Yes it was a big mistake by Monk taking him off, and Monk went on to make a few other sub blunders, but he is a Rookie that will need to learn fast this season, but what I see happening in the transfer market with Monk, makes me feel very positive in our game plan for next season, and if we can get two or three of the other reported transfer targets, then we will be quite a force to be reckoned with, all looking very positive for me, and the football I think we will see will be breath taking!................
Championship striker with watford Big and strong and scores a few goals. Whether he can do it in the PL who knows. It is always a gamble unless you get them cheap. But he aint no Bony
So if he is going to come on and influence games he is a squad player. He will be on the bench more than he will start. I still think he is a good signing but you have just confirmed it in your statement, Please tell me who he will be starting in place off as a striker.
I haven't read the rest of this thread, but I'm posting as per the OP question. I think our squad is looking very healthy. DEFENCE Rangel Williams Chico Taylor (With Bartley, Amat and Kingsley for back up) MIDFIELD Dyer Routledge Britton Shelvey Gylfi (Possibly with Montero as back up) UP FRONT Bony Gomis (With Marv as back up) I realise there are others, but I think that looks like the backbone of a very decent side. Especially as we don't have Europa league football to mitigate for.
That's how I see it too, and I also see Emnes pushing for a starting position, he has the ability, and if he can gain some well needed mental strength, then we are in for an exciting season, I would like to have better cover for Rangel, not sure Tiendalli is up to it, are we keeping him? did he just have a bad season under Laudrup? He was after all a Dutch Under-21 international, but what has gone wrong since his FC Twente winning days? Anyway back to the original OP, Barring something ridiculous happening, there’s no way Swansea are going to be anything less than a very solid mid-table team this time around.....................
Watched him a fair bit over the years....arsenal are my other team. Fair enough watched him on the box rather than live....but always been solid when i watched him. Dont forget he was no 2 at arsenal......no 3 was mannone who werent too shabby last season at sunderland!
An ageing rb who is brilliant but won't play high octane every game & his back up has yet to convince me he's any better than Taylor. Then there's Taylor lb who is not up to Prem standard and his back up is a very raw rookie and looked it in the US. Ash faded after his injury and didn't look like regaining form, Davies and Chico both found covering for him led to them bring criticised for being out of position. That leaves Chico as our only consistently good defender and he has his wild days. Amat is learning and Bartley is both injury prone and error prone. Attack should work but our midfield won't be any better (I'd say not as good as last year based on who is probably be available) and that was often overrun by the opposition or ignored by the Swans. And a rookie in charge! My glass is Definitely half empty
I'm only counting 18 seniors - Shaper's core and others. Fab, Tremble, Rangel, Tiendalli, Williams, Chico, Bartley, Amat, Richards Britton, Shelvey, Sig, Ki, Routledge, Dyer, Emnes Bony, Gomis We have to list the 25 seniors that are on our books and not loaned out. This means: Cornell, Tate, Obeng, Donelly, Situ, Canas, Pozuello .... any others(?) are also to be included in the 25 at this time. It presumes that: (a) we keep Bony; (b) JDG does not return; (c) Ki stays; and, (d) the contracts of Canas and Pozuello are not cancelled or they are not loaned out. So from the list of the idle and inept .... we have some really terrible depth that couldn't warm the bench of a L1 club. I exclude Canas and Poz in the idle and inept ... but "We" don't want to consider talent, even when we are otherwise void of it. As they say ... depth is great until you have to play it .... I ask - where's the depth? Even before we get to depth we struggle. We have just sold our future star in Ben Davies who is still U-21. And, Kingsley is not a back up to anybody yet - from the video I saw the Chivas right wing made his life a total misery. Fulton has yet to prove himself - although has promise. We let Vorm go but keep Tremble who is not going to push Fab to keep his job - great piece of squad building that. Glass half full ... we're still need another pull for half a pint. Lose Bony and we're looking good to be battling for the Championship. Why we needed to rebuild a squad that finished with our highest point total in this visit to the Prem, won the League cup, and got to the final rounds of Europa is beyond me. We needed to augment and strengthen not rebuild. If you're going to rebuild, builders usually have a plan, one that is approved and permitted, and some idea as to how to hold the saw and cut the wood. We've done a lot of chopping, throwing away the good wood not the bad and been plastering over the cracks we've created like crazy. We could have a condemned property before we're finished.
Lefty 's post #18 is exactly how I feel , especially the last paragraph ...the first season I have felt the way I feel about the coming season .
Same here Roof, I feel like we're on a long walk to the gallows. Hope I'm wrong, but really am worried about this coming season,
I disagree on Taylor. I think he is up to standard and is held in higher regard than Ben by some. Ash did look average last season after the injury, but I remember a few years ago Leon took a knock in December, came back in Feb and was poor for the rest of the season. I Don't know whether it was psychological or physical, but I thought that would be it for him. Next season he came back and was back to his old self. I guess I'm just hopeful that Ash will do the same. Chico and Rangel, we're on the same page. Pros and cons for both. I think Amat is decent and Bartley looked good to me when I saw him play. Everyone has the odd error. There's even one of Manuel Neuer making one on YouTube. I have always been a glass half full kinda guy.
How isn't Neil up to PL standard? More than handled himself in our first season in the PL and was more convincing than what Ben was last season for me.
Bad slip that ..... i knew i was forgetting somebody .... but that just indicates how top of mind he is not, for me
I agree with others on Taylor - we were singing his praises until that dreadful injury and we've got short memories it seems. Needs a run in the team but he's a decent player imo. I don't agree with bob: "Bartley is both injury prone and error prone." Injuries happen to most footballers and apart from the Liverpool game he's impressed me. So much so I think he edges Amat but that's probably just me. I don't see much to choose between them to be honest but Bartley looks as if he's got more about him. Bit early to say what our squad will be but as I've said elsewhere will be shocked and delighted if we have Bony come the end of August.
