They may seem like a bizarre team to do a post about, but it's worth a shot.
Swansea came up through the playoffs last season, and were expected to go straight back down (which could easily still happen, despite their league position). They have some good players in Danny Graham, Leroy Lita, Scott Sinclair, Ashley Williams and Michel Vorm, and they have shown that they are worthy of a place in England's top league.
Their season didn't start very well; a 4-0 hammering away to Man City, and then a 0-0 draw at home to lowly Wigan. They then lost to Shrewsbury Town, of League 2, 3-1 in the League Cup, and another 0-0 draw at home, this time against Sunderland, meant they still hadn't won.
Their next game was a 1-0 loss away to a reformed Arsenal squad, who were about to start their charge back to the top half, and in Swansea's next game they finally scored in a comfortable 3-0 home win against West Brom. Despite Torres being sent-off in the first half when they played Chelsea away, they couldn't take advantage of the extra man and lost 4-1. However another victory soon followed, a 2-0 home victory against Stoke. It was during this match that new signing Danny Graham scored his first competitive Swansea goal.
Graham also scored in the next game at fellow promotees Norwich City, but The Swans fell 3-1. Graham bagged his 3rd in a row against Wolves the week after, and Swansea were cruising to a 2-0 victory but Wolves scored twice in 2 minutes late on to rescue a point.
Another home victory followed, this time a 3-1 triumph against Bolton. Graham scored for the 4th match on the bounce, but also scored an own goal, which ultimately did not matter. They then faced Liverpool at Anfield, where they impressively came away with a 0-0 draw in a match that The Reds should have walked. But walk they did not, meaning Swansea secured their 13th point of the season.
Swansea are currently 4 points above the relegation zone in 10th places, and are one of only 4 teams yet to lose at home (Man City, Newcastle and Liverpool are the others). They have also conceded the least goals at home in the league, having kept 4 clean sheets and conceding just the 1. Their away form needs somewhat improving, having scored just 4 goals in 6 games and claimed just 2 away points, but the draw against Liverpool could pave the way for a good run away from Wales.
They could quite easily still go down, being just 4 points away from the relegation zone, but they will probably finish lower-mid table, around 13th position. I don't think they'll keep up this outstanding home form when the big boys come to visit, but they'll gain enough points to finish in a respectable position. They won't finish higher than 9th, and even then they will need to vastly improve their away form.
Tuesday 15 November 2011
Monday 14 November 2011
Newcastle United
Newcastle United are one of the Premier League's 2 unbeaten clubs. Somehow.
They don't have the 3rd best squad in the league on paper; The 4 clubs directly below them in the league (Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Spurs) maybe 5 including Aston Villa, have superior squads. But paper never won a football match.
After they sold Andy Carroll in January and Jose Enrique in the Summer, both to Liverpool, fans and neutrals alike thought they would struggle massively. After all, Carroll had been their main source of goals for the past 3 seasons (or however long) and Enrique was probably their best defender and has since matured into one of the top left backs in the league, with only Ashley Cole and Patrice Evra considered better than Enrique. They also sold Kevin Nolan, who also scored plenty of goals.
But Newcastle have clearly spent their money wisely. They brought in Demba Ba from West Ham, Yoann Cabaye from Lille and Davide Santon from Inter, but these players were never really expected to take the Toon Army back to the big time.
The season opened with a 0-0 draw at home to Arsenal, which they followed up with a 1-0 win away to rivals Sunderland. They then beat Scunthorpe 2-1 in the League Cup in Extra Time, and a Leon Best brace secured a 2-1 victory for them at home to Fulham. A couple of draws away to new-look QPR and Aston Villa kept the team unbeaten, and then they went on to beat Nott'm Forest 4-3 in the League Cup in their 3rd away game in 8 days.
Enter Demba Ba. The Senegalese international had not scored so far this season, which could be put down to a lack of form coupled with him celebrating the Muslim festival of Ramadan, which meant he was fasting during daylight hours in August.
Ba scored his first Newcastle goal 27 minutes into the game vs Blackburn, and 27 minutes later he had 3. Ba scored again the week after in the Toon's 2-1 win away to Wolves, and then scored against Spurs in a 2-2 home draw the week after that. Yoann Cabaye scored the only goal in their 1-0 victory over Wigan in their next game, and he also scored again the week after as Newcastle slumped to their first loss of the season, losing 4-3 away in the League Cup vs Premier League strugglers Blackburn Rovers.
Ba was soon back in the goals when he hit his second hat trick of the season away to Stoke as NUFC won 3-1, and then they won the week after, beating Everton 2-1 at home.
So despite not having the greatest squad in the Permier League, they've still beaten the odds and currently lie in the 3rd after 11 games. The only thing that could take a gloss off of their fantastic start is that they have only played 2 'big' teams. They faced Arsenal on opening day, when they were playing poor football and on the verge of selling Fabregas and Nasri, and they have also played Spurs, against whom they did very well to claim a draw.
Their next 3 games are away to Man City and then Man United, and then they host Chelsea in the first game at their newly-named Sports Direct Arena. It'll be very impressive if they stay unbeaten and/or claim more than 3 points during these 3 games, and only then will I consider them to be real contenders for the Champions League and maybe the title.
They don't have the 3rd best squad in the league on paper; The 4 clubs directly below them in the league (Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Spurs) maybe 5 including Aston Villa, have superior squads. But paper never won a football match.
After they sold Andy Carroll in January and Jose Enrique in the Summer, both to Liverpool, fans and neutrals alike thought they would struggle massively. After all, Carroll had been their main source of goals for the past 3 seasons (or however long) and Enrique was probably their best defender and has since matured into one of the top left backs in the league, with only Ashley Cole and Patrice Evra considered better than Enrique. They also sold Kevin Nolan, who also scored plenty of goals.
But Newcastle have clearly spent their money wisely. They brought in Demba Ba from West Ham, Yoann Cabaye from Lille and Davide Santon from Inter, but these players were never really expected to take the Toon Army back to the big time.
The season opened with a 0-0 draw at home to Arsenal, which they followed up with a 1-0 win away to rivals Sunderland. They then beat Scunthorpe 2-1 in the League Cup in Extra Time, and a Leon Best brace secured a 2-1 victory for them at home to Fulham. A couple of draws away to new-look QPR and Aston Villa kept the team unbeaten, and then they went on to beat Nott'm Forest 4-3 in the League Cup in their 3rd away game in 8 days.
Enter Demba Ba. The Senegalese international had not scored so far this season, which could be put down to a lack of form coupled with him celebrating the Muslim festival of Ramadan, which meant he was fasting during daylight hours in August.
Ba scored his first Newcastle goal 27 minutes into the game vs Blackburn, and 27 minutes later he had 3. Ba scored again the week after in the Toon's 2-1 win away to Wolves, and then scored against Spurs in a 2-2 home draw the week after that. Yoann Cabaye scored the only goal in their 1-0 victory over Wigan in their next game, and he also scored again the week after as Newcastle slumped to their first loss of the season, losing 4-3 away in the League Cup vs Premier League strugglers Blackburn Rovers.
Ba was soon back in the goals when he hit his second hat trick of the season away to Stoke as NUFC won 3-1, and then they won the week after, beating Everton 2-1 at home.
So despite not having the greatest squad in the Permier League, they've still beaten the odds and currently lie in the 3rd after 11 games. The only thing that could take a gloss off of their fantastic start is that they have only played 2 'big' teams. They faced Arsenal on opening day, when they were playing poor football and on the verge of selling Fabregas and Nasri, and they have also played Spurs, against whom they did very well to claim a draw.
Their next 3 games are away to Man City and then Man United, and then they host Chelsea in the first game at their newly-named Sports Direct Arena. It'll be very impressive if they stay unbeaten and/or claim more than 3 points during these 3 games, and only then will I consider them to be real contenders for the Champions League and maybe the title.
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