I agree 100% mate. People Need to look at the performance against the team. Spurs didnt allow us to have much ball so credit to them, the ref played his part by taking the competitive Edge away from the likes of jon jo and others which compounded matters. Spurs were at home and it was always going to be a hard game for us,we did well considering what we were up against
If we had defended like this against Utd we would have picked up a point. We were very difficult to break down yesterday, can't remember Soldado having many touches of the ball, so when we manage to combine the way we played against Utd with the ball last week with the way we defended yesterday, with the right players selected, and everybody gelling together we will be okay against every team in this league
Lets see if we are all happy after another 4 games.. 9pts out of 42 suggests we won't as we never learn and are carrying on where we left off......watch this space i say its going to be a rough season of win one lose three that will keep us rooted firmly in the relegation zone if laudrup don't sort out his management skills...
Bottom line on the match is that we have played two very strong squads and got nothing from the matches. Could we have done better at key moments in both of them and got different results - yes. Did we have our best XI on the field in either match - can be argued no. Spurs are no great shakes. They have two wins on the back of two penalties - one not a penalty - against Palace and us. They have yet to score a regular goal against Prem opposition. So much for Soldado (who Ash and Chico shut down yesterday) - if I was AVB I would be most concerned about the lack of goals scored against this "caliber" of opposition. In comparison our new guy Bony has played less than an hour of football and has one league goal. Could we have played better yesterday - to be honest in too many positions the answer is yes. Some players (e.g. Ben) we know can do a lot better but were up against wing/fullback pairing that will give every team trouble. Other players left us wondering did we buy a pig in a poke - Shelvey, looks great against the lesser teams but we know we have a guy in Ki that has the capability to play but is not - clearly for tactical reasons because nothing I saw yesterday indicated that Shelvey should be an automatic in this team, not by a long shot. Bony came on and started to be the disruptive agent up front we think he can be and Poz left us wondering yet again when this guy is going to be thought good enough to start. It is going to be argued that Spurs midfield bossed us physically - true, they are going to have varying degrees of success in that all season agains other teams. But they did not dominate and all but two shots on goal were shots from distance that needed more than a prayer to reach the goal never mind go in. The true chances they had Vorm dealt with in inspired fashion. We could have should have done better creatively, must get better quality and consistency into our final ball, must stop giving up possession on unfocused, sloppy 5 yard passes and keep possession for longer periods - i.e. hate to put it like this but a little more Sousa / Rogers would help against teams like Spurs. A disappointing result. Goes down on the report card as "has potential, can do better". Time to make it so against WBA.
Nicely summed up yankee There have been varying opinions on this game and i Think nobody is 100% bang on with any of it. There Are levels above us in terms of what the opposition Are doing and how we manage our players, its great to debate it out though, ittakes away some of the frustration of losing ! Onwards and upwards
Bottom-line Norway, we go into WBA next weekend and win. Not a hope for a result situation; now a must get a result situation, if for no other reason than our own sanity - club, players, supporters. We need to prove to ourselves that we are what we think we are. We need to do job #1, win a prem game. We have the tools, or we think we do, time to deliver on the promise.
As much as we need a win against WBA as this is a team we will be competing against this season, I'd take a point.
A lot of BS in this thread. Tottenham is levels above Swansea and should beat us most of the time as they have done. Get over it.
I don't agree that WBA is a must win match. They are a team that finished above us last season and we are playing at The Hawthorns where we lost last year. A draw would be a great result, but it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if we get turned over.
If we get "turned over" at WBA then we have no business being in this league and we might as well "throw the keys" to the Prem up the road to the Birds and settle back into obscurity. What exactly does turned over mean anyways? We lost away to a team that hasn't scored a non-penalty goal yet this season, despite spending a ton of money on supposedly goal-scoring horsepower. We lost to United after we gifted them the lead with kak defending. We should be going into WBA expecting to perform well enough to come away with three points ... are we guaranteed to do that hell no, but we should have sufficient quality on the field, confidence in our own abilities, appropriate shape and tactics, and mental determination to go in there and make it happen. After WBA we will be 3/38 of the way through the season = 7.89%. If we have 0 points on the board after 8% of the season, my friends we're going to have to battle really hard to get to the magic number - because it's never going to get any easier than it is now - we are all fit (or should be) - the weather is good - the pitches are good - nobody should be fatigued - this is the sweet spot of the season .... it goes down hill from here. ML says he is not worried ... trust me .... he's worried. Because at 0 points, propping up the league is not good psychological place to be. The longer it lasts the tougher that place is to be. Sure this team can (should be able to) put some results together and bound up the table, but it has to actually get done to make a difference. Just as AVB is worried - all that goal scoring money and talent on the field and only two penalty goals to show for it - sure he's worried about it - it's his job to make that talent productive, and it hasn't been. We are not the only club with early season problems. And you can't say it's still early yet because each game that goes by chews up the season and becomes an opportunity lost. There is a difference between being worried and having no confidence. We have the strongest group of players we have had in over three decades. There is quality. There is talent. There is a job to do .... and it needs to start getting done. Next Sunday against WBA .... it needs to get done, and if not we need to leave blood, sweat and tears on the field in the process. Sloppy passes, lack of focus, bad shape, inferior tactics are reasons not excuses and this coming Sunday there must be no excuses and the only reason should be that despite getting it right and giving it all WBA were just that tad better .... we need a result on Sunday, job to be done, game to be won.
I haven't commented thus far as I only saw the 1st half, but everyone (those in despair and those with their chin up) seem to be in agreement that we were better in the second half. My take... I felt we looked quite good 1st half, all things considered. The game was played at a frightening pace, much better standard than the Utd game IMO. Tackles were flying in everyone on both teams worked their arses off to close down space. We coped well, our passing had a zip to it. When we had the ball I was excited by the off the ball runs being made and our positivity. They looked more dangerous but then they are the better team with the better players. We might have scored in that 1st half and our defenders were concentrating and competitive. I went away (family commitments) and told somebody it was blood and thunder, end to end and the Swans were right in it. Was looking forward to the introduction of Bony and Poz. Find out on the BBC site that we lost to a penalty and rallied at the end then come on here. I can't believe the negativity! Especially as most are in agreement that the ref was all for them and it wasn't a penalty. Final thought...we are Swansea they are Spurs. A team we've never beaten away in the league. A team who are potential champions this year. Never thought we'd get points there more disappointed with the Utd game where we played better but didn't concentrate at the back.
Good post, Terror. Interesting point to add here. Heard Glen Hoddle being interviewed on the radio today. He made a point of saying how much more powerful and competitive Spurs look now compared to recent seasons, which he approved of. Now, there is no better "football" man than Hoddle, so if he thinks beefing up is the way to go then you listen. Obviously, this has to be harnessed to skill but when you have both in your team, you pose a threat to anyone. Posters here will know that I totally favour some midfield muscle because if you are not winning the ball there, your own skilful players are starved of possession. For that reason I was disappointed that JdG was re-signed because he is a luxury for a team playing in the Premier League, When he starts, I feel that we are a half a man short... or worse. He refuses to get consistently involved in the tackling, hard running and covering aspects of the game, which puts added pressure and uncertainty on those behind him. He is too much of a show pony for me. I hope that Laudrup will address this deficiency in our team, perhaps in the January window if there is insufficient time to do it now. Our players are good but not good enough to win games on pure football alone, particularly as other teams in the league have had two seasons to study us and learn how to beat us. Plan B required in terms of our next couple of recruits is my wish.
West Brom picked up 31 points at home last season. They beat Chelsea, Liverpool and Everton and drew with Man U. I assume those Clubs have "no place in The Premiership".
You missed my point entirely. Regardless of what WBA did last season - are they any better this season - they lost Lukaku, did they replace him. We should not, at this point, be wary of going into any venue against any team. We shouldn't be cavalier, but if we don't believe as a club, team, individual players that we can go into WBA and get a result - then WTF - what exactly are we paying these people to do - capitulate before the ref has blown his whistle. For all of last season's home performance, we went into WBA and were robbed of a result on the offside goal that was not offside. We lost to Spurs on another officiating cock-up. We lost to United after gifting them a 0-2 lead on two kak defensive plays - at that point game over. We have the means to get a result - it is a very fine line at this level between success and failure, but what ever it takes to cross that line we need to start doing it. The WBA game takes us to 8% of the season gone with nothing to show in the league table - it is a point at which we need to do two things: a) start correcting our goal difference; b) put points on the board. Easier said than done I grant you, but it's what we pay people to do - and if they are not up to it then the club has ****ed up in its player and manager acquisition. WBA is not United or any of the other so-called super big clubs. Talking about fine lines, Spurs are a great example. They have somehow spirited maximum points on two performances with minimal goal scoring threat. They are not going to continue to be so lucky. They will struggle unless they can start scoring non-penalty goals - I don't care how good anybody thinks they are, they have yet to do what counts (score goals without referee help) and until they start doing it on a regular basis they have cause for concern. The game is not played on paper it is played on the field - and so far on the field Spurs have scored twice from the penalty spot.
