Swansea City Season Preview: Inexperienced Monk has huge test on his hands

Will Garry Monk be able to keep Swansea in the Premier League next season?

Swansea were yet another club to go through a managerial change last season before eventually getting the results that kept them in the Premier League, but after a summer of disappointing transfer activity Mike Norman fears for Garry Monk's men this season...

Last Season

Like so many clubs before them Swansea struggled to mix Premier League football with Thursday night Europa League action and as a result their form suffered. Although never falling below 13th in the table until early January the Swans were never comfortably ahead of the relegation zone points wise, and when they lost their sixth league game in eight outings in early February Michael Laudrup was sacked.

In came former club captain Garry Monk, initially on an interim basis, who eventually led the club to Premier League safety thanks to four wins in the last seven games of the season. Ivorian striker Wilfried Bony was largely the reason the Swans survived, scoring 25 league and cup goals in a very successful first season at the club.

Ins and Outs

It's been pretty quiet so far at Swansea, with only midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson, goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, and French striker Bafetimbi Gomis arriving at the Liberty Stadium of any note. Those three incomings may well turn out to be good signings but they are effectively only filling some of the voids left by the departing Michael Vorm, Ben Davies, and Chico Flores.

A few more signings look imperative if Monk is to build a squad capable of not being dragged into a season-long relegation fight. At the time of writing, I fear for Swansea.

Manager

He might not be 'club legend' status but Garry Monk is certainly very popular among the Swansea faithful. Having joined the club 10 years ago he has been a huge part of the Swans rapid rise, captaining the side for much of their success that saw them climb from League Two to the Premier League as well as win the League Cup.

Monk's lack of managerial experience is a big concern, and perhaps also is his standing in the game as he's so far struggled to attract any big names to the Liberty Stadium. With a 37-year-old relatively inexperienced assistant (Josep Clotet) alongside him the fear is that Monk might be out of his depth should the results not go Swansea's way at some point during the season.

Expectations

Following Swansea's immediate success in top-flight football (League Cup success and comfortable Premier League survival) it was perhaps understandable that they'd struggle slightly last season. No doubt Swansea fans will expect a repeat of the 2012-13 season in terms of league form rather than what they witnessed last season, but in all honesty they should expect, and hope for, nothing more than to remain a Premier League club at the end of this campaign.

Their squad looks a bit thin to me, and with inexperienced coaching staff also in charge then this could be another season of struggle in south Wales. Premier League survival and perhaps a little cup run should be the height of Swansea's expectations this term.

Best Bet

With so little transfer activity completed so far, and the fear that Bony will either leave for a bigger club or struggle to repeat his goalscoring form in his second season at the Liberty Stadium, then the worry is that Swansea could be dragged into a relegation fight from an early stage.

Add in the fact that they have an inexperienced manager at the helm then as things stand the 6.05/1 about the Swans being relegated makes some appeal.

Value Bet

With Swansea facing away trips at Manchester United, Chelsea, Everton, Manchester City, and a much improved Stoke in the first few months of the season their form at the Liberty Stadium is going to be pivotal.

And when you consider their early home games are against the likes of Newcastle and Southampton - two of last season's top-10 finishers - before games hosting Arsenal and Tottenham, then you start to realise what a tough first half of the season it's going to be for Monk's men.

If Swansea get off to a bad start then it will be extremely difficult for them to recover, and backing them now at 16.015/1 in the Bottom at Christmas market might offer some trading potential.