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Tactical talking point: Swansea City's slump

Swansea's downfall has not been a gradual one. They have won just seven of their last 33 Premier League games, with the last of those victories coming at the beginning of December. Their most recent disappointment came at home to Tottenham on Sunday, and it was a case of the same old Swansea, who pass the ball to death and rarely go anywhere with it.

Swansea dominated the game until the visitors scored with their first shot in the match, but after the opening goal they lost their confidence and poise, with Spurs running out as comfortable 3-1 winners.

Swansea have a habit of doing too little with their possession, but Spurs are a good example of what Michael Laudrup's side must do to turn things around. Tottenham kept the ball and moved it too slowly in the wrong areas towards the end of Andre Villas-Boas' tenure, and while Tim Sherwood's appointment did not convince every Spurs fan, he has made the side more efficient. They move the ball forward quicker, with greater variation, and, most importantly, they are taking the chances presented to them.

Swansea must see that as a lesson if they are to get over this extended slump, but there are valid reasons behind their struggles. Their Europa League commitments haven't helped, but they haven't had to play after a Thursday night game in over a month. The increase in matches has taken its toll on the squad though.

Michel Vorm, Jonathan De Guzman, Pablo Hernández and Michu have all been absent and, considering that these three outfield players rank among the side's top four players in terms of key passes per game, it's little surprise they're lacking end product. Nathan Dyer is also absent, ridding the side of his pace. Leon Britton and José Canas (also now sidelined) have played the majority of games recently and are too similar. It's ironic then that Ki Sung-Yueng, a player owned by Swansea, is flourishing on loan at Sunderland.

In addition to the extra games and injuries, Swansea's fixture list over the last month has been unenviable to say the least. Five defeats and just one point from six league matches have come courtesy of defeats to Everton, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham, with a draw away at Aston Villa sandwiched in between.

While they might have hoped for more at Villa, not many Swansea fans could reasonably expect much change out of the other fixtures. Indeed, Swansea picked up just the one point in the corresponding matches last season, and their goal difference was -9 compared to -7 in the same fixtures this season.

Furthermore, Swansea have suffered nine of their 11 defeats in the league this season to teams in the top seven and just one to a side in the bottom half – undoubtedly the hardest to swallow of all against Welsh rivals Cardiff City.

They drew against West Ham, Stoke City, Hull City, Norwich City and Aston Villa this season despite having possession figures ranging from between 63% to 73% in those games. The chances they created weren't taken frequently enough, with only four sides holding a worse conversion rate than the Swans' 7.6%.

The return of Michu, the upturn in form of Wilfried Bony – the real source for encouragement over the last few weeks – and the return of their creative players will help relieve the burden on Jonjo Shelvey, who can be temperamental. Come the end of the season, Swansea should be competing for a place in the top half of the table rather than battling against relegation.

All statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com, where you can find yet more stats, including live in-game data and unique player and team ratings.

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