That Was A Great Result.....

The annoying thing is that Clement appears to have the tactical nous to be a very good manager. He shows he can adapt to different situations with different tactics.

However, to play five at the back at home when playing a Watford side who had been trounced last week was professional suicide. It was clear after twenty minutes his tactics weren't working and a change should have been made as early as that.

Instead he let it continue, the fans got frustrated and the boos echoed around the Liberty. I was appalled when our fans booed in the first game of the season at Southampton as I always feel that it plays into the hands of the opposition. I didn't feel that this was the case this time. The booing this time will actually benefit the Club long term. It was drawing a line in the sand to say that this level of negativity is NOT acceptable at our Club.

I felt sorry for the players. They were set up to fail and the negative effect on Clucas in particular could be long term. That's Clements fault. On Monday morning he has to pick up the pieces and rebuild a few careers which he helped dismantle today.

The first forty five minutes was, without doubt, the low point in our tenure in the Premier League. We have had worse first half beatings. We were 0-4 down at home to Chelsea under Garry Monk, 0-3 down at home to Man U under Bob Bradley. But this was something on a different level. We CHOSE to play like that.

I never like the Swans losing. But long term, that defeat can only have a positive effect on the Club. It is a benchmark on how NOT to play football.

 

Excellent post sir.

 

Spot on - said exactly the same on the match day thread. Last year, Guidolin had the tactical understanding and "balls" to make a substitution in the first half. Yesterday should have seen Mesa brought on and a CB hooked after 20 mins.

 

Just watched that pathetic Mawson challenge back after seeing it live at the ground. Don't understand what he must have been thinking with it. It actually gets worse every time I re-run it..

Absolute shocker!! He needs to knuckle down now, because he's not what he thinks he is.

 

Clement needs to grow a pair of balls now & form a midfield around Roque Mesa, he was everything that was positive about the 2nd half, apart from the 2nd goal lapse. I'll forgive him that, because of what he added overall. Also a firm foot through from Mawson & we would've got off with that loose ball...

How Fer stayed on that pitch for the full 90 (tactically) baffles me, he was woeful. He should've taken him off for Sanches & left Bony there with Abraham, basics Clement..

 

..........and for his efforts it wasn't long afterwards that Mr Guidolin was sacked!

 

The club had waged / allowed a media campaign on Guidolin and player power did the rest.


I'm not sure what Clement can do TBH. He doesn't have a decent squad to make effective changes and I don't think he has the ability to get the best form his 'chosen ones'.
As with Bradley, I can't see the current manager and coaching set up improving the situation.
If he couldn't see Carroll and Fer (who I usually stand up for) were having a mare and Bony was completely off the pace then a week's training will achieve nothing.

 

I think Clement has the squad to get us to 11th-14th position in the PL. For me its quite straightforward what he has to do - he has to adopt a more positive set up in home matches. Basically, playing five at the back shows he was petrified of playing Watford at home. That just not good enough in the PL.

If he carries on with that mindset, one of three things will happen. (a) We will be relegated, (b) he will be sacked or (c) both.

 

Spent all of yesterday up near Llanwrtwd Wells, no signal. Only learned the score at about 7:30pm.

Did I miss a poor game?

 

I didn't think the system was wrong but the starting lineup was. Carroll had his second poor home game in a row. Having seen him in the last two home games Clucas looks better when he plays further forward. So my midfield would have been Mesa DM, Clucas CM and Ayew playing behind Bony and Abraham. Mesa showed in the second half that he was looking to link defence and attack and spread the ball wide which would have brought Naughton and Olssen more in to the attacking roles. The five at the back is set up for this but it was ironic that when we went to four at the back you saw our wing backs attacking more and I put this down to Mesa. Every player drops a clanger somewhere in the season and I'm afraid this was Mawson's day for that. Every man and his dog thinks that it was Curtis and not Guidolin that kept us up. Those who suggest Clement's time is up have short memories and forget the second half of last season

 

With all due respect, that wasn't a clanger, that was gutless. I can accept a clanger, we're human beings after all, but the latter is unforgivable.

You're right about the full backs though, commented exactly the same to the boy next to me. With a flat back four, they were constantly further up the pitch, than they were at any stage with a back 3. Obviously we were chasing the game, but also Clement might have let the shackles off. But I felt we were always going to get stung in that position. It left Fede & Mawson awfully exposed. Worse than that, I didn't trust the pair to have the tactical nous to realise it.

A damning indictment of the standard of some of the players in our squad..

 

I can't say I've ever seen him as gutless but had also forgotten the 2 other errors he made in the match. Perhaps, hopefully, just a bad day at the office.

 

He needs to learn his 'day job' first. Just doing the basics, closing down quicker, being aware of what's around him, putting his foot through a tackle, clearing into row z when needed & making sure the most important passes are made 1st time.

There could be a dependable centre-back there, or this could just be him at his best & we have all thought to highly of him all along..

 

Just watching Brighton v Toon. How the fvck did we lose at home to them. They are so average..

Just shows how far we've fallen.

 

First half was one of the worse 45 mins I've seen from us since being in the PL.

 

The Worst - period. Yes Utd & Chelsea were poor first halves, but this was Watford for f**k's sake - a Watford side that had been hit for six the previous weekend, yet Clement set us up defensively.......

 

At least we've all got the Ospreys to cheer us up

 

That's Brighton above us. They deserved it..

 

I suppose Swans supporters from over the Lougher Bridge are really cheered up .......

 

Don't know what's worse, having stick off the kids who support the Scarlets or Cardiff in work this term?