Swansea City’s march from the bottom division to the top was completed in May with a play off final victory against Reading. Now it’s their away form that threatens to make it a one season stay in the Premiership.
While journalists, pundits and presenters struggle to make it through a sentence including the words ‘Swansea’ and ‘City’ without also including ‘lovely’ and ‘football’ they’re actually missing the real story here. Yes, yes we all know now that Swansea play in a very commendable style and it’s wonderful to see a newly promoted team enjoying some success by doing that. But what should be shouted far louder is just how far Swansea have come and in such a short space of time. We’re talking a second running of the classic Wimbledon story here give or take and yet it never gets told because the people paid to tell it are too busy bringing up montages of their past matches and encouraging you to count the passes completed.
One of the difficulties created by the years and years of only having one up and one down between the Football League and the Conference was a strange situation where the bottom half of Division Three was of a far inferior quality to the top half of the division below. Awful teams, badly run clubs that were essentially bankrupt, dire footballers and hopeless managers formed an orderly queue from twelfth downwards in Division Three simply waiting their turn. Teams like Carlisle United survived year after year by the skin of their teeth, always finding somebody else in the queue slightly worse than themselves or somebody waiting to replace them with an inadequate stadium only to be in the same position 12 months later while in the division below teams like Stevenage, Yeovil and Kidderminster endured exasperating waits.
Swansea were one of those teams in the queue to go out of the Football League little more than ten years ago. Playing in a stadium that, when dinosaurs roamed the earth, had been an impressive fortress that played host to top flight football and scared the established names in the game but by this point looked very much like that place you used to go to with your dad on a Sunday to throw household waste onto a large pile. No money, no decent players, no hope – they finished in their lowest ever position in 1997/98 and then, after a brief stirring with John Hollins in charge that saw a promotion and immediate relegation, they were 20th in the bottom tier again in 2001/02. The following year they scraped out of the relegation zone on the very last day of the season, relegating Exeter instead in dramatic circumstances.
Off the pitch the boardroom saw one botched takeover after another. In 1996 a new consortium bought the club from chairman Doug Sharpe and immediately appointed Kevin Cullis, of Cradley Town fame, as manager. So outraged was Sharpe that he invoked a clause in the deal to resume control of the club, and sacked Cullis after two matches. In 2001 the managing director bought it for a quid, then shifted it straight on to an Australian consortium fronted by Tony Petty who immediately terminated the contracts of 15 players. The Petty group sold its stake in 2002 amid a torrent of anger from the few Swansea fans left who could actually still bring themselves to care.
Since then the club has never looked back. Like Hull City and not at all like Coventry it’s a club that has been galvanised by a move to a new council funded stadium. Kenny Jackett led them out of the bottom division in their final season at the Vetch Field after leaving his position as assistant manager to Ian Holloway at QPR and then when things stagnated a little in the third tier he was replaced by former player Roberto Martinez. Originally part of the ‘Three Amigos’ at Wigan Athletic (like the Three Degrees at West Brom but not quite as racist) Martinez was the popular captain of the Swansea team that avoided relegation to the Conference on the final day of the season and his stock continued to rise in South Wales when, as manager, he took them back into the second tier of English football after a 24 year absence.
A season of consolidation in the second tier league followed with pundits and supporters alike attracted to the Swans and their unique style of play. While Championship teams in trouble tend to knock a ball in behind an opposing full back to relieve pressure, Swansea’s get out ball became a sweeping crossfield pass with a winger staying tight to the touchline on either side of the pitch so they could stretch the game widthways rather than lengthways. It sounds very simple, and several teams have copied it since including Blackpool under Ian Holloway, but at the time it was a revolutionary idea for that level. I can still remember Swansea coming to Loftus Road for the first time under Martinez and the ball being on the South Africa Road side of the ground, attracting every single QPR player to the right hand side of the centre spot leaving young Nathan Dyer still standing way out on the Ellerslie Road touchline waiting for that ‘get out’ ball to release him.
After all of this it was sad that Martinez soured his relationship with the club by decamping to Wigan. Nobody could really begrudge him a chance to manage a Premiership side, especially one that he played for, but having previously promised that he would stay with Swansea as long as they wanted him and they might have to carry him out of the place “in a box” the nature of his departure left a sour taste in the mouth. Especially as Martinez then returned for Jason Scotland, Jordi Gomez and numerous members of his backroom team.
Paulo Sousa seemed a natural replacement for Martinez in style and mannerisms but Swansea found the problem with the Portuguese was the same as it had been when he was at QPR previously and Leicester since in that Sousa sees actually scoring goals as a nice luxury rather than a necessity. Swansea just missed the play offs under Sousa – which when you consider it was only their second season in the league and they not only lost Martinez, Scotland and Gomes in the summer but also saw star midfielder Ferrie Bodde ruled out for the season early on is no mean feat. However when you consider that they scored only 21 goals at home all season (only relegated Plymouth got less) and 19 away (Peterborough, again relegated, the only ones with fewer) it can be seen as an opportunity missed. Especially as they lost the final play off spot to Blackpool, who went on to win the whole thing, on the final day of the season when they drew 0-0, for the tenth time, with a Doncaster Rovers side with nothing to play for. Sousa’s keenness to depart South Wales for Leicester at the end of the year puzzled me at the time, and looked even more idiotic when he was been sacked two months into the job at the Walkers Stadium.
But, by way of further credit to a board of directors who should be held up as a shining example of how to run a football club, the progress continued unrelented under Sousa’s replacement Brendan Rodgers. Swansea are proud of their much talked about style of football and seem to deliberately target managers who will keep the ball on the ground – I can’t imagine Iain Dowie ever pitching up in these parts for example.
Rodgers, such a dramatic failure at Reading, enjoyed a tremendous first season in South Wales last term by guiding them into the Premiership at the first attempt. It was the Royals they beat in the play off final too, 3-0 up and out of sight at half time despite a second half rally from Brian McDermott’s men, just to make it all the sweeter. Predictably Swansea have struggled away from home since promotion, as Tony Mowbray’s West Brom found after promotion there are actually quite a few teams in the top flight who can play a bit of football, but their results at home have been good and their heads are above water as we approach the halfway point.
Brendan Rodgers was hailed as some sort of Championship Mourinho when he came from nowhere to land the managerial job at struggling Watford midway through 2008/09 season. A young, confident coach with new and modern methods trusted with a difficult managerial position despite never playing the game to any kind of level. That he was preferred to Malky Mackay, who had a wealth of first team experience behind him and had done a fine job as caretaker manager in difficult circumstances, showed how much Watford rated him – especially considering what a good manager Mackay has since blossomed into.
Rodgers kept Watford up with points to spare, even turning Tamas Priskin into something resembling a professional footballer. He had originally made his name in footballing circles coaching in Reading’s academy, and then later at Chelsea where he learned from the Portuguese man in the Matalan coat. Watford gave him his chance and he seized it with both hands before dumping them at the first possible opportunity to re-join Reading as their manager.
Now there’s a fair bit of luck all round in the story here really. Luckily for Watford Malky Mackay wasn’t too bitter about being overlooked the first time and took the job on – he has since kept Watford up despite a balance sheet that looked like it had been put together by Bob Diamond and Trader Jones during a late night pot party at Charlie Chalk’s hampering his progress. Mackay has since left for a difficult job at Cardiff which he is succeeding in despite numerous limitations.
Luckily for Reading their decision to appoint Rodgers for a long term rebuilding job following relegation from the top flight and an end to their parachute payments didn’t damage them too greatly when they then sacked him after three months of dreadful results on the pitch. Brian McDermott came in to replace him and has been an unlikely success despite sounding like that desperately dull man with the never ending list of pointless anecdotes and information about rare Red Kites and the type of points used on the West Coast mainline that I always seem to get sat next to at weddings. Reading have started slowly again this year, but they seem to enjoy coming home with a wet sail.
And luckily for Rodgers he landed on his feet at Swansea who he promoted into the Premier League at the first attempt via the play offs, beating Reading in the final. His stock is soaring, and he was right to turn down the hiding to nothing that is the Northern Ireland job recently. If he can keep Swansea up this season then their big problem will be hanging onto him.
Last season QPR’s Tommy Smith, who played for Rodgers at Watford, told the Kilburn Times: “He’s got a very different approach as a manager – quite a European approach to tactics and training, and it takes players time to get used to. At Watford it took time but, after three or four months, we started getting some great results. I’m sure it would have been the same at Reading – as soon as he left they started winning, which showed the solid foundations he’d put in place.”
Promotion from the Championship last season isn’t the only two things QPR and Swansea have in common. They were both inspired by an attacking talisman in a three man supporting cast behind a lone striker, and despite that player being the focus of media attention all year neither Scott Sinclair at Swansea nor Adel Taarabt at QPR won their club’s respective Player of the Year awards. Paddy Kenny took the honours at Rangers, Nathan Dyer at the Liberty Stadium.
Swansea’s style of play has been spoken about to death – in a way it’s a sad indictment of English football that a team which uses a cross field pass to an unmarked winger as it’s ‘out’ ball rather than a percentage punt down the line in behind opposing full backs to turn them round is so newsworthy. The problem is, as West Brom found when promoted under Tony Mowbray, it’s quite difficult to make a success of playing like that as a newly promoted team in the Premiership. Mowbray’s team was relegated, bottom of the table, at the first attempt while the uglier and much more pragmatic Stoke side that went up as runners up with them survived and continue to thrive.
That story looked like playing out again, and may well still happen, when Swansea failed to score a goal in any of their first four matches in this league. They’re still finding life tough away from the Liberty Stadium – no wins and only six goals scored from nine road trips this season compared to four wins at home. That could however owe a lot to the fixture list which sent them to five of the top eight in their first nine away games, while only Man Utd and Stoke from that end of the table have visited South Wales so far.
Even when winning promotion last season Swansea never really seemed to find a man they were happy with in the lone striker role. Backed by Dyer and Sinclair it didn’t really matter but for the Premiership they spent £3.5m on Danny Graham and after a slow start (no goals in his first six) he’s now bagged five in the Premiership. I saw him play, and score, against Wolves away in a match they really should have won and again against Villa at home in a 0-0 draw. QPR know all about his finishing, strength in the air and hold up and lay game after the Watford match at Loftus Road last season where he scored twice in a 3-0 win that ended our 19 match unbeaten start to the season. But watching him closely as a neutral in a televised game it’s his movement that really strikes you. Given the way strikers like Suarez and Bendtner have gleefully been able to manoeuvre as much time and space in the QPR penalty area as they could ever possibly need in recent games that’s a real concern. He’s never still, always thinking, and often in space against better defences than ours.
Graham is also a pretty tall guy (6ft 1in officially) which is a big thing for Swansea who, apart from Ashley Williams (6ft officially) are a very small team. Against Wolves they struggled to defend set pieces, and constantly worked short routines with their own because routine crosses into the area were a waste of time. Williams incidentally has started 154 consecutive matches for Swansea – avoiding injury and suspension throughout. When they do put a cross in from a corner, watch out for him sneaking around the back post area, and from free kicks he will start in an offside position but jump back in line in time to get involved if the ball is delivered. He’s a massive player for them in more ways than one.
In a way, despite Swansea’s away record, I’m pleased this match is away. The QPR crowd is growing increasingly concerned and tetchy and the sight of Swansea popping the ball around on the halfway line under no challenge would quickly turn a W12 crowd ugly. The obvious answer to that is to press them high up the field, but you have to be very careful when and where you do it. Wolves, under heavy encouragement to do so from their notoriously fickle supporters, lost all shape in an ill-advised attempt to close out a passing move that was actually going nowhere – Swansea quickly sprung into the gaps left in behind and scored a fine goal through Graham. Villa, more recently, were much more patient and negative about the whole thing, ensuring Swansea played their football ahead of at least ten visiting players at all time. In those circumstances they lacked penetration. Tempting as it may be, don’t rush out and give them the opportunity.
Again against Villa they struggled against a much taller team, and when crossing positions did present themselves they often only had Graham to aim for in the area.
QPR have struggled to adapt from a system that relied heavily on Adel Taarabt last season. Swansea relied on Scott Sinclair to similar levels but he is still an active threat in the top flight. Against Villa he combined brilliantly down the left with full back Neil Taylor and gave the visitors a torrid time – N’Zogbia’s poor tracking back on Taylor left them badly exposed and QPR must beware of that down the right flank if Taylor is passed fit to play.
Sinclair is a former QPR loanee of course but it’s Wayne Routledge I fear most in the curse of the ex-player haunting a former club. QPR are known for giving players who haven’t scored for stupid amounts of games their duck breaking goal – Lloyd Doyley and John Jensen are the famous ones. Well not only has Routledge played for QPR in two separate spells, but he also hasn’t scored a Premiership goal despite making 112 appearances in the top flight for eight different sides. Be afraid, be very afraid.
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