Ian Mitchelmore gave the lowdown on Swansea City
- Expert’s view on Swansea City
- Details what he expects from the Swans
- Watch the full feature on #HTTV
Swansea City Correspondent Ian Mitchelmore gave his thoughts on the Swans ahead of Huddersfield Town’s Sky Bet Championship game this weekend!
Style of play
After the restart Steve Cooper switched to a back three and since he made that tweak, I think they’ve picked up more points in the Championship than any other team; 27 out of 39 points. Since making that switch it’s been an incredible return. Ben Cabango, Marc Guehi and Joe Rodon are the back three, and then Connor Roberts and Jake Bidwell as wing backs give so much threat going forward it takes the pressure of Ayew, Lowe and Gibbs-White who’s in the 10 role. He stuck with the tweak he made last season and it’s reaping the rewards.
Astute transfer business
Steve Cooper has certainly made use of his contacts. Marc Guehi has gone from strength-to-strength. The big clubs trust Steve Cooper to give their young talents game time in this division. Morgan Gibbs-White has had a really good start to the season and he has to continue that.
There’s been a lot of departures and a massive turnover. The squad depth is thin, but in terms of the players they do have, there’s quality there. Jamal Lowe has rose through the ranks too. They’re showing ambition within their constraints. The signings they have made look very promising.
Solid at the back
Teams have found out how hard it is to break Swansea down. Even last season they only lost two games, I think, by more than one goal, not including the Play-Offs. It’s testimony to the work that Steve Cooper and Martyn Margetson have done. The three centre-backs have been excellent, combined with Woodman. Swansea are a really tough team to play against and to score against.
Goals throughout the team
You take Rhian Brewster out of a team and you are going to be missing goals, but Gibbs-White came in and scored on his debut. Jake Bidwell scored his first goal for the Club the other day. So, if he’s chipping in, André Ayew is scoring a few penalties, and you can have a set piece specialist, the goals will be shared out. André Ayew was almost a one-man band last season, so it has to be shared if they want to achieve what they did last season.
Weaknesses
Matt Grimes and Korey Smith are a new partnership in the middle of midfielder. If teams can win the midfield battle against Swansea, they have a really good chance of building going forwards. Aerially Freddie Woodman isn’t always at his best, so maybe an aerially threat could be the way to hurt the Swans.
Watch the full Swansea City discussion on #HTTV!
