Good enough game that. Did what we had to do to win. When they got one back I still felt confident, and once the sending off came, we did well to eventually completely suck the life out of the game, giving Hull very little to work with. Nice to see Gomis get some goals, 4 more before the end of the season and I'm happy with that - his all-round play is excellent. Dyer has to be dropped to the U-21 squad for the rest of the season - he needs to find some confidence from somewhere, and maybe blasting past some youth team players may give him the feel for passing/beating players again. I felt like everyone did their jobs today, although I did feel that we were a little more nervous on crosses than normal, and Fabianski wasn't his usual assured self in the box - maybe Hull found a good way to block him off regularly. A standard, expected 3 points, nothing more. Get well soon, Kyle.
Today was only the second time we have scored 3 goals in a Premier League match this season. The other was a 3-0 win over West Brom on August 30th.
A good 3 points but very very hard work and nothing to do with the quality of Hull. A decent first half and pretty poor second. Very narrow and Jonjo reverted to type. (queue the - 'Ki wouldn't have scored without Shelvey brigade). Naughton had a great game until he was injured - his best since joining us. Taylor, Ash & Fed played well. Ki again performed heroics in the first 60 then drifted off a bit, Routs - hit and miss, I don't think the narrow route one stuff suits him, Siggy owes us a performance, Cork showed his battling side and did well, Gomis all round good game. Three well taken goals. Another game we switched off for much of the second half. Dyer getting hammered by some but how is he expected to with on the style when he has had so much time away from the team & squad? Grimes only had a couple of passes but one was superb. Angel looked up for the challenge. No one had a stinker but no one really stood out either.
Agree with your post apart from this point. Being away from the team/squad has nothing to do with being able to beat the man in front of you. Beating a full back and delivering service to your strikers, as a winger, is your first job. Linking up with Naughton/Rangel - fair enough, you need time for that (although, it's worth noting that on following the official training videos all of this season, he's been ever present, so I don't know when he's been "away from the team & squad"??). Basic tasks for a winger like crossing/beating a full back, Dyer has done nothing of note since we beat Everton 3-0 in the cup. That's way too long and the reaction that Dyer is getting is not knee-jerk, it's born out of months of frustration. Beating your full back when you have him backing off in a one-on-one situation is what Dyer used to excel at, now he's terrible at it. Unlike Routledge, who has also lost a yard of pace like Dyer, Dyer has not got the slick play and tricks that Routledge possesses, and this is why Dyer finds himself out of the team, and sometimes even out of the match-day squad. He really looks to have bulked up this season which seems to have severely affected his speed - and pace was the only thing that Dyer used to use to roast full backs, he's never had natural skills and trickery, he would sidestep quickly and burn his man on the outside/inside. He now offers nothing going forward and hasn't done for months, so unless he wants to try his hand at RB, I suggest he move on or take a loan spell to get his confidence back.
A very good 3 points against the sort of team that in the past we would have shared the points with. Gomis continued his run of games where he has worked hard, so it was good to see him get his reward today. If there is a book open on Player of the Season then Ki must be front runner, another solid performance from him today. As has been said above another good game from Naughton. His departure showed that Rangel is a yard off the pace now. He made some good runs and made himself available only to give the ball away. Overall a very good 3 points now let's put that Everton PL hoodoo to bed.
Agree, Bigkidderz. How has Dyer been away from the squad? Am I missing something? He trains with the rest of the players does he not? He is getting criticism because he deserves it. I would love not to have a go at any of our players but Dyer has been consistently, well, dire since October. He's been great for us over the years but has been shocking for quite a while and looks completely lacking in confidence to me.
For those of you that are having a pop at Dyer, I do not understand why Monk is playing him, as he should not be played until he has had his knee surgery, I understand that both knees need keyhole surgery, and it's why he has taken the foot of the gas, Monk should have played Emnes, and not risked Dyer, but Monks Subs still frustrate me on times, Dyer is not finished far from it, time for Monk to give Emnes some well deserved game time.......
If Dyer needs surgery he shouldn't be near the squad. He's only going to lose confidence, lose the respect of the fans and make his injury even worse. We loaned out Barrow who would have been far more effective on current form. Nathe has been a great player over the years so lets hope he can sort himself out and we can have another couple of good seasons off him.
Are you trying to tell us that "Monk the Magnificent" is fallible,and doesn't know what he is doing? Hallelujah.
Where does the fact that he needs surgery come from? Honestly that's the first I've heard that. If true Monk is absolutely bonkers to play him because that can finish a player's career. Would like to see some evidence - maybe I've missed this story previously. I agree that Emnes would be a better option right now as Dyer has consistently been awful since the tail end of last year. I disagree with Musty - I think that Nathan has proven ability at this level and we shouldn't so easily discard players who for whatever reason are out of form.
Might have come from me Lillith. Some time ago I recounted a story told to me by academy Dads, which I said at time to take with a pinch as A) it was told over beers and B) I couldn't confirm anything myself. I posted that I'd heard Dyer has, or may have, knee(s) issues requiring a 'scrape' through minor keyhole surgery which although minor would keep him out of training for a month. As it is not seriouse and wont deteriorate, Dyer decided to stay available for selection and wait till summer to get done. His apparent issue effects his take off, or quickness off the mark, which was a strength of his and may explain why he's stopped challenging defenders or attacking the bye-line as he used to. Like I said though Lillith, I originally posted to ask for clarification from anyone who'd heard similar. Not sure that came but since then Dyers injury has morphed from a simple query into an ethereal fact. I still don't know either way but if right then it does explain away Dyers lack of confidence, his frailty and poor form this season.
Weldone yesterday on a well deserved win. You won at a canter really. It's good to see a side we used to face in the lower leagues doing well. You're a decent model for teams of similar stature. I like how Swansea make their fans a part of the club. Wish our chairman had the same respect for us as yours for you. Good luck for the rest of the season.
