Connor Gallagher

KVetch

Key Player
Gallagher is a great signing and just what we have all been calling for - a strengthening of our lightweight midfield. I have no idea why the strange move however: why withdraw him from one Championship club (Charlton) where he starts every game and has been doing very well only to give him to another Championship club where he may or may not get a start every game? All to our benefit but a bit bizarre.

I am completely dumbfounded at all the negative comments on here about the transfer window. Our business has been brilliant and will definitely improve the quality of our team and our chances for promotion. So what if they are on loan and so what if they came here because they know Steve Cooper from the U17 success - they are good players and they will fit in to our team quickly. What is all the moaning about you whinging bastards? If we get promoted there will be no shortage of quality players wanting to come to us to replace these loanees and if we don;t get promoted then we can rely on our U23s who will be even more seasoned by then. I just don't get your negativity guys. Do you not know how to enjoy life?! What we have done in the transfer window (so far) is great. Smile and enjoy it. :D:);):sneaky::giggle::geek::LOL:
It's going to be an interesting few months. It looks like Swansea is paying more of his wages or offered a loan fee. Chelsea must really need the money I guess. Really strange move because now the Swans have one loan over the limit. I'm guessing Kalulu or Wilmot are going to be left off the matchday squads.
 

The Blobster

Prediction Champ
This is a good signing , we've been screaming for a box to box midfielder and here he is !
Let's hope he and the other new loaners all start against Wigwam on Saturday .
 

Yankee_Jack

Key Player
... and if we don;t get promoted then we can rely on our U23s who will be even more seasoned by then. I just don't get your negativity guys. Do you not know how to enjoy life?! What we have done in the transfer window (so far) is great. Smile and enjoy it. :D:);):sneaky::giggle::geek::LOL:
But ... our U-23 are not being seasoned in the Championship. It's the U-23s of other clubs that we are seasoning on their behalf. One is ok, two is find, but we now have four. Four kids that share one common thing ... they were coached by Cooper at age 17. It's laughable, when he has demonstrated that he struggles to organize a piss-up in a brewery with our seniors - players that are senior internationals, players with Prem league experience, players that are apparently not good enough .... yet these kids magically are.
 

Yankee_Jack

Key Player
... Really strange move because now the Swans have one loan over the limit. I'm guessing Kalulu or Wilmot are going to be left off the matchday squads.
Well ... nothing like good squad management. Is this overage net of Surridge's return. I guess counting is not one of Cooper's strengths either.
 

Victoria Swan

Key Player
But ... our U-23 are not being seasoned in the Championship. It's the U-23s of other clubs that we are seasoning on their behalf. One is ok, two is find, but we now have four.
If our midfielders from the U23s were at this moment, right now, shining like bright stars and scoring goals against Championship-like opposition at an alarming rate and insistently knocking on the door to get in the first team I would agree with you. They are not.

It is nuts to think that Connor Gallagher is no different as an U23 from our current U23 midfielders - he's already experienced AND accomplished in the Championship, he's scoring goals, he has a World Cup medal (won with our current gaffer) and many other teams after him. I just don't get it @Yankee_Jack, why are you so miserable about the current transfers? You would prefer to play our current U23s with their current skills and miss promotion playoffs? We can deal with replacing the loanees and promoting our own youth if/when we get promoted.

Maybe you just want to be a miserable ol' bugger? :(:sick:. To me this transfer window is (for the first time since relegation) a transfer window to be excited about :po_O. Stop pouring cold water on it! (Please)
 

ivoralljack

Grizzled Veteran
Staff member
I'm hoping that this influx of new players will motivate the others into upping their game. There's more competition for places now, so let's hope that we'll see a noticeable improvement in performance. Wigan should give us an indication.
 

Yankee_Jack

Key Player
@Victoria Swan Thinking just in the now is what has bedeviled this club since the firing of Laudrup. There are externalities and repercussions to every decision. We are playing at just over 1 point per game return. This is at a rate below our squad’s composition given its make up of senior players, internationals and players with Prem experience. We have one of the stronger squads in the division delivering significantly below par. The person responsible for this is Cooper. And, now magically he is going to deliver performance through an influx of 19 year olds. It is unlikely that Cooper is going to turn this around. It is highly unlikely that we can make the playoffs. It is extremely unlikely that we can be promoted. This season is now reduced to avoiding relegation.

Our player contract structures and terms have put us in a very difficult position at season’s end. A number of senior players are poised to leave. Nordfeldt has just done so. We have 5 players on loan that will disappear as well. This is going to be a serious culling of the current squad. The cupboard is going to be bare, very, very bare. Players in our U23 squad that are our assets are being denied the opportunity to step up and gain valuable time and experience in favor of imports. This is going to work against our best interest and undermine our future competitive capability. We are skint. We have been pleading poverty for over a year. We are not going to be spending to acquire players close season. We will instead have to rely on more loan players, free agents if we can find them, and our own maturing U23 who will not have had the benefit of playing this season alongside seasoned senior pros, And we will still have Cooper, who has demonstrated a dearth of inspiration and ingenuity.

Let’s take Conner Roberts and consider the cost of Cooper and these moves. His contract carries over, but if he has any aspiration to be an international player he has to get out of this club and move up to the Prem. He is not going to learn anything from Cooper. He has gone backwards. He is going to be playing Championship football when he needs to be playing, training and competing alongside Prem players in a Prem club. This is going to motivate him and his agent to initiate a move.

These loan players are all fine. They shall not make a difference this season. They can function fine, even shine as one amongst a bevy of good senior pros, but here, in his situation they will have to carry, individually and collectively, a much larger load an assume broader responsibility. They definitely don’t help us build for tomorrow; they are not our assets, they are more akin to inexperienced mercenaries.

I’m more than happy to eat crow. I said this with my opinion on Cooper at the time of his hiring. Unfortunately, Cooper turned out as expected to be Andy Pandy, and the crow is still in the freezer with little likelihood of being defrosted any time soon. Andy Pandy and lots of his toddlers are not our solution. It’s disappointing that Britton is complicit in this,
 
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Victoria Swan

Key Player
I give up @Yankee_Jack, it's all miserable and dire and there is no light at the end of the tunnel. There is no hope. The end of the world as we know it is nigh.

Nevertheless I will somehow drag my sorry ass out of bed for a 7:00 am kick off against Wigan this weekend and hope beyond hope that something, anything, will make me want to watch my Swans once again. I sure hope so and even if it is for the short-term gain of a few entertaining games this season (with the cost being a bankrupt club next year devoid of any players worth watching), well okay, I'll take it on the off chance that we'll get promoted and there will be hordes of entertaining and accomplished players banging on our door to excel for us in the Prem.

Maybe, if I am to take you as my guide, I'll be watching us desperately trying to avoid relegation.

In any event, I'll have a sunny disposition and an optimistic view of our future prospects not a miserable knee jerk reaction that means all is lost and anything Cooper does just reinforces a preexisting and unchangeable view that he is the worst manager since Blob Bradley. He's brought in some decent loanees for us, at least give him some credit for that.
 

CroJack

Key Player
Good points made by both of you, though I'm more with @Victoria Swan on this one.

I am looking forward to see Brewster, Gallagher and Guehi playing in the Swansea shirt as much as I'm looking forward to watch Rodon and Garrick when they are back from injuries. These youngsters are maybe what we need to start playing better football and even finish in top six. Who knows?

We needed a striker with real pace and athleticism and we got one in Brewster.
We needed a midfielder who fights for every ball, tackles, and scores goals...and we got one in Gallagher.

As for Roberts leaving, well good ridance. He has been underperforming this season and some of it is Cooper's fault, but most of it is Roberts' fault.

We can blame Cooper as much as we want for our style of play, but it's not his fault that players can't cross, pass, dribble and tackle. Ffs, these are basic things.
 

ivoralljack

Grizzled Veteran
Staff member
Agree with @CroJack that both VS and Yankee make some good points. How things pan out remains to be proved and of course we all hope that these signings will see us find some consistent form and make a realistic challenge for the top 6. Certainly Cooper has signed some excellent potential and must receive all due credit for that but potential is all they are right now. It remains to be seen if he can channel that potential into consistent game-winning performances. Of course that won't happen immediately. The new lads will have to learn to gel with the others which will take time but we should soon see some embryonic signs that things are getting better.

Mind you, Cooper has to find a balance. There is a danger that the existing squad might feel there's an element of favouritism in team selection at times, so Cooper must be prepared to select players on merit and bench those who aren't doing it, whoever they are. No one gets a free ride if they don't produce.
 

Yankee_Jack

Key Player
Regrettably my observation and assessment of Cooper at his time of hiring has been proven correct.

My assessment of what is happening now will be realized next season.

Thinking and planning at a football club have three thresholds.

Players are paid to think and deliver “today”

Head coaches are paid to think and deliver for “today” and “tomorrow”

Football Directors are paid to observe today, and think and deliver “tomorrow” and “beyond”.

What is happening “today” has, based on Cooper’s performance to date, limited probability of success and is compromising “tomorrow” and “beyond”. Next season our squad is going to be weaker than now with the same coach ... the light at the end of that tunnel is L1. I am always prepared eat crow. I have to yet to taste it.
 
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Yankee_Jack

Key Player
Our football, the stuff payed on the field, is bland, largely Ineffective, highly predictable, unimaginative, and tedious to watch. And, none of that addresses the performance of the coach on match day, which as we saw against Cardiff, lacks any tactical imagination or appreciation of how to use the players at his disposal.

Our league position flatters to deceive. Discount August and we’d be in dire trouble. We have Cobango and Wilmot playing beyond their years while others around them can barely take a corner kick or make a pass, or shoot on target. We have only just managed to get Surridge up to speed and he leaves. We now take on three new loan players and have to meld them into something functional. How long will that take. It’s not just a function of talent. And while these young mercenaries are starting, players like Fulton are festering on the bench .... next season Fulton is somebody we will have to rely on to provide leadership and performance.

Meanwhile our technical director can’t see the story the data in front of his eyes is telling him.

This is the reality.
 

CroJack

Key Player
Our football, the stuff payed on the field, is bland, largely Ineffective, highly predictable, unimaginative, and tedious to watch. And, none of that addresses the performance of the coach on match day, which as we saw against Cardiff, lacks any tactical imagination or appreciation of how to use the players at his disposal.
You know that I totally agree with you on this one. And as much as I am looking forward to see Brewster, Gallagher and Guehi in action, I am afraid nothing will change if we continue to hoof instead of pass the ball.
 

Yankee_Jack

Key Player
I would be absolutely ecstatic if the new loan players came in and delivered their full potential and inspired and drove others to raise their game also. It would be a delight. I could easily imagine what a Martinez, Sousa, Rogers, Laudrup or Potter could do with these kids. There would be an air of anticipation and excitement to every game. But we have Andy Pandy ... and he has subtracted value and performance from just about every player in the squad ... the only ones not impaired to date are Cobango and probably Wilmot.
 

Victoria Swan

Key Player
I am no supporter of Cooper @Yankee_Jack. Indeed, I would wholeheartedly agree that his failure to use any subs or change tactics in the Cardiff game was indicative of a manager flailing about with no overall direction for the team or plan for improvement. Yes, I'd like some width in our play, some better passing instead of hoofing, more shots on goal especially ones on target, and stop persisting with players who are failing like Byers (bring in Fulton) and Routledge (bring in any of our other wingers). A lot of this is down to Cooper and how he is using his squad and the training sessions. Agreed.

However ... you seem unwilling to grant the man ANY credit for anything he does. That indicates someone who is unwilling to watch the crow being prepared never mind eat it! To me it seems that you are willfully interpreting everything Cooper does as negative and automatically feeding into your negative bias. He doesn't stand a chance when held up against your uniformly negative template for him.

Freddie Woodman has been a saviour in goal for us and is entirely down to Cooper, these three new loanees are very promising and are entirely down to Cooper, Ayew's willingness to stay and his commitment every game is at least partly down to Cooper, our excellent away record from a largely unchanged approach to away games from home games is partly down to Cooper, the resurgence of Kyle Naughton is down to Cooper (I just wish he'd teach him to do throw-ins that take less than two minutes!).

There are other positives. They are not enough for most of us on here. But they are, in my mind, enough to build some hope on. Clearly they are not even enough of that for you. It seems like what is most important for you is for Cooper to live down to your initial assessment of him and fail regardless of the facts. Perhaps the difference here is I am an optimist wishing to see the glass as half full and looking forward with hope to watching my team; you are a pessimist willing the glass to be half empty and despondent about watching your team. The transfer window loanees are an excuse for me to enjoy my team and get excited about watching them on the weekend. For you the loanees seem to be yet another reason for you to despair of the team and arm yourself with ready-made criticisms before they even take to the field on Saturday. My condolences.

I am sorry if this seems like an attack on you personally. It is more an attack on the unceasing negativity on here and you just happen to have been in the line of fire! Yes, there's a lot wrong with what's going on at the moment, but there are also a lot of good things going on. For goodness sake we're one point off the play-off positions and we should celebrate that rather than keep pointing out how we wouldn't be there if it wasn't for August. Good God, we could be Stoke; THAT's a reason to complain. Let's not drown the good stuff in our rush to be the winner of "most critical poster" of the year award.
 

Victoria Swan

Key Player
To keep going on the positives here's how the BBC website described the Guehi loan: "Chelsea defender Guehi has joined on a loan deal which could run until the summer of 2021". In other words we could get him for 18 months neutralising one of your criticisms @Yankee_Jack. Also, WOL quotes Chelsea as exploring a 'special relationship' with Swansea as a team to use for the development of their youngsters. Given the number and quality of Chelsea's youngsters this can only be a good thing (IMHO).
 

ivoralljack

Grizzled Veteran
Staff member
Good to read the differing opinions on here and even better to see than we can argue our points without resorting to disrespect. :D Great to read your optimistic views @Victoria Swan which firmly reminds me of @Rainbow from our time on another forum. She was the ULTIMATE optimist about the Swans and would tolerate no criticism, no matter how justified, of her team as she put it. :) She particularly had a go at me if I'd had a go at the team and would fire a withering text at me for daring to do so! If that didn't do the trick, she'd phone me and let me have both barrels!! :LOL: Such a shame that the conduct of our owners drove her away from supporting the club because we could do with more of her kind. But she is a lady with firm convictions and high principles, which I can only respect her for.
 

Jackflash

Midfield General
Staff member
You know that I totally agree with you on this one. And as much as I am looking forward to see Brewster, Gallagher and Guehi in action, I am afraid nothing will change if we continue to hoof instead of pass the ball.
As you say Crojack, we now have a few more pieces to our jigsaw,but that question still remains, does Cooper know where to fit them,which pieces will he disregard to accommodate them,they are capable of a make or break situation to us. In situations like this Birch needs to have a quiet word with Cooper advising him that he needs to look to the advise of the experienced Curtis to hopefully get the best from the new arrivals.
 
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