Would start with same team as against Everton (bar Yoshida) if possible. Redmond and Long are far better coming on than starting I think. Stephens for Yoshida and JWP for Lemina if he is unavailable. Keep it tight for the first half, and then go for it last 30 with the pace of Redmond and Long.
Just hope the players aren't too down and can lift themselves. Some of them looked absolutely gutted when they came over to us on Saturday.
Except for Tomw24, who will highlight that both guide dogs were unsighted, and the fourth official was watching a different match
I think you may have hit on something there, Brinkworth - the police and Premier League officials will be terrified of Cardiff playing Swansea at least twice next season, so they will ensure that Swansea go down. As a precursor to this, they have made sure that every previous decision/ bit of luck has gone against Saints, so when we win with a 99th minute handball goal that was so far offside Shane and Charlie were in the tea bar behind their goal, everyone will say 'These things even themselves out over the season'. That way, Swansea go down, all of the anti-Saints conspiracy theorists will have nothing to complain about, and order will be restored to the universe. If Saints win through a dodgy decision, you heard it here first.
Score first Saints. Get their nerves going. Redmond and Long pick them off on the break. 2-0 Saints. Please.
We must have set some sort of record for dropping points from a winning position this season. So many matches, not even always our own fault either.
If the game is the reverse of Saturday’s, with us grabbing a late equaliser, I still won’t be totally despondent, as I genuinely feel that Stoke will put in a good performance at Swansea. Call it relegation bounce, but so often in the past teams that have already been relegated play with a new found freedom and put away the chances they were previously missing. Well that’s my hope and I am sticking with it!
Implied odds on Betfair 30% Swansea win 41% Saints win 29% Draw And the latest relegation odds: 99% WBA 47% Saints 38% Swansea 16% Huddersfield Cripes. Vin
And as they say, you never meet a poor bookie. (I know Betfair is an exchange not a traditional bookmakers )
Get at them and go for it! We need a 2 goal advantage before 80 minutes. We know how our luck has been and i really don't want to go through it again! Good luck boys, we are right behind you!
It's something that I'm a massive fan of Hughes'. Both against Wigan and Bmouth, he brought on Long or Redmond immediately after we took a second half lead; clearly showing that he was fully aware that scoring on the counter had suddenly became a much greater option for us. I suspect the only reason why he didn't do it against Everton is because he'd already brought Redmond on.
^^This. 100% agree. Maybe it is as he followed a totally inflexible (some say inept) manager. But I trust him to react to the game conditions.
A heavy weekend in Dublin has helped me forget Saturday but the nerves and hangover are kicking in now. We're good enough to beat them. Hope our tails are still up despite the last minute sucker punch.
And he brought Long on for Austin at 76 minutes to inject more pace again. Worth remembering that if Redmond hadn’t been penalised for the non-foul at the end, he could easily have squared it to Long who would have had a tap-in.
It's things like this that are difficult to know about a manager from afar. You don't really learn them you get to see them first hand, on a regular basis. It's why a manager should always be given a chance (although not too long. August to November is long enough...). But equally, I see almost no pressing whatsoever from Hughes. Now that is something that I don't like from him, just letting the opposition play their way out. It's not like it's just Arsenal these days; all manner of sides will play out if you let them. As I highlighted yesterday, I can see City running riot if we don't get in their faces. What is still unknown to me is whether the lack of pressing is Hughes' preference, or a pragmatic decision he has been forced into given the players at his disposal. You could put Poch or Pep in charge, but you're not turning Charlie into Firmino.
I'm not concerned really about the performance Stoke will have against Swansea if we both draw on Tuesday , I am more concerned about our performance against City . However , read very carefully I don't often type these things ... 2-0 Saints and a draw on the final day I'm going for a lie down .
