West Ham blowing bubbles, Chico brewing trouble...

Despite red card Carroll, Allardyce & Co have last laugh over Swans

If Andy Carroll hadn't have seen red, it would have been hard to see West Ham's afternoon going more to plan. Who needs the ball if you know your opponents can't do anything with it? Yesterday's performance was very frustrating, and in truth we didn't ever look like winning the game despite (as per usual) hogging the lion's share of possession.

Laudrup lined up with Tiendalli in for Rangel (the Spaniard was carrying a knock), while Leon was dropped for Jordi Amat in midfield. No such suggestion of a knock, but I felt that had a massive impact on our game - fresh from a decent win over Fulham we could really have done with retaining our midfield dynamo but Laudrup clearly felt rotation was necessary and Jordi got the nod. The only other change was Dyer in for Pablo after the ex-Valencia man endured a rather stuttering return to the team before his withdrawal against Fulham on Tuesday.

What went wrong then? Quite simply, we were unable to penetrate through the middle of West Ham's defence. Considering for most of the game their defence consisted of their entire team, that was always going to have a pretty big influence on things. In all honesty though, penetration is something the Swans have lacked for, in my opinion, the best part of a year, and it is really starting to concern me now. Absolutely all of our play goes through our wingers and our midfield just isn't functioning as a unit.

Against Fulham I noticed that when Leon had possession, he rarely, rarely had De Guzman or Shelvey alongside him looking for a pass. Given there's supposed to be some kind of midfield partnership going on (and central midfield is, for me, the most important aspect of a 4-5-1/4-2-3-1 system), that's just counterproductive and again against West Ham our midfielders looked isolated. We used to have arguably the most efficient midfield unit in the Premiership, but that seems a long time ago now and I can't remember the last time I thought we completely controlled an opposition midfield. Sure, we control possession, but the midfield? I'm not so sure.

What cost us against West Ham was defending crosses into the box. Ok, the delivery was good, and I can accept that in Carroll and Nolan you've got a pretty well drilled knock-down combo, but still - two free headers for Carroll? Fulham enjoyed similar success and we've only got the generosity of Brede Hangeland to thank for our clean sheet. I felt it was harsh to criticise too much on that occasion as both centre-backs were 6'6" plus, but it's not getting beaten in the air that's the problem - it's the complete lack of marking of key aerial targets.

How can Andy Carroll be completely free in the area - twice? The commentators yesterday were full of superlatives - "You can't beat him in the air" etc, however you don't need to. Mark him well, and stop him making that run. He's not going to score every game, and there's ways of managing him. Sadly, we haven't quite worked that bit out yet.

I suppose I better look at the red card too. I won't go on about it - I felt it was harsh but at the same time for me there's a deliberate swing of the arm there. Chico, however, once again displayed an aspect of his character which Swansea fans are fast growing sick of. As a centre-back you're always going to take a bit of a beating, and his theatrics have already seen him pick up a number of bookings this season - bookings which have already led to a suspension. Unacceptable. 

The loss leaves us with a whole week(!) to prepare for our next game - the small matter of the local derby against Cardiff. Before the Fulham game I was asked if it was a "must win" game, to which I replied that if it wasn't, it was damn close. Saturday's game against Cardiff now has a similar feel about it - win, and we're six points clear of them and they'll be in real relegation trouble. Lose, and they'll likely be within a point of the relegation zone while we'll be dragged further into the mire. 

Saturday could be one of the most important South Wales derbies of all time. I for one can't wait.

Swansea 0 - 0 West Ham - Not quite good enough...

Swansea edge to draw against Allardyce's "continental 4-6-0" formation

Cometh the rain, cometh the...clean sheet. That's about as big a positive as I could draw from yesterday's performance, as to be honest I felt that once again we didn't perform to anywhere near our maximum level. 

We lined up without Wilfried Bony spearheading our attack, and he was replaced with Alvaro Vazquez. Against a known physical side who were always going to park the bus that could be deemed a strange decision, but I'm sure there was some logic behind it. Ashley Williams returned to the starting lineup too, while Leon returned to the team in the middle of the park, and both the Swansea stalwarts were amongst our best performers yesterday.

We struggled to create anything for the entire match if I'm being truthful, and that isn't the first time I've said that this season. Apparently we had 67% of the ball, but West Ham mustered fifteen shots to our ten (although we both had five on target), and those maths don't add up. If we're retaining that much possession without creating anything meaningful then I'm afraid something's wrong with the system.

Throughout the first fourty-five minutes we were under severe pressure from set-pieces and appeared unable to cope with the onslaught. Quite worrying, and Vorm flapped at numerous high balls which, from where I sat, seemed destined to end in away goals. Thankfully the ball somehow didn't end up in the back of the net and we made it in at half time with the scores even, before we did improve in the second period.

The arrival of Pablo from the bench did rouse the team somewhat, and he injected some much needed pace and directness to the affair. His calibre was clear to see and hopefully he can now stay fit for a while and make his mark on the team. I thought we improved after Bony entered the fray too, and anyone knocking his performances thus far needs to look at how anonymous Vazquez was before his departure. As I've said before, it really isn't easy playing ahead of Michu.

Our standout performer for me was probably Angel Rangel. I thought he was busy and looked to get forward as often as possible, without allowing himself to be caught out in defence, but I thought he was let down by Nathan Dyer who frustrated throughout. It's been so long since I've seen Dyer properly take his man on at pace and look to get in behind, and he needs to stop automatically knocking the ball back to his mate Rangel. I know retaining possession is important, but playing that far forward in our team means you need to have your hand in a fair share of the goals we score. 

There were positives to be taken from yesterday's match. A clean sheet, as previously mentioned, is no mean feat against an Allardyce side, and that's the kind of game where in the past we'd have turned off and been punished by a late goal from a corner, so the squad deserve credit for mucking in and earning a point. We've also now got the same points tally as we had obtained at this stage last season, and given our run of fixtures up to this point that's quite the achievement indeed. I can't help but feel though that we're under-performing dramatically and that there's a lot more to come from this Swansea side.

One theory I have is that Laudrup started Vazquez in a bid to see whether it's Michu or Bony who is more to blame for a disjointed forward line thus far this season. With Michu at his wandery avant-garde best yesterday, I think there's now a clear argument for going with Bony up top, two defensive midfielders (Leon/Canas/De Guzman) with another orthodox midfielder ahead of them. When Michu plays well, he'll score and we'll probably win. When he doesn't play well, the team doesn't play well. We can't afford that.

I do love Michu, but we need to get the team playing to the best of it's ability, and if Michu dropping to the bench in a bid to restore fluency to the Swansea midfield solves that then that's the way it's got to be. 

So, Cardiff away next then. Oo-er. 

Swansea City vs West Ham - Match preview, statistics, team news & analysis

The Match

Swansea were robbed of a win which they possibly wouldn't have deserved against Kuban Krasnodar thanks to a last minute penalty converted by Djibril Cisse, and they'll need to play a lot better than they did on Thursday night if they're to come away with any points from this one. With a number of players likely return to the starting lineup we can be confident the performance level will improve, and Ashley Williams chomping at the bit must surely have an invigorating effect on the team. Hopefully Laudrup restores Leon, Rangel, De Guzman and Pablo to the team - including those players would, to me, raise the overall calibre of our starting XI and give us a much better chance of a result.

West Ham have enjoyed a mixed bag of results this season. They have had some tricky fixtures, but they've beaten Cardiff twice (snigger) already, however home losses to Stoke and Everton will have stung. Whether they view this fixture as winnable I can't say (although it's probable), and Sam Allardyce is very unlikely to try to match Swansea's passing game. Expect a rough and tumble performance with plenty of pressing high up the field, and for them to try and close down our defensive midfielders - thus strangling our possession game.

Prior Form (Most recent at top)

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

Swansea entertain West Ham United this weekend in a return to their familiar Sunday afternoon slot, kick-off at 4pm. The Jacks should finally welcome back winger Pablo Hernandez after almost two months out with a thigh muscle strain and a bout of illness. However this weekend will come too early for captain Ashley Williams, the Welsh international is close to a full recovery with the Cardiff or Stoke City game a more realistic target. Full-back Ben Davies misses out with ankle ligament damage which could see him side-lined for up to a month.

For West Ham, news that Andy Carroll could be close to a return are a little wide of the mark. The England international is still in Belgium and may not be back for two or three weeks with a possible return pencilled in for the end of November. James Collins (hamstring) will once again miss out along with full-back George McCartney who continues to battle with an on-going knee problem, but fellow defender Guy Demel has recovered from the slight knock he picked up against Manchester City. Alou Diarra remains a long-term absentee.

Completely guessed lineups

Statistics & Trivia

• West Ham have only won four of their twenty-two visits to Swansea.
• Swansea are looking to win consecutive league games for the first time since last December.
• 16 goals have been scored at the Liberty so far this season - more than any other Premier League ground.
• Swansea have drawn only one game so far this season - only Crystal Palce (0) have drawn less games.
• West Ham have the worst shot accuracy in the Premier League - 29.6%.
• When Swansea have kept a clean sheet this season (which they've done three times), they've won.
• West Ham haven't won consecutive away games since December 2007.
• Five of West Ham's eight goals conceded have come from set pieces - a league high percentage.
• West Ham have failed to score in six of their last nine away matches.
• The last three competitive meetings between Swansea and West Ham have seen the home side win whilst keeping a clean sheet. 
• Swansea's pass success rate is 86%, compared to West Ham's 73%.

Straight from the horse's mouth

Michael Laudrup thinks West Ham are in "our league", as it were:

"We want a positive result. It will be a tough one because West Ham are a very strong, physical team. Last year at home we started well because they made a mistake, a back pass for Michu to score the first goal, and the first two chances we got we scored. 

"I can't say we need to win it, we would like to. I think West Ham are in 'our league' and we play at home, so again it is one of those where you say it is a big chance to get points if we can."

http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/story-19992132-detail/story.html?#ixzz2ipK9gGo7 

Michel Vorm insists only a win will do:

"There's a very positive vibe after beating Sunderland 4-0. Everyone knew we hadn't won at home for a while in the Premier League. West Ham are not a top, top team but they are a strong side. They are a team we need to win at home against, these are the type of games we need to win at home. 

"There's no option other than winning."

http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/story-19992740-detail/story.html?#ixzz2ipKnBeBv 

Sam Allardyce thinks home form is more of a pressing concern than their form away from Upton Park:

"I couldn't knock the performances too much but I think we're about four points short of what we should have achieved. My huge concern is the fact that we've lost three home games on the trot, that never happened last season and if fact we only lost four all season at home. 

"That's my biggest worry, our away performances have been very good but our results haven't matched the performances. We should have beaten Newcastle, we certainly shouldn't have lost against Hull City we had a good draw at Southampton and a great win against Tottenham. 

"We've got to make sure we give our all in the Premier League because we're a 100 per cent team and we need to play at 100 per cent to win a game of football in the Premier League." 

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/347250/West-Ham-boss-Sam-Allardyce-admits-need-for-a-striker-for-clash-against-Swansea-City

Analysis

A bit up and down this week, eh? Massive league victory - good. Lacklustre Europa League performance...not good. Laudrup will be hoping reinstating regular "first choice" players to the team will bring about a return to form, which would see us winning back to back home games for the first time in a while. This game also marks five of our last six being played at home, and a win would make it three wins out of the five home games - not a bad return at all.

Leon Britton showed what he can bring to the team with an incredible performance against Sunderland, and expect more of the same tomorrow. Diame, Noble and Nolan are a formidable set of opponents but I expect him to have too much awareness to be seriously troubled, and we should be able to bat back any prospective attacks.

Key will be watching for long diagonals up to whoever's occupying the target-man spot, as no doubt West Ham will look to be more direct than we will. If Carlton Cole gets the nod he'll be looking to prove a point, so Chico Flores & Jordi Amat will need to be on their guard, as well as making sure Neil Taylor and Angel Rangel help to form an effective unit.

I want Bony to start, and I'm convinced he's going to start scoring. Ok, he didn't play well against Kuban, but neither did anyone really and while he did miscontrol it on occasions on the whole his ball retention was good considering the level of attention he found himself receiving. We need to give him more space - by crowding him with teammates he has no room to operate when all he needs is to be given the ball and the space he needs to turn and beat his man. If we always give it to him with his back to goal, he needs to then have a little bit of room in which to manoeuvre himself into a shooting position - if he's got Michu, De Guzman and Routledge running on his heels that becomes somewhat more difficult.

I'm confident of a result tomorrow. With a couple of important changes to the team expected, we'll have more zip about our midfield and I think that will be key in dismantling West Ham. Home win, and Swansea up to 13 points in the league from 9 games - that wouldn't be too bad at all. In fact, we'd be two points better off than after nine games last year. Have that for a stat.