Monk: "Michu great but it's teamwork that'll keep us up"

Swansea boss glad to reintroduce Spaniard, but acknowledges team effort is required to halt slide

There are various theories as to why we've fallen apart in the second half of the last two league games. I think against Palace there's only so much analysis to be done as we were at the tail end of a crazy run of games, but against WBA the manner in which we surrendered control of the game was alarming. 

Jon Trew did a very interesting piece yesterday (link) where he suggested that in order to regain possession the Swans should actually have dropped deeper, and opened the pitch up. In the first half, Ash spent a large amount of time in the deepest section of the pitch, but in the second half he was active much further forward. It was then pointed out on Twitter that after Michu came on for Jose Canas Ash didn't spend ANY time in the deepest section of the pitch for the remainder of the match. 

I'm not saying Michu was at fault - he's clearly not going to be match fit and it was the way the whole team was trying to operate. We lost our cohesion in midfield and our pass completion dropped ten percent compared to the first half - a dramatic dropoff and must unlike what we've come to expect from the Swans.

Given his prolonged absence, it's understandable that a large section of the support are hoping Michu can fire us to safety now that he's back in contention for a place in the lineup, but Garry Monk is a bit more pragmatic about things:

"A few of the other boys have been chipping in with goals while Michu has been out, and of course that has to continue. If he can come in and add his quality and get a few goals then great, but it's a team effort. 

"They were difficult circumstances — ideally it would have been nice to bring him on in a better situation. Maybe if we'd been controlling the game, Michu could have had more of an influence, but it's great to see him back fit and those minutes on the pitch will help him."  

http://www.southwales-eveningpost.co.uk/Swansea-City-expect-Michu-says-Garry-Monk/story-20822351-detail/story.html#ixzz2wIu4LRom

It's totally understandable why Monk brought Michu on against the Baggies. With the Swans suffering from extreme opposition pressure, bringing Pablo on for Jose would have been a ballsy move, given West Brom had been harrying our central midfield all game. Michu offers a much more physical threat, but sadly he wasn't able to affect proceedings that greatly.

The problem we face now is that Bony & Michu haven't actually played together on the field that much. Bony was introduced slowly after missing a large portion of pre-season, and by the time he was regularly included Michu had succumbed to injury. I don't think we've got time for them to build a partnership, as using both in the starting eleven would drastically alter the dynamic of a typical Swansea team.

I think given Bony has shown over the last few months he's more than capable of leading the line for us, for now Michu should still be reintroduced slowly. I think since Monk's come in one of the big positives is how much more of the pitch we're using, and by replacing Bony with Michu - or even putting Michu behind the Ivorian - I think it would result in our possession game being played more towards our own goal. With Bony (despite a couple of iffy performances) being able to hold up possession that much further up the field it stretches the game in Swansea's favour, and that gives our midfielders room to run into.

For now we should stick with three proper central midfielders and Bony up top, and if you're looking for an impact player off the bench to replace Bony I don't think you could do much better than Miguel Perez Cuesta. He could do with building up his match fitness slowly (much has recently been made of shortened recovery periods leading to recurring injuries) and I think by taking Bony off on sixty-five/seventy minutes you could arguably get the best out of what both strikers can offer you at the moment.

Firstly, Bony can run that much harder knowing he doesn't have to make the full ninety minutes. Considering how much of a handful he is for centre-halves anyway, that really is an intriguing concept. Secondly, the same can be said of Michu - if he's only got a shorter time period to play then he can charge around like a bull in a china shop (I tried to think of a toreador pun for ages but sadly failed) and cause chaos in the ranks of tiring opposition defences.

This idea is probably going to be met with dismay from a large section of the support who'd favour Michu returning to the starting lineup as soon as he's physically up to it, but I do think we've looked a more balanced team in the last few months. Ok, results haven't improved but we're just a lucky break away from a good result. Against Palace & WBA Bony had chances which on any other day could well have gone in, and those goals would probably have seen us pick up an extra five points - which would be absolutely massive right about now.

So, Michu super-sub then? For now, at least...

Garry Monk burgled by scumbags

Swansea legend woke up from surgery on an injured knee only to be told his house had been broken into over the weekend

Shocking, just shocking. I'm not one for hero worship, but to me players like Garry Monk & Leon Britton are essentially the royal family. I couldn't give two hoots what happens to the toothy Germans in London (serendipitous timing means I should point out I'm not talking about the German national team), however you mess with players who've given as much to the Swans as either of those two and you've got me (and no doubt countless other members of the Jack Army) to deal with.

He's had watches, laptops and more stolen - including a kitbag with his number (16) on it, along with his initials and the Swansea crest. Anyone in Swansea will be aware of the Swans' branding, and to nick stuff from our club captain's house is akin to a Catholic stealing the Pope's hat from the Vatican. Not on on any level, and you can't claim you didn't know whose house you were at.

Now, I know some would say "but footballers earn loads - it's worse when it happens to someone with no money and few possessions" and I don't doubt that the implications can be a lot more serious than they may be in Monk's case, however it's just such a low thing to do, and this really has riled me. Premier League football, for which Monk & Co worked so hard for so long, has helped pump many millions of pounds into the local community so his contribution to the city can't be ignored too. He literally played through the pain barrier to make sure the Swans made it to the Premier League, and just a couple of years later he falls victim to scummy thieves out for themselves? So, so disappointing. 

The club have released an official statement regarding the burglary:

“Garry and his family are devastated. He has given everything to the club, the local community and the supporters for nearly a decade and doesn’t deserve this.  

“A lot of the items stolen were of great sentimental value and we would urge anyone who knows anything about the robbery to contact the police.’’  

http://www.swanseacity.net/news/article/monk-robbed-1184041.aspx?#tAtuVVZEqWqDPoMQ.99

Police are appealing for anyone with information to contact them on 101 or via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, quoting occurrence number 62130363685. Please, if you know someone who knows something, turn them in - or at the very least get them to return what they've stolen.

Garry Monk hands captain's armband to Ashley Williams

Ex-Southampton centre-back will continue as club captain, with Ash becoming matchday captain

News broke yesterday that Swansea stalwart Garry Monk has handed the armband on to his younger central-defensive counterpart due to his view that the regular matchday skipper should be nailed on to start every week; and by Monk's own admission he's been in and out of the side over the last season or two. 

The decision can't have come lightly, and it's an idea which will have been bouncing around inside his head for a while now. As most will know, Monk has been club club captain for almost a decade, but in recent times when he hasn't been selected to play Williams would instead take the armband, but from now on the captain of Wales will also be the permanent matchday captain of the Swans too:

Monk, Williams & Dwight Tiendalli challenge for the ball

"I just feel it's the right time now - it is a difficult decision. It's probably been one of my proudest things - if not the proudest thing - I've had to do with Swansea City. I know we've had promotions and cups, but it's definitely up there to have captained this club for so long. It's been a real honour.Continue reading the main story“"If the manager thinks I'm wrong then I'll have to listen to the manager won't I? But that's my gut feeling anyway. I'm still going to be club captain but - this is how I personally look at it, I haven't spoken to the manager or Ash himself - I just feel from my experience as captain, that should be the person [Ash]. 

"The continuity should be there, someone that's been there week in week out, which has been Ashley. Obviously when I've not played he wears the captain's armband; I just feel that should continue even when I am playing. It's a decision from myself, things won't change, apart from the armband. 

"Off the pitch I'll be the same, even on the pitch when I'm playing I'll still be a leader and it's just a case of I think Ash deserves to lead the team out week after week. My duties as club captain won't change. I'll still be doing the stuff off the pitch with the boys and in the community representing the club. 

"I proved last season and the season before, I haven't played as regularly as I would have liked, but I've still contributed a number of games and when I've played I think I've done pretty well - That's all I can ask of myself, make sure that I'm fit, ready, look after myself and when called upon to do it right. I've done that so far, so I can't have any complaints with myself. 

"If I couldn't compete at this level, if I was slacking off and feeling physically not right then I'd hold my hand up, I'm honest enough to do that, but I think I've proved the last couple of seasons in the Premiership that when I've played, I've more than competed with some of the top strikers. 

"I probably feel even stronger this pre-season, I feel sharp, I've looked after myself through the summer and I feel fit." Garry Monk

It says something about the man that he's been captain now for about 8 years under five different managers - there aren't many players who could enjoy that kind of longevity, and Monk will go down in history as one of, if not Swansea's most successful captain ever. Despite giving up the matchday armband, it looks like Garry will be hanging around SA1 for some time yet, and boy he's earned the right.