Unlike Blackpool in the early part of last season, they haven’t, as yet, set the Premiership alight in terms of attacking play, goals and results, but they are certainly an exciting prospect for the future because it is the potential of what they can achieve with the way they play. The aforementioned Tangerines’ ‘gung-ho’ approach, which led to many high-scoring games, was bound to come under scrutiny at some point. And it did – other sides became more receptive to what was going to occur having seen their earlier matches, so it wasn’t going to be much of a surprise when Ian Holloway’s side came unstuck in the second half of the campaign – culminating in their relegation.
With all the publicity surrounding Swansea’s brand of football; their triangular positioning, which helps enable their free flowing passing, one may say that they will be ‘found out’ soon like Blackpool, Hull City and Ipswich Town before them, but I disagree. Their style is all about passing and keeping the ball; it’s not hit and hope; they know what they are doing.
You don’t get players yielding higher accuracy rates than the likes of Xavi and Busquet at Barcelona without them knowing what they are doing. As was stated before – and known by anyone with a brain size that at least resembles a speck of sugar – the fact that they keep the ball means that the opposing team receives less chance of punishing them. And it is that snippet that should ensure they stay up and progress further.
If they keep Brendan Rodgers and their good players that is. According to stats, ‘only nine players have completed a match without misplacing a pass in the past six years. Eight of those were defenders who normally pass the ball around to each other’ in their open area. The remaining player to have done that is… Leon Britton in Swansea’s 3-0 win over Bolton Wanderers in October. That in itself is a huge testament to the philosophy that Rodgers has instilled into his side.
Feel free to leave me any comments on here and/or on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr or YouTube:
https://www.facebook.com/rickymurraywriter, rickymurraywriter.tumblr.com, www.youtube.com/rickymurraymusic
/a>
Introducing the neat little app that’ll pay you to view content tailored to your interests:
ThisisFutbol.com are seeking new writers to join the team! If you’re passionate about football, drop us a line at “thisisfutbol.com@snack-media.com” to learn more.