Premier League Round 15: The good, the bad and the ugly

The Ugly

Garry Monk’s Tenure at Swansea City

It started so well and ended so poorly for Garry Monk at Swansea City.

I have previously documented the exceedingly poor form Swansea City went through after they beat Manchester United on August 30.

They have yet to climb out of the rut, though they have won since then (a 2-1 away win against Aston Villa on October 24), and Monk has been sacked for not finding a way to help get his team out of the slump.

Since the sacking, Swansea City have been linked to Avram Grant, Gus Poyet and Ryan Giggs.

I’m not sure about Grant. He did a great job with Chelsea when he took over for Mourinho during the 2007-08 season. His team competed with a really good Manchester United side of the time and only lost the Champions League Final in a penalty shootout. Since leaving Chelsea Grant has been in charge of West Ham, Portsmouth, Partizan Belgrade and Ghana.

Grant has done a decent job with these teams, for the most part, including a league championship during his only season with Partizan. Still, though, I’m not sure he is right for Swansea City.

After leaving Partizan he spent about two years away from the game. His first job upon returning was as technical director for a club team in Thailand and he left shortly for the position as Ghana’s manager. Keep in mind Grant is also 60-years old. Taking a position in Thailand and a national team job entails that he might be slowing down. Perhaps he could not keep up the grind of the day-to-day tasks of leading a Premier League side at this point in his career.

As far as Poyet goes, since leaving Sunderland he has taken over AEK Athens and they are currently second behind run away leaders Olympiacos in the Greek Superleague.

I really don’t think he’s a great choice for Swansea City either. I just don’t feel like it’s inspiring enough to get the team out of this rut. Sure, he galvanized Sunderland enough, and with significantly less time remaining in the season, to get them out of seemingly inescapable relegation form a couple of years back, but I’m not sure he can do the same for Swansea City.

To me, Giggs seems a really good option for the Swans. He has something to prove. They have something to prove after such a prolonged run of poor form. Why not prove something together?

The positive impact it could have on Giggs is obvious. To gain valuable experience with another club, should he ever receive the opportunity manage Manchester United, could prove extremely valuable. Plus, the opportunity to have your first managerial job be with a Premier League side, not to mention one with considerable talent, is a luxury not afforded to most.

If Giggs was successful then it could be a huge factor in whether he gets the Manchester United seat down the line. Also, if Giggs’ tenure was successful then it would benefit Swansea City for however long he stayed on.

The risk, obviously, is that hiring Giggs could end up exactly the same way Monk’s tenure did. Monk’s first experience as a manager came as a player-interim manager for Swansea City. Then he became the full-time manager and hit the ground running. Unfortunately, once the ship started sinking Monk was unable to rescue it.

What Giggs has going for him is that he did manage Manchester United briefly at the end of the David Moyes’ era. He has also been the assistant manager under Louis van Gaal for the past year and a half. He is not as inexperienced as Monk was when Swansea City tabbed him as their boss.

I think Giggs’ preferred style of play would fit the makeup of the Swansea City club really well.

Whoever Swansea City chose to be their next manager, they must make sure they get it right. They are stuck in the middle of the relegation battle currently and need to make sure they pick a manager that can steer the ship back up the table.