Southampton v Swansea

You got more sense than many Jacks on here, who are always looking for an angle to take a swipe at Monk, mind most have never kicked a ball......

 

Monk was talking the other day about the Cattle Market, and the cows that need constant milking, was he referring to the transfer market or the Jacks on here?......

 

Well we had that pretty much all season under Sousa, not pretty, and many were getting fed up with it, but there were reasons for it, Sousa had no front line to talk about, and maybe Monk will use this until we get some of our key players back, just a thought ?.........

 

Because
1) the club refused to bring in a half decent striker
2) the ones we brought in were unfit, injury prone, too old or hopeless
3) the appalling defending had to be sorted out - some with accurate memories will recall every defensive corner was watched with hands over eyes.
4) It is possible our then captain, and central defender, was undermining the manager on the pitch
5) Sousa hatred behind the scenes was fermented by a senior player

Sousa's teams, with a decent front line, have had stunning positive goal differences.

Without Sousa we'd still be in the Championship or worse.

 

As far as I can tell, we could win the ****ing FA Cup and a couple of the people on here would still say it has nothing to do with Monk.
I'm not naming names (e.g. Bob, Vetch).
Conversely, we could get relegated and at least one person would say it wasn't Monk's fault. (I've blocked Dai, but it looks like he's still at it from other people's posts.)

Did we play well at Southampton? No
Did we have a well thought out plan? Maybe.
Did we stick to it? Doesn't look like it.
All Monk's fault? Probably not.
Worthy of the vitriol posted in the last 10 pages? Not for me.
As someone said, "the table doesn't lie".
As for Swansealona's "lose pretty before winning ugly" comment. I cannot resolve this with myself. I'd rather be playing ugly football in the Premier League than pretty football in the Championship.

For the haters, chill. Something is going right. Look at the points total.

For the blind sheep, there are problems that really need fixing.

Sun Tzu says "No plan survives contact with the enemy"

I suspect the win at Southampton was a grubby mix of game plan, good luck, poor play, good play, bad luck, weather, diet, fitness and probably religion. Nowhere near the polarised ideology of Monk being a crap manager who scraps results or Monk's plan worked perfectly.

 

Not for me, my enjoyment comes from watching us play good football. I hold firm in the belief that good football wins more games than ugly football. Yes there's room for both, but if we played football like West Ham then I wouldn't bother watching week after week. It's no good persisting with somethng if you simply don't enjoy it.
The win against Southampton was unexpected and very welcome, but I think that if we played like that again, we'd lose 9 times out of 10.

 

I can't disagree with the 9 out of 10.

As for the rest, I think there is room for both, but I feel a real priority is maintaining our Premier League status.

 

But lets at least maintain our premier league status by keeping to the game-style we got here with.

There is always a time to play ugly, but we have done it too many times this season for my liking. Has he got the points yes, is he doing well, yes, but the football on show has been poor to say the least. I love the swans and I don't want us to lose our identity as a footballing side for money. It got us into the Premier League, it got us top half finishes, it has got us a cup win, it got us into Europe, we beat Valencia on their own patch (granted 10 men, but its still Valencia) its got us noticed all over the world. So no, for me, if we play ugly just to survive, then sorry, we are not playing at all and may as well not bother.

 

I was right by your fans on Sunday, what is that song you sing? It sounds like it goes "there's only whuuuuuun". Its stuck in my head!

 

"...may as well not bother"?? I'm going to take that as you being a bit down in the dumps today?

I don't think we're playing ugly just to survive - we're not in a relegation battle. I do agree with you that I don't want our football philosophies to be completely eroded though. But, at the same time, I don't want to become like Wigan who were relegated through naivety that the pretty passing was the only way.

If you're going to survive in the Premier League long term, you need a team that can not only pass the ball well, but can also compete well. Currently, we compete better than we pass, we've overbalanced the competitive side of the weighing scale. We must learn to pass the ball better again, but we must not, and I repeat, must not let it take away from our ability to compete with other sides as we are doing this season or we'll plummet just as fast.

Wigan completely tipped the scale towards passing football and they're now probably going to be in League 1 next season. There is a happy medium out there where everyone would be happy, and we'll win the Champions League when we find it

 

Ok Vetch, let's both step away from the handbags. I'm definitely not one the blinkered opinion haters. You earned a mention for a coupla posts I'd seen that seem to be tipped too heavily against Monk (in my opinion). On that basis, I'm just trying to restore a bit of brevity.

As for the childish musings about my sanity or my life needing improvement, save it. It's not necessary.

 

Well you have named names.

When Monk's team wins the FA Cup I, and I am sure, others he has yet to convince will congratulate him and acknowledge his talent. This is in contrast with the man himself who was happy to announce, in print, his manager’s influence on the team was less than nil. That will follow him around for as long as he manages football teams.

When we been convincing in games credit has been awarded, even when we haven't won. Southampton was our first win in the league against a top 4 team (possibly top 6) and the plaudits are in - what has irritated many is the reaction of the manager who claimed the win was simultaneously a result of his tactics and his plan not working! It comes cross as more Monk BS.

When he blows smoke he's showing his inexperience as a man and a manager. I appreciate managers in all walks of life being honest and just, others prefer to taken in by the type of flimflam Rogers and Martinez peddled - that doesn't mean they didn't do great things for the club and we should all be grateful for the success they and the players and board brought. The same will be true of Monk, in time.

Unfortunately for Monk he has a rather unpleasant habit of often taking praise but blaming others for his failings. Some people choose accept his excuses and believe his self promotion, I don't - been there, seen it many times with young or immature managers - hopefully he will mature as he progresses in his career be it Swansea or elsewhere.

Also, he has a reputation for being a disruptive influence off the pitch. Some would argue his involvement in training ground bust-ups and confrontations with players and managers were due to him being club captain, but others would pose the question, "Apart from the 'opponent', why was it always Monk who was involved?” we didn't hear of two other players squaring up or players expressing their bile in print. Some argue it was for the benefit of the club, but would someone with the club's interest at heart really be pleased they didn't win promotion?

You have presumed to know what I and others will do in respect of a speculated event - your opinion is misguided.

Most perceived criticism of Monk is responsive to comments making out he is a messiah or belittling the outstanding achievements of others. Both Sousa and Laudrup are regularly attacked on this board usually in connection with the promotion of Monk. This is grossly unfair as without them it is questionable where we be now, some of us are grateful for what they achieved, their legacy and are prepared to stand up their records as proof. I also appreciate their directness and honesty.

Comparing us with Southampton, for example, is not a criticism of Monk but the board - many believe we have sacrificed quality on the pitch and places in the league (which may change as the season progresses) by not supporting Monk with an experienced head, or even an experienced manager, with the express brief of mentoring or tutoring Monk. Southampton is a club not dissimilar to ours and we had the chance to appoint Koeman (it seems we actually turned him down) so the comparisons are overwhelming & have been discussed elsewhere. Reading that Monk has us playing great, entertaining football and outthinking experienced managers is, in my opinion, simply not true.


As I have said before, when Monk has achieved and when he will achieve I have and will acknowledge and congratulate, I may even come to respect him - but I will never 'like' him.

ps
I am sure my opinions will have no effect on any one else.

 

So,it comes across that you don't like my posts? There's a simple solution - DON'T READ THEM.

"Restoring brevity",eh,well,what a waste of time that is here. Why bother?
This is just a forum,and has little,or no significance in THE REAL WORLD.

"Coupla posts...that seem to be tipped too heavily against Monk". So what? Anybody die? Monk taken to his bed in terminal decline?

Get a life,man,none of what is written here should be taken seriously,and if it is, then that person needs help.

 

The £90 million block...

 

One shot on target won us the game. the game plan worked superbly and the credit has to go to monk for out thinking his opposite number, It worked a treat....

 

Would you sack him now?

 

Who mentioned sacking him?
I'd still bring in a mentor.

 

You gave him such a blasting I was wondering whether you thought he was fit for the job. As you haven't answered my question directly, I assume you feel he is not fit for the job unless he has a mentor.