KVetch
Key Player
Won't be the same without Wyndham.
Last chance Saloon
- Thread starter Borini
- Start date
IanABS94
Key Player
Missed him on this match as well. Imagine his reaction to Wayne's second goal!
Borini
Key Player
Made me laugh they almost didn't notice number 3 going in!
Borini
Key Player
The host on Quest recons it will be an all Welsh final at Wembley with no crowds ,
and 92 arrests.
KVetch
Key Player
I want Cardiff. I want to crush them in a playoff final. Would be one of the biggest playoff finals ever, in Swansea lore as well in addition to the way we got into the playoffs.
First we have to beat Brentford. They've got us 3-0 and 3-1 this season, 6-1 not good. Top goal scorers in the league. Have to stop Ollie Watkins. He's not the only one either. Benrhama too. Cooper made good substitutions against Reading let's hope he continues this streak.
The difference this week is we have Brewster, Gallagher, Guehi and Cabango. And Mulder. Team effort. What a finish to the season.
Will you be happy if we bow out to Brentford? Is this season a victory if we don't get promoted? Next season is going to be much more difficult unless we keep key players and Cullen develops into a star. We could be fighting relegation next season who knows. That's my fear, we may not have Brewster or Ayew. Promotion is very important this season.
Now that we've reached this stage ,Yes! i would be very unhappy if we bow out to Brentford, not for the reason of Brentford beating us, but for the points we have thrown away due to ( I'll be kind and call it poor management )or even ignorance of the game at this level.
Thing is, whilst Cooper has done well of late and been receiving accolades left right and centre from all sorts of people, it's easy to forget that, had he been more up to the job earlier in his tenure, we might not have needed that last gasp miracle to make the top 6, as brilliant it was to witness.
But let's put that behind us for now and hope that he's turned the corner to help drive us over the finishing line. It would actually give me a lot of pleasure to see him develop into a successful manager - not only for our club and fans but for himself.
CroJack
Key Player
I have mixed feelings. I am just watching the goals we conceded (and points we have lost) this season. What a bad game management and stupid defensive errors. We have lost too many points from winning positions and with these points we could have easily finished the season in the top two. So, I am disappointed.
I am also disappointed with the football we have played this season. We have been too meek, we have not dominated opposition as much as we could, and our passing accuracy have not been as good as it should have been. Hereby I mean unnecessary panicking, hoofing and giving possession away when there have been better passing options.
It took Cooper almost the whole season to figure out how to get the best of Bidwell and Roberts, and implement 3-4-1-2 formation with Bidwell and Roberts as wing-backs.
We have also had injuries - Rodon and Big Mike have been missed.
Celina have been a huge disappointment, and hats off to Cooper for benching him.
The players we have taken on loan have mostly impressed, especially Brewster, Gallagher and Guehi. Willmot scored some important goals for us in the beginning of the season, but has totally disappeared after his injury. Kalulu has been a disappointment, he had one good game for us, as far as I remember. Woodman has made some excellent saves but I am not sure he is any better than Mulder and Benda. He has to be better with his feet, he often panicks when he has to pass the ball, and he hoofs it too much, often out of the pitch. His main weakness is that he doesn't make a step or two forward when he faces shots and he doesn't make himself bigger when he is one-on-one with opposition attackers.
As for Cooper he has had a good season. This is his first season in professional football and the Championship is a tough league. 46 league games + a number of cup games makes managing in this league a difficult task. Especially without any backing by the owners, lack of quality in some positions and some of the players underperforming. He has made some rookie mistakes, but ok who knows what is going to happen in the play-offs?
KVetch
Key Player
Here's another question, what does Cooper have to do to earn the respect of his doubters? If he can just make substitutions and show that he's making adjustments during matches I would give him credit. It would be great to see him managing games against Premier level managers just for the humour of it alone. It's hard to imagine it.
What Crojack said, it does seem like he's starting to figure the whole managing thing out. Still a ways to go. He may get better, which is the way I see Woodman. Woodman can get better and he will. Mulder is good but approaching the last few years of his career.
Victoria Swan
Key Player
I agree @Borini. And we shouldn't forget that since the January transfer window Cooper has been a lot better (except for a few stupid substitutions or rather, LACK of substitutions).
I have to give him credit for being the one who attracted Gallagher, Guehi, Brewster, and Woodman, the one who brought Bidwell, Naughton, Ayew and to some extent Routledge back to life, the one who identified potential in Cabango, Garrick and now Cullen and the one who had the guts to bench Celina and Byers when not performing. Where he has failed with players is with Kalula, Dhanda and (until the wing back role) Roberts.
Now that he has more experience, the players he wanted (since January transfers) and he's under more (tournament) pressure I think we'll see the best of him. He is, however, missing a wise whisperer into his ear, like Billy Reid was for Potter. Neither Mike Marsh nor Tatey are up to it. He deserves next season with us, but he also deserves transfer money to work with from the owners. I just wish he'd learn to smile more, pump his fist now and then, hug a few folks and go zooming up and down the touchline when we do something great! It aint going to happen, I know, it just isn't Steve Cooper.
And finally @KVetch, even if we lose to Brentford I consider this season to be a success because despite all the turmoil and turnover we proved to be one of the most resilient and competitive teams in the Championship. Who would have thought we would finish sixth after losing both Daniel James and Ollie McBurney?!
I have to give him credit for being the one who attracted Gallagher, Guehi, Brewster, and Woodman, the one who brought Bidwell, Naughton, Ayew and to some extent Routledge back to life, the one who identified potential in Cabango, Garrick and now Cullen and the one who had the guts to bench Celina and Byers when not performing. Where he has failed with players is with Kalula, Dhanda and (until the wing back role) Roberts.
Now that he has more experience, the players he wanted (since January transfers) and he's under more (tournament) pressure I think we'll see the best of him. He is, however, missing a wise whisperer into his ear, like Billy Reid was for Potter. Neither Mike Marsh nor Tatey are up to it. He deserves next season with us, but he also deserves transfer money to work with from the owners. I just wish he'd learn to smile more, pump his fist now and then, hug a few folks and go zooming up and down the touchline when we do something great! It aint going to happen, I know, it just isn't Steve Cooper.
And finally @KVetch, even if we lose to Brentford I consider this season to be a success because despite all the turmoil and turnover we proved to be one of the most resilient and competitive teams in the Championship. Who would have thought we would finish sixth after losing both Daniel James and Ollie McBurney?!
CroJack
Key Player
I agree with you @Victoria Swan . I just feel he could've done more, even for a rookie manager, in terms of style of play, endurance in matches, possession, and passing accuracy. Our own players have been trained in passing football by Rodgers, Laudrup, Toshack and Potter. Also Brewster, Gallagher and Guehi have come from Liverpool and Chelsea where passing football is a norm and simply a must. Not to talk about Celina whom we have signed from Manchester City. Cooper has had a good foundation, especially after a 2018/19 season under Potter when we were in top two for both possession and passing accuracy. I remember how I used to brag about Nordfeldt and Mulder recording 100 % passing accuracy in some matches. Fredie Woodman's average passing accuracy this season has been 69,6 %.
Here are the things we have to be better at:
1. Giving the ball and possession away cheaply is never a good idea. You invite pressure and shots, which inevitably leads to goals against. As a manager, you have to analyse the game, see who loses possession and why, and then you have to do something about it - either by telling the player not to do that again, or by requesting more and better movement from the players who receive the ball, or by adjusting the formation to make it easier for your players to pass the ball accurately. I have seen the same mistakes over and over again this season, and not just by Woodman. We have suffered against teams who have pressed us high and we all know we don't have tall players up front who can win aerial duels when we hoof it. We have to keep the ball on the ground and pass it more accurately, and we have to pass us out of the high press.
2. Another thing I have noticed is the amount of the 'wrong' crosses. Again, we don't have tall players up front, so the crosses we put into opposition box must be the crosses Manchester City and Liverpool often use - where the small players like Aguero, Jesus and Sterling can score - and the best example of such a cross was that one against Reading when Routledge scored from a header. A cross behind opposition defence where you a) don't need to outjump often tall and physically strong opposition defenders, and b) have more power in your headed shot. We waste a lot of crosses by putting them too high, and it's almost impossible for Ayew and Brewster to score from them. If there are too many opposition players in and around their six yards box, then it's better to send a low cross to one of our players just outside opposition penalty box so he kan shoot from there: Gallagher, Fulton, or even Grimes.
3. We have to stop attacking along sidelines when it's too crowded there. We lose possession a lot there. Direct forward passing through the middle is more effective. Once we get the ball to the attacking midfield, then we can pass it to the wings, or continue attacking through the middle of the pitch.
4. I miss Big Mike and Rodon's raids with the ball towards opposition's penalty box. We did it often under Potter, and these raids totally confuse opposition. In our recent games Guehi did it a couple of times, which was great to watch.
5. I also miss Big Mike's great long and accurate diagonal passes.
My point is that we need just a couple of tweaks to become a much, much better and more dangerous team.
Here are the things we have to be better at:
1. Giving the ball and possession away cheaply is never a good idea. You invite pressure and shots, which inevitably leads to goals against. As a manager, you have to analyse the game, see who loses possession and why, and then you have to do something about it - either by telling the player not to do that again, or by requesting more and better movement from the players who receive the ball, or by adjusting the formation to make it easier for your players to pass the ball accurately. I have seen the same mistakes over and over again this season, and not just by Woodman. We have suffered against teams who have pressed us high and we all know we don't have tall players up front who can win aerial duels when we hoof it. We have to keep the ball on the ground and pass it more accurately, and we have to pass us out of the high press.
2. Another thing I have noticed is the amount of the 'wrong' crosses. Again, we don't have tall players up front, so the crosses we put into opposition box must be the crosses Manchester City and Liverpool often use - where the small players like Aguero, Jesus and Sterling can score - and the best example of such a cross was that one against Reading when Routledge scored from a header. A cross behind opposition defence where you a) don't need to outjump often tall and physically strong opposition defenders, and b) have more power in your headed shot. We waste a lot of crosses by putting them too high, and it's almost impossible for Ayew and Brewster to score from them. If there are too many opposition players in and around their six yards box, then it's better to send a low cross to one of our players just outside opposition penalty box so he kan shoot from there: Gallagher, Fulton, or even Grimes.
3. We have to stop attacking along sidelines when it's too crowded there. We lose possession a lot there. Direct forward passing through the middle is more effective. Once we get the ball to the attacking midfield, then we can pass it to the wings, or continue attacking through the middle of the pitch.
4. I miss Big Mike and Rodon's raids with the ball towards opposition's penalty box. We did it often under Potter, and these raids totally confuse opposition. In our recent games Guehi did it a couple of times, which was great to watch.
5. I also miss Big Mike's great long and accurate diagonal passes.
My point is that we need just a couple of tweaks to become a much, much better and more dangerous team.
Yankee_Jack
Key Player
We’re better than those odds
Might risk a tenner to get £55 coming back including my stake. Having a flutter with my mate on Enable this avers in the King George at Ascot. He's only offered short odds but better than the bookies. If it goes to form it should be like buying money but you never can tell with the gee gees.......... 
Enable came in easily at 4/9 with the bookies but my mate offered me evens!! Just bet him a tenner, which is the amount I won. Enable, a mare, is now the only horse to have won that race 3 times. She's 6 years old now, so just past her peak but still an incredible horse. Her main rival, Japan, was beaten into third of three today but the going really didn't suit the horse. Even so, a great racer and one to keep an eye on in the future.
Enable, a mare, is now the only horse to have won that race 3 times. She's 6 years old now, so just past her peak but still an incredible horse. Her main rival, Japan, was beaten into third of three today but the going really didn't suit the horse. Even so, a great racer and one to keep an eye on in the future.
Victoria Swan
Key Player
Can't really disagree wth any of these @CroJack. However, I would add that Ayew might be short but his vertical leap for crosses is Andy Carrollesque! Also, Van der Hoorn has nothing on Ash Williams when it comes to those long diagonal passes.
KVetch
Key Player
Is that 69.9% passing stat accurate? That seems very low for a goalkeeper. A lot of long balls to get it out. We do play a hasty defense a lot. The object is to just get it out of the box. Most of our matches have been close, a goal up a goal down. A lot of wasted crosses and corners this year. But we have made some outstanding assists.
Pressing kills us. We have lost so many points because the opposing manager gets his players to press us.
We've seen that we are best when we are relentless on the attack. Make the opponent defend and hope our back 4 is better than theirs.