Match Day Thread Swans v Stoke RFC

3 stone (at least overweight) & more interested in fouling than playing.

If any of our players had performed like that they'd never last 20 minutes the way we get penalised for minor infringements. Should have been booked for his attacks on Fabianski, Rangel & Fed.

As I've not long got back I'll quickly give my 10 penneth
Fab - 7
Rangel - 7
Fed - 7
Ash - 7
Taylor - 7
(Back 5 didn't have to shine)
Cork - 8
Shelvey - 8 MotM
Siggy - 6
Dyer - 7 (6 first half 8 second)
Montero - 7
Oliveira - 5
Emnes - 7
Ki - 7 (not much time but effective)
Barrow - 6 (not much time)

An entertaining game, even in the error filled first half. Two excellent goals, hope that Dyer is getting back to form, Rangel adds more attacking options, Shelvey was very composed (but he and Montero have problems), very neat footwork from Nelson but it looks like season over, Cork's best game (?).
Everyone kept calm in the face of some very cheap shots by most of the Stoke team.
Only downside for me was Siggy looked a bit lost after such good game at Newcastle.

 

Aswan agree with you there mate .

 

As well as the cheap shots, it seemed to us that they tried every trick in the book to get under our skin - they even made us change ends - we played towards the away end in the second half, rather than play towards it in the first half.

 

me. I personally thought that worked for us although stats will say otherwise I suppose we seem to score more goals in the second half and from a selfish point of view I could see the build up play and the ball hitting the net from the NE corner rather than squinting as I usually have to do .

 

Apparently yesterday's red card for Wilson was Stoke's first in the PL this season. Swansea have had 7 in all competitions this season (not sure how many in the PL itself).

Edit: make that 8

1) Bony, Sept 2014, Swansea 0 Southampton 1, PL
2) Rangel, Sept 2014, Sunderland 0 Swansea 0, PL
3) Fernandez, Oct 2014, Liverpool 2 Swansea 1, LC (rescinded)
4) Shelvey, Nov 2014, Everton 0 Swansea 0, PL
5) Fabianski, Dec 2014, West Ham 3 Swansea 1, PL
6) Routledge, Jan 2015, QPR1 Swansea 1, PL (rescinded)
7) Bartley, Jan 2015, Blackburn 3 Swansea 1, FAC
8) Sigurdsson, Jan 2015, Blackburn 3 Swansea 1, FAC

In addition, Shelvey got a 3-game retrospective ban for elbowing a Liverpool player in the 4-1 defeat at Anfield in December 2014.

We're such a dirty team LOL

 

That is a truly outstanding statistic.
By comparison to Stoke we are filthy , you could see that yesterday - the way our players left their feet in ... to be stamped on, put their heads into Stoke elbows, took too long collecting the ball after a Stokie had kicked it away and as for allowing themselves to be tripped up ... OMG.

Or it could be Hughes has learned a bit from his former boss.

 

The problem with that is you have to subscribe to Sky Sports to get it, I don't so have to put up with being last on MOTD again!

 

yes that was the one flaw in my argument .

 

We showed a mental toughness and stood up to the bullies. In the past, we might have been bullied off the pitch. With Cork, Jonjo and Gylfi on the pitch, we have players who aren't fussed about dishing it back out themselves.

 

It was good to see Dyer pass a few men with the ball again, he still cant cross for shyte but seemed a bit of his old good self on the pitch yesterday. Maybe hes been carrying a knock for a while ?
If consistency can be carried forward and good additions to depth added we have a good team taking shape again for next term.

 

Before he was injured it was good to see, right in front of me, Oliveira rough Adams up a bit and surprise surprise he didn't like it.

 

Agreed Valley. We were saying in the car after the game that it was a game we'd have possibly lost last season - under either Manager!

 

I think Monk has said he needs an op on his knee in the summer but decided to delay it as he'd have missed the rest of the season. He's done more in the past two games than in the last 4 months.
Played well yesterday.

 

Yup agree

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/32575382

 

Great comments there from Rangel, just goes to show the qualities Monk is instilling in the players, and the bit I like is :

"Probably we would lose those games, but now we have both sides," said the Spaniard(Rangel). "As a captain he [Monk] was pushing everyone on the pitch and as a manager he tries as hard, he tries to motivate everyone day-in, day-out in training. "I think you can see that in games if anyone is a bit switched off, at half-time he gives him a row and he's [the player] ready for the second half. "He's a young manager, like everyone he can still improve lots of things, but his management skills are very good. He's great, and as a coach everybody is happy."



It's fair to say that most were more than a little concerned when Monk was appointed, but Huw Jenkins has once again come up smelling of roses, no way would I like to play a card game against Huw...........

 

Can't trust these Skewen boys eh, Phil !

 

Too right, some dodgy characters from Skewen..............

 

Yep - you, me and my old man for three!

 

Right I'm moving !