Season Preview: Swansea City Season Preview

When Swansea City gained promotion to the top flight in 2011, it was no ordinary promotion. They became the first club based out of Wales to reach the highest level since that level has been called the Premier League. They have been a great club to support for neutral fans, as they seemingly went above and beyond all expectations, cementing themselves as a solid organization. They developed a reputation for playing a solid brand of football that relied on possession and minimizing mistakes to make up for the gap in talent when compared to the big established clubs in the league. They managed to qualify for the Europa League and they had made some fantastic signings over the years, bringing in players that out-performed their market value. It had been a positive environment around the Liberty Stadium until things began to turn for the worse last season. For the first time since their promotion, they felt the threat of relegation in 2015/2016 and some of the players they had brought in were not finding success at the same rate that was present in seasons past. There has been turnover in the ownership group in 2016 and what was once a stable organization now find themselves needing to right the ship. The coming campaign will be crucial in dictating what will become of them over the next several years.

Last Season in Brief

Last season started positively enough, and it looked as though the Swans were going to push for another crack at a spot in Europe, picking up eight points in their first four matches, including a draw a Stamford Bridge and a win against Manchester United. Those results may seem less impressive in hindsight, given how Chelsea and United went on to have down seasons, but the Swans looked fresh enough, getting goals from Bafetimbi Gomis in those first four games and new boy Andre Ayew had the makings of one of the better signings of the summer. Things collapsed quickly from there though. Gomis went into a terrible goal drought and Gylfi Sigurdsson had a mostly quiet first half of the season. By the time the calendar reached December, the Swans were hovering around the relegation zone and the brass decided to sack manager Garry Monk. Alan Curtis would spend the next month and change as caretaker manager before Francesco Guidolin took charge in mid-January. The club misfired on player signings both in the summer and in the winter. Franck Tabanou and Eder provided next to nothing over the course of the season and when the club desperately needed to find a goal scorer in January, Alberto Paloschi turned out not to be the answer. The club managed to turn things around in the second half of the season as Sigurdsson began to find his form that would carry him all the way to the final weekend and the defense improved upon what they had done in the first half of the campaign, with Lukasz Fabianski coming up big in a few key matches. In their final 11 games, they secured six wins, three losses and two draws, including big wins against Arsenal, West Ham and a Chelsea side who, at the time, were the hottest team in the league. That allowed them to finish a respectable 12th place.

The Summer So Far

The Swans have not been too busy thus far in the summer window, when it comes to acquisitions anyway. They decided to take on Leroy Fer from QPR on a permanent deal after bringing the Dutchman in on loan for the second half of last season. They also brought in a new center back, Mike van der Hoorn, another Netherlands product who looks to offer a threat to Federico Fernandez in the coming year. The Jacks also brought in another keeper, Mark Birighitti, though with Fabianski seemingly locked in with the #1 shirt and both Kristoffer Nordfelt and Gerhard Tremmel still on the books, it does not seem Birighitti will be seeing first team action any time soon.

With the striker position causing the most headaches for Swansea last season, the club decided to clean house. They loaned away Gomis for a year to Marseille in the hopes the Frenchman can regain some form playing back in the familiar confines of Ligue 1. Both Eder and Alberto Paloschi have been sold to Lille and Atalanta, respectively. Youngsters Kyle Bartley and Matt Grimes have been sent out on loan.

Remaining Summer Business

There may be no other club with a more pressing need at a particular position than Swansea at the striker spot. As of this writing, they simply do not have one, and the season begins a week from Saturday. Marvin Emnes is the closes thing they have to a natural striker and he has been a fringe player for years now. Andre Ayew played in that spot on occasion last season but the club have been on the record in saying that they need to sign two forwards. Whoever lands in that spot may be one of the better late fantasy pickups as this season begins. Someone like Wilfried Bony would create an immediate shockwave through the fantasy community.

Assuming a proper striker is brought in and Andre Ayew stays put (he is currently being courted by West Ham) then we would expect to see the Ghanaian line up on the right of the attacking three. Swansea are looking to find a player who can occupy the spot on the left. Nacer Chadli‘s name has been bandied about, along with some others. It would appear the Jefferson Montero experiment has reached its end and while Wayne Routledge has had a nice preseason, he is a serviceable winger, not really a thrilling starter.

The Swans attempted to lure Joe Allen back to the team but were unsuccessful. That would lead one to believe though that the club is looking for reinforcements in one of the two midfield roles that play behind Sigurdsson. At present, it looks to be three players vying for the two spots with Leroy Fer and KI Sung-yueng looking the most likely for minutes while Jack Cork provides another alternative.

Salary Cap Superstars

Gylfi Sigurdsson – Sigurdsson struggled in the first half of last season and maybe the rigors of Euro 2016 could see him start slow again this time around. Still, he is a premium fantasy midfielder, anchored by his ability to deliver on a dead ball. Even when the Swans are having a poor outing in a given week, one or two chances at a free kick for Siggy always provides possibilities.
Andre Ayew – Ayew seemed to adapt to the Premier League quickly and successfully though he did go through a drought in the middle of the season. Still, he and Sigurdsson at this time look to be the providers of the vast majority of goals and he finished behind only Riyad Mahrez, Mesut Ozil and Christian Eriksen for total points scored by midfielders in the FPL game for 2015/2016.
Ashley Williams – If you are looking for a piece of the Swansea defense, Williams is your man, season after season. He plays every game, he usually finds bonus points in the FPL format when the Swans get a positive result and he delivers in plenty of stats for other fantasy formats such as clearances and interceptions.
Lukasz Fabianski – Perhaps “Superstar” is a bit of a stretch for Fabianski but he was one of the best fantasy keepers from two seasons ago, so we know the potential is there to happen again. He also put in a solid showing at Euro 2016 after Wojciech Szczesny suffered injury. He may not be a top 5 keeper on the season but he can certainly threated top 10 and provide value.

Draft Details

Striker watch – Perhaps you are in a draft league that uses a free agent budget or a waiver priority order or some combination thereof. If you miss out or have already missed out in your draft league on a striker or two you feel good about, save that waiver claim or cash for the day the Swans bring in a striker. It is bound to happen before the window closes and could be a very lucrative add to your squad for a minimal fee.
Don’t reach for the non-superstars – If you enter a draft and fail to land one of the big names from the previous section, it is not worth reaching with your budget for the other options. There could be some value to having a defender if the Swans can keep clean sheets, but there is not much difference in potential for any of them.
Plenty of weekly options throughout the season – Outside of the superstars, the current club may be lacking in players that you would want to consider holding for the entire season. That said, some of these players will be worth a spot start if you play in a league where you do plenty of adding and dropping to maximize matchups and take advantage when players are known to get an opportunity. Wayne Routledge has five preseason goals, including two braces, and can come in handy from time to time. Modou Barrow showed flashes of fantasy relevance when he was given his chances last season. Players like this can usually be found on the wire throughout the year.

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