Despite a turbulent campaign, it was a pretty sound end for the Swans and to be
honest, we’re already missing the Premier League. And whilst we can’t wait for
next season, there’s still a long way to go with pre-season and a transfer
window to get through first. For pre-season, Paul Clement’s men will head to
America to take on Philadelphia Union, Richmond Kickers and North Carolina on
the East Coast, as well as a game against Birmingham City at St. Andrews.
But before we delve into the Swans’ pre-season plans and discuss their opponents, we decided to look back on the season and highlight the turning point.
But before we delve into the Swans’ pre-season plans and discuss their opponents, we decided to look back on the season and highlight the turning point.
Undoubtedly, the Swans’
turnaround came with the arrival of Paul Clement. Having already sacked
Francesco Guidolin and
Bob Bradley after two pretty disastrous tenures, it was vital that the Swansea hierarchy
got the next appointment right otherwise their Premier League status would be
no more. And you have to hand it them because they did, they got it spot on.
Clement watched
his first game as Swansea boss from the stands as they claimed a hard fought 2-1
victory away to Crystal Palace. The win took the Swans from the bottom of the
table and up one place. However, no more than one league game later, Clement
found his side back at the bottom following a 4-0 hammering at the hands of
Arsenal. It was a demoralising defeat for Clement in what his first Premier
League game for the club and fans can be forgiven for thinking “here we go
again”.
Though to be fair
to Clement and his troops, rather than dwelling on the defeat, they dusted
themselves down and delivered a resilient and spirited display against
Liverpool. Their resilience and determination duly paid off as they ran out 3-2
winners at Anfield, that was the ultimate turning point for the Jacks. They
showed they had the ability and quality to beat the top sides and needed to
continue doing so.
Fernando Llorente
and Gyfli Sigurdsson were in fine form and Clement was getting the best out of
his two star players, with Llorente grabbing a brace and Sigurdsson netting the
winner. The latter was the star of the show yet again in the following game as
he scored another winner in a 2-1 home win over Southampton. The Swans were
finally out of the relegation zone and two points clear of 18th
place.
The Swans then won
just one of their three games in February but did put up a good fight away to
both Chelsea and Man City. Heading into March they were still clear of the drop
and a 3-2 win over Burnley helped take them five points clear. Though that was
as good as things got for the Swans in March as they lost to Bournemouth and
Hull before picking up five points in April, including a respectable draw away
to Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United.
May was set to be
a huge month for the Jacks and they started off in 18th place, something
special was needed. And something special was delivered. Kicked off by beating
Everton 1-0 thanks to a Llorente header, Clement’s men followed up by beating a
sorry Sunderland 2-0 at the Stadium of Light to secure survival and another
year of Premier League football. The Swans ended the season on a high at the
Liberty by beating West Brom 2-1 to finish 15th and five games
unbeaten.
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