Swansea City (H) League 1- Saturday 25th August 2007

[Welsh_Saddler]

Yes indeed - unfortunately Swansea turned up and decided to play :cry:

[leics_saddler]

I wonder what it would take for our lot to do the same.
Is a young man dying on the training ground not enough for them?

[Flemish Saddler]

very bad result!!! This will be a long and difficult season :?

[waffle]

It was never going to be a walkover this one but it seems that we are in for a long hard slog this season.

[BathSaddler]

Disappointing defeat to say the least. Even more disappointing when you consider that all the other promoted clubs - Hartlepool, Swindon and Bristol Rovers - are doing pretty well with only one defeat between them. Interestingly, none of whom have strengthened significantly from last season.

A lack of strength in depth today. A pity Nicholls/Deeney were not on the bench rather than Sonko and Mr Powderpuff.

[Darlosaddler]

i thought sonko looked quite good, same old story though, no midfield no real threat up front.

[latviancheese]

I wonder what it would take for our lot to do the same.
Is a young man dying on the training ground not enough for them?

I cannot believe someone is saying that.

[Scooby]

I said before the season started that this squad isn't good enough and was shot down in flames when idiots were saying that we were gewin up. lets face facts we are in for a struggle and please don't shout at me and the likes of tinned for telling the truth rather than blind optimism. we have been here before and desperatly need to strengthen the squad.

Don't panic, MMF said we would be ok!! :wink:

[Cheesebag]

I said before the season started that this squad isn't good enough and was shot down in flames when idiots were saying that we were gewin up. lets face facts we are in for a struggle and please don't shout at me and the likes of tinned for telling the truth rather than blind optimism. we have been here before and desperatly need to strengthen the squad.

Don't panic, MMF said we would be ok!! :wink:

:D :lol:

[leics_saddler]

I wonder what it would take for our lot to do the same.
Is a young man dying on the training ground not enough for them?

I cannot believe someone is saying that.

Well I've just found out that a close relative has died suddenly, though I agree I might have been a bit hasty.
There are indeed more important things to worry about than football - see you all next season.

[Pedro]

Deadline day this week , we need some new players else it going to be a long cold winter :cry:

[SaigonSaddler]

Give them 10 games to gell and I think we'll be alright. Not real promotion contenders but good enough to stay up with ease. Finish : 8th - 12th.

[Scooby]

How slow did Ropes, Dobbin, Sonner and Wrack look today, they were 2 yards off the pace-me thinks some extra training is in order or a stint in the stiffs. I thought we did ok in patches but the game was lost in midfield. Ishy did quite well, Butler was better than he was pre-season, but boy we are 'carrying' too many passengers. If I was DD, I don't think I would be content with my squad prior to friday's deadline.

[Jorge14]

Disapointing, but as with last week, we could easily have won this game if it wasn't for the niggly mistake. We should have been 2 up in the first 10, Butler should have scored two more than he did, and Paul Hall could have had a couple himself. Interesting to speak to a Swansea fan afterwards who said that he thought Sonner was excellent.

[Cheesebag]

Give them 10 games to gell and I think we'll be alright. Not real promotion contenders but good enough to stay up with ease. Finish : 8th - 12th.

I hope you are right but this squad is no better than the one that got us relegated last time. lets just hope the manager can make the difference.

[Plastic Hawk]

Not a good performance at all. Swansea found it very easy to break through our midfield (although the central two and Ishmel were ok when we had the ball), we lacked a cutting edge up front and there were too many silly individual errors all over the pitch.

That said, we were slightly unfortunate in a way. Their first two goals were both because of unfortunate deflections (and the second may not even have crossed the line, although my gut reaction at the time was that it did) and the third due to an idiotic pass across the face of goal from Wrack. At the other end Hall hit the post and both Dann and Sonko had efforts cleared off the line. A better finisher than Butler might easily have had a hat-trick too (goal plus rebound when Hall hit the post, free header and clear shot when clean through both in the last 15 minutes).

On that performance we're not going to be challenging at the top of the table, but if we can step it up 5-10% and a few breaks go our way then I still don't see why we can't be comfortably clear of the bottom 4 (say 14th-18th).

[sj]

Scooby--- I saw the same game as you.Ishy looked good but we were slow to all second balls in midfield. They moved the ball around faster than we did. Better team really, we need to build from here.

It was a good game until that pass by wrack :cry:

[NeechezTheSaddler]

Flattering scoreline to swansea. We matched them, but they were the luckier team.

Ince - Bad day for him. Came out when wasn't needed and luckily they didn't capitalise. Was probably at fault for first goal
Weston - Played well, took a lot of stick from the swansea fans. Adjusted well to CB
Roper - Not great. Ridiculous decision to concede for the penalty. Rightly sent off
Dann - Solid, but not as good as we've probably come to expect
Boertian - My man-of-the-match. How refreshing to have a full back where his first thought isn't to lump it forward. Very good.
Hall - Played alright, the lack of pace is horrible though
Wrack - Terrible pass for the penalty. Not spectacular
Dobson - Played well in my opinion, unlucky to come off
Sonner - Poor
Butler - Did well, he just can't put it into the net EDIT - I just remembered he scored :lol: He needs to be able to put it in the net when theres a goalie in front of him then.
Ishy - Started off very promising as forward. Faded out though when he was put on the wings

Subs

Sonko - Played ok, nasty tackle. Very nice volley though and unlucky not to score
Fox - Crosses weren't up to standard but the usual Fox performance
Carneiro - Didn't do much in a very short amount of time

Overall - A disappointing performance, what made it worse was that they didn't look great either. I was sure the second goal didn't cross the line and the ref didn't impress me at all.

[priestley_saddler]

First the positives: Wasn't the weather gorgeous!! Now for the negatives.

In truth on another day we could have got something, however I remember writing exactly the same thing this time last week. We took the lead, conceded firstly from a deflection, then with a goal which may not have crossed the line (from the back of the F2G lower I hadn't got the best view), and then a blatant penalty. Butler scored one, with a bit more composure might have got two more in the second, the first a header when he had enough time to let it drop and smack it, the second a weak left footer. Sonko had a rocket cleared off the line, but only after he'd nearly got himself sent off in an attempt to make Ishy look like a guardian angel. He made a rash tackle then booted the ball away, two bookable offences but only punished once. However, anything other than an away win would have been an injustice, Swansea ran the midfield (wasn't that little bald guy in the yellow shirt great for Swansea?? He hogged the touchline all through the game and caused us all sorts of problems). DD clearly prefers Sonner to Dobson in the middle, something which concerns me a lot as I think Dobson been slightly the better of the two so far.

Overall this is the most disappointed I've been for a while, Swansea were everything we weren't and were well worth their win.

Ince - Could have done better for the first goal, didn't seemed to dive until after it had been deflected straight at him. Came for crosses he as never going to reach and had one or two crazy adventures outside the box.
Weston - Not as impressive as last week. Looked a bit afraid to tackle, especially in the first half. Did seem to improve after the break, although this might have been down to the 'encouragement' he was receiving from the Swans fans.
Boertein - Solid enough, came forward well, the pick of the back four.
Dann - Got sponsors MOTM, but didn't look as assured as normal. Wasn't at his peak last week, and those who said after the Carlisle game he was cut above this league may have spoken prematurely. Still young, still learning and I'm confident he'll return to his early form.
Roper - Why didn't he just let the Swans player shoot? At least had he scored we'd have had all 11 men on the pitch to try and mount a comeback, was never going to win the tackle. Passing was as bad as ever, even without the red card it would have been tempting to recall Gerrard for Gillingham.
Wrack - Oh dear! Got my MOTM vote last week, never threatened to scale those heights this time around. Made a couple of promising runs but was largely anonymous. Can claim an assist for Swansea's third and should pay Ropers red card fine for him.
Dobson - As I said above, better than Sonner, but not good enough. Swansea ran the midfield. He doesn't play a captains role, with the right midfield partner could be effective. Unfortunately that partner isn't Sonner.
Sonner - Lucky DD rates him so highly as it should have been him pulled off in the last two games instead of Dobson. Has been removed from the majority of set piece duties though.
Ishmel - Tried hard, kept his head, and forced the keeper into a top save just after the opener. Deserves to keep his place and justified his selection. Withdrew with cramp.
Hall - Didn't start great on the wing but looked a different player when moved up front. Flashed a dangerous shot across goal just after the break. Arguably looked our biggest threat.
Butler - Scored one, and with a bit more sharpness might have had a hat trick. If this was a performance to try and prove his commitment then it worked. Looks like he will be a key player. After a lot of consideration, just edges out Hall for MOTM.

Subs

Sonko - A mixed bag. Looks lively, likes to volley the ball, should have scored but might have been sent off before that.
Fox - Solid enough when he came on, never looked like he was going to be the key that unlocked the Swans defence, but did what he knows and did it well.
Carneiro - Came on late and didn't have time to make a significant impact.

BRING ON THE GILLS!! :wink:

[Stu]

To be honest, we were comfortably 2nd best today, once again struggling against pace and movement of a team going forward.

Although, that being said, we created a few chances today as we were playing against a shambolic unorganised defence. Two cleared off the line (not bad luck, just basic defending of having a man on near and far post), a looping header against the Bar and Butler wasted 3 good chances (twice through at a 45% angle and one free header).

But then again, Daryl Duffy twice missed clear one one ones with Ince as well...

So on the whole Swansea edged it, but as with Cheesebag, I thought this season would be a struggle (although a circa 14-16th place struggle) and see nothing to change my mind.

Against pace and movement our defense doesn't know what to do, we were exposed a number of times. The midfield was completely over-run with Swansea's quick tempo, quick passing football causing us problems, whilst going forward we were a bit predictable and our chances on the whole came from Swansea's fairly diabolic defending that will cost them any hopes of promotion that they have got.

And to all those going mad at the lino for giving their 2nd goal, it was quite clearly a foot over the line to be honest. What were you complaining about?

Ince - Absolute howler. Responsible for the 1st, beaten at his near post on the 2nd and looked shakey all afternoon
Weston - First two goals came from players running at him and getting a shot away without any challenge, disappointed.
Boertein - Solid on the whole, kept Leon Britton very quiet, MOTM for me.
Dann - As with last week, the improved quality is causing problems for Dann as he seems to struggle against pace and movement. Don't know how he got MOTM, he was okay, but not good.
Roper - Bit of a liability to be honest, got booked, you could see the 2nd yellow card coming but he got a red before it instead.
Wrack - Anonymous till the 65th minute when he put a ball across the face of his own half for Duffy to intercept and win a penalty.
Dobson - Over-ran against the pace and movement, but okay game, surprised he was taken off, better than Sonner.
Sonner - As per Dobson, except not as good as Dobson
Hall - Some nice touches, some nice things but his lack of pace restricted us going forward. Not a striker, not a striker, not a bloody striker.
Ishmel - Not a striker, not a striker, not a bloody striker. Struggled to get involved at all when up front, did a little better out wide but we were so laboured we never got him the ball when he could have used it. we waited till they got back in numbers before giving him the ball.
Butler - Good game, but 3 poor misses to be honest. Failed to hit the target with the first one, 2nd straight at the keeper and 3rd a rushed header he should have done better on.

Sonko - Could have been red-carded for 2 yellows on the same incident. First a studs up challenge that was a yellow, then booted the ball 50 yards when the ref gave a free kick, that was his 2nd yellow. Ref bottled it and gave him one. Looked very weak, but quick and pacy, didn't seem up for any physical challenge. One sensational volley that was cleared off the line.

A game of missed chances for both teams, but Swansea deserved the win in my opinion. 5-6 would probably have been a more realistic scoreline, seriously.

Need energy and legs in the central midfield and still need some pace up front. The step up in quality is clear to see and we have to react to it.

Not all doom and gloom, but the warning signs are clearly there to see... We've got 6 days to rectify them, as I don't fancy going through till the New Year with this squad.

[Bernie]

A very poor performance.

We had nothing at all in midfield. Sonner was dreadful and should have been taken off at half time. Dobson was slightly better, but has yet to give any evidence that he is good enough to play in midfield at this level. Hall and Wrack are too slow, both in reacting to situations and in forward movement to be both played in the same side as wide midfielders.

Ian Roper had the worst game I have ever seen him play. Martin Butler took his chance well, but apart from that was ineffective.

Ishmel looked much more effective up front than on the wing, where he received almost no service. He again showed how right DD was to leave him out for 49 matches last season. NOT.

Why did DD switch half way through the first half and put Hall up front instead of Ishmel? What is point of Paul Hall up front? Come back Hector Sam all is forgiven.

Weston did not look good when under pressure at full back.

Bright performances from Scott Dann and Paul Boertein.

While it would obviously be great to sign a decent striker, but it is more urgent that we get two new centre midfielders.

[Neuromantic]

So will Bonser put his money where his mouth is???????




















































No. :?

[sack]

o I take it all back we are grate. 3/1 yes just grate.

[Wyrley_saddler]

Ok, we've had anoyther dissapointing result. But out of all the promoted teams we've had a hard start.

Carlisle - Play-off team
Orient - Tipped to be the suprise package for promotion
Swansea - Play-off team (plus we never beat Swansea)



As a team today, I can't fault the performance and effort. But there are a few individual performances that can easily be criticised.

[latviancheese]

A very poor performance.

We had nothing at all in midfield. Sonner was dreadful and should have been taken off at half time. Dobson was slightly better, but has yet to give any evidence that he is good enough to play in midfield at this level. Hall and Wrack are too slow, both in reacting to situations and in forward movement to be both played in the same side as wide midfielders.

Ian Roper had the worst game I have ever seen him play. Martin Butler took his chance well, but apart from that was ineffective.

Ishmel looked much more effective up front than on the wing, where he received almost no service. He again showed how right DD was to leave him out for 49 matches last season. NOT.

Why did DD switch half way through the first half and put Hall up front instead of Ishmel? What is point of Paul Hall up front? Come back Hector Sam all is forgiven.

Weston did not look good when under pressure at full back.

Bright performances from Scott Dann and Paul Boertein.

While it would obviously be great to sign a decent striker, but it is more urgent that we get two new centre midfielders.

Why did you have to bring that up? Its boring now, stop going on about it.

[Plastic Hawk]

For what they're worth, my player ratings:

Ince - 5: Unlucky with the first half goals (the second one should go down as on own goal by him) but generally indecisive and not a shadow of last season's player.
Weston - 6: Mostly solid, offered more going forward than Boertien.
Boertien - 5. Nothing going forward at all and occasionally caught out of position when Swansea attacked down our left. Better option than Fox though.
Dann - 7. Solid, but not as commanding as he often was last season. Unfortunate to have a header cleared off the line in the 1st half.
Roper - 6. Decent performance until the sending off. Not the quickest on the turn but never looked in any real trouble. Given no chance when sent off, but maybe should have just let the guy go (he could have fluffed the chance).
Wrack - 3. A passenger again. Well off the pace and gifted Swansea the final goal. Should have been the player replaced for all three substitutions today Hasn't made a contribution on the pitch for 4-5 years now and should have been released, not given a three year contract - even if it was on reduced money. If he thinks I'll be contributing a penny to his testimonial fund he should think again.
Dobson - 5. Distribution was ok today, but was too easily bypassed when Swansea had the ball.
Sonner - 6. See Dobson, but has a slightly greater range of passing.
Ishmel - 7. Bright, without ever really threatening to score. Seemed to get his head up and look for a pass more than last season. Still doesn't look like a striker at all, but should start on the left wing. Shouldn't be getting cramp after 65 minutes though.
Hall - 6. Off the pace, but set up the goal (accidentally) and hit the post in the first half. Better than Mark Wright, but not by much.
Butler - 6. Scored, but missed three other chances. Needs to be sharper and never looked like competing physically with their centre backs.

Subs:
Sonko - 7. Looked like he might have something about him. A couple of decent volleys, one headed off the line.
Fox and Carniero: Not really on long enough to have an impact.

[sj]

Stu-- I think Ishy will be ok up front. Each and evey defender bicks it when he has the ball. The problem we have is that we cant get the ball to him :cry:

[Burnside]

Having seen all but 1 of the First Team Pre Season games and two home games of this season.

Not even a magician of immense power could bring in the number and quality of players we are going to need to be competative in this division for 90 minutes.

The guys who mention pace and movent causing problems are spot on.

Clayton rarely has days like that.

Weston has been at the Aranalde / Mark Wright school of defending - let them shoot and cross.

Butler, and other strikers. I'm sorry. You work hard and do your best but you're just not good enough finishes. Service cannot be blamed.

It's not all doom and gloom. i'm backing Dicky to make the best of a bad situation.

[Wyrley_saddler]

the referee and the linesman by the WBBS stand were very poor. If there was a FA assessor they should both be dropped.

[Bernie]

Ishmel looked much more effective up front than on the wing, where he received almost no service. He again showed how right DD was to leave him out for 49 matches last season. NOT.

Why did you have to bring that up? Its boring now, stop going on about it.

Since you mention it then I will explain. Thank you for giving me the opportunity.

Ishmel showed he was good enough to play in the first team two years ago when he made 18 starts and was clearly as good as anyone else in the team.

Last season DD left him out of the first eleven for the first 49 matches, even from the Paint cup and also from the pre-season friendlies. When he actually gets a chance he shows that was a ridiculous nonsense to leave out a player with speed, skill and real potential.

That is why I am not going to stop going on about it.