Mr Laudrup

The Premier League Owl http://thepremierleagueowl.com/swan...as-michael-laudrup-manager-of-the-year-so-far


Michael Laudrup really has done a fantastic job at Swansea so far, and he isn’t yet getting the credit he deserves. There’s certainly an argument for saying that, should the season end today, he would be a strong candidate for the Manager of the Year award.

Maybe the lack of acknowledgement has its roots in the rather derogatory assessment that the media made of his side’s chances of staying up. Laudrup came in, Joe Allen and Gylfi Sigurdsson departed, and the press were all convinced that Swansea were going to plummet out of the Premier League. When the football writers are wrong, they don’t tend to take it all that well. Take this article from the Guardian, for example, and count how many times Swansea appear in the relegation category – while you’re there, maybe make a mental note of the rather disparaging remarks made about Laudrup’s experience and the doom-mongering over Brendan Rodgers’ departure. The Guardian are by no means the worst offenders, but you get the point: the media wouldn’t have hated it if Laudrup had fallen flat on his handsome face. Think about Neil Ashton’s column in The Mail a couple of a months ago: the press only write those kind of stories about managers who they dislike – do you think anyone would ever publish a hatchet-job like that about Harry Redknapp?

Anybody who thinks that Laudrup is just managing Brendan Rodgers’ side, and I’ve heard that a couple of times, needs to actually watch them play. Not only has the Dane replaced almost the entire front-half of the team – only Leon Britton and Wayne Routledge have carried over from that front 6 – but he has them playing in a different, more effective way. Under Rodgers, Swansea were ponderous. They were aesthetically pleasing, sure, but they looked blunt at times and lacked a match-winning edge. Laudrup has changed that. Michu, Pablo Hernandez, Jonathan de Guzman…that’s a different class of player, and it’s delightful to see them all grow simultaneously into English football. Equally, there are no pretentions or egos with any of those players, they seem completely committed to Swansea and to playing for their manager – look at the way Swansea celebrate every goal: they’re all together, every time. That doesn’t just happen, Laudrup has built that spirit.

There are no mitigating circumstances here, Laudrup has built this new side solely out of the revenue from the Joe Allen and Scott Sinclair sales – it’s not as if Huw Jenkins, through fear of relegation, handed his manager a sack of cash and told him to buy some security. It’s the polar opposite of what’s happened at QPR over the last year, with Tony Fernandes and Mark Hughes throwing money at ‘name’ players who didn’t fit together as a team. Whether it’s the media ‘issue’ or maybe because Swansea are an unfashionable Welsh team, who knows, but it’s genuinely strange that Laudrup isn’t being lavished with praise. Consider also what he’s currently getting out Wayne Routledge and how he’s dealt with the prolonged absence of Neil Taylor – this isn’t just a foreign manager who has a list of sneaky bargain transfers up his sleeve, he knows how to coach the best out of players.

I said earlier in the season that Swansea could qualify for the Europa Leauge this year, and there’s no need to revise that. There’s a smooth, natural evolution to what’s happening in South Wales, and we should all want this side to qualify for continental competition, because it would be a victory for a more organic style of development.
A cracking read

 

Good stuff, bony, and very true. I always rated Michael Laudrup as a player but he is proving to be an excellent manager and, equally important, as a sensible and intelligent person. Total respect for the man.

 

I did notice that he used the 'f' word, but in contrast to when we heard it last season, at least now we know that it's meant literally

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/20538635

 

Yes he didn't devalue the word did he , (unlike others )

 

good post Bony, at least some media sources acknowledge our totally boss performances this season!

 

Spot on bony.

"Fantastic" .... Finally used the right way. What's more with the fixtures lining up the way they are on Sat, if Everton and Spurs lose away to Fulham and Man C respectively, and we beat Arsenal, we go 5th. Realistic and Fantastic in one sentence ... Now we're talking. Can't wait to hear the stunned silence of the Fox Soccer "experts" after the match if this happens ... It's going to be deafening.

 

I would guess manager of the month of November will be between Clarke and Laudrup but it will probably be Clarke which I guess is fair enough. Although Laudrup is undefeated

 

I would rather Laudrup get no recognition or as little as possible. That way no other bugger will want him in August. So... for all intents and purposes Laudrup is rubbish and has no plan b and is lucky to inherit a good squad....
Move along there is nothing to see here

 

True, but on the other hand it would be a nice confidence boost for both players and staff. Not that they need it at the moment

 

No thanks to the Manager of the Month accolade let Steve Clarke have it, it's a poison chalice and will see us lose our next 4 games. but total respect to ML what an amazing signature he's been. i truly hope we get at least two full seasons out of him, but the vultures will be circling come March if not sooner.
an inspired choice by Huw who will have to go some to better ML.

 

well said bony, good read and i hope ML flys under the radar as mentioned by a few already

 

you don't believe that old pony that you go on a losing run if you win manager of the month do you...!

 

Someone shoot this arse ^ will you?

Talk ****e had a feature on Swans this afternoon and to be fair they were saying ML should be manager of the season and they interviewed a journo who was at the West Brom game ( can't remember his full name Roger whatever ) who said that the first 45 mins was the best ever he has seen the Swans play. He was a Welsh journo with it seemed some knowledge. The second half he didn't mention to be fair, but I believe that was ML having a tinker and a look at a plan b, c or even d thinking on it.

 

Roger Hughes I think it was. He also mentioned the fact that it's a shame that given the quality of our play, we don't get the coverage we deserve as broadcasters seem to favour the bigger, more supported clubs.
When they said they had a south Wales Journo coming up to discuss the Swans, I did worry that it would be some tit from the cardiff based rag, but he seemed to be a tidy guy who knew what he was talking about

 

When we play like that doesn't our team fill you with pride, lads? I've been telling everyone who'd listen (and a few who didn't want to) just how FANTASTIC we were.

 

Every Swans fan I know has been walking arround with a smile on their face and their chest stuck out today

 

Great post Bony. Football or Soccer as they call it over here is really big in the schools and youth leagues. It's getting a bit cold here now to be wearing my Swansea shirt out in public without my Kenny(Jacket) on but when I do I'm always getting comments from kids going wow Swansea City Shirt, cool, where did you get that? Liberty Stadium. Wow you were there? So the Swans are being noticed even over here talking of stuck out chests and mine is stuck out nicely thank you.

 

weather is so good i can now wear my swans singlets, damn you 34 degrees

 

Another nice read:

SWANS PROVE CLASS ACT JUST LIKE MICHAEL LAUDRUP

http://tinyurl.com/cxpaxb3

Is`nt Phil Cadden something to do with the Swans?

 

Without a doubt ML is our best signing ever. I cant remember the last time I felt confident throughout a game irrespective of what the score is at half time. He inspires confidence in not just the players but the fans too!! You just know his halftime talks do the trick and he always uses subs well and not just for the sake of it.