Did anyone else notice, he has signed for Swansea and not Middlesborough as expected and scored on his debut in the defeat at Blackburn. Notwithstanding injuries Liam Walsh didn't figure even on the bench and neither did Joe Morrell at Luton.
They served us well, all honoured their contracts, I wish them all well and hope they have good lives. Life can be tough, I'm sure we have all been there.
What. 2 of our former "powder puff" midfield from the last 2-3 years, surely that can't be.... Also Pack, another who was part of a midfield all the LJ knockers said he never improved also scored for Cardiff.. And I bet both Swansea and Cardiff finish above us this season. Maybe, just maybe that midfield wasn't as bad as some on here made out, in order to have a pop at a former manager who they never liked from the off, nor wanted to succeed!
Would that be the same Pack who was signed by SOD and not LJ? and barely got a start last season? and the same Jamie Paterson who is so good he is has been given a 1 year contract at Swansea?. You must have an incredibly inventive mind if you actually believe that as a pairing we were anywhere near consistent enough, Pack will be in and out of the team as will Paterson especially if Walsh gets fit and Smith stays fit.
Former Bristol City midfielder a serious doubt for Ashton Gate reunion with Robins fans Korey Smith left Swansea City's Championship fixture against Blackburn Rovers in the 57th minute after sustaining a calf injury at Ewood Park https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/former-bristol-city-midfielder-serious-5758482
I liked Pato and thought he could still have done a job for us. I think he would have thrived alongside the ever-elusive mythical midfield 'general' that we don't seem to be able to find. We'll have unmasked both the Loch Ness Monster and the Yeti before we land that midfield 'general' at Ashton Gate
I liked Paterson but he severely weakened an already piss weak midfield. A player who contributes one game in 6 or 7 is not good enough, especially when his dead ball delivery is failing. To me he summed us up over the past 2 to 3 years, inconsistent. I don't know what game you were watching but we controlled midfield for most of the game, what was obvious was the high press for the first hour kept them totally at arms length, there were some meaty tackles from everyone of our midfielders and we were never bullied like we normally are and up until the last minute we never backed off of attackers in and around our box. Was the midfield perfect? oh no but much better than normal, we need to take our chances when we are on top, not make rash decisions when running the clock down (especially when have possession of the ball) . We desperately need a striker and although the crossing and free kicks were an improvement, the final lower ball in was poor.
I have to hold my hand up and admit that I didn't watch the Blackpool game and can't even bring myself to watch the highlights. I was out of my bedroom on Saturday (having afternoon tapas in a local Portuguese restaurant to be exact) I don't disagree with your summary - but I think if Pato played alongside a more physically able partner he could have played to his strengths a bit more. Anyway he's gone now so it's a moot point really. I will be annoyed if he starts banging goals in and assisting for fun though.
I will be willing to lay a bet with you that is unlikely to happen, he has never been consistent wherever he has been. I don't think Swansea are as financially sound as people may think, there was talk about Matt Grimes (their best player) possibly leaving and I wouldn't and that would leave relying on an already unfit Walsh and Smith. As I said the midfield was much improved, individual mistakes cost us the win.
For me, Pack was one of those players, a bit like Brownhill, who I underestimated at the time they played for us. I never thought of either of them as being crap, just bang-average. It only became clear to me how useful they really were when they left us. I can't remember seeing Walsh play tbh. Lots of City fans rated him so I bow to their wisdom but can't comment personally. Smith however I always rated and I think the way his exit was 'handled' by the club was disgusting and shameful.
I always rated Brownhill and it is no surprise to me how well he is performing in the prem, Pack for me was always 100% committed but woefully lacking in pace. The problem neither of them were organisers and were both constantly being caught out ahead of the ball. The way Smith was treated was a disgrace to the club and shows exactly how dysfunctional the club had become at that point, but even Smith was not an organiser, that was the missing link. It's early days but you can see that James and King know each others games and King's delivery is far better than anybody else on the books and if Williams can get match fit (he looked for obvious reasons ring rusty on Saturday when he came on) then we have have plenty of bite and with Scott and Sam Pearson, unlike what others have said I think we are pretty well stocked in midfield and Nagy will not be a loss, the other plus is unlike other recent managers NP is not worried about playing youngsters and that has to be a plus, we will do well to hold onto Scott.
