Phil SumblerThe words of Russell Martin this week have been as interesting to listen to as they have been to look into in more depth and, whilst none of us want to be 19th in the league table at the beginning of February, we have to be careful not to make knee jerk reactions and decisions based on that alone.
We also have to understand why Steve Cooper moved on when he did. He moved on because he knew that, after two good seasons results wise, the challenge to repeat that again for a third was one he did not feel he wanted to undertake. That is not a criticism against him before anyone states it as such but a simple fact that one manager, with two play off appearances in his two seasons under his belt, wanted to make the most of the opportunities that would afford him. And he wanted to do it with a budget that he felt his achievements warranted. A budget that simply would not be available to him at Swansea City. No blame on him for that.
So then we come onto Russell Martin. The Swans put their faith in him during the summer and it was clear that he is a man with a vision and a belief that he can deliver what Swans fans will want him to deliver. It was not his fault that he was appointed exceptionally late in the summer window or that the January window is normally such a difficult one to get new players in. However, he has been backed by those who need to back him and we should lose sight of the fact that we added five new players in the January window, all of whom are anticipated to play some part in Saturday’s game with Blackburn Rovers. That tells you a story, this is turning slowly into Russell Martin’s team but we also have to accept that in some places and positions we don’t necessarily have the right players in the right positions. That still takes time and the summer transfer window will give us time to make the difference in that area.
It is really easy at the moment to point to the league position and compare it to a side that finished in the top 6 for the past two seasons. However, it is also a very short sighted comparison when it doesn’t allow for the simple fact that seven of the eleven players who started last season’s play off final against Brentford are no longer at the club. Again, that tells its own story when you are comparing two successive seasons.
The results of late have not been good and Martin will be the first to accept that but, again with a bigger picture in view, many of those games could have been completely different. Reading at home we threw away with sloppy mistakes, Huddersfield we had more than enough chances to win a game and even Tuesday we rued missed chances and could have/should have won? Add eight points to our tally now and the league table looks different. Fully appreciate at this point that it is a viewpoint of ifs and buts and the simple fact is instead of nine points we got one but it shouldn’t be completely avoided that it could have been very different with a better finish or a bit of luck at the right time.
So when Martin says – as he did after the defeat to Luton – things like this we can relate to it and take heed from the words. “We are not here to have a smash and grab season where we win and we don’t understand why or we just get lucky or we have one player who is on brilliant, brilliant form.”
We’re here to develop a team of players that improve over a long period of time. I was really honest with everyone that this wasn’t going to happen quickly. It doesn’t change my belief of what we’re doing here”
Time is a precious commodity for a football fan especially when we all remember fondly a seven year stint in the Premier League but time remains very much on our side. The work that Martin has done will not see us relegated this season and with a necessary rebuild of more than half of a first team squad that in itself is no mean feat no matter which way you want to look at it. But it is that work that means we do have time on our hands and we need to ensure that we don’t flinch from the strategy and plan we have in place, if we trust the process then we should not waiver from it when we are only a little over halfway through the season.
Fans will point at changes in managers working at other clubs and it is true that it can do but look at many of those clubs who change managers at the first opportunity (or moments of grumbling) and they do it frequently. We did it ourselves in the closing stages of our Premier League years – we changed managers in December quite often – and it did us no good at all. Maybe we are even still paying the price for that part of the strategy.
We should also not lose sight of the fact that we built our success in the first place over faith in young (largely unproven) managers who had a vision and made the club stronger. You know who they are but pretty much every appointment between Flynn and Laudrup made us better and even Garry Monk led us to a highest finish before he started to undo all the hard work. The progress of Swansea City should be seen as a longer term plan and not dictated by a few results 20-odd games into a managerial career.
In the summer we were all convinced that Russell Martin was the man for Swansea City and he reminded us of what he wanted to achieve when he spoke on Tuesday night: “We came in four days before the season start. There were many people not up for the challenge, we’re really up for the challenge.
“This year was always going to be about trying to develop and create something that the supporters want at this football club.”
The last sentence was clear and I firmly believe that Martin is on the road to do just that. Results are not good, performances sometimes can appear lacking but at the same time you can’t change a playing style overnight. Fans will point towards Martin’s reluctance to change his shape to accommodate the players but that is where he is coming from when he talked about “Winning games when we don’t understand why” – maybe a criticism of his predecessor there as well but let’s wash over that bit. Martin is a man true to his beliefs in the way he wants his teams to play and the more he has the players he wants at the club, those he is bringing in, then the benefits of trusting the process will be seen.
Flynn Downes, Jamie Paterson, Cyrus Christie, Ethan Laird were all Martin signings and they all command regular first team slots. Andy Fisher and Hannes Wolf have already appeared since joining the club and gradually we start to see a side having much more of a stamp of a Russell Martin side. On Saturday we could easily see 6 or 7 of the side that Martin built on the pitch and that is where he starts to really be able to assess (as will we) the progress of what he talked about ‘developing and creating’
The groans are understandable, the frustration over a low league position is understandable but this is a time when we need to stand firm, hold our nerve and support the backing that Martin has been given and realise that he is as much the man for Swansea City now as he was when he was appointed last summer.
Trust the process remember?
This article is spot on. Says it all. A complete change in style from the previous incumbent’s methods cannot be changed overnight. Martin has been completely honest and has not changed his tune from day one – the project will take time and there will be pain along that road. Exactly as he said, so why the grumbles?
Brentford is an example of a club that stuck to its project. Now they are reaping the benefits. QPR, Blackburn and Luton have retained their managers and plans and are also showing massive improvement. Patience is needed. Watford is an example of how NOT to do it.
The negativity will always be present when the league table doesn’t look pretty – once again, patience is necessary. League tables change and a couple of wins will see the negativity slither back under a stone … until the next defeat.
Once again, this article gets it right. Martin is doing exactly what he said he would do. We need another transfer window or two, and to give the coaches TIME to work their vision into results. It will come, but only if we SUPPORT our club, our team and our coaches.
Potter managed to change our style I think Martin is not our man.
What a load of rubbish.
Ask the former WBA about time and vision.
Martins a lame duck and we wasted £400,000
The “swansea way” is not giving the ball away in your own half
all the time,playing players out of position and grovelling to
the owners.
They pulled the plug on THREE deals in the window and Martins
oh Im getting backed off the owners and the chairman.
By the way the chairman is a puppet unlike the one before.
My Lord, do you happen to KNOW the finances of the club? Take a look at the world around you – inflation is rising, things are going to get a lot tougher. Maybe you’d like the explain the club’s financial position to the rest of us, seeing as you seem to know the future details.
As for playing style, the team is not yet finished. It will take time. I can remember some poor performances and results under Potter, too. Maybe you have forgotten those.
Everything about this article is spot on. And I would just add that Martin adds a pedagogy and a communication practice to his management that makes me all the more proud to support this club. He goes one further than the managers before him, I think (except for Potter, I think, who I would regard in a similar fashion), in thinking of footballers and staff as people first – and communicates that to the press time and time again. Telling a reporter this week not to judge Paterson (and: that the reporter’s idea of “being sick” belongs to a world of macho jargon that he’s prepared to challenge and attempt to eradicate) made me quite emotional. I would personally like to think that such a pedagogy is just as big a part of the “Swansea Way” as the playing style. I really, really respond to what he’s sending out and how he’s being honest with reporters and fans on a quite radical level if you think about it. I hope he’ll be with us for a long, long time!
Brilliantly put, Mathias. You can see RM’s obvious qualities, and that he is a man for now and the future. Fortunately, the majority of genuine supporters are behind him and actually ‘support’ and encourage the team, coaches and the project. And, the majority understand the concept of long-term.
I am also delighted the RM is not afraid to stand up to antiquated social values and is prepared to call out those whose values are stuck somewhere in the 1970s
I am glad that you have the conviction to speak up. Perhaps this will encourage the silent majority to show their support and not be put off by the belligerent and bullying minority.
You clearly understand the concept of long-term, understand the financial constraints on most of life, never mind just football and you understand the concept of good pedagogy.
It is time for true ‘supporters’ to support and to encourage the team and coaches.
I, too, hope that Russell Martin will be around for a very long time. In the words of that great comedic British institution, ‘This time next year, Rodney …’
No one learns from destructive criticism, so, the booing minority, think on.
By the way, Mathias, I love your comment and view about the ‘Swansea Way’ being far more than what we see on the football pitch. Graham Potter bought into that pedagogy, too. It is what brought him so much success in Sweden, a country that understands the importance of good pedagogy and good social values. Speak Truth to Power, my friend.