Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
Swansea have rolled the dice in the month of December once again after their decision to sack Paul Clement, Garry Monk was unfortunate enough to be given the boot in 2015 while Bob Bradley short stint in charge would not manage to see out the end of 2016 after his sacking 12 months ago.
Huw Jenkins’ decision to chop and change before the end of the calendar year is something that has worked in the past two occasions as ultimately they have beaten the drop but you do get the feeling that the club are going to struggle to repeat this feat for a third time
Quite simply because any real talent departed in the Summer and although their bank balance is looking relatively healthy after the transfers of Gylfi Sigurdsson and Fernando Llorente it is not harsh in saying that the replacements of Renato Sanches and Wilfried Bony have been well short of the mark.
When you look at the fact that they have scored just 10 goals in their first 18 Premier League matches then that pretty much tells you all you need to know, if you were to extrapolate that goals to games ratio until the end of the season, they would end the campaign with just 21 goals to their name.
Today they play host to a Crystal Palace who rolled their dice much earlier in the season and are it is fair to say reaping the rewards. The decision to sack Frank De Boer after just four matches was met with much derision but now the appointment of Roy Hodgson is looking something of an inspired one.
Swansea will be hoping that they make the same kind of inspired choice when they get round to naming a new manager but they will have much slimmer pickings now that all the usual firefighters have been summoned to their positions for the usual Winter tasks that await them.
Leon Britton has been giving the role of Caretaker Manager for the foreseeable future until an appointment has been made, Swansea have got history of promoting within as Garry Monk is testament to that, whether this becomes a job interview for the former Swans midfielder remains to be seen.
It has been quite the chance in circumstances for someone who started the season as a registered Swansea player, only to then become Paul Clement’s assistant after the departure of Claude Makelele earlier in the season, he now however finds himself in the Liberty Stadium hotseat for the visit of Crystal Palace.
Who come here off of the back of not only their first away goals of the season but more importantly their first away win of the campaign. That came last Saturday as they got the better of what was then an in form Leicester side who have been transformed under new boss Claude Puel.
But there is no doubting the transformation that has gone at Selhurst Park under the stewardship of Roy Hodgson, the Eagles are now soaring as high as 14th and a win over Swansea this afternoon could see them move up to the heady heights of 12th in the Premier League table.
Earlier in the week Roy Hodgson would have fancied his chances of a second straight away win but now that Swansea have had a change of personnel at the top it could lend to a new manager lift for the South Wales outfit therefore making it a harder proposition than it could have first been.
Swansea have to win this one to make sure they do not begin to be cast adrift at the foot of the Premier League table while Palace will look to end what has been a topsy-turvy 2017 on a high. Earlier in the week I would have said Palace win but now I will plump for a draw.
Here is what Social Media thinks will happen – you can still vote on the outcome
Leon Britton takes charge of #Swansea this weekend, will the Caretaker be able to clean up against #CrystalPalace
— Dan Tracey (@dantracey1983) December 21, 2017
