Football News: Swansea City Premier League season so far
Image from: 8by8mag.com
Results so far:
A v Burnley 1-0
H v Hull City 0-2
A v Leicester City 1-2
H v Chelsea 2-2
A v Southampton 0-1
H v Manchester City 1-3
H v Liverpool 1-2
A v Arsenal 2-3
H v Watford 0-0
So far this season has been nothing short of disastrous for Swansea City, who have fallen a long way from the heights they reached in their early years in the Premier League. Francesco Guidolin inherited a mess last season and it has seen him lose his job already this season, to be replaced by Bob Bradley, the former Egypt manager. Bradley has been desperate for a shot at the Prem for a long time, but the worry is that he has bitten off more than he can chew with this Swans team so low on confidence and having been stripped of most of its best talents in recent years.
The sacking of Guidolin was harsh considering he took over a struggling team, only to lose his strikeforce and his captain in the summer. While they have tried to replace them, the club's recent transfer history suggests they will only have weakened the side. While Fernando Llorente was once a big name, nowadays he is a shadow of the striker that starred in the Spanish league. The loss of Andre Ayew and Ashley Williams are just not going to be covered with the signing of a player that flopped in Italy's Serie A.
Swansea has the feel of a club in decline, a club that rose up so rapidly and is now struggling to maintain the heights it reached. It is no longer even capable of treading water in the top flight, which is why Ayew and Williams jumped ship. There are so many signs of the team level dropping, it is difficult to ignore and it is going to take a lot of effort to fix the issues. There are only so many bargain players to be bought before selling teams become wise and increase their asking price.
So many teams have hit those buffers after years of being a selling club, it was only a matter of time before it hit the Swans as well. Off the pitch they are in good shape, which means they are in a position to fix the on pitch issues with a bit of investment in the scouting department, to target areas that they have previously not looked at. With a new manager, who is known for his professionalism and how hard he studies the game to find areas to improve, they do have a very real chance of recovering. With the likes of Sunderland in the Premier League, they have a good chance of finding three teams weaker than them this season!
Written by Tris Burke October 31 2016 07:39:18