WHY SWANS NEED TO GO BACKS TO BASICS
When the questions are coming from the outside, the answers have to come from within.
And while Paul Clement may have had many Swansea City supporters nodding furiously in agreement when he mentioned squad imbalance last week, there is little hope of waiting until January for a solution.
It is why Clement will have spent the last few days poring over the defeat to Arsenal in preparation for Saturday’s visit of Brighton, where the onus will be on Clement and his side to show they can offer more hope than they have so far this season, squad weaknesses or not.
He came close to coming up with an answer to one issue at the Emirates when, in the absence of a recognised left-back, Sam Clucas deputised in the place of the injured Martin Olsson.
Clucas impressed at wing-back, playing a key role as Swansea countered well with purpose more than hope, scoring one with Clucas involved in the move which saw Tammy Abraham denied giving the visitors a second lead by the offside flag.
Though accidental, Swansea may well have struck upon something that will offer an answer from within.
Granted, most frustration around Swansea’s form is a perceived lack of creativity and attacking thrust rather than at the back.
But recent trends have shown that full-backs – if that’s still an accurate term – can have a major say in boosting front foot play.
It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to Swansea. Angel Rangel, in his prime, was a key player in the old triangle passing incisiveness. Ben Davies was a huge success in the best days of Michael Laudrup, taking that class to Tottenham where he is currently excelling.
And even last year, Olsson’s arrival gave Swansea a left-sided thrust that gave a timely push towards survival.
In general, full-backs have stopped becoming the butt of jokes and become expensive assets. Statistics show the average sprints, distance covered, possession in opposition half and dribbles have all increased significantly in recent years. Yet, it is an area where Swansea have struggled. Kyle Naughton has had a poor start to the season, highlighted again against Arsenal, and made a mockery of the fact Swansea did not improve on him during the summer, a decision perhaps coloured by Clement seeing him finish the season strongly.
With Rangel’s best days behind him, and Olsson nowhere near best form and consistency, Swansea have a real weakness in an area others have made instrumental.
There are still teams who utilise traditional full-backs but in a more attacking sense (Southampton and Tottenham for example, though the latter have also played Son HuengMin there this term).
But Arsenal have used Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain there before his move to Liverpool, and Stoke have moved former striker Mame Briam Diouf to play as a right-sided wing-back.
In Swansea’s case, with an extra centre-back able to drift and cover gaps, it does allow the addition of extra width and creates a further attacking outlet which could make up for the absence of a natural No.10.
It would also allow Clement to utilise the system – at the Liberty in particular – without it having the pressure-adding perception of being too cautious at home when there is greater onus to break sides down.
Not all of those who have moved to three central defenders (13 of the 20 Premier League clubs have done so for at least one game this year) have gone this way. West Brom, West Ham, Crystal Palace and Bournemouth have all gone with traditional full-backs.
As have Swansea prior to the weekend, a move that is then seen by supporters as negative and ups frustration and pressure when said fullbacks don’t provide the attacking quality to press home the system’s obvious advantages.
But one intriguing possibility if presented by Manchester City. Having already done so with Philipp Lahm and David Alaba at Bayern Munich, Pep Guardiola uses midfielders as full-backs or wing-backs with a different purpose.
Fabian Delph is the latest to convert, actually coming inside to help the central midfield more on the attack than hitting the byline.
It allows City to keep the midfield control while allowing players in the area to push on and add to the attack. It does require the side to have width from the forward line, suggesting Swansea would have to play wingers to make it work.
Though it is a difficult thing to master, it should at least provide food for thought – especially with Swansea’s glut of central midfielders.
WHO COULD PLAY THERE? Converted wingers – Luciano Narsingh, Nathan Dyer, Wayne Routledge
Unfortunately, it seems like a nonstarter to consider dropping any wingers back to the role a la Moses at Chelsea. Narsingh has already been told he has to work on his defensive responsibilities even as an out-and-out winger and so wouldn’t be trusted with extra duties in that area. Dyer, though tenacious, is more pace than power and so isn’t suited. Routledge is intelligent enough to pull it off and has the required work-rate but there would still be questions over the final ball. Energetic as he is, it’s not conceivable to see Jordan Ayew pushed there. Central midfielders – Leon Britton, Tom Carroll, Sam Clucas, Leroy Fer, Jay Fulton, Ki Sung-Yueng, Roque Mesa, Renato Sanches. Clucas has already shown he could operate in the role, but on the left-hand side. One player you would consider for ability to deliver, engine and discipline is Tom Carroll, but he tends to operate on the left and favours that foot, meaning it would be too big an ask to push him to the right flank.
Leroy Fer has actually played as an emergency right-back in the past, in the defeat at Bournemouth last year, but you would have concerns over his defensive awareness and reliability
Renato Sanches has also played the role and has the dynamism to make it work, but aside from his injury, has tended also to be placed on the left when doing so with Portugal and – like Roque Mesa – would be a worry when he is still trying to adapt to the pace and physicality of the Premier League.
Ki Sung-Yueng has operated on the right of the diamond and in current determined, responsible mood, could be a viable option if Swansea are to consider the Man City style of full-back.
However, the South Korea captain is currently providing hints of a drive and vision from midfield that is needed and could be too big a loss if placed out of position.
Jay Fulton is perhaps the mostdefensively sound of the options, but it raises questions of how much attacking edge he would bring and negating the use of it.
Which leaves Leon Britton, someone clearly with the nous to play there but has not been a wing-merchant since the days of Kenny Jackett and may be again asking too much to convert his game at this stage.
COULD IT WORK?
In theory, it could provide an answer for Clement and enable him to use three central-defenders but without losing attacking options against sides Swansea need to break down. However, there is no obvious candidate that would work and bring the kind of change Swansea are looking for.
Furthermore, such changes need time and patience for the players to get used to the differences in the role – even when going from full-back to wing-back – which is something Swansea are already running out of.