Keep Calm and Carry On: Swansea City
Who else could it be? Really the replay against Notts County showed how far this Swansea team have come on in a little over a month. Carlos Carvalhal has taken a squad that looked like they had lost all hope, were devoid of creativity going forward, lacked co-ordination at the back, nevermind the fact they were sitting bottom of the table, and has created a team that's fun to watch going forward as well as disciplined in defence. In the first game Swansea showed a bit of a wariness of Notts that ultimately led to them taking a team from a lower division to a replay for the second round in a row. This game there was no such caution. Swansea displayed a mercilessness not really seen since the glory days of Rodgers, Laudrup and Monk. A brace each for Dyer and Abraham (who I am personally hoping to see break into the Chelsea team next season, especially bearing in mind the current selections of centre forwards available) alongside goals from an impressive Naughton and Routledge, as well as James and Carroll who rounded out the scorers for the Swans.
For the last few seasons, even since the season after their wonderful League Cup win, most football fans have kind of thrown pitying glance in Swansea's direction. Initially a team that had a place in all fans hearts due to their attractive style of football, their positive attitude, and the fact that they made do with limited resources but still managed to stick it to the big boys. However since those halcyon days they have experienced a bit of a decline. A mixture of poor results, inconsistent management teams, and a quite frankly uninspiring transfer policy has seen them more often than not being involved in the relegation battle over the last few years rather than the unanticipated dark horses for European places of their earlier Premier League tenure. But now Swansea are showing a steel and grit they have been lacking in a while. Whether Carvalhal has been the missing ingredient to a Swansea side that has a mixture of promising young talent and seasoned top flight players, or if it's just a temporary side effect of yet another managerial change is still up for debate, but an impressive showing in the Cup sees Swansea get our Keep Calm and Carry On!
Wooden Spoons: Notts County
Poor Notts County. It really was a tale of two different performances. In the first game County were disciplined, tight at the back, and really held their own against top tier opposition. they may have given Swansea a bit more respect than they should of, but they certainly didn't look over awed. The replay however showed the true gulf in class between teams in the top flight and those plying their trade in the lowest professional league of the English game. That's not meant as a dig either, merely a fact of the state of football in the Premier League age. Magpies manager Kevin Nolan will no doubt be disappointed at the performance especially as a disciple of Everton manager Sam Allardyce, who as we know is a stickler for a disciplined defensive display, at a team that appeared so solid in a 1-1 draw at Meadow Lane will have been torn asunder as easily as they were, and will arguably regret maybe not pushing for a second in the first match. However as he said in his post match interview this gives the team the opportunity to focus on the league, especially with them being only a point off of the automatic promotion places. Nevertheless, Notts County are unfortunately the recipients of the dreaded Wooden Spoon.
And that's been The Cup Run! Do you agree with our choices? Were Swansea truly deserving of this weeks Keep Calm and Carry On? Was it harsh to make Notts County our Wooden Spoons? Let us know in the comments below! Feel free to share it if you really think it's worth it. Also please don't forget to like our Facebook page which you can find here and subscribe to our YouTube channel here for more delicious football content, as well as news and politics if that's your thing. As always I have been Jake, you've been delightful, and this has been The Cup Run. I will see you next week for a FA Cup Fifth round edition of The Cup Run!
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