aston Villa at home on Boxing Day is set to be a great game, with Villa picking up form as of late. Until then, I hope you all enjoy your Christmas; after this result, I know I will!

Thanks to Josh as usual. Agree with his ratings? Disagree? Get in touch in the comment section with your own!

Gomis needs time. We need to be patient.

Josh Kilmister on why Bafetimbi Gomis' patience will be rewarded

View image | gettyimages.com

Bafetimbi Gomis in action against Crystal Palace

With Wilfried Bony hitting his peak in the Premier League, Bafe Gomis hasn’t had much of a look in so far this season; that’s not to say that he isn’t good enough to make it though. People have been quick to criticise Gomis, but from watching him play abroad before joining The Swans, I know he has the ability to produce the goods. He hasn’t been given as much of a chance as I’m sure he expected but he, as well as us, have to be patient.

After we somehow lost to Spurs on Sunday, Ashley Williams came out and said he believes we need to stop relying on Bony to get us goals. For the first few games of the season we had goals coming in from all over the shop; Dyer and Routledge were both backed for an England call up by pundits and players all over the country, and that was down to the goals they were scoring. I understand that as wingers they aren’t going to get the same number of goals as Bony is, but in recent games Ash is right in saying that we’ve been reliant on Wilf.

I feel that this is the main reason that Bafe hasn’t been given much game time. We simply cannot afford to risk dropping Wilf for a striker who isn’t yet certain to score goals. The game time he’s had has been minimal, and he hasn’t really been given a consistent system to work with. Our game is very much built around Bony, and for the games that Gomis has played our style has not changed. Gomis isn’t as physical as Bony - and that’s more of a compliment to Wilf than a dig at Bafe, because Gomis is a very physical player - so to expect him to work the defence the same way as Bony does is ridiculous.

We all remember Bony’s first few months as a Swans player, don’t we? By this time of the season Bony had just four goals in the Premier League, and there were only a handful of fans who were still convinced that he was the right man for us. Of course, this was partially down to a man by the name of Michael Laudrup, who decided to play a very much injured Michu over a hungry Bony time after time, but he still had more game time than Gomis has had by this point.

Gomis has scored just the one goal in thirteen Premier League appearances for The Swans, but don’t let that deceive you. Eleven of those thirteen appearances have been from the bench, and the majority of those appearances have been to see out the last ten minutes of the game. For a striker, that isn’t enough time to establish yourself. Without adequate game time, Bafe’s confidence is always going to be holding him back and that won’t change until he gets his chance.

In case any of you aren’t familiar with Gomis’ past, last season he scored fourteen goals in twenty-five games for French side Lyon, and he a actually only started thirteen of those games. He’s made twelve appearances for the French national side scoring three goals. At the time, he was the first player to score twice on his France debut since the great Zinedine Zidane. This isn’t a Shechter or a Kuqi we’re talking about, Gomis is a great player.

In the New Year it’s been known for a while that Bony will be away with the Ivory Coast, and this is when I think Gomis will come alive. He has the chance to start a few comes on the trot and I think, and hope, that he’ll take advantage of Wilf’s absence. The tournament (January 11th - February 1st) will see Wilf miss up to three games - maybe more depending on when he leaves to meet up with the squad.

As much as I think Bony will be a huge loss for us in January, I think Gomis has more than enough ability to step up and who knows; Wilf may even have to fight for his place when he gets back!

Thanks to Josh for his latest piece. I'm intrigued to see Gomis get a run in the team in January as once his confidence is back I'm sure he'll be a great player for us. I'd have to disagree on Wilf though - I think he'll be straight back in the team! What're your thoughts? Get involved using the comment section below.