Hello to all readers on scfc.co.uk! Hope I can provide you with as interesting a column as the other columnists do. I write on a variety of topics not just Swansea City, so if you want to have a look, please do. www.osheasport.co.uk is where you'll find sporting opinion, betting tips and even a podcast amongst my archived Swans columns and interviews. Right, so onto the good stuff.
First of all, please excuse me for putting the excitement of the Portsmouth game aside. As desperate as I am for the Swans to put on a great show and beat Pompey (which I think we will), I'm more excited about our league prospects.
The next 7 games are played against teams either around, or below us, and 4 of them are at home. Given our 11 match unbeaten run and 3 consecutive wins, it's hard to not be excited at the prospect of a good amount of points in the coming weeks.
It's been very interesting looking at supporters opinion as we've gone through the season so far. Some pessimistic supporters were panicking during the run of draws, and pointing to the lack of a Mr. Bodde - other more optimistic individuals point to the fact that we've not lost without him. Either way, you can't deny the facts. Seeing as I am always fascinated by the more hidden facts in sport, I thought I'd bring a few of Swansea and the Championship's stats to you.
It is always fascinating when facts come up against popular opinion - for example Jacks around the world will bemoan the number of dropped points this season, and they'd be right to - we've dropped a total of 15 points from winning positions, drawing 6 and losing 1, the 5th worst team for doing so. If we had Sheffield United's record this season, (just 2 points dropped from a winning position), then they'd be level on points with Reading in 2nd place.
Anyway, moving on, what should be mentioned is that the Swans are also in 5th place for gaining points from losing positions. 11 points have been accumulated despite falling behind and of the teams above us in this respect - Burnley, Preston, Wolves and Birmingham, we've beaten 3 of them - quite a feather in the cap, I'd say.
We've also had a fair amount of players sent off for the opposition this season, including in our last 3 games, where we really have stepped up our performances I feel. In total, it stands at 6, which is almost a quarter of all our games. My favourite stat has to be that Stephen McPhail has picked up 6 cards against us this season, in just 2 hours of football - one for every 20 minutes spent on the Liberty Stadium pitch.
Our defence has come in for some criticism this season too, but a run of 4 consecutive clean sheets and a total of 10, (Reading have the most, with 12), means we have one of the tightest defences in the division, although the recent run suggests it is an improved defence. (Anything to do with Alan Tate?).
Interestingly enough, Swansea amongst it's fans have gained a reputation for losing to teams they really shouldn't. However this season, not since the opening day have we lost to a team that is now in the bottom half. We've won 5, drawn 7 and lost 1 (Charlton) in total, putting us in mid-table in this respect. When you then look at how we've fared against the top-half of the table - won 4, drawn 7, lost 4 (7th position), it's easy to see why Martinez thinks we can have a real go at this division.
3 of our 5 defeats have come against the top 3, and considering we don't have any of them to play again, it's hard to argue against the reality of a play-off push.
A random statistic which perhaps shouldn't be paid that much attention to is that Swansea have not lost a single game when drawing at half-time. Of the 15 games that have been locked after 45 minutes, we have won 3 and drawn an incredible 12, but importantly not lost. Just goes to show what Roberto must say in the dressing room certainly does us no harm. We have however, lost on 1 occasion when in front (Birmingham (H)), but that is widely attributed to losing Bodde and Britton.
Since that game on November 21st, Swansea have not lost, making the current 10 match unbeaten run, the best in the division so far this season. Swansea have also lost the least amount of home games and the much celebrated league record of 8 consecutive draws is safe in the bag.
The only concrete statistic us fans can influence directly of course is the attendance, and perhaps we are a little harsh on ourselves. Our attendances have come in for some criticism in some quarters, but we fill 75% of our stadium every game. Taking into consideration the poor away support that comes to almost every game, that's not that bad at all, 11th in the Championship in fact.
All in all, the stats make for good and interesting reading. As a Swans fan though, I think the only one any of us care overly about right now however, is that magical 6th spot (or above), come May 3rd.
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