Swansea City begin their first campaign in the cauldron of the English Premiership in a few days away to recent FA Cup winners Manchester City, reputedly the richest football club in the world. Clearly the name of the game for the Swans is survival and it would be a wonderful achievement if they finished in 17th place at season’s end.
Avoiding relegation was considerably enhanced with the recent signing of Michael Vorm, the No 2 goalkeeper in Holland and a current member of their national squad. The late great Brian Clough regularly extolled the virtues of building a team from the back and having a good goalkeeper is the rock on which the house is built. The signing was a little tardy for my taste but better late than never. Creating an understanding between the goalkeeper and his back four is essential and can only be achieved over time which is in short supply in this instance.
The back four is another element of the team where perhaps manager Brendan Rodgers has allowed sentiment to rule his head. Gary Monk and Alan Tate have proved to be fine servants to the Swans’ cause over the past few seasons, but I don’t seriously believe they are premiership defenders. Gary Monk is 32 years old and hasn’t recovered from a foot injury sustained at the end of last season. Yet Rodgers extended his contract for another 3 years.
The lower echelons of the Premiership are littered with the debris of small clubs with limited resources having failed to secure a foothold in the top flight of English football. Blackpool, Hull City, Leicester City, Burnley and Portsmouth spring to mind. The Swansea ownership is patently aware of these statistics and its only eight years ago that the club almost slipped out of the league into oblivion.
Consequently the club’s owners are not attempting to compete with the big boys in the shape of Manchester Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool all of whom have foreign owners pouring their ill gotten gains into the premiership pot. Brendan Rodgers, Swansea’s astute young manager has made six signings to his squad this summer: Michael Vorm (1.5 million,) Jose Moreira (fee undisclosed,) Steven Caulker (on loan,) Danny Graham (3.5 million,) Wayne Routledge (2 million) and Leroy Lita (1.75.)
The chasm that exists between the Swans and Manchester City in terms of spending power is exemplified by the acquisition of the teams’ respective strikers. Leroy Lita was acquired from Middlesbrough for 1.75 million pounds and Manchester City paid Atletico Madrid 38 million pounds for Sergio Aguero. Nasri is soon to arrive from Arsenal for the princely sum of 22 million pounds bringing their summer spending to 76 million on four players; astonishing.
Buying a team of so called all stars is not always a recipe for success. Indeed Manchester City’s coach Roberto Mancini is under great pressure from the club’s owners to translate their huge financial investment into trophies with the Champions League the ultimate prize. Time is not on his side as impatient owners demand instant gratification.
Consequently Brendan Rodgers does not have the same pressures providing he concentrates on molding his squad into a tight tactical unit ready to play to their strengths. In recent seasons Swansea City have gained a reputation for playing entertaining football devoid of using the route 1 or long ball approach, and with a little bit of luck they could win over the skeptics who make them favorites for relegation.
