FA Cup Swansea v Man City

Yankee_Jack

Key Player
A mixed bag of a game.

We started a B XI. Let's not forget that. You could argue the same about them but their B XI is expected to support player swaps between domestic and european competitions.

Having said that there are a few players I was disappointed with: Dhanda, Morris, Guehi. Dhanda was largely out of his dept. Morris was pretty much a non-entity past his first few sprints (please dear god, don't let Ayew get injured ... Ayew would have to play 5 games on the same day to look that knackered after 20 minutes). Guehi did some nice stuff but seemed to be a tad reserved and not comfortable playing with Manning outside him.

Lati is ok for Championship but not ready for EPL; he tried.

On the plus side .... Whitakker ... came on and took his goal well. A Cullenesque finish. I could see him starting soon enough. Ayew and Whitt could be a good combination.

Depth ... perhaps overly harsh to criticize ... but I expected more vim and vigor from our B players. You can't control talent and technical ability, but vim and vigor is entirely down to the player.

Forget about this now ... let's get promoted
 

CroJack

Key Player
I am disappointed with:

1. Team selection

Omitting Bennet from the starting XI is on Cooper. FFS, it's Manchester City we played against. We needed experience and the best back three for this occasion would have been Guehi-Bennett-Naughton imho. Lati's sloppy pass allowed City to score their third goal.

2. Our midfield

Too sloppy in possession. Grimes' sloppy pass allowed City to score their second goal.

3. Woodman

He is playing like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He makes some excellent saves, but his positioning and delivery is awful. Definitely to blame for City's first goal (Walker), and he should have done better for their second (Sterling). Narrow the angle and make yourself bigger!!!

4. Lack of high pressing

It's frustrating to watch the front two trying to press high and the other players not supporting them. The whole team has to take part in pressing and cutting the passing lanes.

5. Passing accuracy

We will never be a top Championship team if we don't improve our passing accuracy. What to say? We were even better under Monk than under Cooper, and I don't like it.
 
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ivoralljack

Grizzled Veteran
Staff member
I've long suspected that we might be in a false position in the table. We've done well for sure but there's no doubt that our lofty position has been aided by some of the fancied front-runners throwing away unlikely points. For an aspiring promotion winning team, our ball retention is appalling and our passing ability just plain diabolical compared with previous Swansea teams. Maybe the Championship, Brentford apart, is a poor league this season, and we've been cashing in on that but, for sure, we are way below the standard required to prosper in the Premier League even if we get there - and there's every chance we won't unless we show a marked improvement in our remaining games.
 

Jackflash

Midfield General
Staff member
I am disappointed with:

1. Team selection

Omitting Bennet from the starting XI is on Cooper. FFS, it's Manchester City we played against. We needed experience and the best back three for this occasion would have been Guehi-Bennett-Naughton imho. Lati's sloppy pass allowed City to score their third goal.

2. Our midfield

Too sloppy in possession. Grimes' sloppy pass allowed City to score their second goal.

3. Woodman

He is playing like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He makes some excellent saves, but his positioning and delivery is awful. Definitely to blame for City's first goal (Walker), and he should have done better for their second (Sterling). Narrow the angle and make yourself bigger!!!

4. Lack of high pressing

It's frustrating to watch the front two trying to press high and the other players not supporting them. The whole team has to take part in pressing and cutting the passing lanes.

5. Passing accuracy

We will never be a top Championship team if we don't improve our passing accuracy. What to say? We were even better under Monk than under Cooper, and I don't like it.
Seemed Cooper just wanted to get this game out of the way. As you say Crojack, who in their right mind fields a side like that against Man C.
Had that game been played in front of 20,000 + supporters he would have been slaughtered for his selection and tactics, I think he took advantage of the situation and let the fans down. I feel he intentionally threw that game.
 
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IanABS94

Key Player
I think so as well. He (and in my opinion) rightly just wanted to get City out of the way but issued a challenge to the fringe players to take this chance. I missed the match but saw Whittaker's goal which was fantastic for a youngster so I can see him perhaps having a role for the final portion of the season. How did the others get along?

A win vs City would've be amazing and had we been out of the playoff spots and not looking to push for promotion I would've wanted the best XI out there to face them but I see why and definitely understand. Losing Ayew, Hourihane or Bennett to long term injuries could have been devastating to our promotion hopes.

Brentford look the business, our best chance is to get 2nd and I don't think there is a team that is better value for 2nd than us, so let's focus on that 100%
 

Yankee_Jack

Key Player
I think we learned a lot about a few players. Morris is not ready and is ill suited to our style of football. He has a burst of speed but doesn’t have the stamina to put in a shift the way Ayew does. Whittaker on the other hand made the most of his cameo. Got an opportunity and scored. Lati is not ready for prime time yet. Dhanda does not have the body strength to be effective. He is too easily muscled off the ball and against better opposition doesn’t have the technical tools and speed to offset. Too often last night he played the ball backwards instead of forwards counter to his regular approach against Championship opposition.

woody ... we definitely need to get a replacement if promoted.
 

Yankee_Jack

Key Player
The table has turned in our favor against both Brentford and Norwich, we now have a game in hand against both and significantly superior GD over Norwich. We are well positioned for the last phase of the season. Both cannot continue winning shipping the goals they are. We on the other hand can keep on trucking.

one final thought v City .... a few seasons past we played Wolves in the cup when they were the superior team in the Championship. We won 2-0, not easily but not with any great difficulty. Wolves played their full first XI. In that context our B XI were not embarrassed in any way against City. All of us would have liked to have seen us field a stronger side and been more competitive, but we did better than ‘Pool the previous weekend,
 
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