Swansea City have been a breath of fresh air this season

Swansea City have been one of the surprise packages of this seasons Premier League campaign so far.

The Swans 3-2 victory over Arsenal at the Liberty Stadium yesterday showed just how well the Welsh side are currently playing.

At times they passed Arsenal off the park. The Gunners in recent years have became synonymous with passing football but Swansea made them look poor in periods of yesterday’s game.

Philosophy

Swansea in recent years have developed a philosophy of passing football in the Championship. A number of pundits believed that Swansea would adapt their playing style once they were promoted to the top flight.

However Swansea boss Brendan Rodgers has stated that their style is more of a philosophy than a way of playing. The Swans boss is a big believer in possession football and spent time at Barcelona watching their training sessions and taking notes.

Swansea may not have the same quality of player as the European Champions but they seem to play a very similar style. In fact the Welsh side are in the top ten of Europe’s best passing teams.

Surprise

Swansea have taken a lot of people by surprise this season. However having seen a lot of the Welsh side in the past few seasons they really haven’t shocked me by their performances. Over the last few seasons City have brought in players who have steadily improved the squad.

People predicting that Swansea would be the whipping boys of the Premier League will be feeling very silly right now. I couldn’t be happier for the side from Wales.

Boss

Swansea City boss Brendan Rodgers has been a highly-rated coach for sometime. He was a reserve team coach at Chelsea during Jose Mourinho’s reign at Stamford Bridge. The Portuguese boss rated Rodgers as one of his most promising protégés.

Rodgers managed Watford and Reading before moving to Wales with Swansea. His stint at Reading didn’t even last six months and he was labelled a flop by many. Fortunately though Rodgers found a club with a similar football philosophy to his in Swansea.

Swansea had been playing possession football under previous bosses Roberto Martinez and Paulo Sousa and Rodgers has managed to continue that style. However Rodgers managed to do something that Martinez and Sousa couldn’t do though, he managed to get Swansea promoted to the top flight.

Signings

Rodgers has done a superb job at Swansea. This summer he had to bring in players that were good enough for the Premier League. Rodgers produced two of the signings of the summer in goalkeeper Michel Vorm and striker Danny Graham.

Dutchman Michel Vorm has been one of the best keepers in the Premier League this season. What Vorm lacks in height he makes up for in agility and reflexes. The keeper is also good with his feet, as he has to be in a passing team like Swansea.

Graham has also been a superb signing. His only previous experience of top flight football before this season was a handful of appearances at Middlesbrough at the start of his career. The striker arrived from Championship side Watford for £3million and he hasn’t looked back since.

The 26 year-old has scored seven goals this season in the Premier League, despite playing as a lone striker for most of the season. Graham holds the ball up superbly and brings the likes of wingers Scott Sinclair and Nathan Dyer into the game.

I think Danny Graham was very underrated as a goalscorer because he was playing in the lower leagues in previous seasons. I hope that he will now get the recognition he deserves and keeps scoring goals for the Swans.

Survival

At the start of the season survival would have been Swansea’s main aim. Swansea are currently sitting comfortably in the top half of the Premier League table. I don’t think Swansea will have a problem staying up this season.

Swansea deserve their place in the Premier League and I hope they keep to their passing football philosophy. Swansea have been a welcome addition to the top flight and hopefully they will be members of the Premier League for a long time to come.

How high in the Premier League table can Swansea finish?