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Reply | Another Siggy situation!
at 06:32 2 Jun 2023
I agree it’s frustrating, but the reality is Martin has gone anyway in terms of his commitment to the club, and as long as we have a new manager in place in time for pre season then that’s the main thing.
Where this will set us back is on transfers in, because we won’t sign anyone in the meantime, without a committed manager in place, and the new manager will undoubtedly want to assess the squad before agreeing to any transfer deals, and the assessment won’t happen until they’ve seen the squad close up in preseason training. The exception to this could be at full/wing back where we virtually have no senior players, even then the new guy would probably want to take a look at the under 23s to see if there is anyone in that position ready for promotion to the first team squad.
It is better to change manager in the summer rather than mid season but it’s never ideal, as we will (once again) be playing catch up in the transfer market, and one of the main effects of Brexit on football is that it’s harder to bring in players from outside the UK so clubs tend to be looking at the same players as each other more and more. One thing I hope they have learned is to bring in a manager with a similar playing style to his predecessor so at least there is less requirement for a major player overhaul, and also that there is less of a change of playing style to have to bed in.
On the owners, I am no fan of theirs, mainly due to the reasons they got involved
in the first place, and that we seem to be bottom of their list of priorities. Also, it’s probably true that they aren’t learning from their mistakes and still (7 years on) have no clue about what it takes to run a football club. However, to be balanced, those who accuse them of being all about the dollar need to remember that they have put money in to keep the lights on (ok you could argue that they agreed to a playing budget that was too high for our revenue, but our playing budget and transfer spend has hardly been lavish, the reality is it costs big money to run a Championship football club in the modern era), I also don’t think they have taken any money out of the club in salaries or dividends, but could be wrong on that. |
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Reply | Russell Martin doesn’t rule out leaving Swansea but makes his case to stay
at 00:16 29 Oct 2022
When any manager is linked with another job the modern trend is that they never categorically say no by saying “I’m staying here” and why would they because to do so would harm their chances of a pay rise, either via their current employer or the would be employer. Far better in this sort of situation for the likes of RM to say what he has said, which is that he wants to stay, which may persuade his current employers to escalate any contract offer while
subtley telling any potential employer that he might consider them if the terms and conditions are right.
Not exactly a revolutionary approach is it? Have we not seen this time and time again, either with our managers or others that are perceived to be coveted? [Post edited 29 Oct 2022 0:18]
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Thread | Peterborough ticket available - east stand - £10
at 19:20 29 Oct 2021
Have an adult ticket available in the east stand, upper tier (near the back) near half way line would involve meeting my mate who holds my season card. Please PM if interested, available for £10. |
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Reply | Birmingham away
at 11:49 22 Oct 2021
The Wellington and Post Office Vaults are both good real ale pubs in the City Centre. They are both 1.5 miles plus from the ground, but it’s not great around the ground in terms of quantity, quality or (possibly) safety, though the Cricketers Arms is apparently away fan friendly.
Another option is the Jewellery Quarter (walkable from the City Centre) where there are a few decent pubs and it’s then a 10 minute train ride to Bordesley, which is the closest train station to the ground. |
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Reply | Steve Cooper will be given an ultimatum today. Stay and do your job - or go !
at 15:42 2 Jun 2021
Yes we are, but with some key differences.
Sousa did make us more defensive but at least he didn’t rip up the work of the previous manager in the way Cooper has. Let’s not forget that Sousa had two quality players from the previous season’s squad missing (Scotland and Gomez) and his and the club’s (at the time) lack of ability in the transfer market led to them not being replaced properly.
With the addition of some quality in forward areas, mainly Sinclair, and then more laterally with Borini (as well as working out how best to use Dobbie) Rodgers was able to more or less hit the ground running the following season, more so than any new manager would now I think, unless of course we appointed someone who plays similar “football” to Cooper, god forbid.
I would also say that we had a more stable squad of good quality players back then, and were probably in better financial shape than we are now, with the loss of parachute payments and the £100 season tickets meaning we are probably again relying on player sales to fund the club for next season. [Post edited 2 Jun 2021 15:43]
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Reply | Ellis James
at 07:14 26 May 2021
Yes, Elis James’s feast of football, with Iwan Roberts and Danny Gabbidon, it’s a BBC one. He also is on the Socially Distant Sports Bar, with Mike Bubbins. |
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Reply | Cooper must be sacked
at 23:16 3 Apr 2021
I guess the question is do we play the way we do because of Cooper’s perception as to how to get the best out of what he has got to work with, or would we play the same way with a more talented squad anyway?
The answer is unclear although it’s likely that the latter is the answer, he certainly isn’t a purist in the way Potter is.
Let’s be clear, whether it’s the squad he is working with or his ‘philosophy’, the football we’ve served up under Cooper is a genuine contender for a cure for insomnia. Above all else we don’t move the ball quickly at any time, and our play shows a lack of zip and sharpness, which suggests the training isn’t conducive to the way we used to play, under Martinez, Rodgers, Laudrup and more recently Potter.
Obviously finance is an issue, despite the Rodon sale (for a fee which was too low, as his performances for Wales are showing, if not yet for Spurs, unless Mourinho wakes up, or goes), as we obviously wanted and couldn’t afford a genuine number 9, but it’s clear that as good as Ayew has been there is too much of the wage budget tied up in him, what could we do with 4 players on £20k per week instead of him?
Next season we won’t have parachute payments and unless we win the play offs our budget is going to be massively reduced, especially if still no fans allowed, and even if they are, the massive discount offered to existing season ticket holders means our only real lever is player sales, so realistically that is Roberts or Cabango, though the latter player’s lack of game time in favour of a 30+ Naughton is going to adversely affect his value if it continues to the end of the season.
I’m not one for sacking managers and it seems ridiculous to talk about that when the team is in 4th place, but the standard of football from a technical
and entertainment perspective has been so poor that that debate will inevitably start the moment results start slipping.
I suppose the question is, whether in the prem or the championship, could we face another season of watching the sh**e that Cooper is serving up?
I know this is just our opinions as fans, and the board won’t act based on style
of play, but I wonder whether they think Cooper will be able to work a miracle based on next year’s budget, if we don’t go up this season?
Let’s not forget, the owners’ priority is to get their money back and the only way they will be able to do that is to sell us as a prem club, though the risk is spread so thinly (amongst around 30 of them) that they may not give a s**t either way. [Post edited 3 Apr 2021 23:23]
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Reply | Swansea City v Reading : Matchday Thread 30th Dec 2020 THE AFTERMATH !
at 09:45 31 Dec 2020
I can’t honestly say that we created a clear cut chance, apart from Guehi’s, maybe Ayew’s header but apart from that, not really, and can’t help feeling that Dhanda starting, or failing that Cooper changing it far earlier than he did, say half time, would have potentially enabled us to create (even more, if the view is that we did create a lot) more chances.
I think, ultimately, Cooper paid Reading too much respect.
However, what’s done is done, let’s move on, but we could well see more of the same against Watford, maybe more justifiably, as Watford are a better team than Reading probably, but if we want to continue challenging at the very top then there will be more pressure on us to win that game now, the kind of which that would have been alleviated to a degree by winning last night, in what was probably the easier of the two games. [Post edited 31 Dec 2020 9:49]
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Reply | Swansea City v Reading : Matchday Thread 30th Dec 2020 THE AFTERMATH !
at 09:31 31 Dec 2020
We could have won that game and the keeper did pull off some good saves, but none that you wouldn’t expect him to make, I think Guehi’s was the best chance.
I think the team selection in the first place was the issue, we have played Smith, Grimes and Fulton together before but usually in away games, to do it in a home game against a Reading side that has been in reasonable but not blistering form recently, has conceded a fair number of goals, and that was missing a few likely starters, was overly cautious IMO and it showed, we played well in terms of fluency but could have done with a creative spark, which the likes of Dhanda would have been more likely to provide. I don’t think Cooper can complain too much about the result really.
In terms of the Palmer comments, yes, he wasn’t great, but he hasn’t had a lot of game time recently, so as with most players, he is probably the type that you see the best of when he is playing regularly, as he definitely didn’t look sharp last night. Yes there is a chicken and egg element to that though as someone who isn’t playing well isn’t likely to get game time etc, Gyorkeres is in the same boat at the moment. [Post edited 31 Dec 2020 9:34]
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Reply | Best Swans manager since we moved to the Liberty ( exc Jackett & Cooper)
at 23:15 3 Dec 2020
Yes, that's true re Monk, in fairness he is his own man, even though being that doesn't seem to be sufficient to lead to success for the numerous football clubs that he seems
to be perennially entrusted with improving the fortunes of.
I think the event that epitomises the club's demise more than any though is Jenkins's journey towards a defacto DOF role. The man had zero experience of professional football beyond that of an administrator yet he got to the point where he was overseeing the club's recruitment from a footballing as well as financial capacity.
The phrase "leave it to the professionals" has never been more pertinent, and the fact that he thought he (as well those on the board) was capable of performing such a role is IMO arrogance and delusion beyond comprehension.
It really as if the admirable rise through the leagues meant they (the board) thought they knew it all, could do no wrong, and walked on water.
The arrogance is literally mind boggling, truly, there really are no other words for it. |
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Reply | Best Swans manager since we moved to the Liberty ( exc Jackett & Cooper)
at 21:07 3 Dec 2020
The honest truth is Laudrup had (and his time with us didn’t disprove) a tendency toget bored or fall out with clubs after a while.
I think the issue was our then board’s fatigue at dealing with a demanding manager (having previously been scarred by Sousa’s temerity) and opting to appoint a more controllable figure (Monk). This, along with the decision in or around the time to make recruitment a club rather than manager controlled phenomenon led to our Prem demise given the ineptitude of those who were entrusted with this vital matter.
IMO the truth of our (relative) demise relates to the arrogance of the former board as much as the yanks (who didn’t have an ounce of footballing nouse, and so couldn’t avoid being sold a pile of s**t).
Aprt from the initial rise, which was great, and kudos to them for that, the main thing you can say as a positive for our former board was the investment in the youth and facilities, even though it has since been downgraded for financial reasons, without the investment in the academy and young players brought in, James, Oli etc, god knows where we’d be, potentially on the way back towards League Two. [Post edited 3 Dec 2020 21:10]
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Reply | Time-wasting tactics
at 18:15 3 Dec 2020
We've tended to struggle against managers who put out really hard working or well organised teams (Allardyce, Pulis (away from home), Warnock, O'Neill (Martin)), and going further back the likes of Gary Johnson, maybe Michael O'Neill is the next one (hope not), particularly as Stoke are not our favourite opponents anyway.
We all know what you're going to get from a Colin W**ker team, which is usually one which is very well organised, and shows great commitment, and which pushes the rules to the limits, particularly when defending a lead.
It may not be great to watch for fans of whichever team he is managing but he has got results down the years, even if he never quite cut it in the Prem, and I for one don't ever look forward to a game against one of his teams. Even if we do win (which isn't that often) then we've usually been in one huge battle to do so.
I was hoping once he left Cardiff he would retire but no such luck (such is his passion for the game, which, like him or not, you have to admire given that he is now over 70 years old)!
Last night was disappointing but not that unexpected and two away games in four days is tough, especially when you have Warnock waiting for you at the end of the second long trip!
At least we don't have to wait long to have a chance to bounce back. |
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Reply | The official Nottingham Forest v Swansea City Matchday thread : Sat Update 4pm*
at 11:20 29 Nov 2020
3 deep lying midfielders against a team near the foot of the table, abelt with a new manager and at a ground where we struggle to win.
It is likely we are going to struggle to score with that line up and given it’s going to take until at least half time to get a change to it then that’s basically half the game gone at least with less chance of scoring goals.
That’s the problem for me, we have too many first halves with very little in the way of attacking intent or goalscoring chances, which then limits the amount of time we have to win the game, Sheff Wed was a classic example of this. Whether it’s Cooper’s selections and tactics from the start or some other reason I don’t know. |
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Reply | We've appeared to have upset them
at 12:10 2 Nov 2020
Hope we haven't burnt our bridges but I think we did the right thing getting Bennett.
The transfer fee was obviously a lot lower (free but pay something if we get promoted?) than it would have been for Phillips but also it's good to see an experienced player coming in.
We've lost a lot of experienced players over the last few years (the majority no great loss admittedly) but can't rely solely on younger players. |
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Reply | This guy is strangling us Shurely
at 19:36 24 Oct 2020
Today we were on the wrong end of an iffy refereeing decision, but when a team only scores once, which seems to be the limit to our current capabilities, due to our squad, team selection and tactics, then the risk of losing points through refereeing decisions is always there, and has happened today.
Ayew is the only proven goalscorer that we have in the squad at this level and so unless the Brighton guy or Lowe come good this season then we are going to struggle for goals. The midfield 3 selected today has very little goal scoring history and given that the wingbacks have 2-3 goals per season goal scoring potential each then it’s little wonder we are struggling to score.
The squad has been declared to be more balanced than it was before but the lack of proven goal scorers within it has to be seen as a major concern, and, added to that, surely the ability of the manager to get the best out of what he has got to work with, including his use of tactics. Watching us play under Cooper has become like a chore, the style of play makes it difficult to enjoy watching games, even if we don’t lose very often. [Post edited 24 Oct 2020 19:48]
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Reply | Joe Rodon speculation is accurate : UPDATE : 7 million initial offer.
at 20:22 5 Oct 2020
CCV coming as part of the deal would make sense for all parties (assuming he’d agree to the move) but given Levy’s history I dread to think what valuation Levy would try to place on him (last year of contract or not) to try and reduce the amount of cash they had to pay us for Joe.
In terms of maximising the value received for Joe it might be cleaner to not get CCV as a replacement, either as part of the deal or as a separate deal, but then again if we did sell for say £18m then any selling club that we went to would probably put the price up, knowing we had received that money, but probably by not as much as Levy would 😉 |
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Reply | Cabango
at 14:12 13 Dec 2019
Anyone know his contract position? |
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Reply | Dear me
at 21:53 8 Oct 2019
I thought being in the “wrong end” of a football match was illegal anyway? |
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Reply | Dineen v Pearlman
at 20:15 3 Jul 2019
Forgive me for missing the previous explanation but why is a 21% shareholder not entitled to details about the club’s spending on salaries? I can understand why not from a playing perspective but not otherwise? |
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