During his pre-match press conference on Thursday, Swansea city manager Graham Potter that we’ve seen the “good, the bad and the ugly” after 6 games as he looks ahead to Saturday’s home game against Nottingham Forest.
I think there’s definitely been more good than bad – certainly on the pitch anyway as three wins and only one defeat sees us up there in 7th place. We struggled at Birmingham City in what was a poor game of football and the ugly saw Courtney Baker-Richardson getting sent off with a reckless sliding and two-footed tackle at Millwall a fortnight ago.
Potter said:
“11 points from 6 games is a decent return when you consider the transitional period from pre-season. There are signs of how we play during the games, we have had the good, the bad and the ugly at times. There were good parts, not so good at Birmingham, a learning experience against Bristol and then great resilience v Millwall. We want to maintain the good parts but we know we can improve but the foundations and starting point are there.”
The Good
There’s been plenty of good moments already this season after just six games with three wins – two of them seeing us come back from behind away from home. The first on opening day at Sheffield United – a side who are now flying as youngster Yan Dhanda scored the winner with his very first touch – and most recently at Millwall despite going a man down within the first few minutes.
Oli McBurnie’s start to the season has also been impressive, scoring 4 goals in 6 games – averaging a goal every 130 minutes. He netted an impressive double in the exciting 2-2 home draw against Leeds United and got the incredible late winner at Millwall.
Jefferson Montero’s return to action in a Swansea City shirt has also been welcomed by open arms this season having been out of action in the last year or two after falling out of favour with our recent managers. Potter has given him a fresh start at the Liberty Stadium and so far he’s used him only as an impact sub, but as our stats show here, he’s assisted 11 shots this season already, more than any other player.
Unfortunately though, news has emerged today that a thigh injury in training means he’s expected to be out of action for 4-6 weeks.
The Bad
The Birmingham City game instantly comes to mind when thinking about the “bad” this season. This short video clip below pretty much sums up the game, which somehow ended in a goalless draw.
https://twitter.com/Lars_Peder/status/1030555314272260096
Garry Monk’s side did enough that night to win the game comfortably two or three-nil but their lack of finishing quality really let them down. The Swans really struggled to cope with their direct and intense pressing approach and it was game that we were delighted to get a point out of and quickly move on. It offered a good and very different test – one that was needed as there’ll be definitely be similar physical tests coming up in this division.
The Bristol City performance was also a poor game from us and we just never got going after conceding the winner within the first 30 seconds. Bristol City were also quite direct and they were well set up tactically – nullifying our main threats.
The Ugly
The only really ugly moment that I can think of so far (on the pitch) was Baker-Richardson’s red card at Millwall two weeks ago. It was a nasty two-footed tackle that could have badly injured the Millwall player and fortunately he didn’t suffer a serious injury. Fortunately for us it ended well as we actually came back and won the game 2-1 in similar fashion as we did at Sheffield United on the opening day of the season!
Off the pitch, there’s still the on-going frustration with our American owners and their recent interview with the BBC and Wales Online. You can read our thoughts on that interview here
Did we miss anything out? Let us know what your favourite and least favourite moments have been so far in the comments below.
