Phil SumblerRussell Martin is a man with a plan. A very clear plan at that and that is to bring the style back to the way that the Swans play, something which has been sadly lacking for more than just the Steve Cooper area.
It is fair to say that last season was a hard watch at times. Sure, results were largely good as the 4th placed league finish tells you but how many games would you claim that you actually ‘enjoyed’ watching as a Cooper side stumbled through performances and entertaining, attacking football was at a premium at best.
The Swansea Way had long since disappeared, gradually eroded from that fateful day in February 2014 when it was decided that Michael Laudrup was to be replaced by Garry Monk. More than seven years worth of work – started by Roberto Martinez – had been wiped out overnight and from that point forward the football changed and has rarely returned since and certainly not for any sustained period.
It is one of the reasons why we say that we need to be patient as the new man in charge works on his plan with his squad and the backroom team that he arrived in South Wales with. This is not so much a change in style but a complete transition back to the old days.
And Martin knows all too well what those old days can do as he recalls his visit with Norwich back in our promotion winning season of 2011 where the Swans were simply unstoppable with a 3-0 win: “There was one game when Brendan Rodgers was manager. We were 3-0 down really quickly. That was a long afternoon and Swansea had a great team with Scott Sinclair and all those guys,” the Swans head coach told Wales Online.
“After speaking to people and asking what the fans expect, they’ve been indoctrinated in this style for a long time.”
It didn’t end there as promotion and close to three glorious years followed in the Premier League. Ask anyone about those times and they will recall some famous performances and wins where we were heavily praised at Anfield, won at some of the hardest places in the top flight and of course won a League Cup and competed in Europe. That is what the Swansea Way can bring us and they are days that Martin wants to bring back for the fans.
His vision it as clear as it was for Roberto back in 2007 when he returned to Swansea having left as a player just a few months before. The philosophy of Roberto was a simple one, football was played the same way throughout the club and he worked hard and endlessly to deliver that philosophy.
The similarities with Martin are plenty. You can see a man who will work for what he believes in and the fact that he has been here less than a week and has outlined so much and seemingly made progress on the transfer front is a clear testament to his plan and his vision.
“You try and take a little bit from everyone,” he added when asked about his preferred style of play.
“I played in teams who were dominant with the ball and loved it. I also played in teams who didn’t have much of the ball and hated it.
“My style is probably shaped by that and the teams I’ve enjoyed watching play football like Barcelona, Manchester City and Spain.
“I’ve tried to replicate that at the level I’m at and with the players I’ve had.
“If I didn’t do that I probably wouldn’t have gone into coaching or management. The aim is to put the vision of the team we have on the pitch.
“It’s a 90-minute game plan to try and dominate the ball. The more you do that, the more you take out of the opposition’s legs. We were fighting against a lot of 30-minute game plans last year. Unfortunately for us sometimes it was successful because we were only just starting out and some of the players weren’t ready, but more often than not we came out on top.”
The vision is clear, the plan is developed and evolving and Russell Martin is here to make the most of the opportunity he has. It feels like the good times are about to return, time to enjoy the ride again.
“If I wrote down a list of clubs that I’d like to work for in terms of culture and philosophy, then this club would have been listed near the top of a very short list for me” – Russell MARTIN
