How can Andre Ayew's Swansea City get out of their bad spell of Premier League form?

Published on: 11 November 2015

Garry Monk probably winces at the sight of an international break nowadays. Every time one creeps into the Premier League calendar, his Swansea City side never appear to be the same afterwards.

After beating Manchester United 2-1 ahead of the first break for international fixtures this term, the Swans didn’t win any of their next four league games and were knocked out of the League Cup by Hull City in the middle of the poor run.

Many argued that the second international break might be a good thing for Swansea. The time away would allow players to forget about their club’s poor spell and return to a joyous Wales ahead of their then prospective qualification for Euro 2016.

But the opposite has occurred since, as Monk’s men have won just one of their last five top-flight games and now hover just five points above the feared relegation zones in November.

There was a moment in Swansea’s most recent defeat against Norwich City on Saturday when Andre Ayew turned around to his team mates and started to display his frustration. Irked by his side’s inability to create chances against a sturdy defence, the Ghanaian couldn’t hide his disappointment.

What Ayew was complaining about has been persistent in Swansea’s bad run of form. Monk’s side aren’t combining as well as they know they can do in the final third and their cohesiveness is evaporating fast.

Only six teams had more collective assists than Swansea’s 33 in the Premier League last season, but it is currently just Watford who have registered less (6) than their seven so far this term.

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Swansea made it three wins in a row against Man United in August and that is just one of many historical achievements masterminded by Monk. For many supporters, he is their best manager since Roberto Martinez gave them their identity, which he has fine tuned and taken on superbly since.

But his side’s slump of late has led to reports suggesting he is on the brink, as per the Daily Mirror, as questions continue to be asked about whether Monk can resurrect what was a bright start to the new season.

One thing that has been evident from Swansea’s performances recently, particularly against Norwich at the weekend, is that they are still in control of games.

Just four teams have averaged more possession than Swansea’s 53% so far this season, while they had a mammoth 67% against Norwich on Saturday. The problem is that they aren’t conjuring up much with it, having just one shot on target against the Canaries.

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Monk has brought fresh ideas to Swansea such as the utilisation of a 4-4-2 diamond system in certain games. Such innovative moves in south Wales prove that he has the nous and the capability of fixing their attacking play when things aren’t going well — the side scored two goals to beat Man United after switching to that system in August.

 But what is punishing Swansea more than their inability to work in tandem in the final third is their incapacity to prevent individual mistakes at the moment. From Jonjo Shelvey deciding to leave Jonny Howson free against Norwich to Ashley Williams giving away a penalty against Stoke City, mistakes are mounting up.

Source: squawka.com

 

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