Swansea City’s game at Huddersfield this afternoon will be their last for four weeks, so it feels like a good time to take stock of the season so far.
The unusual timing of this year’s World Cup allows space for reflection as well as an opportunity to rest and prepare for the busy festive period.
The Swans are nearly halfway through their fixture list and find themselves eighth in the table, just a point off the play-off spots. Not bad at all, especially considering their disappointingly slow start to the campaign.
Russell Martin’s team should be in a good position to push ahead in the second half of the season.
In many games this season they’ve played superb attacking football and only four teams in the entire Championship have scored more goals than Swansea.
These goals have also come from many different sources, which is very encouraging. There was a great deal of reliance on a handful of goal-scorers last season, particularly Joel Piroe and later Michael Obafemi.
However this season there have been 11 different league goal scorers, already the most varied top scorer list since the 2019-20 campaign. Goals have also come from different sources, with more set-piece goals scored already this term than in the whole of last season.
Academy products such as Steven Benda and Ollie Cooper have made big impressions after bursting into the first team. A number of more experienced pros have also raised their games to new heights, including Ryan Manning and Matt Grimes, while players like Jay Fulton and Olivier Ntcham, whose roles in the side previously looked uncertain, have made a significant difference in recent weeks.
The Swans have racked up impressive wins including ones against teams above them in the table in QPR and Watford, as well as a routine but extremely enjoyable South Wales derby victory over Cardiff.
On top of this, Swansea have provided the Jack Army and neutrals with plenty of entertainment. The Swans’ ambitious style of play produces eye-catching football and bags of unpredictability.
They have picked up more points from losing positions than any other side in the division, which is something we certainly don’t usually associate with the men in white.
However they have also thrown away points from leading positions in a number of games, proving that when Swansea are playing, you never know what to expect.
So many of these twists and turns have taken place very late in matches.
No team has won more points in the final 15 minutes of games this season than Swansea but at the same time, only Burnley have lost more points in the final 15 minutes than the Swans.
If you’re a Swansea City fan and you haven’t had at least one heart attack yet this season, then I congratulate you.
It’s been very exciting to watch, even if it feels like utter madness at times.
There’s been a lot to like from Swansea City so far this season. This young side is playing an entertaining brand of attacking football, scoring freely and deservedly nestling themselves in the top half of the table.
But the picture isn’t entirely rosy and there remains a lot of room for improvement in some areas.
No side in the top half of the table has conceded more goals than Swansea. In fact only five teams in the entire division have leakier defences.
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Also, while Swansea’s ability to come from behind has been seriously impressive, it’s a constant source of frustration that this bouncebackability is required in the first place. Swansea have conceded first in 60% of their league games this season. Only Blackpool have conceded first on more occasions.
This habit has steadily worsened as the campaign’s progressed, to the point where the opposition has netted first in seven of the last nine games. Swansea consistently throw obstacles in their own way and it’s making their task needlessly difficult.
Even when they have the lead, they don’t always look comfortable in that position. This was the case against Birmingham on Wednesday night when they came to life after falling behind early on but then seemed to hold back rather than try to build on their advantage during the second half.
It’s often the case that Swansea don’t know whether to stick or twist when they have the lead. What should be a position of comfort for one of the Championship’s best passing sides is often a bit of an uncomfortable slog. It may explain why only two of their wins have been by more than one goal.
The defence could use a lot of work over the World Cup break. An epidemic of sloppiness has seen individual errors become standard practice at the back. Loss of focus at key moments has cost Swansea far too many goals and in recent games, the issue has become a major headache.
And while the variety of Swansea goal-scorers is certainly a positive, it’s a slight concern that their main strikers, Obafemi and Piroe have only scored six non-penalty goals between them this season. Piroe in particular has looked frustrated lately as things fail to click for the Dutchman.
If they can find their scoring boots over the break, it would give Swansea serious hope of making the top six.
While the season so far has largely been positive, it’s fair to say there remains room for improvement in key areas. The next four weeks will give Russell Martin and his coaching staff time to basically have a second pre-season, which will hopefully iron out a few of these issues.
There’s a long way to go and for all Swansea’s positives in the first half of the campaign, it’s worth remembering that they were in a similar position this time last season but lost their way during the colder months.
Perhaps surprisingly they’re only two places and three points better off than they were at the same point last season. They’ve also only scored two more goals than they managed in the first 20 games of the 2021-22 campaign and they’ve conceded two more.
As promising as their current league position appears, it’s a fragile one with a highly congested mid-table beneath them.
After some good results over the past few months, Swansea are knocking on the door of the top six but this is still a season which could go either way. They are one of many sides who have a realistic chance of making the play-offs but they’re also capable of tailing off.
The way Swansea use the upcoming hiatus could have a big impact on where they finish in May.
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