Swans mixing it with pass masters

SUNDAY’S Premier League match at Liberty Stadium was billed as a game for the purists.

It lived up to the hype with the only surprise being that Swansea were able to beat the Gunners at their own passing game.

Passing accuracy is a key part of the approach of both teams but the ability to maintain possession does not in itself guarantee success in the Premier League.

Take for instance Roberto Martinez’s Wigan.

The Latics have struggled for goals all season and are rooted at the foot of the table, having picked up 15 points from 21 games.

However if the table was based merely on passing accuracy Wigan, with a success rate of 81.2%, would be in seventh ahead of teams like Liverpool (eighth with 81%) and Newcastle (12th with 76.5%).

Swansea are defying expectations this season and are currently in 10th place with a healthy tally of 26 points.

However if success was based on passing ability, the Swans’ success rate of 85.2% would be even more impressive and would have them in the dizzy heights of third and competing for a Champions League spot, according to UK radio station Talksport.

Chelsea have struggled for consistency in terms of results this season but a completion rate of 85.5% means they are second only to leaders Manchester City (86.2%) in passing success.

At the other end of the scale Stoke, a side who have never been a favourite of the footballing purist, are currently in eighth position in the Premier League with 30 points from 21 games.

However with a 69.8% success rate Stoke are by a distance the worst passing team in the division.

Manchester United’s problems in midfield are well documented and perhaps explain why Alex Ferguson was so keen to get Paul Scholes out of retirement.

The champions (84.1%) are sixth in the passing table but remain firmly on Manchester City’s coattails in the Premier League, which just goes to show that while the ability to maintain possession is important, it’s what a side does when it has the ball that ultimately counts.