Bob Bradley would have hoped for better from Swansea’s last two matches. The American coach had a tough first assignment in Wales, but managed to guide an unfamiliar squad to a credible 3-2 defeat against Arsenal.
Since then, fixtures against Watford and Stoke would have been circled as opportunities to turn a page and get back to winning ways, but somehow the side came up short, and now face a much tougher challenge as Manchester United come to town on Sunday.
Swansea did manage a draw against Watford, generating the majority of the game’s best chances, but couldn’t score the decisive goal. On paper the Swans were a match for Stoke despite losing 3-1, ending Monday night’s game with more possession and more shots on target. Swansea are not getting walked over. Yet now, five points adrift of safety and facing a relegation fight, their biggest battle is not with the other team but with themselves.
Jose Mourinho’s misfiring Manchester United visit the Liberty on Sunday, the last game before another international break brings a chance for reflection and — hopefully — improvement. It would help Swansea a great deal to head into that break on a high, perhaps having broken the team’s improbable nine game winless streak. To do so, this side will need to rediscover its self-belief. The team continues to do many things well, but individual mistakes are proving costly and you wonder how many more defeats this squad can endure before giving up completely.
Sadly, games against Swansea have become the fixture other struggling teams highlight as opportunities to get their own campaigns back on track. United have not won in four league games and haven’t scored in their last three. It’s hard to imagine they aren’t already expecting those streaks to end on Sunday. How Bradley’s men can play spoilers in the face of such inevitability is the key to the Swans’ survival.
The new boss hasn’t been shy to test his options. He’s fielded a different starting XI in each of his three matches so far, seemingly trying to find which combinations of players in each part of the field will work best together. His urgency to establish his strongest XI is to his credit, but Swansea are running out of time to find a winning formula.
Last Monday’s defeat at Stoke saw a new-look midfield as Leroy Fer joined Ki Sung-Yueng in the deeper two positions of the sides 4-2-3-1. Neither man was particularly poor — in fact each ended the game with joint-best 94 percent passing completion — but it became clear neither can adequately play a defensive role either. Stoke found plenty of room to thread dangerous passes between the lines, and it would be a surprise not to see either Leon Britton or Jack Cork return to the lineup on Sunday.
Bradley echoed many fans’ sentiments by quickly losing faith in the previously established central defensive pairing of Jordi Amat and Federico Fernandez. Both men were replaced with players who were ostensibly signed to be their backups — Mike van der Hoorn and Alfie Mawson. Van der Hoorn and Mawson have looked up to the task, an improvement in general on their predecessors, but Swansea still lack a standout performer at the back. Mawson may become that player, but it might be asking a bit much of a 22-year-old to do so in the space of a few weeks.
Further forward, Mo Barrow’s importance became crystal clear as his off-night on Monday effectively left Swansea with 10 men and a greatly diminished attacking threat. Given the team still managed to chalk up more shots on target and hold more possession than Stoke, it isn’t unrealistic to say that an on-form Barrow could have helped Swansea to a win rather than a loss.
These are the fine margins Swansea are dealing with. The club does not have enough depth to compensate for luxuries like off-nights, and while operating under such unforgiving circumstances is difficult there is also hope. Swansea have had real chances to win almost every game they’ve lost this season. If the team’s key players can all perform well during the same 90 minutes, this side will win games.
Sunday’s game against an underwhelming United is winnable. A lot has to go right of course, and many things — refereeing decisions, lucky bounces — are out of either side’s control. It might be best for Swansea to draw a line under the season so far and start fresh. They have beaten United in this fixture in each of the last two seasons, and if the squad can’t find some belief in that, their season might as well be over already.
Bob Bradley didn’t mince words when it came to Swansea’s efforts against Stoke, saying they need more team belief. – ESPN.
