Swansea relegation odds appeal after bizarre Laudrup departure
Published:Michael Laudrup’s history of short stays as a manager meant his departure from Swansea shocked few, but the Liberty Stadium faithful will be forgiven for being stumped by the timing and manner of the Dane’s sacking.
Less than a year after leading the Swans to the greatest triumph in their 102-year history in the Capital One Cup final defeat of Bradford, Laudrup was shown the door by the club’s highly-regarded chairman Huw Jenkins.
Just hours after becoming part of the coaching staff in south Wales, former captain Garry Monk was handed the role of head coach ‘for the foreseeable future’ and Ladbrokes go top price at 1/1 that the Bedford native will still have the gig at the start of the 2014/15 Premier League campaign.
If his new charges fail to improve on their run of results since the start of December, Monk may well find himself managing a Championship side by next August.
Swansea can currently be backed at 7/1 to drop through the relegation trapdoor this May, which is a bewilderingly big price considering they’re currently two points above 18th-placed West Ham, who beat them 2-0 in their last fixture.
Their recent 2-0 victory at home to woefully out-of-form Fulham was their first in nine league games and they’ve not banked three points on the road since the last time they played the Cottagers at the end of November.
As Monk’s men won’t face Rene Meulensteen’s side again this term, it’s difficult to see where the points Swansea need to survive will come from, as three of their next five Premier League games are away from home, with Anfield and the Emirates due visits during that run.
Jenkins has been lauded for his previous choice of managers, with Roberto Martinez, Brendan Rodgers and Laudrup all impressing in the Liberty Stadium hotseat, but the chairman may look back on this episode as the moment Swansea’s dream rise up the league ladder went into reverse.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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