Phil Sumbler
They say that seven days is a long time in football and this time last week the Swans were putting in one of their best performances of the season as they secured a first league win for Luke Williams at Hull.
A performance built around some good midfield play, good use of pace and width within the side and whilst the 1-0 scoreline was ultimately close the Swans arguably could have deserved more from the performance itself.
Three days later we welcomed Leeds United to the Swansea.com Stadium and put in a performance on the other end of the scale as we were blown away inside the first ten minutes when Leeds took a two goal advantage and eventually ran out 4-0 winners on one of their most comfortable games of the season.
The result itself was painful to bear but what made it worse was the (as said by Luke Williams) lack of aggression and intensity that made it so easy for Leeds to come at the Swans seemingly at will and it would have been difficult to argue had we lost by a bigger margin.
The nature of the Championship for long periods means that games come thick and fast and this afternoon the Swans welcome another promotion chasing side to SA1 looking to secure a return to winning ways (or at least get another win) although Ipswich arrive here boosted by a 4-0 game themselves in midweek although their scoreline was to the positive.
The Swans are awaiting news on the injury that saw Bashir Humphreys take an early exit on Tuesday but with Kyle Naughton fit enough to replace him on Tuesday he will step in at right back should he be needed. The Swans injury list is long and consistent with Harry Darling, Josh Key, Liam Walsh, Azeem Abdulai, Josh Ginnelly, Sam Parker, Jamal Lowe and Harrison Ashby all out injured for varying periods of time.
Ipswich have no fresh injury concerns following their own midweek 4-0 win at Millwall and are expected to name an unchanged side for their trip to South Wales.
The man in the middle…
The Swans are in desperate need of a performance as much as a result for their home fans. The empty seats around the Swansea.com Stadium were clear to see on Tuesday night and whilst an official attendance of 17,800 will account for all ticket sales, the reality was there would have been 2,000 more empty seats in the ground at least. And that was before you consider those that were leaving early because of the emphatic score line against the Swans.
The endless reminders this week of season ticket deadlines probably also tell their own story with way too many stories of long term season ticket holders not renewing and it is hard to argue that there has been little signs of consistent entertainment at the ground at any point in the post-Covid era.
That said there have been some signs in games under Williams that we can play at a different level and look like a side closer to what we all know to be the “Swansea Way” and, despite Ipswich’s lofty position, that can be demonstrated this afternoon. The players owe the manager that after Tuesday night and, more importantly, they also owe it to those who pay to watch them week in week out.
The question is are they up for it? We can certainly hope so.
The Jackarmy.net Prediction – Swansea City 2-1 Ipswich Town
You can keep updated with the views of the fans both pre, during and post match via our matchday thread which, for this game, can be accessed here.
