Swansea City, with three players out on loan from forward positions, two strikers included could be facing their next Championship game with just one striker available. The Swans have lost two of their opening four games, whilst the Canaries have lost one.
Jerry Yates, Mykola Kukharevych and Josh Thomas are plying their trade elsewhere on loan at Derby, Hibernian and Bromley respectively leaving Liam Cullen and Zan Vipotnik the main strikers at the club. Liam didn’t play in the Swans last fixture against West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns before the International break due to an ankle injury. Head coach, Luke Williams stated post match after that 1-0 defeat that Luke would be out for around ten days.
The very next day Liam joined up with Craig Bellamy’s first Wales squad at the Vale in South Glamorgan. Over the next two days Liam tested that injury, despite his managers belief he needed ten days recovery. That idea fell flat on its face as Liam returned with the injury aggravated on the Tuesday afternoon before the Friday home game against Türkiye. However, full treatment has been given to Liam’s ankle over the past eight days but still there is doubt over his involvement this Saturday.
We can only hope that changes over the next twenty four hours.
Williams has had more time with his new players brought in during the summer window. Myles Peart-Harris, we are told has had an excellent international break in training and has impressed Williams immensely. Gonçalo Franco and Florian Bianchini are currently available whilst Eom and Zan Vipotnik have returned from their international games with South Korea and Slovenia respectively. Both had game time in the second of their countries fixtures, and have returned unscathed. Ollie Cooper has also returned from his impressive debut for Wales in Montenegro, when we say impressive we cite him playing in his favoured role. That role being in midfield disrupting play and breaking up the oppositions ball retention, and that is exactly where he should be playing for Swansea City. Not as some makeshift forward in a cobbled together side. Ben Cabango didn’t get any game time for Wales and we have news on his contract tomorrow.
Williams has to learn that square pegs and round holes just do not fit. That must not happen. If there’s a preference for Azeem Abdulai to play, then play him in his preferred midfield role, not out wide right where he looks miserable and completely out of his depth. Playing a player on the wing who has no pace and no ability to get by players is simply ridiclious. There’s actually no need for any of this Swansea squad to be played out of position whatsoever. And there’s absolutely no need for any more negativity on the pitch as we saw against Wycombe in the League Cup. Eight hundred plus passes, six hundred sideways or backwards and no through balls. That’s the poorest performance of all time for us. Just shambolic and bizarre against opposition from a lower league.
And key finances lost.
Basically Williams has this period of games to prove he knows where his failings are and to display that to the paying Swans fan, that’s five league games. No fixture cramming and perfectly scheduled for rehab after games etc. First off is this fixture on Saturday, then a weeks break before the Jack Army travel to Coventry City. Then the club host Bristol City at home the following Saturday before travelling to Sheffield United away for a Tuesday evening fixture (7:45pm) This set of fixtures ends with Stoke City at home before the next International break. Bar the evening fixture at Sheffield United these fixtures are all scheduled for a 3pm kick off.
Luke Williams isn’t at a crossroads, in fact he won’t feel under pressure at all. However, he knows that the club have spent out on paper around five million pounds with an almost exact return on Nathan Wood moving to Southampton and sundry players leaving the club. (Salaries etc) There are Swans fans who are getting frustrated, not because the squad is ‘that’ poor but due to the way Williams is trying to enforce his style of play. It isn’t working throughout ninety minutes, even the win at home to Preston got a little cagey with the Swans falling for the age old temptation to see a game out. That last fifteen minutes could and should have seen five goals for the Swans in total. Unfortunately they pussy footed around, gave away possession and generally bored the pants off those in attendance.
The least Luke should be looking for from these five games is six points, however that will only signify where the Swans are at this season after nine games, if ten points is the minimum. That could be ten points from twenty seven available. When compared with a season long campaign that’s fighting relegation. Anything less will bring a lot of discontent. That’s how it is at the Swans with minimum spending based on a desire to turnaround a financial deficit over the past few years. Luke has what he has and now he has to manage his side to not only turnaround some of the negativity that is building, but also to show this side can entertain. He must win games and show creativity and courage, which we are led to believe is the end goal.
That end goal isn’t that far away.
‘Contract News’ tomorrow.