Davefevs

Bit scrappy in the second half, but wasted good situations too. Impressed with Syme, does a lot of good stuff.

They got as far as the urinals, but never breached the cubicles, but like their team!!! ???

The pressure tells, Hayley’s with a header from a corner. First time I’ve seen Wilde. Doing well. Athletic. Almost another, Harrison then Hayles.

Looks like that is the plan if Max can make himself no1 over Bentley. Until this batch of games I’ve been totally happy with my view that Bents is the better keeper, but Max is changing my mind. He appears to be a “different” keeper in this spell, much more confident and decisive. Really hope he takes his chance.

OP - don’t think he’s been very poor at all. Had some games where he’s not reached his above-the-bar standards, but he contributes in nigh on every match. Yesterday his contribution was predominantly w/o the ball.

…and look at each players average passing position! passing networks aren’t definitive but we can see (at a glance) that Man City do their passing much further up the pitch, working openings, Swansea created pretty much bugger-all in open play. Swansea probe around the centre circle, Man City probe much higher up the pitch. Man City have almost twice as much passing in their opposition’s third than Swansea too.

Some of that, but also mental / concentration too no doubt.

Tend to agree. Need to try to find that balance between control and counter-attack…but importantly when to take the sting out of games, either by a little minute or two of passing for passing’s sake, or breaking up opposition rhythm in whatever way we can. Having said that, we’ve gained one point all season (Blackpool) where we went 1-0 down…so important we seek out the first goal ourselves! Ultimately we are a middle eight squad with some good bits and some flaws in equal measure(ish)!

@Numero Uno638 passes v 249. Boring as eff tho, whether it’s 23,000 or 638.

Corner 1: Wells covering man on edge of box (out of pic). Tame header won by Darling, O’Leary drops cap on it. Corner 2: Wells covering Fulton. O’Leary palms away for a throw. Corner 3: Wells splits both players on edge of box. Sykes heads clear at near post. Corner 4: Wells splits again. O’Leary punches under pressure, Semenyo and Dasilva complete the clearance. Corner 5: Ditto Wells although closely marking one player. Ball goes over everyone and Wells latches onto it earning us a throw. Corner 6: Ditto Wells. Ntcham now on. First contact by Swansea but tamely for a goal kick. Corner 7: Bell now on and splitting two (one out of picture). Vyner wins header for another corner at back post. Corner 8: ditto Bell no3 in space but Tanner can cover. As the ball comes over… Bell has backed away from the split no3 still in space Vyner wins header, Ntcham with aid of deflection, scores. Corner 9: Bell splits. Deep corner, Darling wins, Tanner heads behind. Corner 10: Bell splits, Dasilva in a position to close Ntcham. Headed away, Dasilva half clears. Corner 11: Same as corner 10, Dasilva in touch with Ntcham. King and Williams subbed in on this corner too, rare to make subs on corners. Volleyed away by Sykes. So, I think we defended them pretty well in the main. The set up generally ok, bearing in mind Nige says we can’t man mark. What do you do?

I thought Swansea fans were pretty quiet.

Ever wondered whether it might be your ears not the tannoy after all? ???

No, I think your pre-set bias is shining through.

I thought Martin did perfectly fine when he came on. Won a couple of headers, got the ball in space in the channel, etc.

We stopped them doing much of that today. When we got it right, Tommy and Nahki tended to play more on the outside CBs than splitting 50:50, meaning they had to go back inside, into Grimes, and into congestion…or into a good structured defensive set-up. This was early on. After 10 or so minutes, Tommy probably goes 3/4 yards closer to Cabango. Grimes got on the ball, lots, as he usually does, but neither he or Fulton got ball between the lines. Antoine dropping in between James and Scott. Darling got forward once, as did Wood, but that was it. James was masterful at never getting dragged too wide, too far away from Scott. He picked up Cundle when he tried to split wide to leave room for Obafemi or a drifting Cooper, but he never went as far as 10 yards from the touchline, so we never / rarely let them get a man free inside. Ntcham made a difference for them. He drifted around and they finally got some link-up into Obafemi’s feet. I was quite disappointed in them, found them boring to watch. Far too slow.

This is Max’s best spell in the team…ever. It’s only 5 games, but at this point he appears to have grasped the nettle. Maybe he finally is thinking like a no1? Maybe he can genuinely see it’s his shirt, not just a stop gap. I’m not a huge fan of his distribution, but he seems up to speed with the game in this spell. I hope he continues this progress / form.

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If Obafemi keeps moving then the ref is gonna allow the keeper as much time as he likes.

He wasn’t, he got dragged forward by another player, and that happens. Good yellow by Pring. Hegeler-Esque!

Me too, at RB / RWB he is quite in-adventurous. Said at 14:00 his big a game it was for him. By 14:30 it took on more importance. This is a player who is always available, tries his hardest. He deserves a bit more credit generally. He’s getting it in spades tonight. Well done Zak.

I only shouted at him once….so a good performance from him. Stayed in the background, a good sign.

Both were excellent today, and back to their best as a partnership. Wells looked tired, so many shuttle runs closing down their CBs. And a few minutes before the sub, I thought Swansea breached us between the lines for the first time, earning a corner (or two), and subs seemed sensible. Its possible Wells might also have been playing through illness too.

Thank you, much appreciated. Today, Antoine was more the pass blocker into Grimes…although Conway and Wells mixed it up a bit.

Very true.