Football League World
·24 October 2024
Football League World
·24 October 2024
Swansea City have scored the least goals in the Championship this season and Jerry Yates is finding his feet for Derby County
Swansea City may be sitting in mid-table a number of points away from the relegation zone, but the opening 11 games have given supporters a real cause for concern.
Luke Williams developed a reputation for building an exciting Notts County side who would concede a number of goals, but score plenty too, and 4-3, 5-5 and 4-2 were just some of the results his side recorded prior to his move to Swansea in January 2024.
However, Williams' Swansea side this season have been the polar opposite of that, and while they have a formidable defensive record, they have struggled badly for goals.
As per the BBC, Swansea supporters have seen fewer goals than any other EFL side this season, scoring eight and conceding seven in their opening 11 games, and given their woes when it comes to finding the back of the net, they may just be paying close to Derby County and Jerry Yates.
Swansea City haven't scored since the first half of their draw with Bristol City at the end of September, meaning they've gone the last four games without a goal.
They've actually gone nine halves of football without finding the back of the net, a grim read for Swansea City supporters which emphasises how much they've struggled in front of goal.
They're currently the division's lowest goalscorers with eight goals, which puts further scrutiny on their decision to loan Yates to Championship rivals Derby in the summer.
Yates didn't do much to impress the Jack Army in his first season at the club after joining Blackpool, scoring just nine goals in his 46 appearances, but he was still the club's joint topscorer, and loaning him to a league rival could backfire.
At this stage it looks like it would be a miracle should a Swansea player reach nine goals this season, and while Yates himself has struggled for goals this season, he grabbed his first of the campaign on the weekend in Derby's draw with Millwall.
Despite his lack of goals, Yates has impressed the Pride Park faithful, and he registered an assist in their recent draw with Oxford United.
If he's able to go on a run and start scoring and assisting on a regular basis, Swansea will surely have regrets about their decision to send him on loan, and they may just be watching him closely in the coming weeks.
Swansea's three top scorers from last season, Jerry Yates, Jamal Lowe and Jamie Paterson all departed in the summer, and they've struggled to replace them.
Liam Cullen looks set to be Swansea's main outlet this season, and while he's someone who will chip in with a few goals, he's not someone who you can rely on to score 15 plus goals a season.
New signing Zan Vipotnik has struggled to get up to speed since his move from Bordeaux, and while Jisung Eom has been impressive since joining from South Korean side Gwanju, he's yet to find the back of the net.
Losing seasoned goalscorers, coupled with new signings not hitting the ground running has provided Swansea with a perfect storm, and it's easy to see why they aren't scoring goals.
When you look at Swansea's side there's no one that stands out as someone who will score goals on a regular basis, and while hindsight is a wonderful thing, perhaps they wished they'd kept Yates around.
It goes without saying that eight goals in 11 games is a really poor return, and further attacking reinforcements will surely be needed come January.