Other than our set piece defending, if there’s one other weakness that’s been identified by fans as needing improvement next season then it’s been around the lack of experience within the squad and the inability to hold on to leads in particular.
Many times this season we’ve taken leads having dominated first halves of matches but have struggled to maintain that level of dominance, leading to drawing or losing these games.
It’s been a criticism all season but how bad has it been this season compared to the rest of the Championship?
Points from leading positions
Relying on TransferMarkt.co.uk , the below data shows the leaderboard of how many points were lost after taking the lead (most points lost first).
In summary, the Swans lost 25 points from leading positions with only six teams losing more.
Swansea City were also one of five teams who took the lead on 28 occasions with only three other sides taking leads on more occasions – Norwich City, Sheffield United and Aston Villa.
Team
Times leading
Wins
Draws
Losses
Points lost
Rotherham United
22
8
7
7
35
Birmingham City
27
14
10
3
29
Reading FC
22
10
8
4
28
Sheffield Wednesday
27
16
7
4
26
Blackburn Rovers
27
16
7
4
26
Wigan Athletic
23
13
4
6
26
Swansea City
28
18
5
5
25
Hull City
28
17
8
3
25
Millwall FC
20
10
5
5
25
Aston Villa
30
20
7
3
23
Ipswich Town
15
5
8
2
22
Nottingham Forest
26
17
7
2
20
Sheffield United
34
26
5
3
19
Bristol City
28
19
8
1
19
Brentford FC
24
16
5
3
19
Norwich City
35
27
6
2
18
Stoke City
20
11
9
0
18
Derby County
27
20
7
0
14
Preston North End
23
16
7
0
14
Queens Park Rangers
19
14
2
3
13
West Bromwich Albion
28
23
4
1
11
Middlesbrough FC
24
20
2
2
10
Bolton Wanderers
12
8
3
1
9
Leeds United
28
25
1
2
8
Points gained from losing positions
To make up for points lost from winning positions, teams can gain points from losing positions. Again we rely on TransferMarkt.co.uk to look at the number of points every team has gained from losing positions.
Swansea City perform much better here, gaining 19 points from deficits.
Promoted side Sheffield United went behind only 15 times, the fewest of any Championship side. In comparison, the Swans went behind 26 times with only 6 sides having a worse record. One of those sides, amongst the three relegated teams, was Aston Villa (27) but they managed to claw back 29 points from losing positions.
deficits
Wins
Draws
Losses
Points
Aston Villa
27
6
11
10
29
West Bromwich Albion
25
7
6
12
27
Norwich City
20
5
9
6
24
Leeds United
25
6
6
13
24
Bristol City
26
6
6
14
24
Derby County
21
6
3
12
21
Swansea City
26
5
4
17
19
Brentford FC
26
3
7
16
16
Hull City
26
4
4
18
16
Millwall FC
30
3
5
22
14
Birmingham City
22
2
7
13
13
Sheffield United
15
3
3
9
12
Middlesbrough FC
21
2
6
13
12
Nottingham Forest
22
2
6
14
12
Rotherham United
31
1
8
22
11
Ipswich Town
34
1
8
25
11
Preston North End
23
1
5
17
8
Wigan Athletic
26
1
5
20
8
Queens Park Rangers
29
1
5
23
8
Reading FC
25
1
5
19
8
Sheffield Wednesday
21
0
7
14
7
Blackburn Rovers
25
0
7
18
7
Stoke City
19
0
6
13
6
Bolton Wanderers
32
0
3
29
3
Failing to win games after taking the lead has most definitely been a major issue this season, especially when we’re able to dominate possession with 70% but still manage to draw or lose games after a strong start. Against Hull recently at home, we took a deserved 2-0 lead by half time but had to settle for a 2-2 draw. One of many other frustrations also saw us fail to beat Birmingham City at home despite taking the lead and the Blues having a player sent off.