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Reply | 🔴 Likely candidates for the Swans job
at 09:32 6 Apr 2025
No-one up front to unlock the negative game? Would have liked to see more balls to feet in the box especially against a team full of giants but that means sometimes the wingers needed to come in off their flanks with both Ronald and Key on our right with either able to use the wings could leave the other forwards able to take better positions in the box and able to make creative little run but yesterday it was only when O'Brien and Allen took control of the midfield did we start pulling Derby out of shape. Big lumbering players would struggled to cope substitutions made at the right time or could we have started with the finishing line up?
Happy to take the win. |
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Reply | Swansea City v Derby County : Match day thread
at 09:14 6 Apr 2025
Sheehan did the hard work watching the last four Derby games,knew he had to keep some height in the team at all times during the game.
Did think we battled hard in the middle of the park but thought there where times players had chances to bring the ball down but that would have to be done quickly and moved away with quick feet from the congested area would Fulton be able to do that? Fulton added height into the team but there were times when Tymon needed an outlet in the midfield,O'Brien asked to play further forward and Fulton lying deep to keep us solid but at times needed to step forward into an empty midfield making a pass from Tymon a viable option instead of not making the run forward for the pass similar to Grimes, more noticeable in the second half which meant O'Brien dropped into the midfield and both Franco and Fulton off, Allen on more fluidity in the midfield, Vipotnik and Christie on to maintain the overall height to combat an aerial onslaught.
Right team selected and substitutions made on the back of Sheehan due diligence? |
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Reply | 🔴 Likely candidates for the Swans job
at 14:21 31 Mar 2025
Agree the first eleven need strengthening but we have seen how the inclusion of O'Brien and Delacroix has made a difference and made the team more competitive. As for the squad agreè nèw blood is needed. [Post edited 2 Apr 16:07]
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Reply | 🔴 Likely candidates for the Swans job
at 08:18 31 Mar 2025
The question being asked about Sheehan was could his team match the big boys of the league given the performances against Leeds and Burnley would the answer be yes? Leeds always leak goals which we managed to exploit under both Sheehan and William's but the latter's defensive setup up with the team selection certainly left us vulnerable. Sheehan's selection and setup seems to made us more solid but can our squad crack that strong defensive set up like Burnley's and other teams that have come to our home stadium to stifle our attack.
We have seen how badly stupid mistakes in the wrong areas of the pitch have effected us under the likes of Williams and Martin's even Sheehan but the play certainly been more controlled and in the right areas of the pitch under Sheehan. Happy for him to have the rest of the season to see if he can open stubborn defensives which may not be so stubborn as teams strive for needed points to keep them away for the relegation zone. If the "improvement " continues to the end of the season I would be happy to go with Sheehan for next season and not go for a new manager. [Post edited 31 Mar 14:18]
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Reply | Leeds United v Swansea City : Match day thread
at 07:59 31 Mar 2025
Hasn't quite forced himself into first choice selection as you would expect which is surprising given his peeformance against Watford coming on and helping maintain an effective attacking threat to relieve the pressure they tried to exert with good hold up play.
Hope he can build up his match fitness and hasn't suffered any setbacks. [Post edited 31 Mar 14:15]
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Reply | Josh Key
at 06:44 17 Mar 2025
And yet there have been a number of games this season where we have kepted clean sheets, the fact in the drive for attacking play we throw the baby out with the bathwater and don't do things correctly, taking too long on the ball then often taking the wrong choices instead of the defence playing quick balls if pressed as required to clear the ball from dangerous areas where the press is being deployed. Sometimes it can look and be boring but sometimes you have to bide your time and not try and force things while playing out from the back, good movement around the player on the ball makes their choices easier and quicker to make as that movement opens up space for short or long passes enabling players to take on players one on one knowing they have a chance of taking them on because they have insufficient cover, doesn't looks boring then instead of giving wingers two or three players to beat. |
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Reply | Swansea City v Burnley : Match day thread
at 06:15 17 Mar 2025
Having pacy backs centre halves maybe be why Burnley looked so tight on defence also having the experience to be in the right position initially so they can get in between the long ball and the forward to make it harder for the even winger to go passed them to be fair Cabango and Darling do it, giving them enough time to build speed to enable them to make a clearance and being strong enough not to be pushed off the ball.
Defensively Ronald is hard to get passed where as Key and Tymon either give the wingers too much space or because of what they are asked to do getting forward sometimes too early they are out of defensive shape and susceptible to the ball over the top, Key has more pace than most wingers and can often get back but needs to be covered by Cabango sometimes, Tymon often gets covered by Darling but sometimes Darling positioning let's him down but as we have seen when the full backs start in the right positions they can be an asset in both defence and attack, if they get their positioning wrong against teams especially the ones with better attackers we start making stupid mistakes as a team, gifting more clinical forwards clearcut chances that they put away. As defenders first and foremost you have to start defensively to ensure you don't give teams that give teams like Burnley an advantage that is very hard to recover.
To be fair to Tymon he is looking better defensively these days but when at times we our push up too early instead of sitting deeper and playing first time balls to wingers either way there is only a certain amount of time a full back can dwell on the ball in either position against pressing wingers and they really cannot afford to press too early letting the pass get intercepted or taking too many touches on the ball getting caught in possession. [Post edited 17 Mar 21:23]
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Reply | Swansea City v Burnley : Match day thread
at 09:32 16 Mar 2025
Agree on Ronald to a degree he looked a better defensive option than Key stronger in the air and tighter to wingers and not knocked off the ball so easier maybe because of his lack of defensive experience he gets the ball away quicker, hedoes chase the ball down a bit but if covering players get it right he is ok but he did make a rash challenge in the box yesterday luckily the winger stayed on his feet.
You commented on Cullen and Copper and I have said in the past I liked Cooper alongside Cundle but in those instances we had Piroe, Paterson and Ntcham to create things, as far as I'm concerned Franco and O'Brien get enough ball now for the forwards but Vipotnik, Cullen and Cooper are hardly creativity players, Vipotnik won enough ball yesterday I wonder if the likes of Ginnelly and/or Bianchini should be played off Vipotnik or at times pull the wingers in tighter to support Vipotnik and also create space for the full backs especially when the fullbacks get good crosses in the wingers should where possible get in the box, it was noticeable yesterday Cullen sitting on the edge of the box waiting for pullback and not getting in the six yard box ,at times he should leave the oncoming midfielder get to the edge of the box. [Post edited 16 Mar 9:37]
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Reply | Swansea City v Burnley : Match day thread
at 09:02 16 Mar 2025
The understanding between Key and Ronald is totally missing, but iI think that is more to do with both Key and to an extent Tymon pushing forward too early when playing out from the back and then having to recieving the ball behind them so they are stuck on the touch line and have to play balls in field with their weaker foot or try turning again they have to use their weaker foot. It was noticeable how when both Naughton and Key played on the wrong side,the left they both looked far more comfortable being able to cut inside or playing the inside pass to the midfield the only problem with that is as you try to shepherd a winger down the line to make a tackle you are on the wrong foot, that is why wingers swap wings to enable them to cut inside onto their stronger foot to get the better of the defender.
So having the full backs high results in stupid mistakes Franco's thinking his full back is still lying deep, Darling pass to Delacroix, Tymon too high, Delacroix a centre half by nature staying narrow instead of giving width to allow space for the pass. Similarly Key as a fullback should not be expecting to have time on the ball at this level, one touch football and his first though should be to open his body out and let the ball pass in front of him so he can play a simple first time ball to the winger down the line either to feet or over the top, similarly he could play infield to the midfield or the forwards. Wingers know what to expect if a fullback is tight on them but if the ball is slow then head way is almost impossible.
It has been noticeable if teams allow us to get the ball wide quickly we can create space as against QPR and Blackburn but if they don't like Watford and Burnley then playing the full backs so high is folly it closes the space up and allows the opposition to close the game down and that is what they both did after going ahead pushing the fullbacks willy nilly leaves us exposed.
The original point is Key should be recieving the ball as quickly as possible Keys his first though should be to get the ball forward if Key and Tymon drop deep then Franco and OBrien don't have to and can provide outlets in the middle as the full back drop deeps the wingers push on they open the pitch up instead of condensing it which is all a defending team wants. If one thing doesn't work you try something different OBrien and Franco end up being pulled far too deep too often.
Add to that the fact that neither of the middle of the attack can create enough space for themselves or have the pace or the skills to take defenders on Cullen and Vipotnik, we have seen Ronald and Eom can if given the ball in space but not if they can be double marked if the field is condensed and the service is slow. |
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Reply | Watford v Swansea City : Match day thread
at 09:50 13 Mar 2025
I said after his last stint he didn't get a chance to put things right after the bad loss to Southampton, we shall see, it does seem better and it does take time to assess players and we have seen how some players add and detract and some coming back from injury take time and even then we haven't seen enough of the likes of Ginnelly to see where best he fits in the team if he does.As for bringing Fulton on was the thinking to allow Key to push on? |
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Reply | Watford v Swansea City : Match day thread
at 08:13 13 Mar 2025
Yes I did say on another day the right option would have been taken, we made half chances yesterday not that many clear chances, I didn't get the stream until 10mins in and didn't see Vipotnik's early chance which the Watford commentary team made reference to later so can't comment on that but did we have that many clear chances we made put Watford under a lot of pressure a lot more than we have against other teams this season but did we take the right options?
Mistakes are often forced on teams did we take advantage of their mistakes in a clinical manner? The answer is no.
Against Millwall in the last minute of a game trying to win a game may be excusable but they are not acceptable games swing often on individual mistakes as yesterday's game did.
We move on and I think we will give Burnley problems and I hope Sheehan can get the result we wish for with his better set up than we have seen in the last few of years and hopefully he has gained enough experience to carry on doing so until the end of the season. Teams will look at the way he has set up his team and will try and work out how to beat us, one size doesn't fit all tweaks have to be made hope Sheehan can do it to our advantage. |
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Reply | Watford v Swansea City : Match day thread
at 06:47 13 Mar 2025
Thought generally it was a hard fought game that for the most part went as you would expect the game to go home team presses forward early on and the Swans had to fight to get into the game which they did, only for the mistake to be made, Franco got pressurised and played the "safe" ball but we again were out of shape and in no position to cover, that element of defensive cautioun you'd expect away from home was gone and Tymon was off down the wing and we were out numbered at the back.
Very poor by Franco but we did leave ourselves exposed but then again at times so did Watford they made poor mistakes which we should have capitalised, we missed that quick incisive controlled play a number of times we broke play up on the halfway line but didn't pick the right options in our attacks or made poor passes, it seemed to me that the first and best options were missed allowing Watford to regain their defensive shape. On another day the right option would have been taken.
As they dropped deeper we struggled to get through the middle of the park doing well to get down the wings and whip good balls in and were unlucky not to get on the end of them but we had no one to get in-between their lines of defence the centre forward got isolated. It was already been mentioned about the folly of bringing on the more defensive minded Fulton instead of Allen or Cooper but I wonder if Ginnelly would have been better to play that number ten role and let Parker play out wide and leaving Franco on and take Cullen off instead. Sometimes our wingers end up being redundant stuck out on the wings and our fullbacks could easily provide the threat down the wings and the wingers looking to play more infield which could cause more problems in a densely packed defence.
It was noticeable that in the last ten minutes O'Brien's tank seemed empty and he got caught on the ball a number of times.
It would appear that Sheehan needs to look at his substitutions when attacking options are needed or even his first eleven given the injuries and players returning to full fitness. What was that late substitution all about at that late in the game? You could say we missed Pearl-Harris today and maybe Darling although Delacroix looks an able replacement.
Sheehan has some work to do. |
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Reply | MPH
at 11:43 11 Mar 2025
Shame that he was injured now he seemed to have started being able to show what he had the potential to be capable of, which seemed to be of benefit to the team with the changes at the club. Think we have cover for him with players returning from injuries just hope some do not relapse.
He painted a very frustrated figure under William's but if the price is right I would have him back. |
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Reply | Burnley full-back Roberts signs contract extension
at 07:01 11 Mar 2025
If we carry on doing well under Sheehan until the international break then we will have a better idea of the strength of the squad which the inclusion of O'Brien and Delacroix and the different setup seems to suggest. The loss of Peart-Harris and Darling was was differcult to judge away from home as you would expect the home team being one nil down to try and put that extra press on us to see if we would buckle which while we didn't we did lose some of the control we had previously before Darling's injury.
Connor Roberts has sorted his near future out and I can see no reason to try and bring him back paying big bucks as we will need to spend money in the summer if we want to keep the two loan signings mentioned above and bring new players to the club.
I would like to see a return of number of our players out on loan who are getting good amounts of game time to see if they have learnt enough to progress to at least full time squad members and continue any progress made which will hopefully with the help of the addition of proven quality players the overall strength of the squad.
Think we will learn a lot about the interim manager and the strength of the squad in the next three games. Hoping we can show that a style of play makes a lot of difference to the ones that threw caution to the wind losing us valuable points time and time again. |
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Reply | Swansea City v Middlesbrough : Match day thread
at 03:34 10 Mar 2025
Shame to see Peart-Harris injured and back for assessment at Brentford seem to have a couple of qualities some of our players had been lacking or was it a case he wasn't see eye to eye with what Williams wanted but with the shackles off was more effective but then again were others as well now showing what they can do like Eom in a team who could do with being more clinical?
Early days under Sheehan and O'Brien has added to the team which personnel wise hasn't changed that much from William's teams but playing better than without both William's and Grimes. I don't expect us to pull up trees and we may struggle against the so called big boys but our set up and shape has been better but still there are issues that may be unresolved this season with the players available. Hope we keep a sense of belief that we can compete in games against anyone and not struggle as we did against teams like Southampton undet Sheehan and Leicester under Duff after signs of improvement hopefully without Grimes in the team we will be able to compete in the middle of the park and not concede ground while maintaining a threat up top. |
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Reply | Swansea City v Middlesbrough : Match day thread
at 18:56 9 Mar 2025
We needed as much quality up top as we could keep
and Paterson had a level of quality but given his age and temperament, wasn't too unhappy to see him leave, a player that could produce things up top but could we carry both him and Grimes in the midfield but similar to Allen wouldn't be able to last too many full games, I don't want to see us carrying too many players but you do need to have a bit of quality in all areas of the pitch. [Post edited 10 Mar 10:49]
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Reply | Swansea City v Middlesbrough : Match day thread
at 16:20 9 Mar 2025
Was MW ever going to displace Piroe and Ntcham but even with those two they needed to be complimented by other players for the team to function properly similar to Grimes needing others so that he could operate in a productive way.
There are only so many players a team can carry if they are lacking in some areas of their game, all about having the right balance of players. |
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Reply | Swansea City v Middlesbrough : Match day thread
at 13:52 9 Mar 2025
As I remember it the number 7 and 9 stuck in the mind as to how much time they made for themselves on the ball, do check names and timings of subs to try and get my head straight.
Middlesbrough changed who was marking Ronald in the second half and Ronald did get in quite a tussle with the new fullback in the second half who even tried to go pass Key but Key's pace was enough to recover the situation, between Ronald and Key they should be ripping shreds out of opposition defences but given what they have previously been asked to do they have no idea on how to compliment each other when they do opposition's defences will be in trouble rather than the indecisive play we are seeing from them at times,fingers crossed.
Leeds can leak goals and leave themselves open, Burnley we shall see, just hope we don't get any more injuries for players that would affect our shape. [Post edited 10 Mar 10:47]
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