The Season so far..as at the more or less halfway stage.
or
Are we here to stay?
Having played every team in the Division at least once, one twice, it seems timely to put together some feelings on progress so far - because, particularly, it IS progress, no matter what standard you apply.
Because nowadays we play, after all, in the Barclays Premier League.
You may kick against it's self-serving hype, it's pompous self-regard even, but what you can't do is kick against it's quality and competitiveness.
La Liga may be on occasion technically superior : Serie A may be more tactically advanced : the Bundesliga may be slightly better supported and better value : Ligue 1 may be aesthetically purer : but none of them give you the whole package as the EPL does.
That's why, it's arguably, the best. And we get to participate. And it's a buzz.
It doesn't make sense , really, it's a bit like when in real life the combination of 1+1 doesn't equal 2, it makes a bit more, unbelievably.
Take this example, for instance, in a favourite piece of Classical music.
The outstanding singers, Jussi Bjorling and Robert Merrill illustrate it perfectly. The Pearl Fishers duet is a music moment when the sum of the parts is greater than the whole OUGHT, theoretically, to be. How can this be so ? Don't ask, just accept that it is.
We came up as both wide-eyed and naive, as had many so called smaller clubs in several preceding years - both as fans and Club Management. Think back to the (still ongoing) controversies over Season Tickets, the JackArmy scheme, and Season Tickets for next year again, and it's been a bumpy ride.
It promises to be so for a little while yet - I'm not here to argue the merits of one viewpoint or another, there's plenty of that debate elsewhere, but I'd like to summarize both the on and off-field experience from my viewpoint. As some will know I'm a Home S/T holder who travels Away when he can, so that's where I'm coming from.
Looking back at our early season fixtures it's even more obvious now than it seemed then - we had been handed an horrendous Away beginning, and a reasonable Home introduction.
From Man City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Norwich, it could be argued that we'd do well to get anything - as it happened, we got nothing - but in varying fashions.
Opening at the Champions elect, we were ultimately blown apart by the talent of the £35m Sergio Aguero, despite long periods of decent possession. And, to be fair, we excitingly got a first look at the wonderful talent of our new keeper Michel Vorm, who then and since has continued to confirm that our previous custodian, Dorus De Vries, is what he is - a less good Dutch Goalkeeper (by far).
At the Emirates, the 1-0 defeat to the Gunners still sticks in the craw. Vorm's understandable error in distribution (we do encourage our keeper to keep it flowing), led to a disappointing 1-0 defeat, if only because we all saw that it was possible to meet an Iconic side and compete, as equals. We did that day, and have done to our benefit since. Steven Caulker, another influential loan importee, was injured, but also had shown his class.
At Chelsea, the disappointment of an awe-struck beginning haunted us long into the game and an ultimately thumping 4-1 defeat, Ashley Williams consolation goal notable for it's being our first Away in the PL. This game also saw the wonderful talent that is Fernando Torres continue to exhibit that the Football Fates both bestow occasional gifts, and then snatch them away, in almost capricious delight. An expensive outlay, both for the Home fans, and us Swans too, in every sense.
And at Norwich, in this frustrating batch of fixtures, we were caught cold by our fellow promoted former Championship rivals, and couldn't really argue that we deserved any more than we ultimately got - a Danny Graham goal in a 3-1 defeat.
Interspersed of course with those tricky Away trips there had been the consolation of our opening fixtures at the Liberty, and, they were more rewarding.
The fixture computer (does it have a name?- like Arthur C Clarke's HAL in 2001 say, or ERNIE, the Premium Bonds winners favourite collection of valves and switches) had done it's coincidence thing by deeming our opening Home encounter to be against our previous Gaffer's Cloob, Wigan Athletic.Perhaps it could be called the Fixtures Upcoming Chart Knower or the........, ah well, maybe not.
As it turned out, the game was more memorable for being an historic mark rather than anything with flowing football on display, although Michel Vorm did as much as anybody to earn us our first point by donning his Vorminator (Penalty Killer) cloak and keeping out Watson's spot kick, earned, no less, by another fond memory, Jordi Gomez.
Nerves out of the way, the second Home bash was against the now-departed Steve Bruce's controlled Sunderland, with their expensively collected squad, and whilst the 0-0 result was (again) frustrating, the on top throughout performance was not.
Though we didn't score again the positives gained from a buoyant display at least went some way toward limiting our GB and Broadcast Media critics, who were already queuing up to point out we don't score enough, from almost choking on their own rancorous venom.
In other unsurprising news, Scientists reported that all members of the Genus Ursidae still prefer to use the Woods, and that Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, venerably, is still a Catholic.
From our third game at the Liberty came that fabled ray of light, both a Home win AND a first Home goal.
The goal, perhaps unsurprisingly, was a Scott Sinclair penalty, and the thumping 3-0 win was against Roy Hodgson's organized and disciplined West Bromwich Albion, but if you saw the grudging BBC Wales' Monday evening reportage of same it was as if we'd beaten Splott Rovers in a (Junior) Kerdiff Kup Kompetition, and Scott's testing moment was a pea shelled for Mommy.
No matter. We were on the board.
It was followed at Home by a confident 2-0 victory over Stoke City's bruisers, long ball aficionados, and we saw what we often see at the Lib - the opposition Manager, Tony Pulis in this instance, explain, post match, that his side had "had an off day". He is not the first to say it (we know). He will certainly not be the last. Shock, horror.
This pocket of games had included a couple of enforced International breaks, Blank Weekends as it were, and had left us with a total of 8pts from 8 games and had included our lowest point of the season I would suggest - the 3-1 Away defeat to Shrewsbury Town in the Carling Cup. Ouch. It still hurts.
That night had been painful, but we'd sucked it up and were beginning to show signs of coming to terms with the division.
Next up we were Away at Wolves, and this was perhaps the first time that the Swans came to a wider national attention.
Played at a brilliantly sunny Molineux at 12 Midday in a nationally screened Sky TV feature game, Swansea's pass and move philosophy and sweet football earned us admiring glances, but a disappointing solitary point, because in a game where we dominated almost throughout to general acclaim, we were sucker punched by Mick's marauding and successfully introduced subs into conceding 2 late late goals. It turned a 2-0 lead, and a comfortable first Away win type of performance into something that almost felt like a loss, in a match that highlighted the fickle nature of some modern fans.
The Home crowd had turned from snarling and cursing at their own team to lickspittle delight at their freakish escape. What perhaps was more important for us was to learn (hopefully) how to close out winning games.
We came Home to face a game v Bolton, who included another old familiar face - that of Darren Pratley - although his season at the struggling Trotters had been and still is an in and out thing. Predicted to be buoyant pre-season, they were struggling for form, so it was no real surprise that our 3-1 victory set us up nicely for our next batch of 3 fixtures against 3 more of the Iconic clubs - Liverpool, Man Utd and Aston Villa.
The performance Away at Anfield in another significant game was, I'd offer, really one to be proud of. At a ground that is ensconced in International consciousness, City's competitiveness and resilience was truly heart warming. From an under threat first half, the team delivered a second period of endeavor, threat and no little skill. Capped by another top class performance from the amazing Michel Vorm, the point earned matched the psychological boost of confirming challenge against top class opposition. Andy Carroll £35m. Danny Graham £3.5m. Who got the better deal?
We came Home to face the defending Premier League Champions, and maybe in this instance, our naivete and innocence, (understandable) and tentativeness (since banished), led to a muted first half, and was the reason for our ultimate downfall.
No shame in losing 1-0 to such quality, but Hernandez's theft of the only goal was another reminder of what makes us a work in progress. Playing out from the back is the right thing to do, but it needs to be done such that it earns us more than we lose from it. It generally is,and does, still. There isn't a Ryan Giggs and a Javier Hernandez in every team.
And, let's be fair, isn't it a pleasure to be playing against Wayne Rooney, Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand and a collection of players of that quality? This isn't bottom-kissing on my part. There aren't many who dislike Man Utd's image and their plastic/fantastic/success-following Esher/Surbiton Branch more than me. It surely is the case that we are where we deserve to be.
Coupled with that, we have since proved that we've learned better how to cope. I'll come back to it.
Our next calendar date cast us at Home to Aston Villa on, what was ultimately to be, a day more important than the vicarious enjoyment we get from the sport we love.
The news broke that life had lost one of football's own, in tragic circumstances. Gary Speed's death has, and continues, to rock our perceptions of the beautiful game, but, as I've written before, the greater tragedy is both personal and human and my (and our) respect and empathy remain with his close family and friends. On an understandably downbeat day, both teams played out a 0-0 draw that was easily explained.
Incidentally, Wales will play a tribute game for Gary Speed against Costa Rica. Please support.
At this point we had 14pts from 13 games, and with an Away game at the beleaguered Blackburn Rovers to come, were entitled to take a deep breath and a hope for a continuation of better things to come, in a Season in which we had seen both ups and downs of various sorts, the third part of which was about to enfold.
At that Blackburn game,despite periods of good possession and scoring 2 goals away from Home, we were undone by switching off at key moments, and a remarkable hat-trick +1 performance from the Yak. Caulker's aerial prowess was missed, and despite the almost unbelievable venom still coursing from the Homesters toward Steve Kean, their team was obviously still on board.
Their win was a precursor of the astonishing result they got later at Old Trafford- it goes to show they can score goals, and perhaps for that reason alone, we shouldn't feel too bad.
Were more lessons learned here?
I think so, as has so far been proved. It's only fair to say also, that in this game we scored what I believe to be one of the goals of the season so far. Leroy Lita's clinical headed finish put to bed a 26 pass move that showcased us at our patient, persistent best. It was also the game that saw the first appearance of our Orange second strip.
At Home to Fulham we repeated what we'd done in earlier games by sharing a half and then pulling clear. The difference was that the quality of opposition was higher- Fulham are a genuinely decent side with European experience - but those lessons of patience and betterment saw us prove cute enough to resist their lively comeback, and close out the game with a classic Danny Graham stab in the heart at the death. This game also saw The Vorminator put on the gear again, as the Penalty Killer beat out Clint Dempsey's crucial spot kick to allow us to go on and win.
The subsequent point gained from our 0-0 journey to the North East and Newcastle's continuation of their very good start took us to 18pts, and St James' Park/the SDA will, I would suggest, be a very difficult venue for even the top teams.
Just ask Man Utd, who, as I write, have just lost 3-0. Our battling draw may not have been the best of viewing (either inside or outside the Stadium), but it was further proof of tactical and personal resilience from the players.
They did as trees do in a storm - they bent but didn't break.The residual grumbles and groans from the Toon Army proved less effective than the JackArmy's ever present volume.
Just pre-Christmas, the journey to Everton proved a bridge too far.
Goodison Park's poor sightlines reflected the shabbyness of the game. The perennially cash-strapped Merseysiders do make you question what on earth has happened to all the money they've earned from a perpetual presence in the upper echelons of the Premier League ; goodness me, has it ALL gone to Agents and Players? Whatever.
David Moyes, for his part, has done nothing other than produce a side that year on year gives no less than 100% every game. Although neither side played well, this persistence allowed Leon Osman, who, like our very own Leon (Britton) is small, glance home one of the few chances created to secure a 1-0 defeat that sent us home disappointed.
We were still worrying about our Away form, and still seeking that first elusive win.
To the Liberty next, for an appointment with Warnock's QPR, and Twitter's Barton. His side represents his character, I think, and it's not one that has a great attraction for me. Cocky, bullish, physical, game-savvy, they contributed to another frustrating 1-1 draw that saw them better pleased with their point than us.
A game we perhaps could, and should, have won, although we did follow Signor Mancini's mantra which he seems to be using to good measure at Citeh. If you can't win, don't lose. We didn't. Still, it left a sour taste in the mouth because Warnock could say the same.
Ah well.
It was only Tottenham next, to get us to the halfway stage, and Villa to follow 2 days later.
I approached the two most recent games in good heart. A lot of you may have read some things I write and recognize that. As has been said on this site before, both by me and others, I'm a happy-clappy glass half full supporter.
MEA MAXIMA CULPA. So no apologies from me when I say that our last 2 fixtures have probably been our best performances yet, to my eternal delight.
Remember that "in awe" posture against Man Utd and Chelsea ? I'm pleased to say it had been banished. No more.
To see us play the Tottenham Hotspur match in freestyling, attacking intent and purpose was terrific. We matched and competed on equal terms with one of the division's Title contenders, and despite falling behind to a clinically executed goal, carried on trying to best their technicians by outplaying them - and for ever lengthening spells we did, to ultimate reward with an 84th minute equalizer.
Many of their fans will tell you also that we could have won, and they'd have no argument either in admitting that we were certainly their equal, and just now and then, their better.
The 1-1 draw was a fascinating, exciting game, and it sent the side off to Villa, to secure what we now know was our first Premier League Away win. Phew.
That win at Villa Park, which I reported so recently on, settled us to start the New Year on 23 pts from 20 games and on the front foot.
It was a very good performance and the Squad, Management too, have all commented on their positive vibe in facing the remainder of the season. It was also an example of our Manager, the excellent Brendan Rodgers, utilizing the full range of his trust in his players by rotating over a tricky Festive period.
That remainder starts this weekend with a tricky FA Cup Tie Away at Championship Barnsley, which, I needn't remind you, will be no easy game. We haven't had one yet, and nor should we expect one. It's been a tremendously enjoyable journey this far, and I look forward to seeing it through.
We can all then look forward to our League fixtures, which give us Arsenal (H), Sunderland (A), and Chelsea (H), consecutively. Wow. That's how good it is to be where we are.
I shan't be looking at the future in this particular piece.
Paul Ashley-Jones has got a fine essay up on the site with regard to possible outcomes in outlook for our immediate rivals in the Division and I would recommend having a read.
Me?
I'm looking forward to seeing and being as at much and as many of our games as is personally possible. My Home Season ticket is already renewed, and I'll be watching the Swans, who've given me a whole lot of pleasure this year (as they do each year) in whatever future they can create for us.
I'm loving it.
Onward, Swansea City.
# I shan't be doing a preview of the FA Cup tie at Barnsley, but I'm already thinking about the Match Report subsequent to the game. See you then.
*** Spoiler Alert *** MAY contain Meat based references.
or
Are we here to stay?
Having played every team in the Division at least once, one twice, it seems timely to put together some feelings on progress so far - because, particularly, it IS progress, no matter what standard you apply.
Because nowadays we play, after all, in the Barclays Premier League.
You may kick against it's self-serving hype, it's pompous self-regard even, but what you can't do is kick against it's quality and competitiveness.
La Liga may be on occasion technically superior : Serie A may be more tactically advanced : the Bundesliga may be slightly better supported and better value : Ligue 1 may be aesthetically purer : but none of them give you the whole package as the EPL does.
That's why, it's arguably, the best. And we get to participate. And it's a buzz.
It doesn't make sense , really, it's a bit like when in real life the combination of 1+1 doesn't equal 2, it makes a bit more, unbelievably.
Take this example, for instance, in a favourite piece of Classical music.
The outstanding singers, Jussi Bjorling and Robert Merrill illustrate it perfectly. The Pearl Fishers duet is a music moment when the sum of the parts is greater than the whole OUGHT, theoretically, to be. How can this be so ? Don't ask, just accept that it is.
We came up as both wide-eyed and naive, as had many so called smaller clubs in several preceding years - both as fans and Club Management. Think back to the (still ongoing) controversies over Season Tickets, the JackArmy scheme, and Season Tickets for next year again, and it's been a bumpy ride.
It promises to be so for a little while yet - I'm not here to argue the merits of one viewpoint or another, there's plenty of that debate elsewhere, but I'd like to summarize both the on and off-field experience from my viewpoint. As some will know I'm a Home S/T holder who travels Away when he can, so that's where I'm coming from.
Looking back at our early season fixtures it's even more obvious now than it seemed then - we had been handed an horrendous Away beginning, and a reasonable Home introduction.
From Man City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Norwich, it could be argued that we'd do well to get anything - as it happened, we got nothing - but in varying fashions.
Opening at the Champions elect, we were ultimately blown apart by the talent of the £35m Sergio Aguero, despite long periods of decent possession. And, to be fair, we excitingly got a first look at the wonderful talent of our new keeper Michel Vorm, who then and since has continued to confirm that our previous custodian, Dorus De Vries, is what he is - a less good Dutch Goalkeeper (by far).
At the Emirates, the 1-0 defeat to the Gunners still sticks in the craw. Vorm's understandable error in distribution (we do encourage our keeper to keep it flowing), led to a disappointing 1-0 defeat, if only because we all saw that it was possible to meet an Iconic side and compete, as equals. We did that day, and have done to our benefit since. Steven Caulker, another influential loan importee, was injured, but also had shown his class.
At Chelsea, the disappointment of an awe-struck beginning haunted us long into the game and an ultimately thumping 4-1 defeat, Ashley Williams consolation goal notable for it's being our first Away in the PL. This game also saw the wonderful talent that is Fernando Torres continue to exhibit that the Football Fates both bestow occasional gifts, and then snatch them away, in almost capricious delight. An expensive outlay, both for the Home fans, and us Swans too, in every sense.
And at Norwich, in this frustrating batch of fixtures, we were caught cold by our fellow promoted former Championship rivals, and couldn't really argue that we deserved any more than we ultimately got - a Danny Graham goal in a 3-1 defeat.
Interspersed of course with those tricky Away trips there had been the consolation of our opening fixtures at the Liberty, and, they were more rewarding.
The fixture computer (does it have a name?- like Arthur C Clarke's HAL in 2001 say, or ERNIE, the Premium Bonds winners favourite collection of valves and switches) had done it's coincidence thing by deeming our opening Home encounter to be against our previous Gaffer's Cloob, Wigan Athletic.Perhaps it could be called the Fixtures Upcoming Chart Knower or the........, ah well, maybe not.
As it turned out, the game was more memorable for being an historic mark rather than anything with flowing football on display, although Michel Vorm did as much as anybody to earn us our first point by donning his Vorminator (Penalty Killer) cloak and keeping out Watson's spot kick, earned, no less, by another fond memory, Jordi Gomez.
Nerves out of the way, the second Home bash was against the now-departed Steve Bruce's controlled Sunderland, with their expensively collected squad, and whilst the 0-0 result was (again) frustrating, the on top throughout performance was not.
Though we didn't score again the positives gained from a buoyant display at least went some way toward limiting our GB and Broadcast Media critics, who were already queuing up to point out we don't score enough, from almost choking on their own rancorous venom.
In other unsurprising news, Scientists reported that all members of the Genus Ursidae still prefer to use the Woods, and that Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, venerably, is still a Catholic.
From our third game at the Liberty came that fabled ray of light, both a Home win AND a first Home goal.
The goal, perhaps unsurprisingly, was a Scott Sinclair penalty, and the thumping 3-0 win was against Roy Hodgson's organized and disciplined West Bromwich Albion, but if you saw the grudging BBC Wales' Monday evening reportage of same it was as if we'd beaten Splott Rovers in a (Junior) Kerdiff Kup Kompetition, and Scott's testing moment was a pea shelled for Mommy.
No matter. We were on the board.
It was followed at Home by a confident 2-0 victory over Stoke City's bruisers, long ball aficionados, and we saw what we often see at the Lib - the opposition Manager, Tony Pulis in this instance, explain, post match, that his side had "had an off day". He is not the first to say it (we know). He will certainly not be the last. Shock, horror.
This pocket of games had included a couple of enforced International breaks, Blank Weekends as it were, and had left us with a total of 8pts from 8 games and had included our lowest point of the season I would suggest - the 3-1 Away defeat to Shrewsbury Town in the Carling Cup. Ouch. It still hurts.
That night had been painful, but we'd sucked it up and were beginning to show signs of coming to terms with the division.
Next up we were Away at Wolves, and this was perhaps the first time that the Swans came to a wider national attention.
Played at a brilliantly sunny Molineux at 12 Midday in a nationally screened Sky TV feature game, Swansea's pass and move philosophy and sweet football earned us admiring glances, but a disappointing solitary point, because in a game where we dominated almost throughout to general acclaim, we were sucker punched by Mick's marauding and successfully introduced subs into conceding 2 late late goals. It turned a 2-0 lead, and a comfortable first Away win type of performance into something that almost felt like a loss, in a match that highlighted the fickle nature of some modern fans.
The Home crowd had turned from snarling and cursing at their own team to lickspittle delight at their freakish escape. What perhaps was more important for us was to learn (hopefully) how to close out winning games.
We came Home to face a game v Bolton, who included another old familiar face - that of Darren Pratley - although his season at the struggling Trotters had been and still is an in and out thing. Predicted to be buoyant pre-season, they were struggling for form, so it was no real surprise that our 3-1 victory set us up nicely for our next batch of 3 fixtures against 3 more of the Iconic clubs - Liverpool, Man Utd and Aston Villa.
The performance Away at Anfield in another significant game was, I'd offer, really one to be proud of. At a ground that is ensconced in International consciousness, City's competitiveness and resilience was truly heart warming. From an under threat first half, the team delivered a second period of endeavor, threat and no little skill. Capped by another top class performance from the amazing Michel Vorm, the point earned matched the psychological boost of confirming challenge against top class opposition. Andy Carroll £35m. Danny Graham £3.5m. Who got the better deal?
We came Home to face the defending Premier League Champions, and maybe in this instance, our naivete and innocence, (understandable) and tentativeness (since banished), led to a muted first half, and was the reason for our ultimate downfall.
No shame in losing 1-0 to such quality, but Hernandez's theft of the only goal was another reminder of what makes us a work in progress. Playing out from the back is the right thing to do, but it needs to be done such that it earns us more than we lose from it. It generally is,and does, still. There isn't a Ryan Giggs and a Javier Hernandez in every team.
And, let's be fair, isn't it a pleasure to be playing against Wayne Rooney, Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand and a collection of players of that quality? This isn't bottom-kissing on my part. There aren't many who dislike Man Utd's image and their plastic/fantastic/success-following Esher/Surbiton Branch more than me. It surely is the case that we are where we deserve to be.
Coupled with that, we have since proved that we've learned better how to cope. I'll come back to it.
Our next calendar date cast us at Home to Aston Villa on, what was ultimately to be, a day more important than the vicarious enjoyment we get from the sport we love.
The news broke that life had lost one of football's own, in tragic circumstances. Gary Speed's death has, and continues, to rock our perceptions of the beautiful game, but, as I've written before, the greater tragedy is both personal and human and my (and our) respect and empathy remain with his close family and friends. On an understandably downbeat day, both teams played out a 0-0 draw that was easily explained.
Incidentally, Wales will play a tribute game for Gary Speed against Costa Rica. Please support.
At this point we had 14pts from 13 games, and with an Away game at the beleaguered Blackburn Rovers to come, were entitled to take a deep breath and a hope for a continuation of better things to come, in a Season in which we had seen both ups and downs of various sorts, the third part of which was about to enfold.
At that Blackburn game,despite periods of good possession and scoring 2 goals away from Home, we were undone by switching off at key moments, and a remarkable hat-trick +1 performance from the Yak. Caulker's aerial prowess was missed, and despite the almost unbelievable venom still coursing from the Homesters toward Steve Kean, their team was obviously still on board.
Their win was a precursor of the astonishing result they got later at Old Trafford- it goes to show they can score goals, and perhaps for that reason alone, we shouldn't feel too bad.
Were more lessons learned here?
I think so, as has so far been proved. It's only fair to say also, that in this game we scored what I believe to be one of the goals of the season so far. Leroy Lita's clinical headed finish put to bed a 26 pass move that showcased us at our patient, persistent best. It was also the game that saw the first appearance of our Orange second strip.
At Home to Fulham we repeated what we'd done in earlier games by sharing a half and then pulling clear. The difference was that the quality of opposition was higher- Fulham are a genuinely decent side with European experience - but those lessons of patience and betterment saw us prove cute enough to resist their lively comeback, and close out the game with a classic Danny Graham stab in the heart at the death. This game also saw The Vorminator put on the gear again, as the Penalty Killer beat out Clint Dempsey's crucial spot kick to allow us to go on and win.
The subsequent point gained from our 0-0 journey to the North East and Newcastle's continuation of their very good start took us to 18pts, and St James' Park/the SDA will, I would suggest, be a very difficult venue for even the top teams.
Just ask Man Utd, who, as I write, have just lost 3-0. Our battling draw may not have been the best of viewing (either inside or outside the Stadium), but it was further proof of tactical and personal resilience from the players.
They did as trees do in a storm - they bent but didn't break.The residual grumbles and groans from the Toon Army proved less effective than the JackArmy's ever present volume.
Just pre-Christmas, the journey to Everton proved a bridge too far.
Goodison Park's poor sightlines reflected the shabbyness of the game. The perennially cash-strapped Merseysiders do make you question what on earth has happened to all the money they've earned from a perpetual presence in the upper echelons of the Premier League ; goodness me, has it ALL gone to Agents and Players? Whatever.
David Moyes, for his part, has done nothing other than produce a side that year on year gives no less than 100% every game. Although neither side played well, this persistence allowed Leon Osman, who, like our very own Leon (Britton) is small, glance home one of the few chances created to secure a 1-0 defeat that sent us home disappointed.
We were still worrying about our Away form, and still seeking that first elusive win.
To the Liberty next, for an appointment with Warnock's QPR, and Twitter's Barton. His side represents his character, I think, and it's not one that has a great attraction for me. Cocky, bullish, physical, game-savvy, they contributed to another frustrating 1-1 draw that saw them better pleased with their point than us.
A game we perhaps could, and should, have won, although we did follow Signor Mancini's mantra which he seems to be using to good measure at Citeh. If you can't win, don't lose. We didn't. Still, it left a sour taste in the mouth because Warnock could say the same.
Ah well.
It was only Tottenham next, to get us to the halfway stage, and Villa to follow 2 days later.
I approached the two most recent games in good heart. A lot of you may have read some things I write and recognize that. As has been said on this site before, both by me and others, I'm a happy-clappy glass half full supporter.
MEA MAXIMA CULPA. So no apologies from me when I say that our last 2 fixtures have probably been our best performances yet, to my eternal delight.
Remember that "in awe" posture against Man Utd and Chelsea ? I'm pleased to say it had been banished. No more.
To see us play the Tottenham Hotspur match in freestyling, attacking intent and purpose was terrific. We matched and competed on equal terms with one of the division's Title contenders, and despite falling behind to a clinically executed goal, carried on trying to best their technicians by outplaying them - and for ever lengthening spells we did, to ultimate reward with an 84th minute equalizer.
Many of their fans will tell you also that we could have won, and they'd have no argument either in admitting that we were certainly their equal, and just now and then, their better.
The 1-1 draw was a fascinating, exciting game, and it sent the side off to Villa, to secure what we now know was our first Premier League Away win. Phew.
That win at Villa Park, which I reported so recently on, settled us to start the New Year on 23 pts from 20 games and on the front foot.
It was a very good performance and the Squad, Management too, have all commented on their positive vibe in facing the remainder of the season. It was also an example of our Manager, the excellent Brendan Rodgers, utilizing the full range of his trust in his players by rotating over a tricky Festive period.
That remainder starts this weekend with a tricky FA Cup Tie Away at Championship Barnsley, which, I needn't remind you, will be no easy game. We haven't had one yet, and nor should we expect one. It's been a tremendously enjoyable journey this far, and I look forward to seeing it through.
We can all then look forward to our League fixtures, which give us Arsenal (H), Sunderland (A), and Chelsea (H), consecutively. Wow. That's how good it is to be where we are.
I shan't be looking at the future in this particular piece.
Paul Ashley-Jones has got a fine essay up on the site with regard to possible outcomes in outlook for our immediate rivals in the Division and I would recommend having a read.
Me?
I'm looking forward to seeing and being as at much and as many of our games as is personally possible. My Home Season ticket is already renewed, and I'll be watching the Swans, who've given me a whole lot of pleasure this year (as they do each year) in whatever future they can create for us.
I'm loving it.
Onward, Swansea City.
# I shan't be doing a preview of the FA Cup tie at Barnsley, but I'm already thinking about the Match Report subsequent to the game. See you then.
*** Spoiler Alert *** MAY contain Meat based references.
1 comment:
Excellent again, always a pleasure to read. Keep up the good work
This is a great, concise reminder halfway through the the roller coaster ride that is the Premier League
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