Mark Rowlands looks at the impact of Liverpool winger Paul Anderson

Anderson I believe has been an essential part of the side this season and I believe his record - in his first full season of playing - speaks for itself.    Indeed, I would also say that his pace and true wide outlet is unique in Swansea with none of his wide man competition offering the same outlet that Anderson does.

Anderson has played in 29 league games this season - 20 as starter - and scored 6 goals in the process.   In those 29 games, the Swans have picked up 63 points at an average of over 2 per game.  The remaining 15 games have given us just 23 points - around 1 and a half per game.  Co-incidence?  Possibly but I don't believe so.

The best period of play from the Swans this season came from October to the end of January where we won pretty much everything we played and Anderson was just about ever present during that period.   You could argue that the side was settled and Anderson was just part of that but he does offer a valuable outlet and has combined brilliantly with Rangel during the course of the season.  I can only see that being effective in the Championship and providing an outlet that I can't see too many defenders finding comfortable to deal with.

I also believe that the positive noises coming from both player and club in recent weeks could suggest that the deal is closer to being done than we realise.  Martinez has, on more than one occasion, talked about contacting Liverpool whilst Anderson himself has said that if he is heading anywhere next season then it will be Swansea.

And, as much as I rate the player, I can't see any benefit in his development from going back to Anfield and maybe getting the occasional reserve fixture or a seat on the bench maybe once for a Carling Cup tie.  The championship will continue to develop him and I believe that the Swans now hold that trump card - one of the reasons why promotion is so important to the club.

I firmly believe that Anderson will be here next season and I, for one, cannot wait to see him in full flow again.

Once a Jack......

Photo: Action Images

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