Positivity / Negativity

Most of us criticise the Club from time to time when warranted but for the life of me I cannot understand the negativity surrounding some of the threads and posts I've read lately. Every time we lose there's a blood-letting exercise that usually ends up getting nasty. Outsiders must be wondering wtf?

So I thought to myself, if I really wanted to be negative about SCFC this season what would I say? On the other hand if I wanted to be positive, what could I put down?

I came up with 2 negatives and 7 positives.

Negatives: 1: We don't score enough goals, particularly away from home - lack of a cutting edge. 2: Our away form is poor.

Positives: 1: We play a style of football that is admired everywhere (apart from Sunderland, apparently). 2: We have, despite expected recent losses, maintained our financial as well as footballing philosophy. Whatever happens, the future's bright on that score. 3: We have a young, ambitious Manager who has blended the best of the Martinez and Sousa eras perfectly (well, almost). 4: Our signings have by and large been excellent - particularly Vorm, who at less than £2m was a snip, and Graham who is coming into his own. The loanees look good too. 5: The fans have a great affinity with this team. That's because we didn't destroy team morale by having a QPR style clearout. No egos around to speak of, and they all play for each other. Truly greater than the sum of its parts. The bulk of our squad is the one that got us here in the first place and some players like Britton have played right the way through the divisions. Those in our regular starting 11 have really stepped up and let's be honest, shocked us as well as the pundits. 6: Our away form is improving and we are definitely playing better away from home in recent matches - despite what others, including Sunderland fans, may say. 7: We are 13th going into February. If you'd have told us that last August most of us wouldn't have believed it. 8 points from a relegation berth as it stands (often pointed out on here) but only 4 points from 8th! An incredible achievement in our inaugural season imo.

You may disagree with the list or have thought of more negatives / positives, I don't know, but for me one definitely outweighs the other by a country mile. By all means let's give stick where it's due - the away game at Carrow Road springs to mind - but please let's remember how far we've come and where we are now and in the process try to be more upbeat. Nobody likes to lose. I hate it. Let's all have a pop if Rodgers gets it wrong or if players under-perform, but slagging off the team/ Manager/ Board/ Chairman when it's unwarranted is not the answer, and reflects badly on us as fans.

Just my opinion.

 

Here here.

I've been in dreamland all season and really struggle to understand the moaning. That said, it's in football fan's nature to moan it seems.

Living in Norwich I also go to their games from time to time and they have a lot of old boys who sit in the crowd and moan as well, just inherent in football. I'm sure that even the moaners are pleased, they just like to let off steam. Agree though the in-fighting might appear a little odd to an outsider given the season we're having.

 

Good post

More of this is needed from you aussie,well thought out and accurate article fair play

 

Good summary.

I think there's two groups of people who dislike the Swansea style:

1) As you say, people from Sunderland.
2) Some elements of the older generation - they don't seem to get it.

So if you live in Sunderland and are over 65 there's no chance

 

I know what you mean about the older generation moaning, I know a guy who is lovely and has had a season ticket all his life for the Swans. He's in his eighties I think and still is there every game but every time I speak to him and we talk about the Swans he's always got something to moan about. I give him a bit of stick about it and he gives me stick about being a young whippersnapper which is all very amusing but it does frustrate me when those sorts don't appreciate how far we've come since "their days" but then again a good friend of mine is in his seventies and he's as positive as we get about the Swans. His Grandson is a commentator and commentates on the Swans matches so obviously that makes him keen but he's always bristling with positivity about the games. I don't think you can catogarise the moaners as the old guard but just as the moaners!

I would indulge in writing my points of negatives and positives but I'm in work and my list of positives will take so long I won't get any work done. But great thread Knackered!

 

Yes, my mate's Dad sits by us and he moans all game - loudly. He doesn't get it at all. To him there's only one way to pass and that's forward. Any other direction and he's screaming.

 

I have not read all the discussions with the Sunderland fans following your game last week but from what I did see my opinion was they were not trying to say your style of football was rubbish, just not effective in as much as you don't score enough goals - as highlighted in negative item #1.

This is a criticism that has been made of Swansea since August and to be honest last season as well. Brendan Rodgers philosophy (and I am not knocking it) is to try and dominate possession through the passing game. He is succeeding in doing that but without the cutting edge in the final 30 yards or so it does (to some) appear quite pointless. If you were scoring goals for fun, the football you are playing would be just about perfect from a spectators point of view but that final ingredient needs to be added

 

Can't disagree, TC.

 

It was a sweeping generalisation which I'm sure isn't really true. Most people who sit round me are youngish or middle-aged. In one match recently an older man appeared who I hadn't seen before (a one-off visit). He spent most of the first half screaming at the team to get the ball up the pitch quicker and was embarassingly restrained by his younger relatives!

The man who sits next to me (probably in his fifties although its not relevant) is probably a 'plastic' and is watching Swansea for the first time now we're in the Premier League. He was doing a similar thing for the first few home games but he's mellowed recently. Once, when the defence had skilfully got out of a particularly tight hole and spread the play to the opposite side of the pitch he said to me: "I don't understand why the crowd applaud the team when they pass it across the back four".

It seems you have to have a particular mind-set to enjoy watching the Swans. It's important that the manager and team know that by building slowly from Vorm forwards, the crowd won't get on their back. I guess that mentality has to be developed over a period of years and can't be instilled overnight.

 

very little negatives but plenty of positives, my only three negatives are-:

team selection and game plan for away games.....we keep playing exactly the same away as we do at home and results show it dont work, the only time we changed things was against villa and we had more chances at goal.

the club needs to sort out a fairer way for ticket allocation. the way we do it now does not look after loyal fans..

and thirdly the club and the council need to sort out parking for matches....

nothing else and the positives are too many to mention.....

 

aswan_dam if the bloke next to you continues to watch the Swans for a few years he'll get it and become infected with the Swansea grove (I hope).

 

UJ: Is that like an olive grove?

I suspect you're on about the one in the heart (if you remember that record).

 

Ooops I meant Swansea groove Knackered!

But with our spanish style I don't see why we can't have Swansea Olive Grove (although that's more italian).

 

Fine sentiments Knackered Aussie, but who are you referencing when you say "slagging off the team/ Manager/ Board/ Chairman when it's unwarranted is not the answer, and reflects badly on us as fans." as I'm at a loss, to see these negative articles and comments, if of course your referring to Dai, well that's just Dai, live with it, and learn to live with the unchangeable, as he's entitled to his view as you are, if your referring to Norway's article, 'Very poor performance.Don't believe the hype!' well that was just one article in how many?? and you could, and you did, and as did I agree or disagree, and that is the whole point of forums such as these.

What worries me about articles such as this one Knackered Aussie, is they look to me, to be a thinly veiled attempt at censorship, surely it's the individual readers and posters that decide what's balanced, and they will comment accordingly, I don't like articles like this, as it attempts to define what can and cannot be posted, and the Not606 forum already has guidelines and rules. Positivity and negativity is open to individual interpretation, and I see no need for such an article as this! By the way both you Aussie, and Norway are top posters and have been doing a fine job for years, you just need to learn to get on a bit more, and respect each other, just my view though........................

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Well as you often tell me - if you don't like it, don't post on it.

Your problem, my little mod, is that you have your favourites. You know it, I know it, and so does everyone else. Daiswan gets away with murder, insulting our Chairman as if it's a sport and you post "Keep going, Dai". It beggars belief.

I never mentioned Noway's threads but if that's your take on it fair enough. His posts have tended to concentrate on the negative of late. But, as you say, that's his choice and others don't have to agree. The point of this thread is only this - I'm a little fed up with the negativity when there's so much to be positive about.

I'm as entitled to say that as you are to disagree.

 

grow up kangaroo and get a life dragon is right deal with it...

 

i wrote this to let some fans who think i hated Huw Jenkins that they are way of the mark and that i know Huw and he knows me.....read and dijest below to get your facts straight........


Huw was a fan as i know him quite well and have spoken to him on numerous times, we get on well to fans conception that i hate the guy which i have not or would not say anyway. i am not the only one who have disagreed with huw by a long chalk. i know players who were unhappy about the way he did things but it was his choice, to a lot of us he never had a balance and was to extreme with his lack of backing any manager that asked for help to get us promoted. 8 months ago there was a major boardroom meeting because two board members wanted to leave because huw blocked our chances of promotion two seasons in a row and they were not happy. during that meeting they sorted out their differences and a few small but significant changes were made and huw to give him credit amended some of his policies and now instead of having the final say he now has to get the full agreement of the board......this resulted in huw backing Brendan for the final push and the result is premiership football with all its benefits........The huw today is not the Huw of 8 months ago and as a club we are better for it.....he is an asset now and someone who will take care of the clubs finances and thats a good thing........i dont hate huw lads i never have....

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Aussie we are all going to warm to certain posters, that's human nature, but that has nothing to do with what I have stated in my previous post, and it's no good you saying that ' I have Dai as a favourite' and let him 'get away with murder', as that is so ridiculous, and if you ask Dai he will tell you that, that is not the case, I give Dai a fair bit of banter and criticism regarding his posts on Jenkins, Graham, team selection etc, just check my posts you'll see that I agree with you regarding some of Dai's views, it's just that I respect Dai's right to his view, and you have genuine difficulty in doing that. Aussie if I didn't want to be bothered with this article, then I wouldn't, but in light of the differences that have gone before, I saw it the way I did, and commented accordingly, as I've said before, You and Norway are good posters, and in my view so is Dai, I've lost count over the last 6 months how many other posters have given Dai the thumbs up, and agreed with some of his posts, so finally, can we 'live and let live', even if you are a tad fed up with the 'Negativity'....................

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Good post Dai.

Dragon, your views as a poster and as a moderator have been greatly appreiciated

What you have written is unbiased and truthful, there is alot i can say but im not going to on this occasion,i think you have summed up perfectly, nice bit of MOD ing Dragon

 

me and dragon have had some good spatts, He has a go at me and i respond and vice Vera, some on here are childish and throw their bottle out of their pram if they dont agree with your view......they need to grow up and accept everyone do not agree and if they did then there would be no point of being on here......