Phil SumblerOne of the biggest frustrations for me this season is that when things don’t go to plan (or more to the point go as they should) then we hear the same tired excuses over and over again and that was the exact case after the Swans dropped two points at home to Wycombe yesterday afternoon.
After everyone thought we may have turned a corner with wins at Millwall and Sheffield Wednesday it was back to the ‘same old, same old’ yesterday afternoon as the Swans were thankful to Wycombe opening the door for them to come back into the game rather than our overriding desire to get something out of a game that we have up on with more than 35 minutes to go.
We were barely at the races before Wycombe scored twice at the start of the second half and, if truth be told, we were never at the races for anything other than three minutes around the 80th minute when we were given the gift of a handball in the area to let us into a game that we didn’t seem to want to be part of.
After another afternoon of watching our incredibly pedestrian midfield offer our front line very little signs of creation Wycombe must have been wondering why this Championship lark is so difficult when they were so comfortable against – what the table told them – was the 3rd best team in the division.
The changes, when they happened, made by the Swans were purely like for like changes and not a single player (maybe Liam Cullen excepted) was able to have an impact in a game against a side who have struggled at this level all season.
Which is what then adds to the frustration when you hear the words of Steve Cooper after the game โIn a way you are happy with the point, but disappointed not to have won. I think it was a missed opportunity for us.
โWe did not play well enough in the first half with the ball, our positional play wasnโt quite right in the middle of the pitch.
โBecause of that we didnโt make enough passes and didnโt get up the pitch, and it had a knock-on effect.
โWe tried to sort that out at half-time, but the start to the second half was really poor and disappointing. They were two soft goals, and in that period we did not do the non-negotiables you have to do.”
These are the same words that we heard after defeats to Bournemouth, Cardiff, Birmingham and Preston.ย ย ย Maybe not exactly the same words in the same order but undoubtedly the same sentiment which continues to beg the question as to how we keep making the same mistakes.
Watford were beaten, Brentford only drew on a day where this was Swansea’s chance.ย Home against a side as good as relegated and we blew our opportunity.ย ย We should have had them under pressure from the first minute but we didn’t and we should have hit them with high tempo football and some incisive passing.ย But again we didn’t.
These no longer feel like excuses or reasons from the manager of a game where another opportunity is blown but when we keep doing the same things it is either something that is asked to happen or just that we aren’t good enough to do anything different.
And both of those scenarios are not comfortable to think about.
Ayew going off clearly affected us there was nobody there alongside Lowe to try and move theyโre back 4 around I felt bringing on Routledge was a tactical error for me Cullen should have come on a lot sooner all we can hope now is that Ayewโs injury is not serious we started the game well for the first 10 minutes and then the tempo dropped off completely for me the biggest weakness is Hourihane apart from set pieces what else does he really offer? Wycombeโs second goal was very lazy defending by him no determination to close the ball down we looked so much better when he went off and it has been like that at times in games when heโs not there yesterday was a must win game when you look at Watford and Brentford not winning that result could be a massive kick in the teeth for our chances of getting automatic promotion
Two points missed and another disappointment. But all the focus on Cooper when apportioning blame again misses the point and isnโt going to change anything. The players didnโt deliver again (though great to see Cullen back and making an impact). The root cause of the situation we are now in rests entirely with the owners and their lack of investment. Compare the investment in our team with Bournemouth, Watford and even Brentford. No manager in the world will be able to compensate for the distant owners failings, their bad decision-making in selling and players, and their inability to bring the right players at the right time is what is going cost us promotion. Letโs get real – this is not just about what is happening on the pitch over 90mins on match day. It is far more about what is happening in the USA.
This โblame the ownersโ mantra is getting a little tired now. Bit like me blaming Ford when Iโve put diesel in my petrol tank. The over riding impression of the last few weeks is a midfield that lacks creativity and energy. Grimes is meant to be a Technical maestro in a team that isnโt really built for passing. Other midfielders hard working but not really offering much.
By offering the same (or similar) excuses when Swansea miss opportunities, what Cooper is effectively doing is highlighting that the team are either not being shown ways of correcting mistakes (coaching) or not implementing the changes (so drop them).
Cooper should now forget automatic, & focus solely on a Game plan for the play offs. Get the players int he right mindset for a positive bash at getting promoted.
I am not saying that Cooper is not culpable tactically and motivationally in the tired performance of a team lacking creativity, which as it stands will struggle in the play-offs. But you however are missing the point entirely if you believe that the sole blame rests with Cooper.
Look at the bigger picture and look at the missed opportunities not just the bizarre failures of the jan transfer window, but of the general lack of investment in the club – a club which was after all in the PL when the Americans took over. Yes Cooper is struggling now but he has not been backed by the owners when he should have been if they had any genuine and realistic view of building a promotion winning team. This is what Graham Potter quickly discovered in the summer transfer window shortly after his appointment and it was predictable (and I said so at the time) that he would leave by the end of the first season, which of course he did. Cooper has lasted almost two seasons. Is he likely to leave? Unless we are promoted then probably as his reputation outside of the club seems to be quite high. Will a new manager provide the answer of a promotion – probably not because the basis of the way in which club is being run will have not changed. My focus now is simply hope that somehow, someway, we can get through the play offs and back in the PL. then will the owners invest properly – I doubt it.
I’m sorry I think you are wrong about January.
3 players, obafemi, Morris and Arriola. All lost to injury. Hourihane started well, now feels a little like a square peg.
Whether you like it or not, this season has been more of a positive than negative.
Whether Steve Cooper can turn around the fanbase? Somehow I don’t think so.
I agree that this season has been generally very good and i was pleasantly surprised up until the disappointing down turn in form which has been shown in the results since the Norwich game.
I disagree about the Jan signings. The quality of these January signings say it all about the lack of support for Cooper at the time it was most needed: two unproven, injury prone Americans and a young Derby forward unable to cut it in a derby team struggling at the bottom of the championship (but he was bought to be one for the future – and cooperโs hand has been forced to play him now because of the failure of the American signings). I concur re your assessment of Hourihane however.
I am not defending Cooperโs current tactical and motivational performance but I am firmly of the view that no manager would have made a difference to this team because of the limitations placed upon him by the decision-making of the owners. Scapegoating Cooper is not going to improve the swans chances of getting back in the PL. In fact these play-offs (whilst not yet confirmed), may be our only chance to get back in the PL for many years to come.
Those fans now calling for Cooperโs head will be doing so again quite soon with any manager who follows Cooper. Why – because the owners will continue to under invest and not learn from their mistakes. Their model appears to be the usual approach taken to the ownership British football clubs by American business. It is hardly ever successful. But having said this I passionately hope Cooper and his team make it through the play-offs.