As Swansea City begin the search for another manager, Dai Sport looks at the stats behind the sackings and whether the new man can pull-off another Great Escape.
If Gary Monk had to go after a run of only one win in 11 Premier League matches back in 2015, and Bob Bradley lost his job last year after bagging only 8 points in 11 games, then the statistics showed it was time for Paul Clement to move on.
His sorry Swans had won only once in their past 10 games, notched a dozen points in 18 matches and found themselves two points off the pace at the bottom of the table. Not only that, their 10 goals to date this season are half the number that Bradley’s boys scored in the first half of the last campaign.
The sad fact is that Swansea City have been flirting with disaster for the past three seasons. No wonder, then, they have shed so many managers in such a short space of time.
Since Brendan Rodgers headed to Liverpool in the summer of 2012, five managers have come and gone at the Liberty Stadium and Alan Curtis has done two stints as an interim boss. The managerial merry-go-round doesn’t reflect well on the board room.
Having done so well in their early season in the top flight, the truth is the club has come perennial relegation candidates. Clement was a a hero in the second half of last season, but a disaster in the first half of the current campaign.
There is still a chance the new man might be able to pull off another ‘Great Escape’, but it looks as though the Swans’ ticket back to the Championship has been booked for this summer.
SWANSEA CITY AT CHRISTMAS 2015-2017
2017/18 20 Swansea City 18 3 3 12 10 25 -15 12
2016/17 19 Swansea City 17 3 3 11 20 37 -17 12
2015/16 18 Swansea City 17 3 6 8 15 24 -9 15
SWANSEA THIS SEASON
1st in number of saves (Lukasz Fabianski – 72)
3 wins only in 18 games
10th in passing league with 7,433
11th in touches at 10,810
12th in defensive stats at 1.39 goals per game (6 clean sheets)
20th in attack stats with 10 goals (4 from Tammy Abraham) 0.56 goals per game
20th in Premier League, two points adrift with 12
SWANSEA CITY IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE
2017-18 20th 12 pts (after 18 games) 10 goals
2016-17 15th 41 pts 7 pts clear of relegation. 45 goals
2015-16 12th 47 pts 10 pts clear of relegation 42 goals
2014-15 8th 56 pts 21 pts clear of relegation 46 goals
2013-14 12th 42 pts 9 pts clear of relegation 54 goals
2012-13 9th 46 pts 10 pts clear of relegation 47 goals
2011-12 11th 47 pts 9 pts clear of relegation 44 goals
Swansea City Managers 2012-2017
Michael Laudrup 17 June, 2012 to 4 February, 2014 1 year, 232 days
P84 W29 D24 L31 % Success 34.52
Garry Monk 4 February, 2014 to 9 December, 2015 1 year, 308 days
P77 W28 D17 L32 % Success 36.36
Alan Curtis 9 December, 2015 to 18 January, 2016 40 days
P8 W2 D2 L4 % Success 25.00
Francesco Guidolin 18 January, 2016 to 3 October, 2016 259 days
P25 W9 D5 L11 % Success 36.00
Bob Bradley 3 October, 2016 to 27 December, 2016 85 days
P11 W2 D2 L7 % Success 18.18
Alan Curtis 27 December, 2016 to 3 January, 2017 7 days
P2 W1 D0 L1 % Success 50.00
Paul Clement 3 January, 2017 to 20 December, 2017 351 days
P41 W14 D5 L22 % Success 34.1
Clubs in Relegation Zone at Christmas Who Stayed Up
Over the 25 seasons of the Premier League, 30 teams have beaten the drop despite being in the relegation zone at Christmas.
Season Team 25 Dec Pos Final Pos
1992/93 Wimbledon 21 12
1993/94 Southampton 21 18
1995/96 Wimbledon 18 14
Coventry 19 16
1996/97 Blackburn 19 13
1997/98 Spurs 18 14
Everton 19 17
1998/99 Southampton 19 17
1999/00 Derby 18 16
2000/01 Middlesbrough 19 14
2002/03 Bolton 19 17
2003/04 Portsmouth 18 13
2004/05 West Brom 20 17
2005/06 Portsmouth 18 17
2006/07 West Ham 18 15
2007/08 Sunderland 18 15
Wigan 19 14
2008/09 Man City 18 10
Blackburn 19 15
2009/10 Bolton 18 14
West Ham 19 17
2010/11 Wigan 18 16
Wolves 19 17
2011/12 Wigan 18 15
2013/14 Crystal Palace 18 11
Sunderland 20 14
2014/15 Leicester City 20 14
2015/16 Swansea City 18 12
Sunderland 19 17
2016/17 Swansea City 19 14