Phil SumblerAn interesting stat reached us on Twitter yesterday that, during the Swans win at Millwall on Tuesday night we passed the 20,000 barrier for successful passes in the Championship this season.
To put that figure into context that is in excess of 1600 passes more than leaders Fulham have managed and almost 4000 more than the 3rd team in the list in Sheffield United.
Highest Number of Successful Passes in the Championship this Season 💥
20,501 – Swansea City
18,888 – Fulham
16,835 – Sheffield United
16,263 – Bournemouth
15,964 – QPRVia @ComparisonatorE #Swans #FFC #SUFC #twitterblades #AFCB #QPR | @VitalSwansea pic.twitter.com/0nsgNKK49v
— The Lower Tiers (@LowerTiers) April 6, 2022
The statistic – whilst in itself partially meaningless – shows exactly what Russell Martin is trying to achieve here at Swansea and, based on the evidence from this week alone, what is coming together quite nicely on the pitch.
For any criticism that people can level at Martin this season the one thing that cannot be disputed is that he never defers from his belief as to how he wants his teams to play. It was a vision he outlined during his early days at Swansea and, despite some real setbacks along the way, it is a vision that he has not moved away from.
The systematic destruction of Cardiff City last weekend and the equally impressive win at Millwall in midweek have moved the Swans back within touching distance of the top half of the table and on course to finish the current season in a form that could make next term a very good one indeed.
The players have grown in confidence with the style over the course of the season and now we have a forward line that seems, on most occasions, to include Paterson, Piroe and Obafemi we have a group of players who have in excess of 35 goals between them this season and an ability to create the space that a style such as that of our manager demands.
Martin has been consistent in his talks about bravery and intensity throughout the season and on Tuesday – whilst not as emphatic as the win on Saturday – the Swans were at their best and certainly on another day could have had more.
“The amount of courage we have shown over the last four or five games has been excellent, especially away from home on the back of the Sheffield United game which was a really tough afternoon for everyone,” Martin said after the win at Millwall.
“We took a lot of criticism and a lot of it was spot on, but how we have bounced back is testament to the character of the players, to how hard they work and, mainly, how brave they are and how willing they are to run for each other and show for each other.
“We can put in as much work as we can on the training pitch, but it’s being able to carry it out when you go to places with fans screaming at them that underlines the courage they have shown.”
We have talked much on these pages over the course of the last seven months about this being a season of transition and the transition is coming through at the moment. Since that game that Martin referenced at Bramall Lane, the Swans have picked up 16 points out of 24, kept four clean sheets and won 5 games. This is a team in strong form and playing some good football.
With two home games in a week ahead of us (Derby and Barnsley) before an Easter Monday trip to Reading there is every chance that we could be past the sixty point barrier by the mid point of this month with four games still to go. To put that into context, Graham Potter achieved 65 points in his season here, Steve Cooper 70 in his first season. We’re doing OK really aren’t we especially when you add in what those two had at their disposal.
The simple fact is right now nobody really wants to face Swansea City. We can talk up all the double achievements of last weekend (and rightly so) but a 4-0 win at Cardiff is not something that many teams manage and Millwall have been in excellent form. West Brom and Coventry never roll over and let you win so these are good strong wins based on good performances. Derby, Barnsley and Reading will do well to take note.
And whilst those 20,000 passes will turn into closer to 25,000 before the season ends we can stop and watch this plan coming together and a vision being delivered and understand why there are an increasing number of pundits out there who are starting to think that we could be on the verge of something special. Again.
