Barnsley

CroJack

Key Player
God, it had been a soooo boring game until Ntcham and Manning came in. When we up the tempo and start passing forward we are a really good team.
 

ivoralljack

Grizzled Veteran
Staff member
Needless to say I'm delighted we won but I can't pretend that I enjoyed the overall performance. We were far too pedestrian on the ball, had no tempo whatsoever to our game and a better side than Barnsley would have given us problems. For all our possession, we created very little and that is something that RM is going to have to address sooner rather than later. I read that we put together 895 passes but A. How many times was Hamer involved? B. How many of those passes were in our own half? and C. How many passes were forward as opposed to sideways or backwards? For me there is still much work to be done particularly on the intensity, urgency and pace of our game. Some stats:

POSSESSION: 21-79 SHOTS: 3-6 OT: 0-3 CORNERS: 0-2 FOULS: 12-8 GOALS: 0-2

Thank goodness we did eventually manage to win the game, which we never looked like losing, but only six shots from 79% possession? Come on, we've got to do better than that surely.
 

Jackflash

Midfield General
Staff member
Needless to say I'm delighted we won but I can't pretend that I enjoyed the overall performance. We were far too pedestrian on the ball, had no tempo whatsoever to our game and a better side than Barnsley would have given us problems. For all our possession, we created very little and that is something that RM is going to have to address sooner rather than later. I read that we put together 895 passes but A. How many times was Hamer involved? B. How many of those passes were in our own half? and C. How many passes were forward as opposed to sideways or backwards? For me there is still much work to be done particularly on the intensity, urgency and pace of our game. Some stats:

POSSESSION: 21-79 SHOTS: 3-6 OT: 0-3 CORNERS: 0-2 FOULS: 12-8 GOALS: 0-2

Thank goodness we did eventually manage to win the game, which we never looked like losing, but only six shots from 79% possession? Come on, we've got to do better than that surely.
Spot on Ivor,
Until we scored that first goal it was a boring game, our back 3 must have accounted for a large proportion of the passes. I had resigned myself to the fact that we were coming home with one point at best. Those stats papered over a lot of cracks.
 

Behindthegoal

Key Player
Time and again we see it. The opposition pretend they’re trying to win the ball but in fact they’re conserving their energy, waiting for the lack of concentration or sloppy pass. Then wham!they have the ball and are in our box like a ferret up a drainpipe.
Perhaps we’re not good enough to move the ball at pace?
 

CroJack

Key Player
Time and again we see it. The opposition pretend they’re trying to win the ball but in fact they’re conserving their energy, waiting for the lack of concentration or sloppy pass. Then wham! They have the ball and are in our box like a ferret up a drainpipe.
I am not sure Barnsley players managed to conserve their energy. We moved the ball wisely from side to side and they run and run to fill the gaps. It seems to me what we saw as a boring football it was a tactical approach from Swansea - tire them out and in the 65th minute bring Manning and Ntcham in, up the intensity, and score a couple of goals.
 

Behindthegoal

Key Player
Can I have a lend of your rose-tinted specs for Saturday please, CJ?
Both Naughton and Bennett got yellows because they couldn’t get goalside of their man. I’m not saying they were tired. Rather that it’s a long way back from the halfway line to your box when you’re trying to catch a whippet
 

CroJack

Key Player
Both Naughton and Bennett got yellows because they couldn’t get goalside of their man.
Professional fouls, not tiredness. Manchester City do that when they lose the ball and when there is a danger to concede from a counter-attack. And God knows our centre-halves lack pace. So, I am glad both Bennett and Naughts do what is necessary to stop counters.

"The opposition...waiting for the lack of concentration or sloppy pass. Then wham! They have the ball and are in our box like a ferret up a drainpipe."

That's what most lesser teams do, and that's how we played under Cooper. But tell me, how many times did Barnsley succeed to get in our box and actually threaten us? Once? Twice? I mean, they played at home turf and they virtually didn't have a shot on target. That's embarassing, and far from being "like ferrets up in a drainpipe".

Also, we force opposition to "wait for the lack of concentration and sloppy pass" because they can't get the ball. It's not something opposition choose to do.

These stats are recorded between 64th and 94th minute, and tired teams don't have such stats. (Grey are Barnsley, and blue are Swans)

Screenshot 2021-11-25 at 19.50.47.png
I know our football was boring up til 65th minute, and I'd rather had we scored 2 goals in the first half, and then pass them to death, but I am pretty sure the tactics against Barnsley was quite the opposite - tire them out and then strike when they get tired.

I must admit I don't like how we play at the moment, it's boring, and I hope Martin will develop this style to something more attractive. I want us to be more direct and more attacking-minded, to shoot more, put more crosses in the opposition box, and to play with much more intensity.
 
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