"Swansalona" is quickly becoming a common term this season as the first Welsh side in the English Premier Division continues to impress. While this article may be long-overdue (Swansea have been sticking with the same style of football since August), it, like the team in focus, has had a patient build-up.
Few sides can boast wins against both Man City and Arsenal this season (only Sunderland and Man Utd can, if you count all domestic competitions) as well as draws against Chelsea and Liverpool, alongside a point gained against Spurs when they still played Bale on the left and Van der Vaart behind Adebayor (more on that in coming weeks) at the end of 2011. For a newly-promoted side to have that record - as well as only losing to Arsenal and United due to lone, individual errors - almost boggles the mind.
And this is a side built on a shoestring budget, with none of the funds that the likes of Malaga or even Leicester City have splurged to propel them into (relative) footballing heights. They've spent less than £6m on signings for the first-team (Vorm and Graham) and have among their squad a number of players who have played for the side (Garry Monk, Alan Tate, and Leon Britton) who have played for them across 4 domestic divisions. If ever there was a rags-to-riches story, it is at the Liberty Stadium that you'd find it, surely.
And a fitting name that, looking at the way they go about ther business on the pitch. For long periods of time this season (and during individual games), many believed that Swansea flattered to deceive, that their possession-based play would not do them any favors. "Swansalona" might be the catch-phrase, after all, but Danny Graham isn't Lionel Messi, Nathan Dyer isn't David Villa, and Leon Britton and Joe Allen aren't Xavi or Andres Iniesta. That Opta once had an in-depth comparison between Britton and Xavi notwithstanding, such comparisons were amusing, if nothing else.
But the results mentioned before speak for themselves. They currently sit 8th in the table, comfortably safe from relegation (barring a spectacular collapse) and only three points behind mighty Liverpool. What have they been doing right with such limited resources?
Many point to manager Brendan Rodgers for encouraging their style of play, while others point towards former manager Paulo Sousa (though in his best season his side only managed 40 goals in the league, contrasting with beating Twente 3-1) who took over from one Roberto Martinez. Either way, credit still has to be placed on Rodgers, who once worked under Jose Mourinho at Chelsea. Perhaps a bit of The Special One's special touch rubbed off on the former youth team manager, who has gotten the absolute best out of his squad so far.
Their rock-solid defensive displays have lent themselves to their string of impressive performances in 2011/12. World Cup Finalist Michel Vorm, signed for less than 10% the fee Manchester United paid for David de Gea, has been heroic. Ashley Williams in the heart of defence has been similarly imperious, and the side did not concede a single goal at home until the end of October. Only Manchester City have conceded fewer at home, and even then the Swans have already baeten the men from the Etihad.
Their regular wingers Nathan Dyer and Scott Sinclair have also won many plaudits (as well as Fantasy Football points) with their incisive running on the flanks, offering endless energy and enthusiasm if perhaps lacking in genuine quality. But as mentioned before, manager Brendan Rodgers has allowed his two wingers (and the journeyman Wayne Routledge as well) to flourish in the roles he has set for them.
But it is in the centre of midfield where the answer to Swansea's rise to prominence lies. The partnership of Allen and Britton, complemented by either Mark Gower or the excellently-named Gylfi Sigurdsson, is the reason for the parallels drawn with a certain Catalan side. Leon Britton remains one of the only outfield players who have a 100% pass accuracy in a single game (v Bolton in October). That's not happened in over half a decade in the Premier League, and the only other players who have done it in that time frame are defenders playing square passes.
It was their wins against Arsenal and Manchester City that raised the most eyebrows, and made the most headlines, of course. But again, why have they done so well?
Last week, both Manchester clubs, far and away the best-performing ones in England domestically this season, crashed out of Europe. They've already been eliminated from the Champions League, obviously, and now bowed out of what many see as a significantly inferior competition against significantly inferior opposition. Sporting Lisbon and Athletic Bilbao aren't even Porto and Barcelona. But Sporting and Bilbao, over two legs, outplayed City and United with possession-based play. City also lost in the group stage to Bayern Munich, who also keep the ball very well thanks to Bastian Schwensteiger. Barcelona beat (some say humiliated) Arsenal in Europe with the same style last season. And in the final, Barca beat BPL champions United with the same game-plan, executed to perfection. This season, Arsenal (again) were comprehensively outplayed in the first leg of their knock-out tie against a Milan side that kept the ball tremendously well. Which is what Swansea did against them as well. Yes, Swansea have now been compared to Bayern Munich and AC Milan as well as Barcelona.
This blueprint was obviously not set in place with the specific intent to beat Wenger, Ferguson and Mancini, but the consistent failures of the "top" English sides in Europe against sides that employ this form of play might even suggest a fundamental failing that English sides have against it. The counter-argument is that City are a cosmopolitan side managed by an Italian, but perhaps this is still an observation worrthy of further study. If such a failing or weakness does exist, perhaps Brendan Rodgers and his Swans have stumbled upon it, and inadvertantly or not, have exploited it to their startling benefit.
In all probability, the cries of "Swansalona" will continue to ring for the rest of the season, whatever happens. Perhaps they are deserved, the comparisons between the smallest side in the league to arguably the best footballing side in a generation, but either way, it is certainly fitting that it is at the Liberty Stadium where the most unrestricted brand of football is on show.
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