No one likes losing. To lose 4 on the trot is extremely disappointing. Dig a bit deeper and we have lost to: Everton (H) 0-2 Spurs (A) 1-3 Newcastle (H) 0-2 QPR (A) 0-3 Everton are currently 7th in the PL, Newcastle are 5th and Spurs 4th. QPR was always going to be a tough game - they have beaten Arsenal and Liverpool in their last few home matches. With hindsight this has probably been our toughest run of games this season. The only surprise is that suffering a string of defeats hasn't happened earlier in the season. We have got to put that behind us and look at what is in front of us - Blackburn, Bolton and Wolves. All will be difficult - but hopefully Dyer can regain his form (which has disappeared since being sent off by Mariner) and the goals will start "flowing" again. This period is probably Rogers biggest test as a manager - lets all get behind the lads. UP THE JACKS.
Nobody is saying they are not backing the team. I've often had a go at Daiswan and others for being overly negative, but we should all roundly criticise our players after tonight. Most of the level headed fans on here don't mind losing, but losing like we did tonight is unforgivable. No passion. No guts. No attacking intent to speak of. Insipid and gutless. And that's being kind. We are probably safe and they are cruising. I hope Rodgers sticks a rocket up their collective backside ready for Saturday. Norwich aren't that great imo and they are showing us how it should be done. Very very disappointing to lose like that.
It was very dissapointing to lose like that but I think both the OP and knackeredjack make a point. It was our worst performance of the season and we need to expose Blackburns weakness when they come to the Liberty - and fix some of our own, for starters can danny graham please get some service? But the OP is right, the 3 defeats before that were all tough games - ok, we were rubbish v everton but they are in a rich vein of form, newcastle got a bit lucky against us (although we should've scored) and i never thought we were going to win at white hart lane. I think what will be more representative of our hopes for next season is how the swans finish the season now. There is united away which is the nearest to unwinnable you can get in this league (apart from city away) and liverpool on a good day are going to be very tough to get a result against - bolton away will be tough as they are fighting for their lives, and i can't see blackburn being a pushover. Wolves however we HAVE to win. if we don't win that its going to be a very dissapointing and ominous end to the season. I'm a very pessimistic person though..
It's all set up for a great game against Blackburn on Saturday. It would have been a boring end to the season sitting safely on 42 points.............................
If you'd played like you did against us for the other games, I would've thought you'd have won most if not all. Hell if you'd played us on the weekend just gone you'd probably have knocked 6 or 7 past us
You learn more after a defeat than you do a victory, hence more message board postings when we lose than when we win. This has been a very hard run of late, i had no complaints from Everton, Spurs was down to monk being out jumped twice,frustratinf but not unexpected, Newcastle was the most one sided reverse ive seen in ages and Cisse was the difference...but!! there has been a fall in form since the Fulham hype and it doesnt look like getting any better soon !! The support the boys get is nothing short of amazing and many other teams fans would be tearing chunks out of their players if they were in our shoes, its a 2 way thing as well, sometimes the team needs to inspire the fans, i was at the newcastle game in the east upper in the choir and i felt the atmosphere wasnt as good as it has been in the past, the players need to get the fans going sometimes and lately that hasnt been happening, there is only so much generating of passion and being the "12th" man the terraces can do, its up to the players to give us something to shout about on saturday but im sure that every single swans fan will be as always 100% behind the team. The perspective is a bit irrelevent IMO, Wolves,Blackburn and Bolton will be as difficult as the top 4, the reason is that play the type of football we struggle to cope with, We took 0 points of Blackburn . 1 point off Wolves. 3 off 10 man Bolton at home and lost to them away in the cup. very much a mixed bag there, the team that wants it the most will win through IMO, of late ive not seen that hunger or desire hopefully it will return in the next few weeks
Don't panic, we are already safe and ... 6 guaranteed points in the last 2 games of the season...... feel free to quote me on this
I think it's no coincidence that you've struggled against ourselves and Norwich as though your style is near unique it's maybe become a little predictable and teams are coming to terms with it. I wasn't one of those singing 'boring Swansea' as it's not entirely accurate imo but there's definitely a need for a plan b of some sort. Still, you're as good as safe and will have the summer to look at things and maybe bring in some plan b players. It's been a remarkably good season for you even if you lose every remaining game, which won't happen, and the team will only improve with experience. 44/45 points is a good 25% better than most 'experts' would have had you down for. Best of luck in the next two games particularly.
There is no such thing as guaranteed points in the Premier League, as Wigan showed Manshitter Untied tonight...
I dont get this attitude that we are probably safe so it dont matter and we would have taken this position before the season started........Why? you are only as good as your last game and we have been with wolves the worst team in the premiership by a mile. this dont look good to any future player who might have took a chance on us next season for less than the normal wages others can pay as we will struggle without attracting these players. it a poor show by brendan and should we carry on and lose the remaining games left then who knows we may go down, until we are mathematically safe then we should play like a team fighting against relegation, it dont bare thinking about if we lose all the games remaining as it dont give us much hope next season if we do manage due to other results to stay up.....he should be sacked if we do lose all our games as i cant see him being as lucky as he was this season with his one system of play.....he has been found out now and teams have worked out how to beat his system, it was bound to happen but sadly brendan dont have what it takes to change to a successful plan B....
or plan C !!! A great team adapts to the opposition/ref/conditions .... simples Two words sum up the Swans (in a season that has been fantastic!).... NAIVE and LIMITED I hope we will learn from our experience in time... negating one of these but, we have to be realistic with our limits.... we have been awesome!
Dyer & Sinclair should start the rest of the way on the outside . There no none sense pace was key throughout the season to opening space & a duo that hasn't started together for 5 or so games . There a bread & butter combo we've been missing .
I agree Both players got 'comfy' in their positions but no doubt they are the best we have in that role on their game. They need the rocket up their proverbials to help them realise what they have. I still would like to see Sinclair in the Henri/Arsenal type role though
We have scored one goal in 4 games. We haven't looked like scoring, never mind causing the opposing keeper to break a sweat. This is astonishing, it demonstrates a lack of will. Regardless of the plan, the team or each individual player, there are two things in football that cause the opposition problems, beats defenses and creates opportunity - change of speed and change of direction, and specifically the rapid change of each. Contrast with playing at the same pace and slowly, ponderously changing the direction of attack, which is easy to predict, easy to adjust to, easy to defend, flat and boring. When that constant pace slows or is just plain slow and lacking any sharpness it imposes little to no stress on a well schooled, experienced opposition. Since the Fulham game, where we were sharp, popped the ball around crisply, played with a high tempo, we have slowed and slowed and slowed. Tonight too many players within contributing distance of the ball were literally flat footed and often walking we had slowed down so much. We are not working off the ball and not working for each other when we have the ball. We are not snapping and fighting to get the ball back when we lose it. We are mentally switched off, and emotionally dead .... there's little show of disgust and anger at what was happening tonight. QPR played with a range of gears, we were stuck with first. OK we changed shape, but these guys train with each other 5 days a week and have done so for months, yet we looked disconnected, disinterested and offered no demonstration that they have any first hand understanding of who each other is, what their strengths are, where they prefer the ball to be played ..... and so on. This can't go on. This is not fantastic, this is farcical. This will get us relegated along with Wolves if the others have a burst of luck, emotion, crap officiating in their favor, or anything else that bundles the ball over the goal line more than the opposition. We are not safe yet. We need to get some passion, shame, desire back in our game and pretty ****ing quick.
Excellant thread PGF. WHile we have been poor the last 4 games, this season has been amazing guys. We will only learn from this and come back stronger next season. We are not mathematically safe, but it would take a guy willing to lose money to place a bet on all the team below us winning ALL of their remaining games. The lads were poor last night, but for me, the wins against Man City and Arsenal made up for that.
this season has seen us enter the premiership with a style of football that only arsenal comes close to and teams could not cope with it, it has taken a while but teams have worked out how to beat us with ease now, its no coincidence that qpr and norwich beat us so easily as they are use to our system as we played them in the championship last season and they were both better than us then, I honestly think that this is as far as brendan can take us...he has reached his peak and now teams have worked out how to nullify our system he has no answer to change things, brendan has had a good run and everyone admired the way he has got the team playing but its plain to see that system has now been sussed by more experienced managers and thats the end of beating most teams now, we will win the odd game here and there of course we will but we wont beat many next season playing like this......brendan i think has reached his limit of managerial skill and is finding it difficult under pressure and that is no shame in him, we can forget him going to spurs now but how long will he last with us next season before he gets the sack....maybe we need someone with experiance to take us to the next level as i dont think brendan has the skill to do that....
