SEASON REVIEW: Part one

After a record-breaking season in 2014-15, the new campaign was always going to be a hard act to follow for Swansea City.
A memorable year had seen the Swans pick up a best points tally of 56 in the Premier League, while an eighth-place finish also set a new club record.
But despite a rollercoaster ride of a season, which saw the club led by three different managers following Garry Monk's departure in December, 2015-16 saw the Swans' flirtation with relegation end in a 12th-place finish.
Here, we look back over the campaign in the first of three bite size chunks.



AUGUST
The Swans could not have been dealt a tougher fixture to open the campaign than a trip to defending champions Chelsea.
But Garry Monk's side stunned the hosts to claim a point thanks to goals from debutant Andre Ayew and Bafe Gomis, while Jefferson Montero stole the show with a sublime performance out wide.
Ayew showed a mix of calm and quality as he fired home from close range to cancel out Oscar's opener.
And despite falling behind once again, the Swans showed their character as Bafe Gomis picked himself up to level from the penalty spot after Thibaut Courtois was dismissed for his foul inside the box.
Buoyed by that performance and result, the Swans backed it up with a first victory of the campaign as Newcastle United visited the Liberty.



And it was a case of déjà vu in terms of the scorers as Gomis rounded Tim Krul to break the deadlock before Newcastle's Daryl Janmaat was dismissed for hauling down the impressive Montero.
The Ecuadorian later set up the second and final goal as his cross was met by Ayew, who powered home a header.
Another hard-earned point on the road saw the Swans continue their form following a 0-0 draw at Sunderland before they signed off an unbeaten month with a 2-1 win over Manchester United.
Ayew - later named August's Player of the Month - levelled once again with a header before Gomis's winner saw of Louis Van Gaal's side to send the Swans up to fourth.
In the Capital One Cup, goals from Nathan Dyer, Matt Grimes and Marvin Emnes earned a place in the third round after York City were beaten 3-0 at the Liberty.



SEPTEMBER
After a promising opening month, September proved the opposite.
A first defeat of the season was suffered at Premier League newboys Watford, who were in control throughout to pick up their first three points at Vicarage Road.
Everton were held to a 0-0 draw at the Liberty before interest in the Capital One cup ended following a 1-0 loss at Championship side Hull City.
And the month ended with another defeat as Southampton clinched a 3-1 win at St Mary's despite Gylfi Sigurdsson's first goal of the season.



OCTOBER
After the disappointment at Southampton, the Swans bounced back to claim a hard-earned share of the spoils when Tottenham Hotspur visited SA1.
Ayew netted his fourth goal of the campaign to open the scoring before Christian Eriksen's free-kick put the visitors back on level terms.
A bizarre Harry Kane own goal gave the Swans the lead once again before half-time, but another piece of magic from Eriksen saw him score his second free-kick to earn Tottenham a point.
A first home defeat of the season followed, with Bojan's early strike handing Stoke City a 1-0 win at the Liberty.



But the Swans bounced back to collect their first win on their travels as Ayew scored a late winner at Aston Villa.
Ayew's brother Jordan had put the home side in front, but Sigurdsson's second-half free-kick levelled matters.
And the stage was set for Ayew to steal the show - and the points - as he slid home Kyle Naughton's low cross in the 87th minute.
Hopes of back-to-back victories were ended by Arsenal on Halloween, with the Swans ruing a string of missed chances.
Goalless at the break, the Gunners fired themselves to victory in the second half as Olivier Giroud, Laurent Koscielny and Joel Campbell struck in a 3-0 defeat for the Swans which left them in 13th place with 13 points from 11 games.

See the website tomorrow for the second installment of our season review.