Swansea used to be one of the most exciting underdogs in the Premier League, famously winning the League Cup in 2013, beating Bradford 5-0 in the final.
But this season the Swans have struggled for consistency, currently sitting in 16th place and just three points above the relegation zone.
One of the main problems Swansea face is the fact that, as a team, nobody is sure where they are meant to finish. In their debut season in the Premier League they finished 11th, and last season they finished 8th.
For a side that only came up to the Premier League in 2011, those finishes are not awful, but they are still settling into the league. A finish lower down the table isn’t necessarily a bad thing for Swansea, but after catching the Europa League buzz so early on, they should now be aiming to achieve similar finishes and success every season.
If you look up the table at the teams above Swansea, there are few teams that perhaps should be below them. Watford and Bournemouth have played so well this season and deserve to be where they are at the moment, and we all know about Leicester’s extraordinary season so far. Certainly the mid-table is where you feel Swansea are better suited, unless they buy an influx of talent to help to push on further.
Between now and the end of the season, Swansea still have the whole of the top four to play, all of which will be extremely hard games to win. It’s matches against Norwich, Bournemouth, Newcastle and Aston Villa that the Swans will have to win if they are to survive. Given the fact that they’ve only taken a couple of points off these teams, it will be a tiring few months where the Swans will hope results elsewhere will benefit them.
Since sacking Garry Monk in December and replacing him with Guidolin, the Swans have not moved up the table but rather dropped down one spot, showing that it wasn’t the manager but perhaps the players who were the problem. Since selling Wilfried Bony to the Manchester City bench, Swansea haven’t really replaced him. Andre Ayew and Bafetimbi Gomis are good alternatives, but both lack consistency and are not regular goal scorers.
The arrivals of Leroy Fer and Jefferson Montero have not lived up to expectations, and have not propelled Swansea to the greatness they had hoped. Maybe they are a good squad to be mid-table, with the acquisition of Fabianski helping to provide stability between the sticks – but he isn’t as as good as Vorm. Players like Williams and Sigurdsson you feel are too good for the club, but no other teams have taken the risk on them, so they have stayed.
When you look at the teams underneath Swansea, you feel that they should be safe. The likes of Newcastle, Sunderland and Aston Villa are definitely in trouble. The Swans will be hoping that teams like Norwich and Bournemouth will drop points when they win, otherwise it will be an interesting final few months of the league.
With Sunderland and Newcastle buying well in January, it may be hard for the Swans to compete with no fresh legs and no fresh talent to motivate them to glory.
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