Swansea City away match thread

[And Its Smith]

20 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Decided to watch the second half back this evening.  Was a strange second half.  Early Armstrong chance, Mehmeti getting barged, then a midfield battle off of direct passing bits and pieces.  At 68 mins with Wells entering the game we didn’t look that likely.

Then we actually had a reasonable passing phase, Pring, Williams taking balls under pressure but manoeuvring the ball to then make an easy pass.  Culminated with a cross field ball from Twine that Sykes flicked into the galloping Tanner…eventually earning us a corner.  We didn’t let them out.

The big striker and Franco went off and Swansea’s out ball was gone completely.  We built pressure.  Was their subs more defining than ours?

Mehmeti comes to life, maybe given confidence by Pring who has Ronald in his pocket…who tries to play infield to escape him.

Equaliser.

Sykes header saved, Wells almost to the rebound.

Pring burst, Sykes cross, almost og.

Mehmeti dribble and shot heading in but blocked.

But all us til the final whistle, even though nothing really clear cut.

A funny game though.  We didn’t appear to do much differently tactically second half.  At points Twine played left and Armstrong squeezed Darling, but that was about it.  Players like Williams gave us a foothold, that allowed Knight to be involved more.

Sofascore’s view of the second half:

 

 

Basically if we are good for first 30 and bad for 60, fans will say we were shite. If we are bad for 60 and good for 30, fans will say we were quality.  The overreaction to yesterday really surprised me (and I’m seen as one of the more positive posters I think)

[TV Tom]

11 hours ago, Davefevs said:

Watched it over and over again.  I don’t think that once the ball is in the air Ronald does anything wrong.  There is nothing stopping Max backpedaling for the ball.  He was weak.

He generally has trouble backpedaling, I’ve mentioned this many times over the years,

Oh, I’ve seen fouls given, but I’d have been cheesed off if we’d had a goal disallowed for it!

Strange, practically everyone agrees it should of been chalked off

[Rob k]

17 minutes ago, TV Tom said:

Strange, practically everyone agrees it should of been chalked off

I Think what most people are saying is we have seen those given as free kicks before but Max should still do a lot more. He was weak for the goal. 

[Davefevs]

32 minutes ago, And Its Smith said:

Basically if we are good for first 30 and bad for 60, fans will say we were shite. If we are bad for 60 and good for 30, fans will say we were quality.  The overreaction to yesterday really surprised me (and I’m seen as one of the more positive posters I think)

Overreaction from OTIB?  Which way Dave?  That OTIB thought it was a good performance or they thought it was bad?  I’ve seen both!!

[Davefevs]

24 minutes ago, TV Tom said:

Strange, practically everyone agrees it should of been chalked off

I’ve seen mixed views.

[1960maaan]

4 minutes ago, Rob k said:

I Think what most people are saying is we have seen those given as free kicks before but Max should still do a lot more. He was weak for the goal. 

The problem is, if he pushes the bloke of and player goes to ground, what do you think the Ref gives ? I'd say there is a higher chance he gives Pen than free kick to Max.  He can't be too aggressive , he shouldn't have to be , with the way Keepers are protected and what the teams were told at the start of the season, you would expect a FK to be given. 

[Davefevs]

6 minutes ago, 1960maaan said:

The problem is, if he pushes the bloke of and player goes to ground, what do you think the Ref gives ? I'd say there is a higher chance he gives Pen than free kick to Max.  He can't be too aggressive , he shouldn't have to be , with the way Keepers are protected and what the teams were told at the start of the season, you would expect a FK to be given. 

You do it all before the whistle, you get the ref’s attention, you shout at him so he’s watching.

[1960maaan]

31 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

You do it all before the whistle, you get the ref’s attention, you shout at him so he’s watching.

There were 3/4 times the Ref had words before free kicks and corners then ignored what was going on. 
The corner they scored from one Swansea player had a good handful of 2 City players shirts, clearly easy to see , not very often anything is given. 
 

[And Its Smith]

59 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Overreaction from OTIB?  Which way Dave?  That OTIB thought it was a good performance or they thought it was bad?  I’ve seen both!!

Well I’ve said it was average and got mocked. Maybe you are right and it’s divided opinion 

[Davefevs]

6 minutes ago, And Its Smith said:

Well I’ve said it was average and got mocked. Maybe you are right and it’s divided opinion 

Wow!

For me it was a 5 / 5.5 first half and 6.5 / 7 second half…averaging on average!  So I agree more with you than those on the sides.

 

[mozo]

8 hours ago, Davefevs said:

Wow!

For me it was a 5 / 5.5 first half and 6.5 / 7 second half…averaging on average!  So I agree more with you than those on the sides.

 

So what you're saying is... Swansea were poor 

[TV Tom]

10 hours ago, Davefevs said:

I’ve seen mixed views.

if you define 95% of people with one view and 5% as the alternative as mixed views then fair enough !!!!

 

[Davefevs]

2 hours ago, mozo said:

So what you're saying is... Swansea were poor 

No. (No laugh emoji)

[Davefevs]

53 minutes ago, TV Tom said:

if you define 95% of people with one view and 5% as the alternative as mixed views then fair enough !!!!

 

I haven’t counted, My WhatsApp group all thought Max was “weak as piss”.  There are several on here that said similar.  I doubt it’s 50:50 admittedly, but on here we tend to favour City in our decision making.

[The turtle]

12 hours ago, Davefevs said:

Overreaction from OTIB?  Which way Dave?  That OTIB thought it was a good performance or they thought it was bad?  I’ve seen both!!

I think this is the point.

Because it was such a good game, with both teams in it to win it, even if quality wasn't always amazing. In a game like that it's easy to see why such a wide spectrum.

As an example 

If you value possession, you may think it was a poor performance 

But if you value , intent with the ball once you have it, it's a good game.

If you value defensive structure.. it was pretty poor 

But if you accept, it was poor because they've been trying that away from home and getting nowhere , so took a more risky approach with a poorer structure priced in.. it was a good performance.

For me personally, sometimes you just have to sit back and say. You know what I enjoyed that game. If I see more games like that this season I'll be happy.

......

Furthermore 

Williams/knight /bird 

In my opinion, only 2 from those 3 should ideally be on the pitch.  If it's not Williams, then knight needs to shoulder that job responsibility.

It's a work in progress team. They don't have an identity because they are still trying to figure out what it is.

This is what Manning now has to show, finding both the best team, and best ways to rotate.

........

For the goal, I really don't think it's a foul. While i agree max should do more there! What gets me is how he's ever in that situation in the first place?

That's a serious lack of set piece leadership. I mean even in Sunday football the keeper is protected. Back in my awful imitation of a striker days, no team was letting me sit on their keeper like that, believe me I tried.

That's part max, part set piece leadership.   To me it seems like everyone is in, focus on my job mode rather than what's actually happening.

[Sir Geoff]

13 hours ago, And Its Smith said:

Basically if we are good for first 30 and bad for 60, fans will say we were shite. If we are bad for 60 and good for 30, fans will say we were quality.  The overreaction to yesterday really surprised me (and I’m seen as one of the more positive posters I think)

Sums up Mehmeti for me on Sunday. Think everyone was crowing about how good he was because he played one decent through ball to Armstrong early second half and then came to life once Pring was on the field. Even then he continued to over dribble and run in to 'cul de sacs.'

[RedRock]

3 minutes ago, Sir Geoff said:

Sums up Mehmeti for me on Sunday. Think everyone was crowing about how good he was because he played one decent through ball to Armstrong early second half and then came to life once Pring was on the field. Even then he continued to over dribble and run in to 'cul de sacs.'

Yes, towards the end we had 5 on 5 on a fast break with Mehmeti running with the ball on the left, I was screaming pass, pass, pass ….. paaaassssss FFS  …………nope, head down runs into 3/4 Swansea players in the box and loses the ball. 

By now, with intensive coaching, that should not be happening. 

Either Annis is unable to adapt, our coaching is carp, or our recruitment team and Directors have seriously over estimated this guy’s abilities. How much longer do we give it? Nige, clearly, had seen enough. Manning was bought in on the understanding he would realise the full potential of our Top 6 ‘under performers’.
 

Someone has to take responsibility and sort it. 

[frenchred]

On 29/09/2024 at 23:26, The Constant Rabbit said:

Swansea goal foul if not already posted

 

Weak, pathetic goalkeeping, with how keepers are protected nowadays he could have literally pushed him out the way and probably got a foul! Instead he meekly stood there and got bullied

[lenred]

1 hour ago, Davefevs said:

I haven’t counted, My WhatsApp group all thought Max was “weak as piss”.  There are several on here that said similar.  I doubt it’s 50:50 admittedly, but on here we tend to favour City in our decision making.

Agree.   On our Messenger group it was 100%. Comments included ‘weak as piss’ ‘that is ******* shocking’ ‘quit moaning Max you lightweight’ ‘far too lightweight’ ‘too soft’. Disclaimer we are all Max fans and these comments are purely about that specific action! 

[1960maaan]

1 hour ago, Sir Geoff said:

Sums up Mehmeti for me on Sunday. Think everyone was crowing about how good he was because he played one decent through ball to Armstrong early second half and then came to life once Pring was on the field. Even then he continued to over dribble and run in to 'cul de sacs.'

 

53 minutes ago, RedRock said:

Yes, towards the end we had 5 on 5 on a fast break with Mehmeti running with the ball on the left, I was screaming pass, pass, pass ….. paaaassssss FFS  …………nope, head down runs into 3/4 Swansea players in the box and loses the ball. 

 

I really am trying to see the good in him, but I do admit I got fed up early on. He constantly cut in and shot, or took on too many players and lost it. Pearson tried dropping him and he has/had improved but he still plays with his head down. He hit a good cross early on but even that was to an area not a player. He has started using his "wrong" foot much more, so that is improvement but he still holds the ball , takes on players and allows the defence to get back into shape. 
If he realises and starts mixing his game up and bringing others in to the game more, he will be a much better player and much more of a threat. 
 

[MarcusX]

On 30/09/2024 at 09:55, Rudolf Hucker said:

Can’t be offside when the ball is returned into play ie from a goal kick, corner or throwin. 

I wasn't talking about the corner, but the actual shot that puts the ball in the net. If he's physically holding Max then he's interferring but we've seen them given offside when a player is just stood in eyeline

[2015]

1 hour ago, lenred said:

Agree.   On our Messenger group it was 100%. Comments included ‘weak as piss’ ‘that is ******* shocking’ ‘quit moaning Max you lightweight’ ‘far too lightweight’ ‘too soft’. Disclaimer we are all Max fans and these comments are purely about that specific action! 

My group chat was 'O'Leary shows absolutely no emotion and it's really annoying'. Stop standing there and be proactive!!

[Davefevs]

2 hours ago, lenred said:

Agree.   On our Messenger group it was 100%. Comments included ‘weak as piss’ ‘that is ******* shocking’ ‘quit moaning Max you lightweight’ ‘far too lightweight’ ‘too soft’. Disclaimer we are all Max fans and these comments are purely about that specific action! 

Ditto.

[Silvio Dante]

1 hour ago, 2015 said:

My group chat was 'O'Leary shows absolutely no emotion and it's really annoying'. Stop standing there and be proactive!!

Bugger me, what do they say about Liam!

[W-S-M Seagull]

4 minutes ago, Silvio Dante said:

Bugger me, what do they say about Liam!

My gc which is full of fans from Cardiff, Swansea, Coventry, Bournemouth, Sunderland, Sheff Utd etc all say 10 more years Liam Manning

[2015]

23 minutes ago, Silvio Dante said:

Bugger me, what do they say about Liam!

Nothing, which says a lot

[And Its Smith]

5 hours ago, Sir Geoff said:

Sums up Mehmeti for me on Sunday. Think everyone was crowing about how good he was because he played one decent through ball to Armstrong early second half and then came to life once Pring was on the field. Even then he continued to over dribble and run in to 'cul de sacs.'

Couldn’t agree more and said similar on Saturday. 

[RedRock]

4 hours ago, 1960maaan said:

 

I really am trying to see the good in him, but I do admit I got fed up early on. He constantly cut in and shot, or took on too many players and lost it. Pearson tried dropping him and he has/had improved but he still plays with his head down. He hit a good cross early on but even that was to an area not a player. He has started using his "wrong" foot much more, so that is improvement but he still holds the ball , takes on players and allows the defence to get back into shape. 
If he realises and starts mixing his game up and bringing others in to the game more, he will be a much better player and much more of a threat. 
 

I think we have a problem with Anis.

The hierarchy (Tins et al) firmly believe they’ve bought a player that is far better than he actually is. He is one of their Top 6 squad (I think they may even believe Cornick was part of their vision but then reality struck, even with them, relatively early on).

I suspect Manning (given he tried to get him at Oxford) said to them at his interview ‘judge me of Anis’. I’m a great coach and will get him playing at Top 6 level. 

Umm. We now have a manager wedded to Anis and desperate for him to raise his game in order to show his coaching abilities are superior to his predecessor.

I genuinely hope I’m wrong and Anis turns into a world beater but presently, for me at least, this situation has got LJs misplaced belief in O’Dowda’s ability to push the Club forward plastered all over it. 

[Wrongagain]

Pring has to start if fit, without him we are not offering a threat at all on the left, Robert’s offers very little beyond the half way line and gives the ball away too often, Williams is too inconsistent to be the main man in a weak midfield - wish we had moved him on and kept James!

[Davefevs]

9 minutes ago, Wrongagain said:

Pring has to start if fit, without him we are not offering a threat at all on the left, Robert’s offers very little beyond the half way line and gives the ball away too often, Williams is too inconsistent to be the main man in a weak midfield - wish we had moved him on and kept James!

My view (unfounded in some cases) is that we are asking too much of some players, whether that be physical, ie Pring, can you play LB, LWB and LW please, and Williams, can you to do all this complicated stuff that you’re not  capable of.

Joe Williams is a better player (imho) than the very erratic one we’ve seen this season.

As is Pring.

And they aren’t the only two either.

Edited Tuesday at 15:38 by Davefevs

[Severn Beach Pigeon]

7 hours ago, Davefevs said:

I haven’t counted, My WhatsApp group all thought Max was “weak as piss”.  There are several on here that said similar.  I doubt it’s 50:50 admittedly, but on here we tend to favour City in our decision making.

I think Max was very weak and that it was probably a foul.

A suppose a parallel might be to someone switching off expecting an offside that never gets given.

You can't give up because you're expecting a freekick to be given, you play as if it won't be.