Team Focus: Swansea's Dip in Form Cause for Concern

At the end of August, confidence was soaring at the Liberty Stadium. Swansea City had just secured a hard-fought 2-1 win over Manchester United in Wales and expectations were high that a European place could be secured through the league. However, fast-forward to the present day and the Autumnal sunshine that has bathed the country of late appears to have neglected south Wales. 

Since the first international break of the season, the Swans’ form has nosedived. Garry Monk’s team have failed to win any of their last four league games, twice sacrificing the lead at home to Tottenham on Sunday to reinforce a concerning downturn in form. In fact, only Newcastle, Sunderland (both 8 games) and Aston Villa (7) are on a longer winless run than Swansea (4) at present, the aforementioned trio currently occupying the bottom three spots in England’s top tier. 

The dip in form is certainly cause for concern among Swansea fans. After such a bright start to the season, the club and players rightly drew the plaudits from all quarters of the game. The Swans were playing a brand of football that was not only beautiful to watch, but efficient to match, lifting the club to 4th after four games. Yet, the latest outings by the team have left a lot to be desired by comparison. 

The key performers from the beginning of the season have begun to tail off in detrimental fashion. Jefferson Montero (7.65), Bafetimbi Gomis (7.64) and Jonjo Shelvey (7.63) were Swansea’s highest rated players after four games. In the subsequent quartet of games, the trio’s dip in rating is the biggest negative difference of all players at the club - Gomis’ (-1.33) is followed by Shelvey (-1.01) and Montero (-0.98). 

Of course, when a team’s key players aren’t performing, the overall form is expected to decrease, but such a negative difference is a concern. Take, for example, Shelvey, who started the season in storming fashion. The midfielder was the creative hub in the Swansea midfield and was rewarded with a place in Roy Hodgson’s first England squad of the campaign, starring against San Marino before a far tougher test against Switzerland. 

However - as noted above - Shelvey’s performance levels dropped following successive England outings. In the opening four league games of the season, the 23-year-old played 14 key passes. In the subsequent four, Shelvey has played just four. This has contributed to Swansea’s average number of key passes falling from 14 to 8. The young midfielder has struggled to recapture his early season form and, as such, the team is feeling the effect. With Gylfi Sigurdsson failing to have the desired effect also - only Branislav Ivanovic (6.56) and Fabricio Coloccini (6.58) have gained a worse WhoScored rating than Sigurdsson (6.59) of all outfielders to start every league match this season - Swansea lack swagger in the final third. 

As one might expect, this is affecting Gomis, who has failed to net in his last five competitive appearances for the club. After such a bright start to the season, the Frenchman has very much gone off the boil as he struggles to maintain his excellent form. He isn’t helped in that chances are few and far between. Swansea have averaged 10.5 shots per game in the last four matches, having mustered 16.3 per game in August, while the number of shots on target per game has also dropped substantially (from 7.3 to 3). 

Without the ammunition, Gomis is unable to test the opposition goalkeeper as frequently as he once did, meaning Swansea have netted only three goals in the last four league games compared to seven in the opening four. It isn’t just their woes in front of goal that has contributed to the team’s poor form. Not only are they attempting fewer passes, but the pass success rate has also fallen (80.3% from 83%). Monk’s team have won admiration due to their ability to retain possession, but with this quality failing them, the Swans have begun to fall down the table. 

It’s no coincidence, therefore, that Lukasz Fabianski has the best positive difference in rating between the opening four and last four games of the season. Fabianski’s rating has improved by 0.49, with the Poland international called into action more frequently as a result of Swansea's outfield players underwhelming. Monk’s side are averaging fewer tackles (13.8) and interceptions per game (13.5) now than they were in August (16 and 17.3, respectively) and are clearly struggling to regain possession once they lose the ball. 

This increases the pressure on the defence and goal and, as such, comes as little shock that Swansea have shipped more goals in the last four league games (6) than the opening four (4). With the international break now upon us, however, Monk is presented with the chance to take stock of the recent fixtures and right the wrongs that have appeared in the team of late. It’s crucial, though, that Swansea up their game once domestic action returns later this month, else they run of the risk of their fine start to the season going to waste.

Can Swansea turn their form around after the international break? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below