Go or stay

3 hours or more with no HT and as many players as you can muster ending up that nobody knew what the score was as everyone lost count....Happy days Leather ball in my day as well...

 

By all accounts this was the players anger at themselves for the performance against Watford and although we lost it seems we performed better against West Ham.

 

Huddersfield match is huge...

 

Lose or draw against Hudders and Clem has to go, He should have gone already in my view. We need much better early in the season if we are going to survive because a win now and again will not save us. Consistency of 2, 3 or 4 wins is what is needed to stay in this league...

 

Sounds like housekeeping to me, keep his name clean.

He used us as a base camp to launch himself into English football, he did nothing for us except show us an alternative way to wear jumpers. He was absent more often than not in training but made sure he was available for photo shoots and interviews where he blamed the players for not being expensive enough and the board for not spending all its money on players to hide his own inadequacies.

Our own King of Jacks couldn't stand to be around him as time and again he blamed everyone but took none for himself.

Leon has been here forever and has rallied the troops on so many occassions I've lost count. That historic win against Hull, when things turned sour under Laudrup, Monk, 'I know nothing' Guidolin he was always pushing the players to excell and was here for us and the club. Even when bewildered bob was flailing in the deep end bhe was here but it took a month for him to realise that he couldnt work with Sousa and he left. You have to ask why? why too have we effectively written him out of our history when even the odious Petty has had his say. Something is wrong with Sousa.

He found his Elderado in Leicester City who happened to be one of the richest club over here but it took them only 3 months to realise he was nothing but a gold digger looking for the board to give him £m's to buy a ready made team and hide the fact he couldn't coach a kids team.

He's been so successful since he left us hasn't he?

 

Opinions but it was Leon who left for a bigger pay packet and did 'Swansea god' Trundle.
Do you really think Leon would have come back had he been a success in Sheffield or had an offer from a PL team?
Since leaving us Sousa's record stands above any manager we've had.

 

Sousa could be very blunt and to the point, he never had much patience for fools, or those that failed to keep their word, I have a close friend that has a third party contract with the Liberty that brought her into direct contact with Sousa, and to use her words, 'he could fly off the handle' if something went wrong, but I have to say that I like Sousa and appreciated how well he did with the lack of backing from jinx and the back stabbing from Monk.

As for Leon, he was going through a turbulent time with his matrimonial breakup, caused by a Neath girl, which at the time was compounded by the infighting between Jenkins and Monk v Sousa.

 

Leon would have liked to stay with a better pay packet , and in hindsight he would have been worth more . For me , the problem was not money ...it was Sousa .
Sousa whinged about money for players for the Jan window and the summer . When he went public about Britton not signing the " Biggest Swansea contract " in December , Britton was pissed . When Britton shot back through the media ( something I don't ever remember Britton doing to someone connected to the club ) I was more than concerned . By the end of the season , I think Britton let it be known he didn't want to play for Sousa again . Problem being ( even though Huw had his fill of Sousa , Jenkins and Sousa were playing " Chicken" , Sousa wanted Huw to sack him so he could collect some cash .....Huw didn't want to pay him anything and waited till Sousa blinked and he left . Britton was waiting till Sousa went , by June 10 he felt the club was going to go with Sousa and Britton left . Soon as the dust settled , Britton , happily , came back . That's my take bob . ... cheers

 

Highest ever paid contract at Swansea was offered to Leon as was a move to Wigan in the January - ran down his contract to take the cash. No blame but that's what happened.
Britton had been talking of a move (to London) the season before.
Are you saying a player is bigger than the club because Sousa gained our highest finish in 25 years and only failed to get a play off because (in my opinion but with good circumstantial evidence) Monk nobbled things.

I really like Leon and am glad he came back and think he should be first on the team sheet, but I'm not going to demonise someone who at the time had been our most successful (League) manager since Toshack.

A manager doesn't get paid to be liked he gate paid to be successful - but player power in Swansea has help or been responsible for the departures of Jackett, Sousa, Laudrup and Guidolin.

 

Fans are too quick to slate off Sousa who had us top of the championship over the Xmas period and he pleaded with jenkins to let him bring in a striker for the final push, Jenkins refused and the rest is history with Sousa not wanting to stay with a chairman with no ambition when we were so close you could smell promotion.....

 

But it wasn't just Britton Sousa was annoying , it was also the " Club Itself " . And player power doesn't work without the Chairman on board . Don't put Britton into the same category as Williams and Monk , Britton just didn't want Sousa to give out details about his negotiations with the club . Sousa was an arrogant ass ...period , and I was gleeful at his departure from Leicester in such a short period of time . Also , Guidolin was a pawn in the " New owners vs Old Owners " as they tried to work a deal for the club the club IMO . The Americans didn't want Guidolin to receive a " New " contract as they wanted Bradley to come in right away . Huw basically said " It's not your club yet and we'll do what we want" . Soon as the Americans took over they were just waiting to give Guidolin the boot . Jenkins met with Bradley before his 7th game , and Jenkins told Guidolin he was sacked , on his birthday , after the 7th game . I hate Jenkins these days and wish he was gone . By the way bob , did you know Guidolin declined to take the Inter Milan job after departing us , speaks volumes to the ability of Guidolin in most eyes . Should have stayed IMO

 

Leon threw his toys out of his pram and he has learned his lesson....

 

We scored 40 stinking goals under Sousa , lowest in the Championship ,and were a plus 3 . We had our best season till that point in spite of Sousa IMO .
The season before we had one less point and one less spot in the table , and we scored 63 goals and were a plus 13 ... just luck got Sousa's chest out . The season after Sousa we had 80 points , scored 69 goals and were plus 27 . And Dai , you've been so wrong on Britton all along , one more time won't matter .

 

Well Leon said he was wrong and agree what i said

 

Sorry seabreeze but there's opinion and there's unacceptable.
'40 stinking goals'!?!

I saw most of those an none were stinking. Every one was a Swansea City goal.
We also only conceded 37 goals (only Champions Newcastle conceded fewer).
IMO - The only reason we didn't make the play-offs, at least, can be laid at the boots of Monk.

But Sousa was being honest when he said he needed players. He ddi not criticise Swansea but what must he have been going through week in week out having the board dismiss his claims that we needed to replace Scotland and provide goal scorers.
I would have been apoplectic with rage had my basses ignored advice and then sought to blame me for companies under performing when giving them their best results for 25 years.

Forwards Sousa had
Beattie - nearly £2 for 21 games and routinely on the treatment bench
Dobbie - free - 5 games then a season long injury
Gorka - £113,000 - great bloke but 7 goals in 73 games at this level!
Trundle - loan - back with his tail between his legs after already failing at Championship level in Bristol and Leeds before moving to Neath
Bauza - free - youth
After pleading for reinforcements he was given ...
Kuqi - free - 14 clubs in 13 years another great bloke but way past it.

Tate, Monk and Williams all singed new contracts under Sousa.

The season after Sousa we built his defending and Rodgers built on it. Under Roberto I can remember closing my eyes for away corners and it isn't surprising we gave so many soft goals from set pieces under Monk.

The following season the club was also stung into doing what Sousa had asked for ... invest in players.

out went
Britton, Bessone, Bond, Collins, Lopez, Kuqi, Grimes, Lawrence, Morgan, MacDonald, Cornell, Pintado, Thomas, Harley, Cotterill, Agustien.
Only Britton & Agustien made sideways moves all the others dropped.
Tudur-Jones moved up as did Jason Scotland.

Scotland scored 21 league goals the season prior to leaving and was not replace.
(Not learned as we didn't replace Wilf, Siggy, Davies)

In came
Nouble, Emnes, Easter, Edgar, Borini, Priskin, Donnelly, Taylor, Sinclair, Moore, Britton. All a step up.

'We had our best season till that point in spite of Sousa IMO.' That's what backstabber Monk wrote too and he said the same about Laudrup.

But, in my opinion Sousa provided the platform for Rodgers.

 

Your " in came " is a bit of a laugh . Sousa had Britton the entire season , Rodgers only had him for a half season . Sousa used Dobbie for 4 starts with no goals . Rodgers used Dobbie the next season for 23 starts and got 9 goals . Don't blame the club because Sousa couldn't see Dobbie' s worth . Beattie also improved when Rodgers took the reigns scoring 4 goals in 9 starts . Both players Sousa could have used better if he knew how . Don't blame Rodgers because in was able to bring in " affordable " loans with his connections wheras Sousa didn't seem to have connections and just wanted to buy . Keep in mind we were 17 million in the hole before we managed to sneak up to the Premier . Also , we got 2 million when Martinez left , 5 million when Rodgers left and just a bunch of whinging while Sousa left , while dragging the club out trying to get sacked so he could collect money . Overall , I would rather give up 10 more goals if it neans scoring 20 more . The club was in " Defensive lockdown " under Sousa .

 

Leon was dropped and rightly so.....He was more concerned with moving away than playing for us. He himself has admitted he was wrong at the time and it had nothing to do with Sousa.....

 

Dobbie was injured.
Beattie was injured for over half the season and much of the next.
Don't take my word it - Libertarian wrote 'Craig Beattie was nicknamed "sick note"during his stay with The Swans'.

https://www.not606.com/threads/pablo.238825/page-3

Rodgers had been allowed to strengthen the squad.

His first two goals for Swansea came in a 3–0 win at home to Brighton & Hove Albion in the first round of the 2009–10League Cup on 11 August 2009.[26] His third goal came in the next round of the League Cup, a 1–2 defeat at home to Scunthorpe United on 25 August.[27] This gave Dobbie three goals in six games for Swansea at this point. However he lost his team place due to injury and played only two more games for Swansea in 2009.

After his loan spell with Blackpool, Dobbie returned to Swansea City. After Paulo Sousa left the club to manage Leicester City, new Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers gave Dobbie more chances in the first team. With Craig Beattie and Gorka Pintado out injured, leaving only Shefki Kuqi to compete with for the lone striker role in the team, Dobbie was heavily relied on to score goals.

 

They were great lower league players at the time....

 

Beattie made an appearance in half the League games under Sousa , half of those subs . If Sousa was so short on strikers , why not start him in all those appearances, Pintado had 32 appearences . And if Sousa felt we were so short of forwards , sending Dobbie too Blackpool for the last half of the season was his own stupidity .
Martinez left in early June , leaving the club 2 million and plenty od time to regroup around a new manager . Rodgers left the 1st of June , after just signing a lengthy contract with us assuring we would get good money for him if he left ( 5 million ).. Sousa left July 4th leaving us a bit in a pickle , time wise . Maybe if didn't waste time trying to get money out of the club , he might have been more prepared for his next gig . I'm afraid Paulo got out foxed there ..