This transfer window has produced a vast contrast of emotions for Swans fans with every player departure met with panic and criticism and every arrival met with rapture and relief.

The good news for all of us is that the end is in sight for the start of the season is nearly upon us. No more trawling the web for the latest news on Bony. It will all be over in a few weeks time.

Garry Monk has been very much under the microscope this transfer window and time will tell whether this has been good or bad, however in taking over the manager’s job in February, Garry was presented with a number of short term and long term problems following the departure of Michael Laudrup.

Maintaining Premier League Status

A 0-2 reverse against West Ham in February left us nervously looking over our shoulders, however 20 points from our last 14 Premier League fixtures was enough to not only keep us in the division but secure a respectable 12th place. A relative success given the injury problems of key man Michu and the involvement in the Europa League.

The Spanish Armada

There were as many as eight Spaniards on our books at the start of 2014 and even though Swansea City poured cold water on reports of training ground bust ups and problems behind the scenes it was clear that all was not right in the camp. When Monk took over he was quick to inform us that he was happy to work with the players he had at his disposal however Pozuelo and Canas in particular would not feature at all for the remainder of the season. Garry instead deciding to give Jay Fulton and Marvin Emnes a chance, both putting in good performances.

When we run out at Old Trafford on August 16th only two of the original eight amigos are sure to remain in Jordi Amat and Angel Rangel. The biggest loss to the squad will undoubtedly be Michu who was the driving force behind the success of Laudrup’s first season, however even he will be leaving the club under a cloud after a troubled 2013/14 campaign.

Having a Plan B

During our first season in particular the surprise to many teams was not that we played a short, sharp passing game but how good at it we were. The victories over Arsenal and Manchester City were perfect examples of teams rocking up at the Liberty refusing to be believe they could be out-passed by little ol’ Swansea but were given a short, sharp shock at how effective our style of play was.

This will however be our fourth season at this level and the secret is very much out on Swansea City. There were signs last season of the 4-2-3-1 system that has become our tactical bedrock starting to fall apart as we were often pressed high up the pitch and in some cases out-passed ourselves (The final home game of last season against Southampton being a perfect example).

Garry Monk’s response to this has been to add more attacking options which if pre-season has been anything to go by will be exciting for us Jacks. Bafetimbi Gomis has added power to our striking line up and if we manage to keep hold of Wilfried Bony the pair of them will be a proper handful for Premier League defences this season. Jefferson Montero will bring speed and flair to the wide areas and with Gylfi Sigurdsson providing class and quality from open play and at the set piece, the Swansea Manager should have the freedom of plenty of tactical options.

Yes it is true that the work is not yet done and there needs to be some more new faces (especially in defensive areas) before the season starts. Whether you are a pessimist or an optimist going into this season though remember it is very much a fresh start under Garry Monk for the Swans and get behind the boys at every opportunity.

Enjoy the season

STID

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