Match Day Thread Stoke City v Swansea City

I need a shrink!!

 

Was worried soon as I seen the line up ....I not against VDH and Mawson starting together , although I'm not for it , but if you do start them Britton must start with them .
Britton is the only midfielder we have that is totally committed to helping the defence .
Fer or KI , not both IMO .
Still hoping to see Fernandez and VDH start a few games .
Would also like to see the expierence of LLorente .
Back to the drawing boards , we hit a hot team .

 

When Joe and Bony were ****ting the bed at the start of the season , it was because of their team mates . Now that Stoke is playing well , its all Bony and Allen .
Allen and Fer have the same amount of goals , same passing % basically , the biggest difference between the 2 are aerial battles . Fer leads the team , Allen won an aerial battle in the early 2000's .The biggest difference between Fer and Allen to me is Allen job description is defined , Fer's changes with every game he plays. And the even biggest difference is Allen cost 3 times what Fer cost
Bony has 2 goals in 600 or so minutes in the Premier this season and you think he's the best thing since toast .
LLorente and Baston (20 million ) have 2 goals in a lot more minutes than that but complaints about them are few and far between .
Paloschi had 2 goals in 650 minutes and was chased out of town as a total loser .
We are 5 points from getting out of relegation , 6 points from 14 place .
The new manager just managed his 3rd game .
I thought bringing in a new manager was a mistake , but it is what it is .

 

Back to the drawing board? Bob needs to buy one first

 

Are we really comparing Bony against Llorente,Baston and Palo?

Are we really comparing Joe with Fer?

Not Huw are you?

 

Stats are stats valley , our problems aren't player related IMO , they are boardroom and to many chiefs related .
Players trying to shuffle the ideas ,in and out, of 4 managers in a year tend to struggle till stability is found .
If Bradley gets 1 win from his next 4 games , equalling Guidolin start , do we go for a 5th manager .
The players are rudderless because of the board and the " Manager - Go - Round "

 

Our problem is Huw, crap managers (Bob and Guido) and signing crap players instead of quality like to 2 that ripped us apart last night.

Either way Bony and Joe walk into our team at 50%.

 

I never wanted Guidolin to come in when he did , but he came in a week after Curtis was promised the rest of the season .
I never wanted Bradley to come in after only 7 games , but it is what it is .
The players are taking a pounding at the expense of greed , bad planning and knee jerk reactions by Huw and the board

 

The only players taking a pounding are Fer,Ki and Taylor who are NOT good enough.

You wanted Guido to stay on in the summer though?

 

I wish he was still here FFS , but he wasn't American so it didn't work out

 

It didn't work out because he was not good enough and should have left in the summer.

 

Leroy Fer's behaviour is pathetic and Neil Taylor is a scapegoat: 5 important things we learned about Swansea City
Here are the main concerns that became apparent at Stoke

please log in to view this image

Leroy Fer of Swansea City did not have a good night
Swansea's defeat at Stoke – and the stark, bleak reality slap of struggle that it left – prompted a fairly emotional and angry reaction on social media from fans.

One tweet that caught many's attention suggested that 14 years of progress had been undone in the space of three months. It's wishful thinking that the issues that have led to this point have come in a sudden surge since the start of August. There has been a drip-drip-drip of poor decisions that have contributed to this current worrying state, ones made both on and off the field.

Take your pick from the beginning of the end under Michael Laudrup where the Dane was allowed to carry on even after a summer bust-up involving his controversial agent made his position seemingly untenable, the allowance of cliques to develop in the dressing room, the failure to replace Wilfried Bony, Garry Monk not looking to add experience to his backroom when he needed it, the new deal for Francesco Guidolin when concerns over his management were already deep-rooted, the refusal to push for Joe Allen's return, the decision to sell the side's defensive leader, and there's probably more.

please log in to view this image

Swansea City boss Bob Bradley


Read More

• Video footage captures rousing Welsh songs blaring from Swansea City dressing room at Stoke City

Swansea have managed to cope with them one at a time for a long period – and it's not as if it's been all bad during that time – but hindsight does now show that such a series of slip-ups has eventually caught up with the club.

All will have their opinion on what has been the most telling and the thinking behind some of them, though it's probably a culmination of things over a period of time that has eventually seen cracks unpapered.

The change in the club's dynamic since the first reports of takeover talks emerged has only added to the pointing fingers of blame and suspicion, especially when it has come to transfer spending. The worrying break down in trust by those in the stands and those in the boardroom has not helped and will not help going forward, the frustration and tension now being felt by all when an united front is needed.

When problems have been a long time coming, it suggests there's no quick fix. Swansea do have enough about them to find a way out to try and start again – but it's going to be tough and long.

Here are the main concerns that became apparent at Stoke....

A selection that had alarm bells ringing

please log in to view this image

Stoke City's Joe Allen (left) and Swansea City's Ki Sung-yueng battle
Bradley has only been around a matter of weeks so perhaps you can forgive him looking at different partnerships to see what might work, but the thought of Ki Sung-Yueng and Leroy Fer playing together in the deeper two of Swansea's midfield worried – and fears didn't take long to be realised.

Individually, both have their strengths, but both carry similar weaknesses – namely switching off when it comes to responsibilities. It was exposed for the opening goal and it was shown up time and again by Stoke's far busier midfield, led – of course – by Joe Allen.

While Ki showed a little bit of hope of improvement on the ball, it was undermined by the killer lack of cover the pair provided. It was a big selection call from Bradley and, being kind, you could see the thinking in it, shown by how Swansea did move the ball well when play became broken in front of them – but ultimately it was the wrong selection and should be quickly consigned to the bin. Such a choice after this evidence can't be forgiven a second time.



Read More

• Who is Daniel James? What you need to know about the exciting Swansea City teenager who made the bench at Stoke City

Leroy Fer embarrassed himself

please log in to view this image

Swansea's players after Stoke open scoring
On the subject of Leroy Fer, the hope is that someone can show him the video of his habit of deciding to stay on the ground after a decision that doesn't go his way so he can be shamed into snapping out of it.

It happened against Arsenal when he gave the ball away late on for the chance Theo Walcott missed, and it happened twice here – including for the second goal. It was only for a second, but it was enough as Stoke got on with the game in front of them. It is as bizarre as it is pathetic.

Throw in his constant refusal to break into a sweat to track runners and it was a showing that let down many. Swansea do not need such lack of character and fight right now.



Read More

• Swansea City boss Bob Bradley holds 'honest' dressing room talks as he tells players to face up to reality

Hope in attack

please log in to view this image

If Swansea are to take hope forward – and they certainly need some – it will be that they do not look toothless in attack. Putting other issues aside, if Swansea can score goals then it at least gives hope that cutting out errors can lead to the results the side badly needs.

Fernando Llorente impressed with what he did here, if not for his own goal threat but with a display of his sharpened first touch and clever movement that encouraged others into space. His partnership with Gylfi Sigurdsson could be vital going forward.

Borja Baston added something from the bench and with wide options, there is a bit there that can hurt teams. Granted, it will count for little if things can't be sorted elsewhere, but a bit of quality in the final third can go a long way in such survival fights.



Read More

• Monday Night Football pundits tear shambolic Swansea City apart after Stoke City horror show

Neil Taylor becomes a scapegoat

please log in to view this image

Swansea City's Neil Taylor
It was a surprise to see Stephen Kingsley make way after being part of the team that kept a clean sheet against Watford, so it was a big chance for Neil Taylor to underline his worth as a starter.

Unfortunately, it seems that many have their minds made up on the Wales left back. His header at the near post for the opener was poor, yet social media decided to lay the blame squarely at Taylor despite Ki and, more so, Fer, being guilty of leaving their men free. Taylor needs to improve with his attacking ball and some of his defensive decision-making, and Kingsley might fancy his chances of returning to the side, but it seems he's become the scapegoat regardless.

Modou Barrow has a long way to go
It's been said plenty of times that Modou Barrow has potential, but his performance at Stoke showed just how much he has to do. The hope must be that he can still learn – he is 24 after all, even if his inexperience sees him regarded as a youngster. But there were too many times where he didn't anticipate the run he needed to make when Sigurdsson or Llorente looked to link. He has pace to burn but his best asset could be in his head.

 

Oh well....another day another dollar.

 

That's the problem valley, you would have to drag Allen and Bony kicking and screaming into the team , they weren't ever going to come ....never mind at 30 million.

 

Bony was not interested in returning that is clear but Joe was certain himself that he would return before the Euros......Jenkins made Joe's mind up in the end with his lack of ambition in paying for players and i understand why in the end he preferred stoke....

 

Allen ,IMO , knew Williams was leaving and was above all the biggest reason he didn't come ...that along with the fact the team was being ran by madmen .

 

Joe didn't come because we didn't match Stokes bid. What's so difficult to understand about that statement? Joe, I've heard, was desperate to come back.

Same as Bony, had we agreed to the wages etc as part of the loan deal he might have come here.

We DIDNT try to sign either of them because we wanted crap from the championship instead.

 

We bought Fer thats the reason why we didn't go back for Joe , and someone else agrees , ****ing ****er

 

But we had the perfect chance when Liverpool said they wanted £10m for Joe and Jenkins offered £8m and there was no opposition for him then.....It was only after the Euros that other teams became interested and that was the time Jenkins blew any chance of getting him......Why Jenkins never paid the asking price at the beginning was a big mistake and it has cost us....

 

Yup. Fully agree,