My concern this year is not the quality of players coming in but the number of players leaving and indeed coming in. In past years teams who make these wholesale changes pay the price irrespective of what they spend, a prime example of this is QPR who spend millions on good players but were still relegated. If you look at the better teams they only make two or three changes per season and maintain continuity and team spirit etc. whilst I'm looking forward to this season I do have this nagging doubt that we may have gone too far, especially with a rookie manager in charge with virtually no managerial experience whatsoever. We have in recent times maintained this continuity and team ethic, so I hope this team can gel quickly and rediscover this strong bond which has held us in good stead over the past ten years or so.
I think the core is as good as we've had if not better , but maybe the squad overall is lighter in quality imo but that remains to be seen, hopefully the Club are still pursuing other targets and with a few weeks left still time to bring in a few surprises .
Ok, I don't want to sound like I 'having a go' at anybody specifically. I just want to make an observation on what I've seen on the board over the last six months. Sbulby here, has some concerns. I understand them and even agree with some of them. There are others who would bat these concerns away as nonsense and some who would take this argument by the throat and say that Jenkins has lost the plot and the appointment of Monk after asking Laudrup.... Blah, blah, blah! I don't necessarily disagree with anyone about any of those things, but that lack of overly strong opinion I have is based on the fact that I don't actually know what was said behind closed doors. If you go back through a historical list of posts I've made, I've repeatedly said we can't tell how people feel (the whole Bony isn't happy saga, for example) or what was said between Jenkins and past managers or even the specifics of the problem with some of the Spanish contingent. We know nothing concrete about any of it. Then I get back to the question Sbulby is asking here. There seems to be a vein of negativity throughout the feeling of most people supporting the club at the moment. Whether it's losing Laudrup (Superstar player, average manager) or losing Michu (amazing for one season, injured the next). The list goes on with positive and negatives for everyone who left. I'm sure no one expected our voyage into the Premier League to be one of continuous smooth passage, but people seem to be having withdrawal symptoms after we've hit a bumpy patch. "We're not winning cups and we're a few places lower in the League, things are dire. Players are leaving and we don't have a big name at the helm" This is the call of the negative contingent and I think it has a toxic effect on a lot of people. We have a replacement for Ben Davies in Taylor (or Kingsley). We've replaced JDG (who I wasn't a huge fan of) with Sigurdsson. We've replaced Michu with Gomis. We still have Bony, but if he went, we'd still have a Gomis/Montero partnership to try. I know there is uncertainty with Monk at the helm and new players in key roles, but I'd love to know who was certain of anything at any time in the Swans past!! Who would you want for a team in the the bottom half of the Premier League as our manager instead? Pulis? Pepe Mel? Felix McGath? Paul Lambert? All of those make me gulp with anxiety. Lastly, look at the opposition. Southampton has been utterly decimated. Burnley have nothing we need to worry about. No great system of play or a team of superstars. These two alone share similarities with five or six other clubs (WBA, Sunderland, Leicester, etc.). We're doing OK. We won't win the league, but there's no reason to think we have any worse chance of staying up than the last three seasons. Plus we aren't travelling to Southern Russia or Austria on a Thursday night.
Not to mention that by bringing Emnes and Gylfi in, they know the system, philosophy and values etc of the club already so really only Montero and Gomis (hopefully a few more signings) have to get up to speed.
Yes only time will tell but I go into the season with my glass half full - just trying not to spill any of it before Christmas!
Way too many changes for me, and a huge huge unnecessary gamble. For me - - If we keep Bony and Chico - I think we maintain some stability, and should be safe - maybe, just maybe have a good season. Need to be lucky with injuries though as depth is missing - If we lose one of the above two - I think we will get relegated. Particularly if Chico leaves as our defensive stability is seriously compromised, and we have to 'hope' someone existing or new steps up to the plate and bonds with Williams (assuming he also stays injury free) - If we lose both - then I can honestly see us finishing bottom of the table. May sound pessimistic - but that's how I feel.
I don't feel nearly as pessimistic, as I feel that the players coming in are strengthening not weakening the squad. We need 2 or 3 more players and it is getting a little late to integrate them immediately. This is a little concerning as looking at the fixtures we need to get a lot of points before Christmas as the second half of the season looks more difficult. Last season the relegation candidates looked nailed on fairly early this season it is not so clear cut.
To much to soon ....absolutely, especially with an inexpierenced manager . Monk might just fool us pessimists though , god would that be something ...good topic.
Yes but they'll be Monks players which may go some way in the transition stage , Amat for Flores imo is a more solid performer who may not have the ability to bring the ball forward aka Flores but you want your defenders to defend 1st and Amat can do that , problem could be if he goes as well .
