This is an article that it’s been waiting in our drafts since late August but after we failed to make any deadline day signings, I didn’t feel like it was the best timing to write an article about how so many of us fans are enjoying the football again at the Liberty Stadium!
After a long three years of Premier League survival, “fire-fighting” and just doing whatever possible to get points, focusing solely on a 40-point survival target, there’s a much more relaxed feeling at the Liberty this season with no pressure feeling during games. New manager Graham Potter has quickly established what he often likes to refer to as a “good environment” and he’s quickly establishing one of his early targets of building a team that the fans can be proud of.
With the likes of Oli McBurnie, Dan James, Connor Roberts and Joe Rodon establishing themselves in the first-team, you’ve almost got half an outfield starting eleven there of players who really care about winning games for Swansea City. It’s a massive contrast from having to watch the likes of Andre Ayew, Jordan Ayew and Ki Sung Yueng jogging around the pitch with little care in the world.
Three of those mentioned players are local lads too which helps in the manager’s goal of building a team of players who want to fight and win football matches for their club. You only have to watch the sheer joy and delight on the players’ faces when a goal is scored this season to understand and see the huge difference in terms of passion amongst this new squad.
On many occasion this season, goal celebrations have demonstrated perfectly the morale and mindset that we now have amongst the players. Dan James and Connor Roberts linking up to score in the recent 3-1 home win against Blackburn Rovers was a thing of beauty as well as James setting up McBurnie’s second against Reading last Saturday.
🎥 Nordfeldt ➡️ Grimes ➡️ James ➡️ Carter-Vickers ➡️ Fer ➡️ … van der Hoorn ➡️ Roberts ➡️ Grimes ➡️ Celina ➡️ James…🏃♂️💨➡️ McBurnie 💥⚽️…GOAL!
9⃣ players
2⃣5⃣ seconds
🔟 passes and GOAL!!!The Swansea way takes centre stage once more! 👏👌 pic.twitter.com/42dd61eBER
— Swansea City AFC (@SwansOfficial) October 29, 2018
Good morning! Who wants to be celebrating like @Daniel_James_97 come 5pm? 🤔
🙋♂️🙋♀️🙌 pic.twitter.com/b5avAC3UIw
— Swansea City AFC (@SwansOfficial) October 27, 2018
🔄 RT if you are sliding into the weekend like @ConnorRobs…😆🙌#FridayFeeling ⚪️⚫️ pic.twitter.com/GecacUPJ9u
— Swansea City AFC (@SwansOfficial) October 26, 2018
We might not be playing against the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool etc. anymore but at least now we’re competing in every game we play in, we’re creating chances, having a good share of possession and playing some nice football too. I’d go to games last season and fans would joke that they enjoyed Saturday’s up until 3pm or wondering how many goals the opposition would score!
But do I miss Premier League football? No. But do I want us to get back there? Definitely. But I wouldn’t say there’s a rush, the timing has to be right and you have to get there well prepared and right now I just can’t see that being the case if we somehow managed to achieve promotion in the next year or two – simply because of our owners and their incompetence.
It’s all changed now though. Wins are being predicted before kick-off, fans are in upbeat mood and we’re looking forward to watching good, entertaining games at the Liberty, and let’s be honest, it’s been a while since we’ve experienced that on a weekly basis.
Why are we enjoying the football again then? Well, the October Goal of the Month content sums it up well. For one month last season, we couldn’t even have one as we didn’t score a single goal, but some of the goals we scored in October were excellent team goals that involved most, if not, every outfield player.
⚽️ | Which was your favourite #Swans goal this October? 🤔
🗳️ Vote here for your chance to win a signed #Swans shirt 👉 https://t.co/EAeprjgdWH pic.twitter.com/KZegRFOvGe
— Swansea City AFC (@SwansOfficial) November 2, 2018
As Graham Potter rightly says, we’re not the finished article yet but we’re definitely moving in the right direction. We’ve seen some poor performances here and there so far this season but the players and manager are learning new things every week and they deserve great credit for their achievements so far. With two wins at home on the bounce, we’ll be full of confidence of getting a third this weekend when we travel to Rotherham United as hope to stay within touching distance of the top six.
