Swansea Fan View: Painting over the cracks?

Swansea walked away with all three points?! That’s right, it had to happen at some stage, and Saturday’s heart-stopping 5-4 thriller against Crystal Palace is one game no-one will forget in a hurry.

However, while it remains a fantastic result, it may have exposed more cracks than it painted over.

Firstly, let’s address the fact that Swansea won. This win deserves attention because - as if we need reminding - it was both the club’s first victory since August, and the first with Bob Bradley in charge.

The scenes at the Liberty at the final whistle were those of pure jubilation and relief, as management, players and fans embraced each other. An outsider to football may have assumed Swansea had just won the league, but no - this win was more important than that.

It was reassuring to see several players grab the game by the scruff of the neck. Gylfi Sigurdsson shone once again, especially with his powerful free kick that opened the scoring.

The other two goalscorers, Leroy Fer and Fernando Llorente, deserve praise too. While their goals will never feature in a ‘best of’ collection, they cropped up at the right time and did what so many have failed to do in the past - get the ball in the net by whatever means necessary.

In fact, we can probably give a thumbs up to the majority of the squad for digging in and securing all three points when, at several stages during the match, it seemed impossible.

The collective sigh of relief at the final whistle from the Liberty crowd (those that actually stayed until the end) was topped only by the sigh from Bradley, who knew the pressure had been lifted ever so slightly.

But lest we forget Swansea are still second from bottom, and the job is not finished. It’s barely even started.

The game showed big defensive cracks - they let in four goals! By anyone’s standards this is shocking, but it’s the manner in which they were conceded that causes the most concern.

Scrappy, and down to lack of attention and communication. You can forgive four world-class screamers, but none of the Palace goals were impressive (bar Jack Cork’s headed own-goal - that was technically very good). If the defence continues playing in the woeful way it has been, it won’t be long before we see our first 6, 7 or 8-0 defeat, especially against the free-scoring teams at the top.

This again highlights the need for a solid, experienced centre back in the next transfer window (one of many players we require). Not a bargain bin Spaniard, not an experienced-but-slow 35-year-old, not a promising youth player - we need a genuine, fully fit defender who will become the first name on the team sheet and help stop the rot at the back. Of course, we won’t hold our breath - we know how historically tight the purse strings are.

But if the board see that the team can get a few wins and all is not lost in the Premier League, perhaps they will be convinced to open their cheque books and invest a little, in the hope of retaining top flight football again next season.