PREMIER LEAGUE 2015/16 PREVIEW: Swansea City
By Chris Jones
"Manager Garry Monk, in his first full year in charge of Swansea City, took his team to a highest-ever Premier League finish."
Despite the mid-season loss of star striker Wilfried Bony to Manchester City, Monk steered his team to eighth place at the end of the season.
Now fans are dreaming of an even higher finish, and a chance at placing for a spot in a European competition, but can Monk and the Swans deliver?
Swansea City had a perfect start to the season, defeating Manchester United at Old Trafford, and then reeling off two more wins over Burnley and West Brom.
Throughout the season, they were never placed lower than ninth on the Premier League table.
The Welsh side were forced to fight through losing Wilfried Bony to Manchester City during the winter transfer window. The Ivorian striker had nine goals in sixteen appearances, but the contributions of midfielders Gylfi Sigurdsson, Ki Sung-Yeung, and forward Bafetimbi Gomis, who combined for 22 goals, helped ease the blow.
Now that there are expectations for the Swans to perform, can they?
With no major players on the way out, Swansea City have kept their core of players intact, while adding some key pieces.
In an attempt to make up for the lost of Bony, Monk has brought in target man Eder from Portugese side Braga, as well as Andre Ayew from Marseille.
With midfielders like Sigurdsson, Sung-Yueng, and Jonjo Shelvey contributing as well, the goals could really come from anywhere.
Swansea were only four points behind Southampton, and from qualifying for the Europa League, but the goal difference was a massive 24, so more goal scoring help could move them a step forward towards reaching European competition.
The signing of Ayew from the French side was a coup for Monk and his squad, as the Ghana winger could have had his pick of clubs in Europe. His skills, creativity, and goal-scoring ability could greatly elevate Swansea’s attack.
On the defensive side, Ashley Williams will be asked to lead the back four again, assuming they can keep him. Other than him, there are question marks all around.
Goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski was a rock last season, starting all but one game. He made 137 saves in Premier League competition, more than any other, but Monk surely will be hoping that his keeper will not have to contribute as much this season.
With expectations so high, are the Swans doomed to fail?
Fans at the Liberty Stadium will be expecting a similar performance for the team this season, and will be optimistically hoping that their squad can qualify for a European competition.
In order to reach these new heights, and improve upon their best-ever finish, new signings Eder and Ayew, along with Swansea stalwarts like Gomis, Sigurdsson, and Fabianski will have to repeat, and even best, their productive 2014-15 campaigns.
The expectation will be to finish in the top five and qualify for a European tournament, most likely the Europa League.
These hopes might be out of the reach for Swansea City this season.