The end of the season isn’t even with us and Swansea City are firmly in the Championship play offs. Barring any serious miracles on the last day the swans will play Bournemouth over two legs a week after this season concludes. If not and it’s someone else, it really doesn’t matter, the job has to be done. However, Steve Cooper and his achievements this season and last are superb, so why is this an issue for some Swansea City followers ?
The good doctor speaks
Firstly congratulations to Steve Cooper, the players and everyone at the club for not only reaching the playoffs for the second consecutive year, but amassing a points tally equal to our record best in this division, held previously by our incredible Brendan Rodgers side the year we went up.
We do have a chance to topple that record with any kind of positive result against Watford next week. Not only is the points tally being exactly the same pretty remarkable, but also the fact we were going in with the best defensive record and yet the worst (joint) scoring record. Whether or not you like the style, like the manager - the blueprint has been very similar with regards to that.
But now the playoffs have been decided and we can look ahead...
The worst possible result for us sadly. They are one of those teams we don’t seem to do well against and think it’s fair to say that on paper have the strongest squad in the playoffs. Our last 6 meetings:-
Bournemouth 3-0 Swansea
Swansea 0-0 Bournemouth
Bournemouth 1-0 Swansea
Swansea 0-0 Bournemouth
Bournemouth 2-0 Swansea
Swansea 0-3 Bournemouth
0 goals scored. 9 goals conceded
As many may have gathered by now I approach football the same way as I do with most aspects of life, methodical with a focus on statistics, trends and probabilities.
That premise suggests that you want to avoid the best team over the longest period of time. If you must meet that team then you have a greater chance to beat that team over a shorter period of time.
For example if Man City played Sheff United over a 90 minute match, they would probably be in the region of 1/10 to win, if the rules of the game made that a 180 minute match the odds would probably be 1/20, because the longer the time you have the more chance that the class difference will tell.
Ideally we would have wanted them in the final where aspects such as luck can play a part and not have chance to even itself out over the longer course of 2 legs. So it’s going to be tough. But not impossible. We had a similar route in the Carling Cup where we were faced with playing Chelsea over 2 legs which set up an easier final. So it’s not out of the question.
Bournemouth rested a host of players against Wycombe yesterday and will probably do so again next week. We didn’t rest as many as I thought we would so would like to see that happen next week, which really is a dead rubber. It would be pretty galling to pick up an injury or red card.
All that is left to play for is home advantage in the second leg.
What will be will be. But whatever happens from here on in, this has been yet another successful season.
This season now
That season then
Swansea Independent view
The hard watch has been rewarded with the chance of premier league football for the second season running. Can you imagine the fall out we had at the club, someone like Ralph Hasenhüttl at Southampton with those massive defeats the fans there have to endure fairly regularly ? It would be carnage. We’ve mentioned this before but Charlton Athletic when in the premier league, and doing well replaced their manager Alan Curbishley, since then they have had season after season of misery. Cooper knows his football coaching, his record is obvious to all, his only failing is the rear guard action we have to put up with like yesterday against Derby County, that’s the issue. Bournemouth, in fact Barnsley and Brentford will exploit this too, so the swans must stay on the front foot home and away. The swans record against them in recent times as we can see above is appalling. However, our neighbours down the road for a club of their size have done remarkably well to finish where they have, below Swansea. So let’s be sure on this had they finished where the swans have finished, albeit the swans are the bigger club they would be shouting from the roof tops.
Time for some credit to admire what the club has achieved, and what yet may happen.