Everyone in Europe is currently ripping the nails from their fingers in desperate anticipation for the beginning of the new season ahead, however I'm sure that none are more so than Garry Monk. Let's be honest, as soon as he guided the boys in the win against Cardiff for his managerial debut, his job was all but certain for this coming season; and however successful (or unsuccessful) the centre half turned manager is this season, he will go down in the history books for the Swans. But now the real test begins and I for one can't wait to see how the Swansea story develops over the next twelve months.

I was fortunate enough to watch from the stands as we walked over Reading, and despite them being a league below us, I still think our performance showed that this year will be much better than last. In my opinion our only weaknesses were defending down the right hand side and though I hate to admit it, Fabianski. Tiendalli started and although going forward he was pleasantly surprising, defensively he wasn't all there; then again, he was working with an out of position Gylfi, who didn't look too comfortable helping out at the back down that flank. I don't think it'll be much of a problem however because I'm sure in competitive matches, there'll be someone there to help and cover the full back, be it a winger or a deep central midfielder dropping in. Also, our choice of full back will probably differ with Monk reportedly looking at Kyle Naughton and Adam Matthews.

I do however worry for Fabianski. Let's start positively, shot stopping wise, he was solid, always has been; the goal Reading scored was an absolute better and there's not really much you can do when it's heading for the postage stamp, so we'll let him off. Collecting from corners and free kicks he was strong. Whether it was a punch or a catch, Luckasz looks to be a huge presence with his height in the box - which is what we were missing with Vorm. However, his distribution was poor, I don't need to look at any statistics to tell you that; kicking and throwing was intensely worrying because we were just losing possession so easily. Even when the ball was rolled back to him to feet he was very ropey and did not look comfortable at all. Thankfully, this can be solved on the training ground, but it may take a while for him to become confident with it.

With the negatives out the way we can now concentrate on the positives, of which there are many. Taylor was brilliant, he seemed to have stepped up to the plate in the absence of Davies and while we knew he was reliable, his overall game just seemed to be so much more enthusiastic than previously, which is always what we want to see.

Bartley looked solid, there was one or two hiccups but they mounted to nothing and he was very strong in the air and made some good blocks; I really hope he can push into the first team this year because he adds a different dimension to what we've had the last few years - he's a very tall lad who is great at getting on the end of a corner - which is what we've lacked in previous seasons.

Ki was fantastic, arguably man of the match. He was always available and played the holding role absolutely perfectly, which is what we really missed when he was frozen out by Laudrup (still don't know why we loaned him out), but he looks very good defensively and again, it's something we've missed before, gives us a reliable defensive midfielder meaning Shelvey and Sigurðsson can push on whenever.

Once Gylfi moved into his more favourable position sat behind Gomis, he was good. Despite not having the best first 3/4 of the game, he still managed to yank an assist and play some beautiful passes whilst out on the right, and that just shows the bags of talent he has; he'll be brilliant this year.

The actual wingers who played on Saturday were brilliant as well. Routledge's brace speaks for itself and he was causing nightmares down the left flank, he's really improved since Rodgers left and he still just seems to keep getting better. Montero and Dyer both looked good when they came on; I still can't work out Montero's stronger foot, he just seems to be brilliant on either, his unpredictability mixed with two strong feet will hopefully cause havoc for defenders in the Premier League and I for one can't wait for it.

Finally we get to Bony and Bafe. Wow. They looked scary, my initial reaction was just sheer fright. I weren't sure how it would work with the two of them playing together but they looked brilliant. It might be a bit early to liken them to Henry and Bergkamp or Sturridge and Suarez, but they looked like they were made for each other out there. They linked up perfectly and seemed to know what the other would do on every attack. They're probably causing Garry a headache in terms of selection and that's great news.

My predictions for this year are as follows:

I believer anywhere between 12th and 9th should be considered a brilliant season after last year and if Monk can pull that off then he's already a top class manager in my books.

Bony for top scorer again, keeping him is looking more and more likely and if we can only get one more season out of hinm before he moves on, it will hugely help us.

Most assists will be Shelvey, I say this because hopefully Gylfi will be scoring too many goals to be assisting and Shelvey can spray balls across the park like no one's business.

And this, ladies and gentlemen is my favoured starting 11. It took me longer than I thought it would to choose because for the first time in a while, the squad doesn't really pick itself which is only a good sign.

GK - Fabianski

RB - Rangel

CB - Williams and Bartley

LB - Taylor

CM - Ki and Shelvey

RM - Routledge

LM - Montero

CAM - Sigurðsson

ST - Bony

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