Swansea 1 - 1 Hull - Must do better...

Improved second half performance couldn't mask another flat display

There was a time when Swansea's midfield were famed for passing the ball. It seems to me that of late we're seeing more passing of the buck. The first half display against Hull made me wonder whether I've ever seen a team so comfortable in possession, yet who look entirely unlikely to create...well...anything. According to the stats displayed on screens at the Liberty, at half time we'd had four shots (none on target) to Hull's one (on target and, crucially, also a goal).

The passing of the buck I refer to is in the centre of the midfield, where we seem to have forgotten how to move forward down the pitch. Gone are the days when our two more defensive minded central midfielders would form a coherent partnership, playing themselves into (and successfully out of) trouble as we tika-taka'd our way up the field. Instead, we have to watch as the ball goes across the back four... forward once... before going straight back to the centre-back for the whole process to start over. We're becoming far too predictable and, understandably, if you can stop us getting at you through the middle it severely restricts our attacking options - especially when you consider our wingers now seem to spend most of their time tucking inside and occupying positions you'd traditionally expect your attacking midfielder to be taking up.

To criticise too heavily would be unfair on Hull though. Steve Bruce set his side up in a 3-5-2 which completely nullified the Swans for more or less the entire match. The wing backs marked our wingers, and for the entirety of the ninety minutes I thought we lacked invention, spark, and anything else which normally leads to goal-scoring chances.

The opener came from who else but Danny Graham. After not having scored for around thirty games (I've seen a couple of different stats and they can't all be right), it was always likely he'd break his duck against his former employers and so it proved to be. Ash played a weak pass towards Pablo which was intercepted by Elmohamady, and he advanced before picking out Graham at the back post. Chico couldn't get anywhere near him, and the striker dispatched the ball into the net. 1-0, and we didn't look like we were going to be capable of turning things around any time soon.

Ben Davies produced one effort of note after linking up through the middle, and the only other chance I remember in the first half was when De Guzman leant back and put one into orbit after it had been pulled back to the edge of the box. Jonjo Shelvey scored from there, don't you know...

The second half started with no changes having been made. Most perplexing seeing as a) Michu was clearly unfit and b) De Guzman was having a mare. The latter was thankfully replaced ten minutes into the second half for Pozuelo, and four minutes later we had our goal. The Swans won one of twelve corners they'd have by the end of the match, and a short routine was worked which saw Shelvey drill a low cross into the box. Chico was very much in the right place at the right time, and it hit him in the midriff and deflected into the net. 1-1, and half an hour to play. Surely we'd rally and hammer home our home advantage?

Nope. The best effort I remember anyone producing after that was Yannick Sagbo, who drilled a shot low at Tremmel's right hand post, but the German was equal to it and parried it away. Aside from that, the only other talking points were a shoving match in the corner of East and South stands and Chico producing more of his ridiculous theatrics. I've never seen a centre-back go down as much as he does, and frankly it's embarrassing. Man up mate.

Overall I think 1-1 was a fair result but despite us having 66% of the ball I thought you'd have a tough time arguing we were the better team. Something needs to change in terms of the tactics we're currently operating with, because more often than not it's simply not working. I do believe we have the players to successfully utilise the system Laudrup wants to use, but at the moment there's definitely some tinkering needed.

On to Switzerland then. Apparently it could be -4 degrees when we step onto the field - play like we did tonight and whoever plays up front stands more chance of getting frostbite than a goal.

Hull's off-field troubles should remind Swansea fans how lucky we are

Hull City's owner Assem Allam wants to change the name from "City" to "Tigers", but it could have been so much worse for Swansea fans

Once upon a time, there was a big bad Australian Cockney with a ridiculous moustache, who wanted to rip the heart out of Swansea City AFC. His excuse at the time was fiscal austerity, but he hadn't planned on the vociferous response his actions received from the Swansea support.

The North Bank at the old Vetch Field became a unified protest group, aiming endless chants towards the directors box after Petty sacked seven players (asking a further eight to accept reduced contracts), and that was just the start. Marches and protests outside the ground let the new chairman know that we simply weren't going to accept that kind of thing from someone who was supposed to have the club's best interests at heart, and that he'd massively misjudged the situation if he thought the fanbase would just roll over and accept whatever decisions he deemed fit to make.

Thankfully, the rest is history. A consortium of Swansea fans, plus the newly formed Supporters Trust, wrestled control of the club and we haven't looked back since. There's been a litany of successes since - the appointments of Flynn, Jackett, Martinez, Sousa, Rodgers & Laudrup have all brought varying degrees of success (but success nonetheless), as well as the continued recruitment of a higher calibre of player. The Swans have coloured in the picture of a well-run Premiership club without, seemingly, going outside the lines once.

That's why it rankles so much to see owners at other clubs operating in a manner which seemingly disregards the wishes of the fans. I doubt Assem Allem cares what the sizeable proportion of Hull fans who disagree with the potential name change think, much like I doubt Vincent Tan cares what colour fans prefer their team to play in, but the line has to be drawn somewhere or football stands at risk of becoming like the NFL, where clubs - or "brands" as I should probably refer to them given the context - are exportable commodities, with no real thought given to the history or tradition surrounding them.

Thankfully (for the Swans at least) we can rest easy knowing that those in charge always have the best interests of the club at heart. Hull's recent travails serve to remind us that getting to the Premier League isn't the be all and end all, and that not everyone gets so lucky. Hopefully their fans can exert some influence over proceedings (though I won't say that about tonight's game itself) and, if the majority view is that the name should remain "Hull City", then that's how it should stay.

There's a campaign being run by Hull fans called "City Till We Die" (link), which protests against Assem Allem's plans to change their name to Hull Tigers. They also plan on singing "City Till We Die" 19mins 04secs into tonight's match (Hull City were formed in 1904), and they (and I) heartily encourage all Swansea fans to join in. Solidarity, brothers & sisters!

Swansea vs Hull - Match preview, team news, statistics & analysis

The Match

Swansea returned to winning ways against Newcastle and played with a confidence they've been threatening to display for a couple of weeks now. Especially in the first half, there was a zip to the centre of the midfield which has been lacking in recent times, and this reflected in the post-game statistics - De Guzman, for example, completed 111 passes at 94.6% accuracy. Outstanding. I'd wager if one of your central midfielders completes that many passes (and makes 8 recoveries to boot) you're never likely to lose the game. While Monday's opponents Hull won't have the same confidence Newcastle arrived with, they'll still play with the commitment and tenacity you can expect from any Steve Bruce side, so if we're to be confident of a result we'll need to replicate the level of performance achieved on Wednesday night.

Hull have impressed me this season, though their form in the last few months has dropped off. After going unbeaten in September, they then didn't win in October, and that's been followed by two wins in their last five - home wins over Sunderland and, more impressively, Liverpool. Liverpool were awful though...

Hull may well call on Danny Graham to lead the line despite his barren run now extending to thirty games across three clubs. Worryingly, the stage seems set for him to break his goal drought at the club where he was once a cult figure, thanks (in part) to scoring winners against Liverpool and Arsenal. Let's hope he doesn't break his duck just yet.

Prior Form (Most recent at top)

Team News - provided by Physioroom.com's Ben Dinnery

Mixed news for Swans supporters in the build-up to Monday nights’ live SkySports game versus Hull City at the Liberty Stadium. Firstly reports suggest that strikers Michu and Wilfried Bony have recovered from their respective ankle and hamstring injuries, with both players training ahead of the televised game; although neither player is expected to play the full 90 minutes in the first of three important matches this week. In the treatment room, Laudrup confirmed that midfielder Leon Britton suffered a broken toe in training which is likely to rule the player out for at least a couple of weeks, while scan results revealed a minor groin strain keeping Alvaro Vazquez out of the festive program.

Steve Bruce is hoping to have the majority of his Hull City squad available for the encounter against Swansea City tomorrow night. Full-back Paul McShane will have a late fitness test on a hamstring problem but is likely to feature with defender James Chester (hamstring) and Robbie Brady (Gilmores Groin) having recovered from recent injuries. Centre-half Curtis Davies will return after missing the Arsenal game through suspension, which leaves long-term absentees Aluko (calf) and Stephen Quinn (hamstring) as the only definite players missing. 

Completely guessed lineups

Statistics & Trivia

• Hull have won three and lost none of the last four league meetings with Swansea.
• No team has benefitted from more own goals than Swansea this season (4) while two of their last five goals have come via the opposition.
• Hull have won just one of their last 31 Premier League away games (W1 D7 L23).
• The Tigers have lost five of their last seven Premier League games overall (W2).
• No player has hit the woodwork more than Jake Livermore this season (three times, level with Liverpool pair Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge).
• The Swans have picked up more yellow cards for dissent (7) than any other team this season.
• Swansea average 59.2 per cent possession this season - higher than any other club - while only three teams have a lower figure than Hull (43.3 per cent).
• In his first 18 Premier League games Michu scored 13 goals, but has managed only seven in the subsequent 27 matches.

Straight from the horse's mouth

Steve Bruce had some kind words to say when asked what he thought about his upcoming opponents: 

"Swansea have been a really leading club, similar in stature to our club in the way they have done it over the years. I watched a documentary on them a couple of weeks ago and where they have come from since 10 or 12 years ago is quite remarkable.

"What they've done and what they've achieved deserves a big pat on the back to all of those who had the foresight and the vision to see it through.

"That has got to be the way forward for us. Look at Wigan - who were there for eight years before they slipped out - West Brom, Southampton and Swansea, these are all clubs you can look at."

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11095/9061710/?

Jonjo Shelvey has been in the press talking about how we need to turn the Liberty back into a fortress:

"We needed the three points against Newcastle, and we need to keep pushing up the league. The more we turn this place into a fortress and get the points then it takes the pressure away when we go away to the bigger teams.

"It's never been difficult for me to play here. The fans have been first class for me. Every time I've played they have been superb and hopefully we can kick on at home starting on Monday."

http://www.sportinglife.com/football/news/article/165/9060215/-?

Analysis

You have to feel for Hull a bit. Not so much for anything that's occurred on the field - more for what's been going on off it. Owner Assem Allam wants to rebrand the club as "Hull Tigers" and is now embroiled in a dispute with a vocal section of the Hull support over the controversial issue. Personally, I think something has to be done before football goes the way of the NFL, where clubs seem free to move from one city or another at the behest of financially driven owners. It's not on, and the Swans have shown that if you dig your heels in fan power can overcome this kind of thing.

Fingers crossed, the current rift between owner and fans doesn't affect the performance of Steve Bruce's team too much, although if it were to knock their confidence against the Swans - well... three points is three points, right?

Midfield will, as usual, be key for the Swans - and not just because we stand a good chance of lining up with six midfielders. Jake Livermore and Tom Huddlestone most definitely have the muscle to cause the Swansea engine room problems, but then again the same can be said about Tiote & Cabaye, and they didn't have a particularly good time of it when they visited on Wednesday. We'll need to make sure the level of commitment is the same, and that everybody is willing to come off the field spent, having given 100% to the cause over the entirety of the ninety minutes.

Livermore and Huddlestone are both capable of playing football as well as mixing it physically, but if we play to our limits in a footballing sense, we'll surely have too much for them. As mentioned, De Guzman made 111 passes against Newcastle - a repeat of that and we'll stand a good chance of claiming all three points.

Up front for the Tigers it's likely to be Graham & Sagbo against Chico & Ash. For Ash (and Chico to a lesser extent) they'll know what to expect from Graham, although he's currently bereft of the confidence which saw him endear himself to Swansea fans. It seems very likely (to me at least) that he'll break his duck against the Swans, but that's probably just superstitious claptrap. At least, I've never seen any statistics which makes me think former players are more likely to score against prior clubs. That doesn't mean there's none out there, mind...

I think, realistically, this is going to have to be a case of "more of the same" if the Swans want the three points. Despite many differences between Bruce's Hull and Pardew's Newcastle, they're both combative teams who put themselves about, who're capable of playing football if you allow them to. We need to make sure we starve them of the ball, and get into our swing early on. An early goal will be key in settling Swans' nerves - hopefully it'll come in the first half as that'll allow us to use possession to tire Hull, drawing them onto us and creating space in behind their defence.

It remains to be seen who starts up front. I've heard rumours that both Wilfried Bony & Michu will be fit enough for the bench but in my opinion if there's any risk of aggravating the injury they should remain sidelined. There's simply no point taking that kind of risk when it could mean we'll be without one of our main goal threats for a much longer period of time. With that in mind it seems likely that, in one of a couple of possible variations, Jonjo Shelvey will be charged with getting in behind the Hull defence. Pozuelo was rotating with him against Newcastle after Alvaro went off injured, but the Spaniard lacks the out and out pace to break the line it seems, whereas Shelvey seems to have the top end to make bursts such as the one which got Swansea their 2nd goal last Wednesday.

However we line up, I'm once again confident of a Swansea home win. A while ago now I said we'd win our next four games - starting with Newcastle. One down, three to go.