Not Just Us

[jackodiamonds]

Planet Swans posted this today about Martin's poor man management and the suspicion that he is a divisive personality that marginalises potentially useful players to the detriment of the team, something many of us have been saying for a while now. Very interesting to see the story from his MK Dons days painting a similar picture.

 

[Yankee_Jack]

No smoke without fire.

Credit to Cullen, Fulton, Benda et al for sticking to it.

 

[Yankee_Jack]

The article discussed the disappearance of Ryan Bennett. According to Transfer Market (Ryan Bennett - Player profile 22/23), Bennett left the club in September 2022 and joined Cambridged United this month.

I'm damned if I recall any communication about Bennett leaving the Club. No thank you's. No well wishes. Just poof gone.

Now ... let's do a comparison ... not the biggest fan of Bennett was I, but FFS on any given day more deliberative and steady than Darling has been and ever looks like he could be. Ash Williams was a rock at Darling's age and we acquired him from Stockport.

In reading the MK Dons article, just realized that Sorinola also had been at MK Dons under Martin. Yet another pet acquired, yet another pet not really performing to expected levels.

Martin has really brought nothing to the Club other than a broken theory of the game, no connections in the game, and weak acquisitions of lower league players. Why persist with this?

 

[jackodiamonds]

Absolutely my stance. I do not understand how anyone supports Martin. He's achieved nothing here. No progress, no evolution, no development. Look at how Vincent Kompany transformed Burnley from defensive Dycheball to a progressive, entertaining team in a single summer. Not even a single season, because he's already got the team playing like that. There's a good video about it I'll link to later. That's a manager, and that's a transformation. Martin is treading water while alienating half the squad. I just don't see the attraction.

 

[jackodiamonds]

Here's the Vincent Kompany Burnley vid:

 

[Yankee_Jack]

Burnley are the Swans with a plan and technical quality and consistency

we were used as a comparative at least twice in the video

 

[ivoralljack]

I note they do INTENSIVE practise in training, often staying on late and they also make sure their fitness levels are top drawer. Lessons that our lot should absolutely take on board. No matter how good your intentions might be in a move (carrying the ball; supporting the man on the ball; finding valuable space etc), you have no chance of executing them if your legs have gone.

 

[CroJack]

Look at how Vincent Kompany transformed Burnley from defensive Dycheball to a progressive, entertaining team in a single summer.

I thought you hated possession based football?

The video analysis says that Burnley play almost the same style of football as we do, just with much better and fitter players.

1. A lot of possession
2. A lot of short passes
3. Building slowly and patiently from the back
4. Forcing opposition to move from side to side until a gap opens

The difference between Swansea and Burnley?

Burnley have an excellent goalkeeper and much better defenders than Swansea.

Arijanet Muric save % is 71.8, Steven Benda's 60.9.

They have Connor Roberts and we have Joel Latibeaudiere and Matty Sorinola.

They are clinical in front of goal and ruthless at the back.

Swansea have slightly more shots and shots on target this season and yet Burnley have scored 15 goals more than Swansea. Burnley are best at goal conversion in The Championship. 15.06 % of all shots are converted into goals. Swansea goal conversion is 11.2 %.

Swansea allow as many shots against per game as Burnley and yet we have conceded 12 goals more than Burnley. Though, Swansea have conceded 12 shots on target more than Burnley. It seems that all of these shots on target conceded have ended in the Swansea net.

All of this is pointing at the lack of quality in the Swansea squad.

Burnley are first and Swansea second at gegenpressing, but Burnley are best in the Championship when it comes to build-up disruption, whilst Swansea are mediocre in this department.

They are fitter and I bet their back four don't lack pace.

Burnley are, together with Stoke, the best pressing team, but Swansea are not far away when it comes to pressing.

The difference in allowed passes per defensive action is insignificant: Burnley 10.93, Swansea 11.73

 

[ivoralljack]

I thought you hated possession based football?

I think JOD, like me, enjoys possession football providing it is done properly and combined with fitness and pace....... as you pointed out. Burnley have a better coach than us and better quality players....... again as you say. Not only that, they select the best players for the job whilst Martin shoehorns players into his lineup because he favours their presence on the field. The fact that they're not best equipped to do the job he wants from them appears to be a matter of indifference to him. Kompany is far too experienced and far too professional to fall into that trap. Despite his denials, Martin has often been guilty of playing square pegs in round holes and that has cost us many points.

 

[Yankee_Jack]

Experience is everything. Look at Kompany’s pedigree v Martin’s. If nothing else K has seen it done by the best, and been there done that. In comparison, Martin is nothing. He’s Monk, with a worse record than Monk, except that Monk played under Martínez, Sousa (sort of), Rogers and Laudrup. Monk had been exposed to quality, Martin hardly any at all.

 

[jackodiamonds]

As @ivoralljack said, I don't hate possession football, I hate possession for the sake of it. A team should be designed to score goals. If it achieves decent possession in doing that, then fine, but you don't have to dominate possession to score, and scoring is after all the point.

@CroJack - if Swansea's players are not good enough to play the style Martin has implemented, then is that a failing of the players or the manager? My axe to grind is with Martin for consistently misusing many of his players while chasing others out of town, and implementing a system that does not get the best out of the players at his disposal.

I'm not saying Martin should ape Burnley's style - as you pointed out, he's clearly trying - I'm saying Kompany changed his teams identity over one summer because he had a clear vision and was able to identify and bring in the players to carry it out. Martin has a clear vision and has brought in his own players too, but his players can't play his system any better than the existing Swansea players can, and his vision doesn't consistently achieve good results.

Martin fails where Kompany succeeds because he is either too stubborn or lacks sufficient tactical nous to figure out how to get his teams players performing at their best, which is ultimately a manager's only real job.

 

[CroJack]

if Swansea's players are not good enough to play the style Martin has implemented, then is that a failing of the players or the manager?

Definitely the manager.

It took Martin a year to finally abandon 3 at the back formation where our slow centre-backs played as full-backs close to the sidelines and our full-back Naughton played in the middle of the back three. Then he started playing three slow dedicated centre-backs in a narrower shape, but still preserving a high back line. In both cases we conceded a lot of goals either from counter-attacks or after losing the ball in dangerous areas in our own half (either dispossessed or made sloppy passes under the pressure). A good manager wouldn't need a year and a half to see what's wrong.