Planet Swans ArchivesMichael Laudrup was handed a bit of a dilemma just over a week ago when Chico Flores went down against QPR and was soon ruled out of contention for the Capital One Cup final giving the manager the option between Monk or Bartley to line up alongside Ashley Williams at Wembley.
Both played on Sunday in the 5-0 defeat at Liverpool which I don’t suspect made the manager’s decision any easier but for me it has to be Monk for a host of reasons.
Firstly, his length of service at the club means that he has played much more often alongside Ash meaning the understanding between the two should be greater and thus effectively reducing the chances of the defence being breached by Bradford.
Secondly, think back on how many times Garry Monk has let us down despite being often written off by some sections of our support. When we won promotion to the Premier League, he was written off by some as unable to make the step up but – as with most of his time at the club – he has rarely let us down and this to be is an important factor in who we should select.
And the final reason for me is that Monk is a leader and a natural one at that. I have no problems with Ash being our captain and, he too is a brilliant leader, but in a Cup Final you want as many natural leaders on the pitch as possible and the experience of Garry will help that no end.
You could – if you so wished – throw in the sentimental reasons of a player who has played for us at all levels but at the moment I don’t think you need to on the basis that the arguments are strong enough without doing it.
“It would top off my career because I’ve come from playing in the bottom league to the Premier League with Swansea,” Monk told the Western Mail.
The good news is that even if he doesn’t play, he has already agreed with Ashley Williams that should the Swans triumph then the two of them will lift the cup together which is of course the right decision.
We are unlikely to know the outcome of this particular dilemma until Sunday although I do believe that the rest of the team will almost select itself with the only other question I think being do we select Nathan Dyer and play with three wingers or put Ki into a midfield that will almost certainly contain JDG or Leon.
Let’s see what the manager’s viewpoint is but I know what we would do.
