Take heart, Bony’s looking sharper... but do Swans have quality to stay up?
YOU had to look hard, but there were some encouraging signs for Swansea City at Chelsea. But it doesn’t change the fact that, after four games without a goal and six games without a win, Paul Clement’s side remain in real trouble going into this weekend’s clash with Stoke
Level on points with bottom side Crystal Palace – who lost all of their opening seven games of the season – the Swans are no better off than a year ago when it took a huge turnaround under Clement, the third manager of the season, to stave off relegation.
But are there straws of hope to cling to? Or are the issues overwhelming?
Here’s three reasons for optimism, and three for real fear in the wake of the defeat to Chelsea... 1 – THEY’RE NOT SHIPPING GOALS Very often, clubs changing manager in a bid to save their season sees the new man immediately tasked with sorting a defence. It’ll be the first thing on Sam Allardyce’s mind at Everton (as it was at Palace) and it is usually the first box to be ticked on whatever club Tony Pulis turns up at.
Indeed, it was the No.1 priority for Clement when he arrived at the Liberty 11 months ago; Swansea had shipped 31 goals after 14 games and ended up breaking records for the only team to stay up despite the amount of goals scored against them.
That’s not the problem in 2017/18. Antonio Rudiger’s goal on Wednesday was only the 16th conceded in 14 games, the seventh-best in the league, significantly better than those around them (West Ham 30, Stoke 29, Palace 25) and the best in the bottom half.
Four of those goals conceded came against Manchester United, where Swansea were 1-0 down before pushing for a comeback only to be caught by a string of quick scores on the counter. While there were those who were overly critical of the Chelsea performance, probably because of the context of the campaign so far, in isolation it was a solid enough, if unspectacular, away display that could have even snatched an undeserved point at the death – not unlike big results achieved by Swansea sides in the past.
The shape and understanding inched back and, for all the concerns of caution, the defence holding out as it has is a solid enough starting point. Not the solution, but a starting point. 2 – BONY’S BACK – AND HE COULD BE JOINED BY ABRAHAM It’s taken time, but Wilfried Bony is starting to show why he can be a key man for Swansea.
Impressive against Bournemouth, the big man didn’t shy away against Chelsea either as he battled well in the air with little support, looked to be a fulcrum for attacks – more potently in the latter stages when given support – and proved he’s prepared to put in the hard yards and hard work that can make a difference from strikers in struggling sides.
The sharpness is returning to combine with the strength and, if Swansea can get bodies closer to him and running off him, he could prove he is worth all the fuss about his return.
He needs to get off the mark and Tammy Abraham can help him when he returns against Stoke having been ineligible against his former club. Jordan Ayew, aside from running into blind alleys, hasn’t shown enough intelligence to play as a striker in terms of reading the second balls, but there were encouraging flashes of understanding between Abraham and Bony when they linked up for a spell at Burnley.
They have only started one game together – and that only lasted 45 minutes at West Ham, almost a third of the 149 minutes they have featured together so far this season – but there is a chance to give it a go against Stoke that should at least give some bite to Swansea’s hitherto toothless attack. 3 – WHERE THERE’S HEART, THERE’S HOPE One of the major concerns and criticisms of the side in those woeful defeats against Brighton and Burnley was the way the side cowed and crumbled when the going got tough. It worryingly reminded of the collapses under Bob Bradley last year.
Though confidence was clearly an issue then as it has been recently, Swansea needed bravery from their players and a willingness to have a bit of fight. It showed against Bournemouth and there was at least a bit of heart at Chelsea as they rallied towards the end. Some may say it’s a bare minimum – and it is – and it doesn’t paper over the cracks of other issues, but the fact there was still belief of getting a result until the final seconds gives hope that there is enough spirit in the side to battle their way through this. It’s not enough without quality, but it’s something to cling to.
SICK WITH WORRY...
1 – NO GOALS, NO CHANCE There’s no point beating around the bush; Swansea will be playing Championship football if they can’t remember how to score goals. They are not only the lowest scorers in the top-flight with seven (that’s one goal per every three hours of football) but the lowest across the 92. To give it some greater context, it’s the lowest any side has mustered at this level after 14 games in 10 years. In fact, only four sides have scored fewer goals at this stage of a season since the Premier League was formed: Derby (07/08) and Bradford (00/01) with five, and Man City (95/96) and Everton (05/06) with six. Only Everton survived. The others (including seven-goal Leicester in 01/02 and Wimbledon with eight (97/98) all went down. It’s now seven hours and eight minutes since Sam Clucas netted against Arsenal five games ago, with the lack of shots on target showing it’s not a case of wasted chances but an inability to create any. Swansea are averaging 1.7 shots on target per game. (Huddersfield the next worst with 2.6, with leaders Manchester City with 7.5) and just 8.1 shots aimed at goal per match.
It’s ultimately why a side that, in some ways, are hard to beat are losing games. You can give reasons and excuses until the cows come home, but unless there’s a drastic change, then Swansea won’t stay up.