Monday 20 January 2014

Swansea City: Who else has a rallying call?!

Today is the day dubbed 'Blue Monday' by the media - supposedly the most depressing day of the year for an array of reasons. And if you are a Swansea City fan you'd be inclined to agree!

It's a frustrating time for all Swans supporters: the club have been pulled into an early relegation scrap, 50% of the first team are out with injuries, Swansea have the worst home record in the Premier League this season (just two home wins), they've picked up just three points in the last eight games, Laudrup and the team are showing no fight and some fans are seriously questioning the manager's immediate future with the club... it makes for bleak reading, doesn't it?

Looking at the back pages of the Evening Post over the last few weeks there seems to have been a constant stream of "rallying calls" issued by the players, but no-one seems to be listening to these calls when on the pitch. The displays are dull, passionless and frustrating.

Although it's not the only problem, injuries aren't helping. Currently the first team looks like this:

Tremmel
Rangel, Chico, Williams, Davies
Lamah, Amat, Britton, Pozuelo, Routledge
Bony

In fairness that wouldn't be so bad, but the fact that nobody is in form makes it painful to look at. In fact the only player who seems to have grown in confidence while the others have become shells of themselves is Wilfried Bony.

Many fans - myself included - are questioning why there has been no activity in the transfer window. There have barely been any rumours this Janurary, let alone fresh faces at the club. With the injury list growing by the day (with the current casualties being Michu, Shelvey, Vorm, Dyer, de Guzman, Hernandez and Canas) and defenders having to replace midfielders, it wouldn't be unrealistic to say Swansea need at least three new players to help out.

What this all means is Swansea are now 15th and three points from the bottom of the table. Yes, it's been a hard winter of tough fixtures and the injuries have made a serious impact, not to mention the extra games, but something has to change.

Before you start crying, what are the positives?

As I just mentioned, Bony is in great form. It seems he has found the spark that was missing earlier in the season. He almost looks like a £12million player. Maybe it's just because other players are feeding the ball to him more, but his shots are the only impressive thing in Swansea's game at the moment and it looks like he could score another ten this season.

It's a shame it's happening now when the rest of the team are so poor, but at least it is happening. 

Another positive is Swansea's defenders are all fit, even if they are out of form. Chico seems terrible at the moment and it's a shame Amat has to play in the midfield because I'd much prefer to see him start alongside Williams at the back. But this is good - at least defence is one of the areas we still have a choice in.

So looking on the bright side, we have defenders, we have Bony and it's also not just us who are looking poor - there are nine other teams all in this scrap for the Championship. But it's up to Swansea to start winning games and sending themselves up the table and the others down.

While it's a shame we didn't beat Man United or Spurs, the reality of it is that those games are much less important than the upcoming ones against Fulham, West Ham and Cardiff, which are all six pointers (apart from the Cardiff game which is a nine pointer!).

Forget about the FA Cup - put out a full team of reserves. I don't want to see Bony, Britton, Tremmel, Williams or Rangel near the midlands on the 25th! They all need time to rest and, hopefully, by the time the Fulham game comes around on January 28th we'll have a few of the other first team players back.

While this doesn't guarantee a win, it does give us more hope.

Then it's up to us as fans to support the team and make some noise. Three wins in three games is a big ask, but against equally poor opposition it's not impossible. An extra nine points would probably see us back in the top ten and give everyone a much needed boost of confidence.

The next three weeks and the action of the management, players and fans will all be vital in the survival of this fine football club.

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