Bitterly dissapointed by the performance, the 1st half was pathetic by most of the players, the only ones who performed were Ash and Joe allen, we can safely forget talk of the likes of Dyer and sinclair being lined up for other clubs they are way too inconsistant!! Strange thing about this game was that we kind of knew it was going to happen! i cant work out why we looked so poor in the 1st half but i got the feeling in the first 5 mins that the boys wernt up for it at all, second half was much better but we still lacked a bit of bite when we needed it, im getting fed up of the split personality performances and if these players think they are premier league they are going to have a big shock come May!! Frustration is the right word to use here, we didnt start right and it was down hill from there. Did Sunderland deserve the win? without a doubt, very workman like team with absolute quality player up front, some might say we were undone by 2 bits of skill that is true, but i will also say that this game seemed to be lost in the first 15mins in terms of our attitude. Sinlcair-Terrible 1st half,missed another sitter and continued to generally give the ball away for the first 45mins. Dyer- i would never call him a big time charlie but his head was somewhere else today,poor first touch,played well in patches Taylor- Why he runs 20m forward stops and then always passes the ball backwards when there is ALWAYS a square pass inside is beyond me,killing our build up play, got better 2nd half like everyone else. DG- was presented with great chances by siggy and fluffed his lines,didnt see that workman like effort from him today either. These are harsh critisisms i know, but the reality is we are boardering on a relegation dog fight by not being able to play away from home, it must be terribly frustrating for the manager because Sunderland are absolutly nothing special what so ever. Until we find some form away from home we will hover above relegation places, we know the players are good enough they have proved they can play but to me it looks like they are picking and choosing the games to perform in, im sure thats not the case but its baffling how much we are a Chalk and Cheese team. 2nd half we played well and looked much more like ourselves, that makes me even more angry because we know we are good enough to get something out of games like these. Overall, this result was not a suprise to Swans fans, we never do things the easy way and that is something that looks like it will stay with us forever!! Im happy with the 2nd half but if the players carry on beleiving the hype then we will be joining Blackpool very soon . No big clubs will be intrested in inconsistant footballers, seems we wont need to worry about anyone leaving after all (exept Ash and Joe) Thoughts on the match from fellow jacks ??
Why is it that you always feel the need to lambast out team and have a session of blood-letting after a loss with these posts? Didn't you do one entitled 'Relegation Fodder' a while back? Give it a rest. I disagree. I thought we played really well against an established Prem side with a good Manager in MON. We didn't test their keeper enough but Vorm had even less to do other than pick the ball out of the net twice. If you get 64% possession away from home then you're doing something right but you have to make it count. They had 2 shots and target and scored twice and that's the mark of being established. They were the home side, remember, and their own fans were screaming at the team for not getting hold of the ball. They were chasing shadows most of the time. Yet we were 'crap'? Don't make me laugh. We were crap at Norwich, but were certainly weren't crap today. Btw, my mate is currently with the away supporters on one of the buses and they all feel the same. My only disappointment was Sinclair who deserves a mention for being particularly ineffective today. That said, Bardsley was fantastic and also did the same to Routledge. So lighten up please. Any neutral observer would say we deserved something - at least a point and possibly more. Just one of those games imo.
We were not at our best today but then we never are away from home. They had two chances and took them both brilliantly but apart from that they are a below average team at best, they had clearly done their homework however. I'd love to say we deserved a point but if you are not going to test their keeper you deserve nothing!! As for player performance Vorm - Decent game, as per usual, couldnt really do anything about the two goals. Caulker and Williams - Good games for both, they were put under a lot of pressure by the Sunderland attack but dealt with it. Rangel - Got turned inside out for the first goal but it was very well worked by Sunderland. Didnt face much more difficulty through the rest of the game. Taylor - Kind of agree with you here Norway. Looked good in defence but when attacking he doesnt seem to overlap Sinclair as much this season which is a shame as he has got a half decent delivery on him! Dyer - I'll disagree with you here Norway pressurised the full backs well, delivery was questionable when he got behind the defence but at least he got there Sinclair - ****, again! This season he couldn't beat a drum yet alone a man. Given that on Soccer AM he managed to hit the ball accurately at a tiny hole i'd love it if he could do it in the game. Wasted 2 great chances and gave the ball away for Sunderland's second with an abject attempt of a pass. Allen - Good game, passed well....although I do think he has taken the Swanselona thing to heart as he seemed to hit the deck a little easy today for my liking. Britton - Unusually poor game, gave the ball away a bit which wouldn't be too bad but he wasn't exactly great at putting a challenge in to get the ball back so it just compounded some of the uncharacteristically sloppy passing. Sigurdsson - OK game, took a few shots from distance which we have all been looking for for a couple of weeks but i think that he maybe tried one too many times when a pass would have been a better option. Great delivery on the lad but we need to start training to take advantage of it. Some great crosses and free kicks but first one to the ball always seemed to be a Sunderland player. Graham - Looked tired, didnt help that we didnt have a striker on the bench to give him a rest!!! And a manager review Rodgers - Some weird stasub choices. Think Agustien should have started instead of Allen or Britton to have given a bit more of a bite in the midfield because sometimes, when they did decide to keep the ball on the floor they walked through us. Also getting a bit annoyed at his persistence with Sinclair when it is just not working, would have liked to have seen Routledge coming on earlier for him earlier and Agustien for Britton as he is better at providing a killer pass, which would have helped given the service to Graham today was piss poor! But oh well, wont be the last time we lose away from home, I just hope we pick up another away win soon as we probably only need another 1 or 2 with our home form being what it is. Here is to hoping for a good win @ Bolton.....also a little optimistic against Chelsea after seeing the Norwich game today....great result for them!!
Well the stats suggest otherwise: 4 shots on target to their 2. Off target our 7 to their 5. We had 64% possession away from home and 4 corners to their 2. If we'd had similar stats at home and nicked it we'd think we were very fortunate. Must be remembered that for all the OP's comments about relegation we're also 3 points off ninth. Keep cool. We're definitely improving away from home and will only get better imo. Like I said, today was just one of those results.
Sunderland out worked us and pressed high for the first 30 minutes or so then began to tire of the effort required. At this point, a goal behind, we began to assert ourselves in midfield, the second half was mostly ours. Sunderland's first goal was a shot out of the blue from a narrow angle. The second was one of the those really annoying dippy shots from distance that you can't do much about - more of a hope and prayer shot that dipped because it lacked power than anything else, but it counted .... sometimes it's better to be lucky than good and get's us back to "if you don't shoot you can't score". Allen had a great second half and a pretty good game over all. Sig had a tidy game and is a definite upgrade. McEachran was OK, but what more could you expect - he's a kid not Roy of the Rovers. I think Allen, Mac and Sig could become a potent trio. Our failure in the final third persisted today. Whatever we created Sunderland through sheer effort and numbers was able to block and smother. I just don't understand Sinclair. He is starting to cost us - missed a clear chance before Sunderland's first goal that would have set the game on a different trajectory - worse than this is that on the whole he creates very little. I haven't tracked how many crosses he has in a typical game but if the number was close to zero I wouldn't be at all surprised. Today he kept running into walls of players and the full back had the matching of him for speed. Dyer was also matched for speed by the other back, but the difference is Dyer is more tricky than Sinclair and doesn't need to rely on speed and getting moving to beat a defender. Dyer can start from a dead stop and beat a defender, he also combines better with players around him to work openings for himself. Routledge should have replaced Sinclair and McE replaced Leon instead of Sig - this would have given us better punch up the middle. I chalk this up to one of the those frustrating matches in which we could have / should have done better, but we didn't. O'Neil is going to work those guys into a functional unit that will grind out enough points to survive - they ground them out today. We had possession but failed to create and when we had the one clear opportunity and we didn't bury it. They basically had two shots and scored. In the Prem, it's usually a fine line between victory and defeat, today we got caught on the wrong side.
there was 4 shots on target but none of them really test the keeper did they. I'm not worried, as you said, its one of those games, i think our home form will be more than enough to stay up as the only big teams left are an off the boil Chelsea and Man City. Today we had a couple of players who werent playing to their usual standards, but they will probably have two weeks off now to rest as i can imagine a lot of change for the cup game...i dont want there to be but think we may have to!
Norway have you taken leave of your senses? for goodness sake man, I can't believe you've reacted like this! As far as I see it we played awesome, and were beaten by a freak goal, plus an outstanding match winner, against the run of play, sometimes you don't get what you deserve in football, and today was one of those days, no luck on the bounce of the ball in front of goal, and we forced Sunderland to park the bus in front of goal at home all game, if I was a Sunderland supporter, I would be worried even though they won, just can't understand your post at all here today Norway, very surprised at you, and can't agree at all. Last word from me is that Sinclair needs to shape up, but other that that our boys did magnificently today, but didn't get what they deserved! a draw would have been a fairer result, no way did Sunderland deserve a win, we played them of the park all game!............. please log in to view this image
DPJ: Ready? Sure? Wait for it..... Well said. Sunderland were pi55 poor but got the result. As you say, that's the way it goes sometimes, and you don't always get what you deserve.
I'm so annoyed that we've already played them at home while we were still getting to grips with/in awe of, the PL. Sunderland were garbage today and we pressed them until their eyes bled. We played all the football and if we took them on at The Liberty next week, I reckon we would put five on them without reply. They were organised and workmanlike and that is all I have to say about them. If we can't finish above a shambles like that, there's something wrong. Their supporters booed them consistently because they couldn't get the ball and when they did, they couldn't string three passes together. As Harry Redknapp said about so many teams in this league, they just lumped it forward hoping that their front men would latch onto the ball and do something. Football? In a pig's ear!!! In fairness they scored two great goals; a decent move for the first. But nine attempts out of ten, both would have missed and it was our luck (bad) that they went in today. Yes, we weren't quite on our game today and we lacked the penetration we have shown of late but doesn't that say something? Despite that, we still dominated the game and with more sharpness in the final third, we could have got something. I agree with the comments made about the players' performances and, as for Sincs, I just wish that he'd stop going for the glory shots when he gets a chance. He had two decent chances and blasted them both wide. Had he shown a little composure and concentrated on accuracy rather than power he might well have scored. Even a scuffed shot has a chance if it is on target but, no matter how well a shot is hit, if it's not on target it can never be a goal. I speak with some authority on that subject as most of my "career" goals were scuffed shots. Seriously though, less power and more accuracy will reap dividends for him and I hope that the coaches will be having a word with him.
Yes, I agree, Sinclair seems to get a rush of blood that he never gets on pens. Curious. Posted elsewhere that I've watched the 2 goals again on motd and they were both superb finishes. As you say, Ivor, on another day......But we are definitely improving our performance levels away from home. Surely even the OP can see that? I just can't understand the sentiment that we didn't deserve anything out of the game. We played very well, and if - particularly as a newly promoted team playing an established side - you get 64% possession and have double the chances that the home team does then you're doing alright. I'm all for criticism where it's due (the away game at Carrow Road being an example) but I draw the line at getting the knives out just because we lose.
Completely disagree with OP. We controlled 75% of the game and looked very slick. Just got beaten by 2 wonder goals. NorwayJack, you've been so negative the last few months. What's up mate? We lost away to Sunderland after bossing the game. Big deal - so did Man City. If we're going to lambast the team at this juncture in our history, what is the point? I for one was proud of the boys today, disappointed because we didn't get what we deserved. These are great times - ENJOY IT!
Yes I noticed that. He never misses pens but in open play that final shot or pass too often goes awry. But the team is definitely playing better and better football - loosing to 2 classy goals away from home is an occupational hazard of being in the Premiership. It has happened to the big teams and no team is immune.
I was happy with our performance yesterday but despite having the lion’s share of the possession and looking the better side, I would like to see us be more direct at times down the middle with our passing and I don't mean long balls over the top for Danny to chase. We don't seem to pressurise centre backs enough by running at them; Danny receives most of his balls with his back to goal, or we prefer instead to pass the ball sideways or backwards to work an opening. Whilst it might be because Danny hasn't the speed to beat the defender, that didn't stop Gylfi feeding a forward ball through to him for the third goal against Arsenal. I would rather we mixed it up a bit, be more direct and clinical down the middle whilst having more pops at goal as we never seem to really make opposition keepers work but Glyfi's last two outings has given me some hope that this could be what I've been waiting for. Let's not be too despondent with our loss; remember this is our first season in the Premiership and we are playing against established Premiership teams week in and week out. I loved it when I heard the Sunderland crowd have a go at their team as they couldn't get the ball off us and this shows how far we have come. Listening to 606 on the way back to Wiltshire there was a phone call from a Sunderland season ticket holder who said that the Swans were the best side she'd seen at the SOL and that if we had a goal scorer then we would have beaten them comprehensively. Whilst I don't agree fully with her regarding a goal scorer I think we do need to create more chances front of goal and be more clinical in putting them away; if only it wasn't Mark Gower for that late chance at Liverpool!! We're playing some great football so let's get behind Brendon and the team by showing our support, home and away, as they will need our total backing in the tough run in to the end of the season.
People keep talking about what the stats say,well i look at what the result says! If the stats were tur ed into points then fair enough but they Are not. My OP is more about the first half than the second, what many on here Are not æking is why with so much posession did we have so few shots on target? As i have said if we Are not careful the failiure to beat or Get a point off teams around us Will drag us into a battle we may not be equipt to deal with, nothing really wrong with the second half performance but we need to be switched on for 90 mins not 45! I know the players can do it,they have proved it,but im sure the manager is as frustrated with the difference in away performances compared to home. I was very frustrated by the result yesterday, if posters Think i am too harsh on the team then thats fine by me, but please stop reeling out the stats like they make up for points dropped,they dont. Im annoyed because we Are very close to being comfortable at this level, and the only thing that seems to be stopping us from acheiving that is the mental attitude of the players when we go away from home. As i said, the second half we were much better but by then we already gave the home team everything they Needed to hold on to and dig in. We must start on the front foot in These games,id preferanse us just to play % football for the first 10mins ,it Will stop the home team getting their tails up by running around and closing us down from deep, in our worst away games we have been knocked off our rythem in the first 10 mins by this tactic, we know teams Are going to come out and close us down and give us no space so we should by now have figured out a way around This. Chelsea at home NeXT, Will we continue to be chalk and cheese ?
This will be a first i have to agree with Aberdude, yes we had more possession, passes, shots on goal etc, but goals count. Sometimes you never get what you deserve in life, we had that day yesterday played good football but got nothing from it. Sunderland did a good job on us, and scored two cracking goals. There will be days when were poor, but get a result. That may very well come against Chelsea, after watching them against Norwich I'm more confident of getting the three points. We shall see!! Let's not be too downhearted lads, still a long way to go, on this roller coaster ride of a season. Onwards and Upwards.
Norway. Trouble is you expect us to win every game and always, without fail, post a negative thread when we don't. We all want the team to do well at the end of the day but some of us are a tad more pragmatic. Stats do count for something whether you like it or not. I agree it's ultimately the result that counts but it gives managers and us fans an insight as to how well we did, both as a team and individual players. The stats reflect what I saw yesterday. One team that dominated the game (64% possession away from home) but lacked a cutting edge (only 4 shots on target with no goals) and another team who, despite being at home were pretty poor (see above stats, including just 2 shots on target) but scored 2 wonder goals capable of winning any Prem game. That, as they say, is football. Damned infuriating. But stats, just like maths and science don't lie. They are pretty unequivocal. It irks me that some fans think we almost have a god-given right to play the 'lesser lights' in the Prem and get a result. We are the new kids on the block and are giving a great account of ourselves, winning new admirers from all around the world - most of whom are now tipping us to stay up. If that's not enough for you I don't know what is.
Too true, Swamp, but Norway does this every time we lose. Just listened to Rodgers full post-match interview and his assessment is similar to most of the rest of us. "Some of our passing and movement was terrific but we didn't have our shooting boots on today and were undone by two fabulous goals." Perfectly summarises the game, I think. As the OP has frequently stated that "If it's good enough for Brendan then it's good enough for me" then he should take a leaf out of his own book.
What a manager says in the media and what he says to the players behind closed doors Are very often not the same thing. Where have i ever stated that i expect us to win? I was in the minority that predicted Blackburn away would be really hard,it was! I also said on this forum that i would be happy with a point away at sunderland. I also had us down for a point against Norwich . So where you ve plucked your comments about me expecting us to win every game from ive no idea! Especially as ive forcasted us to Get 36 pts in this season. Problem you seem to have is that you. Dont like to hear anything but positive posts, i can be positive about the team all day Long but it doesnt stimulate anything other than mutual masterbation sessions about all things swansea, im highlighting what i see as debatable points, if you dislike them fine, i dont care. Some Will agree some Will not, doesnt matter what we Think at the end of the day,some on here seem to Think it does .
Would suggest that if the OP is unable to handle the disappointment of an occasional defeat, he should start to follow orienteering or nordic ski-ing instead?
