Swansea City's best start to a league season in 103 years has caught the attention of rival managers and national pundits, with praise for their pressing game, defensive organisation and togetherness after seven wins in their opening 11 Championship games.
Saturday's 1-0 home defeat to West Ham United at the Swansea.com Stadium ended a run of positive results, but the Swans remain top of the Championship. The match drew the stadium's best attended crowd ever, and manager Vitor Matos was defiant afterwards, insisting the disappointment at taking nothing from the game spoke volumes about the team's progress.
Rival bosses impressed
West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo was complimentary after the match. "Swansea is a very good team," he said. "Vitor is doing an amazing job, the way he puts the boys to play, the way they are organised, their belief until the final moments, the problems that they create."
He added: "They are very dynamic. They have the wingers one-v-one, they have speed, they run the channel, [they have] a very good striker that always gives good mobility."
Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder, not known for lavish praise, offered a glimmer of recognition after his side's goalless draw at the Swansea.com Stadium earlier in the season. "Everybody wanted to bash us over the head last week about the lack of chances that we've had and XGs and stuff like that, and to come here against a possession-based team that creates every week, I don't think many teams will do what we've done today statistically," he said.
Pundits back the Swans
Writing in The Times, Dominic Akiboye said: "A 1-0 home defeat by West Ham United on Saturday exposed their limitations, but Swansea still remain top of the Championship, with enough evidence to suggest that their early form can last. The strongest case for Matos' side lies in their organisation and commitment without the ball. The pressing is co-ordinated, the wingers defend as willingly as they attack and opponents have to work hard to create chances."
Saturday was just the eighth goal Swansea have conceded this season, the best defensive record in the division. BBC pundit Naz Prenji noted the influence of former boss Jurgen Klopp, under whom Matos worked at Liverpool, and backed the Swans as a team worth watching. "You can see the hallmarks of that kind of style with a fast pressing team who are up and at their opponents from the get-go," he wrote.
Ingredients for promotion
Former England and Sunderland striker Kevin Phillips told The Football League Paper that the team's collective effort stands out. "I think it's a collective thing," he said. "We just spoke about what it takes to get out of the league – collectively, you have to work as a unit, you have to be together, and they've done that. Their togetherness."
Phillips highlighted seven different scorers this season, strong away form with three wins in four, and the contribution of summer signing Stephen Welsh, who he called "their top player so far". "Defensively, they've looked solid; going forward, they're scoring goals from everywhere," he added. "Believe me, if you want to get out of that league, that's the type of attributes you need."
