Ye's I do plan on doing these after every home game (plus some of the away games I can get to watch). Feedback is always welcomed as is criticism. (TL;DR Version: Swans shaded it, right result, unlucky but need to be more aggressive up front) The occasion With our first home game out of the way and the first point in the bag, I felt we needed to be a bit more aggressive and push for our first goal in this game - hoping that three points could follow. However it was never going to be an easy game as I feel Sunderland are the biggest threat to the top six and could push for a European placed finish this season. Plenty of height at the back, a few tricky midfielders (and Clattermole ), good pace up front and one of the leagues better keepers make Sunderland a force that can't be ignored. Match Report The visitors got off the blocks quick and early pressure nearly told as Gardner's shot was blocked by Taylor, but the resultant corner was headed over by O'Shea. The game was a bit scrappy for the rest of the first ten minutes with Gyan testing Vorm a few times with the Flying Dutchman proving more than equal to the task. Sinclair had started the game wide but crept inwards without the ball early - the tactic nearly paying off when he shook his markers and drove a great strike that firmly struck the woodwork with Mingolet looking on helpless and hopeful. Around the 25th minute mark Swansea started putting pressure on Sunderland with both Dyer and Graham missing to the right of the target with headed chances. Gyan again came forward but Agustien got a good block in as the Swans seemed determined to offer their Diving Swan in the nets a bit more protection than he's had in the past games. Towards the end of the half Swansea could have scored through Danny Graham - but the forward doesn't seem to have adjusted mentally to the new league and he hit his shot wide. The second half started with a bit of Swans pressure leading to a good save from Mingolet as Graham sought his first of the season. A good corner and cross led to nothing as the hour mark crept closer, and again Graham put his shot wide of the target after good work from the home side to open up the tenacious striped defence. Sunderland were haing to defend well by this point as the Welsh club ventured forward and would not let them break out of their half. Gyan looked the most potent threat as he kept firing against Vorm to no avail, and at the other end Sinclair and Graham were finding Mingolet tough to beat. The last ten minutes saw Sunderland attack in waves trying to steal the three points with Sessegnon firing against a well positioned Taylor, and then finding Caulker in his way minutes later. Wickham also saw a late effort blocked by Williams as the home side soaked up the last vestiges of pressure from the North East side. The final few minutes belonged to Swansea as they pressed forward in the hopes of sealing their first Premier League win but Williams header from a Dobbie corner flew over the bar and then with the last kick of the game Joe Allen saw Brown block a good effort. It was a tough afternoon and neither side deserved to lose, so the draw was probably a fair result. Both sides will be happy not to have lost that game but also know they must do better if they are to achieve their aims this season. The main positive for Swansea is that the team played for all 90 minutes for a change and were probably unlucky not to get a goal today - it's a work in progress but it's coming along quite quickly and should see us winning game soon if we can get in another two players this week. Match Stats Swansea////////////////////Sunderland 18(3)////Shots (on Goal)////11(2) 7///////////Fouls//////////10 7///////Corner Kicks///////4 1/////////Offsides//////////0 62%//Time of Possession//38% 1///////Yellow Cards///////1 0/////////Red Cards/////////0 2///////////Saves////////////3 (I really need to find a way of doing tables on here, eh? ) Swansea Ratings GK) Vorm - 9. His distribution wasn't as great but that was down to great pressure from the Sunderland forwards. Made some crucial saves and never looked like getting beat. DR) Rangel - 7. Was caught out a few times but dealt with his man well for most of the game. Did well getting forward but lacked the end product. DL) Taylor - 8. Two or three great blocks, some good runs forward and one crucial interception. Shame he couldn't make more of a difference with crosses. DC) Caulker - 7. One interception possibly saved a point today, he's still nervous of going forward but defensively is begging to find his feet. DC) Williams - 8. Made an excellent block late on, tidy footwork and was only caught in possession once. Led from the back and gave the forward players confidence to roam. DM) Britton - 8. Made a few great runs that led to chances and made life very difficult for his opposite numbers. DM) Agustien - 8. Alongside Vorm as an early POTS candidate. Uses his size well and shows good technique, offering a combination that we've missed in the middle for a number of years. AM) Routledge - 7. A few good runs to gain position but never threatened. Seemed more at home on the right flank. WR) Dyer - 8. He needs to shoot more often as he finds space and angles around the edge of the box. Seemed subdued at times during the first after a knock but recovered well. WL) Sinclair - 8. Unlucky to see his shot hit the bar and looked a real threat down the middle. Sadly he doesn't seem able to do much when out wide except deliver a few barren crosses a game. ST) Graham - 7. Should have scored and better finishing could have seen him win the game for us. High workrate and good in the air but seems goal-shy right now. Subs DM) Allen - 8 (on for Agustien at 79 mins). did a lot of defensive work during the last ten minutes and more than once relived pressure via good interceptions and anticipation. Could have won it late on if not for Wes Brown's block. AM) Dobbie - 6 (on for Dyer at 79 mins). Never really got up to speed and REALLY needs to stop doing step-overs as by the third one he loses the ball and leaves us vulnerable. ST) Lita - 7 (on for Routledge at 71 mins). Made a few good runs and seemed to worry the defenders with his aggressive running style. Looked able to compete in the air too which will be an unexpected bonus. Sunderland GK) Mingolet - 8. Wasn't tested enough but when called upon he made a number of good saves. DR) Bardsley - 7. Solid if unimpressive, lost Sinclair too foten during the first half but did better in the second. DL) O'Shea - 8. A good debut for the experienced defender, could have made it special with an early goal. DC) Ferdinand - 7. Seemed capable but not up to pace. DC) Brown - 8. Marshalled the back line well and put in a great block late on to save a point. DM) Cattermole - 6. Tough in the tackle but went down too easily. Didn't offer a threat and Sunderland improved when he was replaced by Wickham. MR) Larsson - 7. Took AGES over each free kick but his delivery was good. Didn't see enough of him at other times though. ML) Gardner - 7. Started well but faded out of the game a little as time went on. MC) Colback - 6. Not a threat, din't even realise he was playing for large parts of the game. MC) Sessegnon - 8. Did most of the work in the middle for Sunderland and took on more responsibility going forward when Gyan was replaced. ST) Gyan - 8. Strong, quick and intelligent. Got off a good number of shots after good footwork but couldn't beat Vorm. Subs MR) Elmohamady - 8 (on for Larsson at 70 mins). Looked very threatening down the right flank and produced two dangerous crosses. Probably should have started and had Larsson in the middle. ML) Richardson - 7 (on for Gyan at 76 mins). Surprised not to see him start and kept Rangel and Dyer pinned back quite well. SC) Wickham - 7 (on for Cattermole at 70 mins). Used his size well and only quick thinking from Vorm saw him denied late on. Season's predictions Swansea - 17th place. I think we were better against Wigan in the first half but this was a much sterner test for us. Against a very good team I think we shaded the game and kept playing for the full 90 minutes - a nice change from the Wigan game! Still no sign of that first goal or win yet though and the next two away games will make for interesting viewing. I think we still look short a player or two and need to be more creative and decisive in the final third or we'll be in danger of going back down this season - I have us balancing right on the edge currently with the next few weeks crucial to our survival. However I still have confidence that things will continue to improve over the next month and a half and that home form should see us safe. Sunderland - 7th place. Steve Bruce has built a very good squad over the past few years and they were only one or two names that I think they've finally added to the mix. Experience at the back in the form of Brown and O'Shea adds a safety net in front of the impressive Mingolet, whilst Sessegnon and Gyan can trouble any defence in this league up the other end of the pitch. If any team breaks into the top six this season I've got a feeling that it'll be the Black Cats. Chris
"If any team breaks into the top six this season I've got a feeling that it'll be the Black Cats." - I don't think so! Mid-table mediocrity more like. "the tenacious striped defence" - nice words Chris
Great thread Chris can you please do one for every game, and blog it as well mate, they are top rated for me.
Great post Really enjoyed the game today and there were plenty of positives - Graham work very hard and was unlucky not to score and Vorm was magnificent again - remember that Sunderland had a couple Champions League winners and World cup semi finalists in the team, but for spells we totally dominated them. Couldn't believe some of the negative comments I overheard on the way from the ground; okay, it's a game we probably should have won, but some of our support seem to be permanent 'glass half empty' sorts. If we keep up this level of performance the goals and wins will come - guess I am a 'glass half full' type - find that I enjoy myself more that way - so let's all get behind the team and applaud performances like todays!
Great thread Chris, do you mind if I use this on the twitter account I run about the Swans? All credit will go to you!
Taken from the ESPN Soccernet site as it's the most accurate one I've found. They are not perfect however (they did miss Kemi's yellow today - or they didn't include it in a protest of solidarity against the decision ) but I highly recommend them for tracking a game as it's going. On today's performance they didn't look too great I'll admit but it's also the team that got a draw at Anfield, then lost a really close battle against Newcastle. All their pieces are in place if they can gain some consistency, and I'm an admirer of the work done by Steve Bruce - them and Villa as surprises for me (plus ourselves of course!) It gets boring writing the same old things (player rating were bed enough with all the interceptions and block today!) so just trying to mix it up. Every game I see I'll try and put in a report that evening, the ones I don't I'll try and at least put in a shorter roundup.
Go ahead mate, I do them mainly for people who maybe haven't seen the game or wanted a recap on bits they wanted to discuss. Spread it far and wide for all the Jacks to enjoy! What's the Twitter address for this account anyway, I want to make sure I'm following it!
BBC says possession 55 - 45 which i would agree with after watching the match, how can you rate Graham and Lita a 7? Graham should have scored a hat trick, i wonder how much patience BR has
Musty, I was at the game and he deserves a 7 for his performance today! And come on, Sinclair missed as well, plus the £10m strike force of Sunderland! Its all opinion, and this is Chris's opinion!
Excellent stuff Chris, keep it up. Feeling a bit more positive after today, the team really tried to get that elusive goal and things are starting to look up, so we might very well get wins soon. Having said that, by the time we get to after the Chelsea game we might well be in the depths of despair again. That`s just my optimistic pessimism creeping in.
plenty of patience, you are one fickle fan mate! http://www.swanseacity.net/page/Latest/0,,10354~2434331,00.html
Buck has a lot of patience and he needs to as it takes time to adjust to playing against quicker (mentally as well as physically) teams at this higher level. The BBC site was awful with their stats last season too, which is why I switched to one that was far more up to date and seemed to miss a whole lot less of the action than the BBC did. 7 for Graham as he forced Mingolet to make some good saves and is coming along nicely - he's just warming into the role and now needs to let his fears go and make a fist of it. Lita showed enough passion and strength up front today that the defenders stood off him and let him have a yard (unheard of at this level!) of space. He may not have taken advantage of that this game but to even get that respect in a 20minute cameo was impressive. I'm happy to explain anything I write and it's just my opinion at the end of the day, watched from up high in the Family Stand. Sometimes my view isn't great but I tend to watch the game a lot different to some others that I've spoken to, so I try and give what I see and when (with a slight optimistic bias of course )
you must be an easy marker then Jager, sunderlands performance is not an issue with me, add graham + lita + moore + beattie = 6 mill? sell them all and get a decent striker
nope but you and Dai have been on his back on here for no good reason, he is fitting into a system of play he has not played before, I think he will come good for us with Brendan pushing him in the right direction, I hold his opinion far more than yours, its that simple!
Graham missed a header from point blank range and had a shot a 2 year could have saved, tbh i want the guy to do well but am starting to doubt (hope i aint sounding like Dai)
i wonder for how long Jager, remember opinions are like arseholes, everyone has one, my humble opinion is Graham is overrated
Musty do you subscribe to swans player? If you do go and listen to Brendans interview! You are against this guy utterly, and its bloody unwarranted, you don't watch the games as you are in Oz, I am not saying you don't deserve an opinion, just saying to change the bloody record and support the bloody players instead of the stabbing in the back that you do!
Great thread Chris. Just wanted to mention that I thought Leon was immense today and could easily have had motm. He hasn't had much bite to his game in the first few games, but today he looked like he was back to his old self. The confident touches in tight areas, the little turns on a sixpence and the tenacious tackling was all back on show. He was playing much more aggressively, both in the tackle and his forays forward, and he played 90 minutes without looking too tired (in comparison to last week). He was still sprinting back several times in the last ten minutes of the game to break up attacks. Even though alot of people on here didn't fancy him to start today, I think he is gonna be the heartbeat of our midfield this season.
