First of all just a quick mention of the pre season stuff before a ramble on about Micheal Laudrup!! In fitness tests at the start of pre season. Is it spanish dedication and professionalism or is it that the Brits just give it hammer and tongs on the beer in the summer ?? Nice to see the new guy finish top of the tops anyway. Fede Bessone came in second place and rangel came in third..im guessing Orlandi came in 4th .. Anyway... What do my fellow jacks think about Laudrups early days here? seems he is just quietly going about his buisness with zero fuss or soundbites and is recruiting the correct personell in a professional manner, there seems to be a no frills attitude coming from him that to me seems quite refreshing,granted its very early days but its an approach that fits well with me after Brenden . The 2 signings he has made seem to be very astute deals,time will indeed tell but the reputation and cv of these new boys is very good and i think they will dove tail well with our already talented squad. We have only spent about £2m quid as well which shows the guy knows how to shop on limited funds,very important for a club like us, i think if Brenden Rodgers was Swans boss he wouldn't have been able to get these boys here on a budget ,but the name Laudrup doesnt half make it easier to cut to the chase with players IMO, if Laudrup rates you then all the mind game positive mental attitude"fantastic talant" stuff that Brenden uses would probably come second to being well thought of from a football Legend and a guy who the best regarded as the best!!. For me his early days here have gone well,he goes about his work under the radar not looking for a camara to talk into every 5 mins,gets things done quietly and efficiantly,shops within budget and seems like he has set up a pretty useful back up and analysis team. Good first month ML Thoughts on Laudrups early days ??
Strongly agree with what you say Norway. I must admit I was a bit dubious when he was first touted, on Ivor`s recmmendation? But since his unveiling, I am very excited by the coming season. His first two signings seem to be spot on for what we need. When brendan left, I thought we`d be lucky to survive the drop. Now Mr laudrup has been in the job a little while, I think we could finish mid-table, or dae I say it, even in the top half. Roll on August and let`s see how we`re going to go. Good times ahead methinks. please log in to view this image
Well its good to Get the positive vibes going again thats for sure. Im wondering if we Will sign many more? The budget certainly allows for it which is good.
I Think laudrup has taken the 2 most important positions swiftly, i would like to see maybe another striker added though alot Will depend on what players move on if any as all Are under contract, with the extra 20m in prize money NeXT season i would be happy to see us maintain all the players just in case we Get a major injury crisis
Without any of the existing squad leaving then another striker and cover for the left back/midfield and thats about it for me . Andy Carrol any one
Would be hilarious if we were able to get him playing in our system after Rodgers has apparently not even bothered trying, would show him up big time. Anyway, there's no chance of this happening, but amusing to think.
Good post Norway and I concur with your assessment of Laudrups way of doing things, in fact the bit I liked was; This to me sums up his early days here very well, regarding further signings, I know for a fact we are seriously looking for more fire power up front to help Graham, so fingers crossed he gets a good one!..............
Can we convert Carol to a center half? Do we need to. Excellent start for ML - but really, he's seen it play out before at Madrid and Barca .... if he doesn't know how to run shop, will he ever! I like the adjustment of Curtis being more involved with the first team officially - not sure that I knew much about What's is Name (forgotten the name of the coach that left with BR already - seriously I'm having a brain fart), so perhaps it's not fair to say, but he never struck me as much to write about. The new people that have come in as coach and fitness expert have a continental / La Liga background - has to be good - nothing has to be explained to them about how we want to play. Two excellent player recruits to fill known gaps. I think the next steps are to quietly discard from the bottom of the deck and add to the top going forward. I would guess that there will be people movements by the end of August - probably more out than in as ML completes his evaluations and trims his squad. It will be interesting to see where Situ and Obeng end up. I am hoping that Jazz Richards sticks and grows into a role somewhere - after seeing him play in a full international v Mexico and look so comfortable, I really don't see how Monk / Tate can come before him on the bench, especially since he can dual role into midfield.
Yankee agree Monk and Tate are yesterdays men and I don't expect them to feature this term sad but a fact of Life!
Yes, I agree that he seems to be getting on with the job with the minimum amount of fuss. Many managers love to talk to the media, but ML just seems to be getting down to business. Backroom staff getting sorted, two new players arrived. It's all looking good. Doom and gloom merchants like Dilligaf take note. The world of SCFC doesn't fall apart when a manager or player leaves.
Yankee..... personally, I hope that Jazz, Situ, Obeng and young Donnelly will have an increasing role to play at the club, even if some or all have to go out on loan to get some serious competitive football under their belts. I see talent in all four of them and believe that they can play a decent part in our future success. Let's face it, if they all realise their undoubted potential, we will save a wad of money in the future and ML is known to favour bringing young talent through to the top.
I personally think Jazz is now bench material and should be playing a part in first team affairs more regular, he did well when having limited time last season, the longer he plays games the better he will become, if we played him for 10 games i think we would see him improve, im not suggesting we do that but if we picked up an inrury then it wouldnt phase me to see Jazz come in and do his job
I think he's ready now. Problem is finding a position for him. If he can up his game a fraction to shade out regulars he could find a slot for himself in the first team. Jazz can only improve under ML. If he was playing first team football in the Prem or Cardiff's league, he'd be a starter for Wales.
Yeah, tend to agree with you there yankee. Be intresting to see how he does pre-season Taylor will be out with team GB so a chance to get in there and get some games
What really encouraged me about Jazz over the last couple of seasons, is that the bigger the challenge, the 'easier' it seems he's able to step it up. I saw him for the reserves a few times last season & he just looked way off the first team. Stick him in the 'deep-end' & his head's well above the water. So the strength of belief in his own ability must be there. Very encouraging to know that when we embark on our 2nd Premier season, the likes of Rangel & Taylor could have more than adequate cover. He's stepped in for both over the last couple of seasons & done himself very proud. Agree too about his performance when he came on for Wales in New York, looked so comfortable in possession & did give so much pride, that he's one of our own. Hope he can kick-on this season... Over to you Michael....
I think Laudrup is relaxed & see's a huge opportunity to strut his football network without having to look over his shoulder . Laudrup & Brondby should have never played chicken with the managers contract . Since leaving Brondby , Laudrup hasn't stayed over a season with any club . Could be lots of potential building at the club . The club must have loads of money , they don't spend a great deal !!
