Phil SumblerAs disappointing Saturday’s go on the pitch yesterday was right up there with anything we have been served up at any stage in the time since we dropped out of the Premier League.
Indeed I think we could have still been playing now at this point in time and probably would not have scored a goal by now or – even more likely – troubled Neil Etheringhton in the Birmingham goal who will have had fewer quieter days in his career.
The writing was on the wall early when Hannes Wolf sacrificed a great chance to shoot at goal instead plumping for an aimless ball across the box to, well nobody really. That summed up much about where Swansea City are these days.
But when we sit and reflect on the game itself what five things can we take from a game that we simply should have lost.
1. Losing key players gives us nothing left -Jamie Paterson and Flynn Downes have both been key players for us this season and without them we were left lacking at both ends of our midfield. There is nothing we can do about injuries at times but what it does do is highlight the complete lack of depth in our squad.
2. We have nothing to play for so why not give youth a try? – It may be a slight contradiction to point 1 above but this is that time of season that managers don’t often have the luxury to experiment. Martin does so why not give the likes of Joseph or Congreve a chance in the first team. Ogbeta looked one of the higher points when he came in and the only way we will understand if these players are good enough is to try them. Maybe not in the intensity of the next league game but in the games after that?
3. Pass and move without the move – We have said it before and we will say it again. We have no off the field movement. And on the rare occasion we do show some then we always elect for the simple ball, normally sideways or backwards. For the kind of game that Martin wants to play to work then movement is a must and when we are still experiencing the same issues in March then you do actually wonder if the lack of movement is by design and not for any other reason.
4. SHOOT! – I mentioned above a chance wasted in the early stages by Hannes Wolf where he elected to pass when a shot was on and he was not the only one to bypass that opportunity when presented with a sight of goal yesterday (Even from distance) Ryan Manning has scored a couple this season because he is prepared to have a go from distance and we need to do more of it. Not all the time but it feels at times as if we are afraid to shoot rather than just reluctant.
5. Same old excuses – “Players are tired”, “Lacking intensity”, “basic mistakes” and my personal favourite is a “lack of pre-season” – yesterday we simply were not up to it and we should not look to blame that on long bus trips or anything else. We were second rate throughout the game and the manager will take more credit by admitting that rather than dressing it up to be anything positive. Because there were no real positives (maybe Ogbeta apart)
Those five points perfectly sum up the season under Martin.
I’d also throw in the lack of penalties due to inability to drive into the box and our appalling record at dead ball.