Swansea City might have come away from Stoke City on Tuesday without any points to show for their efforts but as Graham Potter said afterwards, there were plenty of positives and it was a performance to be proud of as the Swans boss handed debuts to George Byers and new loan signing Cameron Carter-Vickers, while Wayne Routledge and Nathan Dyer featured for the first time this season.
It was solid performance throughout the team and I can’t think of any starter on the night that deserves less than a good 7/10 rating.
Here are our ratings and comments, let us know what you thought of the game using the comments at the bottom.
Erwin Mulder – 7/10
Another solid performance from the goalkeeper. Again, dealt with everything that came his way although his distribution was lacking at times with a number of passes under pressure going out of play.
Connor Roberts – 7/10
He wasn’t able to get forward as much as he’d like to compared to Martin Olsson who had more support down the left but it was another performance full of desire and effort.
Mike van der Hoorn – 7.5/10
Led from the back yet again. Continues to prove how important he is to the team and formed a solid enough performance with full debutant Carter-Vickers. Went close to scoring in the second half.
Cameron Carter-Vickers – 7/10
He’s clearly very strong which he used to his advantage to stop Stoke’s players getting the better of him. Didn’t look quite as comfortable with the ball at his feet compared to Rodon but he was good in the air and was our most accurate passer on the night. A promising debut.
Martin Olsson – 7.5/10
By far his best performance of the season. A rest seems to have done him the world of good and we saw glimpses of what he’s good at. Got forward well and enjoyed that freedom he was given to provide width down the left. Hopefully, there’s more of that to come from him this season.
Kyle Naughton – 7/10
You can see why Potter has moved him into midfield. Our injury problems obviously forces Potter to play him there for now but he looks like a good option there even when we’ve got a full squad to choose from. He can pick a pass well and his tackling ability in our own half was crucial.
Matt Grimes – 8/10
One of our best performers again. He’s been like a new signing this season and he’s doing everything he can to keep his starting place. Very confident with the ball at his feet and can get stuck in and win tackles. He can also push further forward into the opposition’s half and keep the ball moving.
Dan James – 7/10
He’s had a tough time in the games he’s featured in this season and has found it tough at times coping with the physical aspect of the game but I felt he put himself about more at Stoke City. He was hard-working and was disciplined when the team were out of possession. He played through the middle alongside Routledge but also pulled to the wide left to support the likes of Byers and Olsson. Compared to Asoro, he’s willing to put far more effort in and will battle away. Still plenty to work on but I’m sure he’ll improve with more games and experience during the season.
George Byers – 8/10
It was an impressive performance from the midfielder whose League debut has been long overdue. Considering he hasn’t played a League game yet, he was superb. He was out of position out on the left side but he showed some classy touches and was fully involved in some of our good attacking moves down the left. It was also good to see him showing his strength on the ball and not getting easily dispossessed like the likes of McKay, Dhanda and Asoro. He was subbed during the second half and we lost a bit of our solid shape after he went off as Dhanda offered little.
Nathan Dyer – 7/10
You might have expected Dyer to be a little rusty having not featured once so far this season but that wasn’t the case. There were no signs of frustration having been left out in the previous seven games and he proved some doubters wrong. He’s still got something to offer and while he might not have the pace he once had, his experience is invaluable and he can tackle and win us back possession – something some of our other wingers really need to improve on.
Wayne Routledge – 7.5/10
Yes, you’ve read that right, a 7.5/10 well deserved. You can refer to Dyer’s comments for Routledge as well. He too hadn’t featured previously but there were no signs of that. Playing through the middle and up front, he, like Dyer, looked like he can offer us something this season that some of the others simply can’t.
Substitutes
Yan Dhanda – 5.5/10
Offered little on the left side but we lost our hold on the game within about 10 minutes of the subs being made.
Oli McBurnie – 7/10
Gave us what we desperately needed up top and that was a striker’s presence. Maybe we might have done more had he started but it made sense to give him a rest with a busy schedule this week. Showed great technique to volley an effort on goal that the goalkeeper tipped over. Some questioned his temper during the game after a coming-together with Pieters but the Stoke player did make the most of the little contact that was made by the Swans striker.
Joel Asoro – 4/10
Offers very, very little. No interest in the defensive side of the game and at one point after the ball was lost, he showed absolutely no interest in competing to win it back and McBurnie showed his frustration with him in the middle of the pitch. Still has a lot to learn and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him moving down the pecking order.
