Was very tired after the game so only got round to posting this now but better late than never. First things first, the referee had an absolute nightmare yesterday. It was almost as if he was trying to incense all the home crowd with giving every decision to Swansea, turning down what sounded like a good handball shout (though I was in N + P so had worst view in the entire ground for that) and failing to take any action on Vorm's timewasting until way into the second half when he started around 20 mins in! His time wasting was so blatant it is beyond belief that he was allowed to persist doing it. Swansea started off in control in the sense that we could not get any chances at all for the start of the game. They kept the ball well but did nothing with it until Bassong somehow managed to get outlept by the smallest player on the pitch who ran through on goal. Ruddy probably made a mistake going for it and got chipped. That was Swansea's only chance of the match and they scored it. After Dyer went off injured we were in complete control and very unlucky not to win. Hooper's goal was something else, what a hit! Ruddy - Let down by defence and beaten by Dyer once, otherwise commanding on crosses/corners. 6. Whittaker - Some terrible passes, RB looks a problem area. He does some good things but his passing is so sloppy sometimes. 5. Turner - absolute rock at the back yesterday, did not put a foot wrong all game. 8 Bassong - one mistake in an otherwise decent game and narrowly missed on a few set-pieces. Olsson - a bit off colour today. We really needed some threat out wide and he didn't offer it yesterday and didn't look that assured in defence either. 5. Redmond - so much pace and beats a man easily and then does nothing with it! Crossing wasn't there today and we really missed Snodgrass on set-pieces because Johnson/Redmond aren't accurate enough. We needed an outlet, he provided that but we needed quality balls. 5 Howson - scrappy, lost the ball alot, won it but couldn't really find a killer pass today. Not sure why canary call think he should be called up for England. 6. Johnson - won the ball back, which is his job but nobody managed to get more groans from the crowd on Sunday! His distribution isn't ideal, but considering we lack our creative players to take the responsibility away from him I can't be too critical. 6. Fer - sorry, he just isn't a winger. I know we have injuries but he is clearly wasted there! 5. Elmander - really got stuck in there! Probably our most creative player and never afraid to chase a lost cause. 8. Hooper - scored by far his toughest chance of the day and held up the ball well. Doesn't lose it often and always a threat. 8.
Interesting DM. I think you're a bit hard on Whittaker, who started off with some poor passes but, IMO, improved as the game went on. His raking 30 yard pass to Elmander, which he cleverly chested down to Hooper for the goal was first class. His overlapping runs also allowed Redmond to cut in more. The latter will be an awesome player if his footballing brain can catch up with his flying feet! I also thought that Howson had a solid if not spectacular day against a strong Swansea midfield. I do agree about Fer though, who seemed wasted out on the left. As I've said elsewhere, I wonder why CH doesn't try moving Olsson forward, where he has played before, so he can use his pace going forward as well as tracking back. Your comments about Elmander and Hooper are spot on, IMO.
Fer is wasted outside and that made him pretty anonymous in the first half but in the second half he got far more stuck in and I thought he was very good. The whole team suffered in the first half with not closing down but we pressed far harder in the second half and have far more joy disrupting their rhythm.
I agree Fer is not a winger but it is a team game and him playing there is for the benefit of the team rather then having a good individual performance. I'm sure when Snoddy and Pilks are back he will go back to CM. Although I understand the argument you want your best players in their best positions.
We need to start fully on the front foot and closing opponents down from kick-off, not at the start of the 2nd half. This is down to the players, not CH or his coaching staff. If we can do this especially for the next few games, then we stand a good chance of picking up some much needed victories!!!
I don't see how you can say that without being in the dressing room immediately before the teams come out at the start. Only CH, his coaching team and the players will know what instructions they've been given, whether to press high, old a deeper line etc. And unlike tennis, verbal instructions from the sideline are acceptable during the game - especially during breaks in play like the unfortunate Dyer stoppage. Just watch Martin O'Neil, Neil Warnock or Ian Holloway footage for proof of the part in bold type
and this is what drives me crazy some weeks, the West Ham game being a prime example - nothing changed until the break - wherever not?
Because I'd like to make a comments on most of the team, I'll also do a quick summary (Not trying to Hijack your post DM ) Ruddy - A relatively easy day. For all the Swan's possession they rarely tested him. He came out and caught a lot of crosses and definitely feels more commanding than he did earlier in the season. Maybe a mistake to come out for the goal but I bet he was still in shock that Bassong let the ball past him! 6 Whittaker - I agree his passing can be poor and he has a tendency to over play it when under pressure at the back. However, it was a brilliant ball up to Elmander for Hooper's goal and he supports Redmond very well. Wasn't overly tested down his wing. 6 Turner - Don't think he put a foot wrong most of the game. He threw himself in front of everything and almost got the winner when his header came off the bar. Very unlucky. Seems his drop to the bench hasn't affected his performances! 7 Bassong - For all his brilliant headers and aggression and control of the defence, Bass seems to have at least 1 bad mistake every match. It's not always punished but it really was against the Swans. He needs to cut that out because it's going to cost us a lot of points. 6 Olsson - Not his best game but he had to run that left flank pretty much on his own. Fer doesn't naturally provide the attacking options on the wing that Pilks or Redmond do and that made it much harder for Olsson to get forward. Was having a tough time against Dyer. Pretty solid for the rest of the match. 6 Redmond - Constant trickery. Beats players like they aren't there. Tracks back brilliantly. If he could just make that final ball we'd have a complete winger in our midst. Decided to run to the right rather than at the goal or passing when we had that great counter but other wise our most dangerous weapon. 7 Howson - Solid, quiet shift. He does all the simple things well and seems to be growing in confidence each week. The sooner we can get him back into a more attacking position the better. 7 Johnson - Looked like a man possessed for a lot of the game. Our pressing game worked best when he was leading the way. It was very refreshing seeing our central midfielder closing down their full backs! Still needs to work on distribution but his breaking up of the Swansea rhythm is what got us more into the game second half. 7 Fer - Wasted on the left wing, not that he spent much time out there. Clearly wants to play in the middle of the park and it meant we never really looked threatening down the left. Still tracked back well and had a fairly decent game. 6 Elmander - I really don't get why some fans don't seem to like him. Alright he hasn't got the goals but he chases everything and wouldn't give the Swansea back line a moments rest. Grew into the game and got a very good assist. Was getting very frustrated when all his pressing came to nothing because our midfield was sitting too deep first half. 8 Hooper - The more I see of him the more I think £5mil might have been a steal. Could have had a hattirck but for a poor finish in the first half and a brilliant save from Vorm in the second. As for the goal he did get, there aren't many superlatives left to describe it. Lets just hope he can stick with this form til the end of the season. 8
