And We're Off - Pre-season 2023-24

Yankee_Jack

Yankee_Jack

Key Player
And we're gearing up to grind into a stall .... Michael Duff | It will take time to implement things | Swansea

Duff laying the groundwork for underwhelming performance, lack of creativity and oh shit passing.

Rather than taking what he's been given and evolving, Duff is going for broke on a new system, which of course is different from Martin's Madness. Can't say I blame him, but we seriously can't keep bouncing from coach to coach, each with their own mission and methods that never come to fruition until the long term when they are out of a contract or have been fired for failing to deliver. This gets us jumping between the fire and the frying pan on each cycle.

When did every coach suddenly become entitled to their own brand of crazy.
 
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CroJack

CroJack

Key Player
Martin's football just needed a few tweaks. The last 9 games of last season were a prime example of how we should be playing. Forward and progressive passing, a higher tempo, not playing from the back when under pressure... The only thing missing was better pressing. I hoped, and still hope, that Duff will at least implement more intensity and effective high pressing. And I hope it won't take 2 years.
 
Yankee_Jack

Yankee_Jack

Key Player
Agree @CroJack, but we didn't see a few tweaks at Oxford, we saw a neutered, watered down version of our worst stretches of last season. Even Fisher got into the act by playing the fool.

Following from my last post, a club goes into this ricochet from one system to another because there is no Director of Football calling the shots and setting the long term trajectory. For better or worse, Jenkins did that for several seasons, and whether by luck or judgement he hired managers/coaches that were willing and capable of going along. Duff has the title Head Coach for a reason. But, at this point there isn't a person, or doesn't appear to be a person, capable of riding shot gun over what's going on and reigning in what is effectively a reinvention when, as you say, a few tweaks will do.

And, to make matters worse, we bring in the likes of Yates and jettison Whittaker, to a competitor no less, without giving the latter a chance to press a claim. Silly, hasty moves. Moves that can't yet be supported by data. In fact, the only data we have tells us that Thomas is the guy we should be giving playing time to and Yates, Cullen and Piroe have yet to demonstrate that they actually know what they are doing.

It's early to predict, but I've seen this movie script before with a different cast and a different wardrobe, the ending is always the same, we're looking at another two barren years I fear.
 
CroJack

CroJack

Key Player
@Yankee_Jack When a football manager says that it takes time to implement simple things like passing and pressing, alarm bells start to ring in my head. Either he doesn't know what he is doing or he has some dumb players at his disposal. I don't believe our players are dumb.

Football is a simple game - just run more than your opponents and you'll be fine. Everything else is just icing on the cake. Getting your players fit and ready doesn't take more than a half of pre-season. My expectation was that we would at least be able to outmuscle, outrun and outpace the Oxford players.
 
Yankee_Jack

Yankee_Jack

Key Player
The Rovers game will tell us two things: a) how open minded Duff is about the players in the squad (e.g. Does Thomas get a chance or is on the bench again); b) do we get more of the same in terms of effort and cohesion or better.
 
Yankee_Jack

Yankee_Jack

Key Player
When did we ever transition to the idea that a wing back is a FB who roams forward, versus a winger that later in his career learns to defend and plays coming out of defence. In general, FBs can't cross nor take on defenders. Wingers can. FBs turn backwards and pass backwards. Wingers see the bye-line and go for it.

Routledge would have made a brilliant wing back, if he hadn't got injured and continued playing.
 
Yankee_Jack

Yankee_Jack

Key Player
Abdulai still on track to be the starting RWB.

Fisher may start on Saturday unless the Rushworth shows ready and superior.

Myk … the unexpected addition to the squad. Is he fit and ready to start on Sat or will his first match be in the League Cup. Duff’s selection will tell us everything he’s been thinking about preseason training. There are three new players up top. They are going to start sooner or later unless last season’s pair (Piroe and Cullen) are given the first start and deliver.
 
Yankee_Jack

Yankee_Jack

Key Player
The keeper Rushworth was brought in under the recommendation of the new keeper coach Margetson. I guess that says all you need to know about their assessment of Fisher. Both BHA and the keeper are expecting him to play.
 
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Yankee_Jack

Yankee_Jack

Key Player
Walsh is a lame duck for another 4 to 6 weeks.

Allen is coming along, but my read is that he's not match fit yet and won't be for a little while. So, it's Grimes and Fulton in the core of midfield.

Ginnelly still has a lot of training to do to get fully fit.
 
CroJack

CroJack

Key Player
Duff says we need a left back now. I thought Key was excellent on the left in pre-season. Does that mean he will be benched if we sign a new left-back? I'm pretty sure Newcastle wouldn't let Ashby come to Swansea to sit on the bench.
 
Yankee_Jack

Yankee_Jack

Key Player
CroJack said:
Duff says we need a left back now. I thought Key was excellent on the left in pre-season. Does that mean he will be benched if we sign a new left-back? I'm pretty sure Newcastle wouldn't let Ashby come to Swansea to sit on the bench.
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That doesn't make sense does it. Abdulai has been useful at RWB. Key has been useful at LWB; though not perhaps his best / preferred position.

We have Naughton as cover. Abdulai can return to U21 or exit on loan to L1.

Looks like Duff has let his assessments be known and now the Club is exploring the possibilities. The squad we have at the end of August is not going to be the squad we started preseason with for sure.
 
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