How times change, in football time moves fast especially. This time last season Swansea had already won the League cup, they had a manager who was gaining praise from all around the world, and had established themselves in the top half of the table.
For Norwich they had beaten off relegation worries, and looked like a typical mid table side, also had the enjoyment of getting the odd scalp against the big guns, such as beating Man Utd and Arsenal at home and beating Man city 3-2 away from home on the last day of the season.
Premier League Table;
| TOTAL | HOME | AWAY | ||||||||||||
| POS | Team | PTS | GP | W | D | L | W | D | L | W | D | L | GS | GA |
| 12 | Hull City | 33 | 30 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 32 | 37 |
| 13 | Norwich City | 32 | 31 | 8 | 8 | 15 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 26 | 48 |
| 14 | West Ham | 31 | 30 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 32 | 40 |
| 15 | Swansea City | 29 | 30 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 40 | 46 |
| 16 | West Bromwich Albion | 28 | 30 | 5 | 13 | 12 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 33 | 45 |
| 17 | Crystal Palace | 28 | 30 | 8 | 4 | 18 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 19 | 39 |
| 18 | Sunderland | 25 | 28 | 6 | 7 | 15 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 26 | 44 |
| 19 | Cardiff City | 25 | 31 | 6 | 7 | 18 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 26 | 58 |
| 20 | Fulham | 24 | 31 | 7 | 3 | 21 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 30 | 70 |
Swansea had 11 more points than they have now this has to be the consequence of playing in the Europa League. Plus the fact they sacked Micheal Landrup controversially because he had done such a good job and having a good relationship with the players, it has had a knock-on effect.
Since Monk has taken over, they have had mixed results and are hovering over the relegation zone. For mid table teams this isn’t a new result of reaching the highs of the Premier League and winning the league cup. It means the following season they then plummet to the lows of the league, very quickly e.g. Newcastle the two seasons previous.
Norwich has always been a relegation candidate as they are seen as a mid table side and rely on a run of wins early or late on in the season to survive. They had enforced the team with many transfers but sadly none have come as an instant impact and maybe if they survive and keep onto those players, they may come good next season after the experience of this season. They are one of the few teams at the lower end that have stuck with their manager, Chris Hughton which again links with Newcastle’s Alan Pardew and even though there’s been trouble in recent times, the future if the faith is kept that Norwich could have more positive times ahead and survival could be the start.
Swansea City Fixture List;
Arsenal Vs. Swansea
Swansea Vs. Norwich
Hull Vs. Swansea
Swansea Vs. Chelsea
Newcastle Vs. Swansea
Swansea Vs. Aston Villa
Swansea Vs. Southampton
Sunderland Vs. Swansea
Norwich City Fixture List;
Swansea Vs. Norwich
Norwich Vs West Brom
Fulham Vs. Norwich
Norwich Vs. Liverpool
Man Utd Vs Norwich
Chelsea Vs. Norwich
Norwich Vs Arsenal
The run-ins for both teams are difficult, and even more so as Norwich will look and probably need to get wins against Swansea, West Brom and Fulham as they are the teams that are around them but also are the games the Canaries will think they can get the most from. These fixtures are emphasised by the fact their final four games are against top end teams. They might believe they can get something at United and determining if Arsenal is still in the title race, the final game of the season could bring a result that might not be expected. Swansea have got an easier couple of fixtures compared to some of the teams below them and I think they will pick up enough points to not have to worry. It does seem that Norwich is able to come up with a win or a result when squeezed to, as we saw against Sunderland on Saturday.
Both supporters of these teams will hope and believe the squads they have especially Swansea should be able to survive. I think there is only one spot to fear in the relegation zone for these teams that Sunderland currently hold and because the other teams don’t have the quality or the stability Swansea and Norwich currently have and both should survive when the final game of the season comes around.
Source: DSG
