Altitude sickness at the Hawthorns

[CroJack]

 

[CroJack]

That last comment about "when the ball is in our box we need to clear it, it's not rocket science" - Martin likely would have told them not to clear it but to play out from the back instead. Sounds to me like the players who remain from last season are still in bad low-intensity habits from Martinball, and the new guys haven't had time to bed in.

Well, then Duff needs to do something NOW and not wait for them to start running and fighting from the first minute. Here is an idea: Duff sends Darling, Wood, Cabango and Grimes to train with the under-23s, promotes three centre-backs and a defensive midfielder from the under-23s and starts them against Coventry. He has nothing to lose because we are going to lose anyway if we keep playing like we did against WBA.

P.S. I was disappointed with Duff. His job is to lead by example and he should have done that in the first half. Just take 5 players off and send them to the dressing room. It wouldn't have mattered if we'd lost the game, but it would have been the move of a true leader.

 

[Yankee_Jack]

Darling’s amateur hour tackle for that penalty in hindsight cost us the game, and should cost Darling his place at the club never mind the first team. What a total piece of shit that play was. Brandon Cooper was in the stands, but ffs he has to be a better option than Darling surely,

We can’t have players converting what would have been a goal kick into a penalty into a goal.

 

[ivoralljack]

I hope Duff has learned something about his players after this debacle and also learned something about himself. Performances like this are NOT acceptable. Losing is one thing but losing in the way we did was a disgrace and all concerned should be made aware of it. Some stats:

POSSESSION: 42-58 SHOTS: 11-13 OT: 3-4 CORNERS: 4-8 FOULS: 10-10 GOALS: 3-2

What amazes me is that we headed all the main stats yet still contrived to lose the game. Believe it or not, WOL had Darling MOM despite his horrendous defensive display, claiming the 'carnage' he created in the opposing box late in the game earned him the accolade. The mind boggles!!

Finally I read a comment from a WBA supporter saying how surprised he was at how often Swans hoofed the ball when for years he had regarded us as a beacon for good passing football. Mr. Duff, I hope you read that.

 

[CroJack]

a WBA supporter saying how surprised he was at how often Swans hoofed the ball

Actually, not that often. We played long 57 times (long ball teams are those who play 70+ long balls per game): 19 Rushworth (which I think is OK, but his distribution was poor), 6 Wood, 6 Darling and 7 Cabango. Half of Wood's, Darling's and Cabango's long balls were diagonal balls, which can't be considered hoofing, but rather a welcome switch of play. Grimes, Fulton and Piroe's long balls were mostly crosses into the WBA box. Subtract Rushwort's long balls and you're left with 38 long balls. More than half of these were diagonal balls and crosses. So, it's not like we hoof it at every opportunity.

We are here after two games:

 

[jackodiamonds]

Gotta say @CroJack I love how you cut through all the bullcrap