Phil Sumbler
Russell Martin was clearly not a happy man after the Swans 2-1 defeat at the Select Car Leasing Stadium last night but it was his statement that we keep making the same mistakes which rang the truest as the dust settled on another sub par Swansea City performance.
Martin’s use of words such as Pathetic and Poor told its own story but the reality is the man at the helm is overseeing the same mistakes and the team mentality must be that everyone accepts equal liability for what is becoming an exceptionally concerning run of form.
The Swans are now winless in eight games since the victory over Cardiff City at the Swansea.com stadium back in October but it is the nature of the defeats that will cause the biggest worries within the corridors of power as each of them seem as predictable as the others.
Defensive mistakes and a general slowness to our play have seen us fall behind in all three games since the World Cup break and whilst we managed to fight back against Coventry for a point the likes of Norwich and Reading have not been so generous although, truth be told, we did have chances last night to get at least a point.
Watford and Burnley will both visit SA1 within the next week and both will capitalise on any mistakes that we make and that will not be something lost on anyone connected with Swansea City let alone a manager who will come under increasing pressure if the next two games go against his side.
“We have spoken about the same things far too many times. We are having the same conversation after far too many games,” Martin told the official site after the defeat.
“We concede a goal from a set-piece that shouldn’t have been, we have a chance to deal with the ball, but we don’t.
“We then make a crazy decision to foul someone who is facing the corner flag. We give away a free-kick, we concede and we end up chasing again.
“We give away a second goal which is pathetic. We don’t follow the detail and that will perpetuate a myth that we concede loads of goals doing that, when we don’t.
“That is why we are where we are in the league. We don’t put points on the board. We function so well between the boxes, but we have a real problem with the mentality in our box because we do not give up a massive amount of chances but we are conceding from those situations too often.
“The goals we concede are hurtful, they are poor. We don’t make teams work for their goals when we have to work so hard to break teams down.”
The words are clear to listen to and read but the reality is that they need to hit home somewhere and they are words that cannot be repeated game after game. Russell Martin simply has to ensure that his team eradicate the errors and whilst he cannot account for silly mistakes in games, the fact that they continue means questions will be asked.
He is clear – and right – in what he said after last night’s defeat but they are words that we hear too often – as he has alluded to – and until that changes the pressure will continue to increase. And that is what he needs to avoid at all costs.
It all comes down to how the players are coached and instructed how to play ! Failure to abide by instruction, the player is in fear of being dropped from the side. Confidence is at an all time low, players will not take an opponent on in fear of loss of possession.
Play is so slow, players not making any movement to receive a pass, so pass back start again, repeat.
Try one touch football with movement and we might just get a reaction.
This style of play is not working and I doubt never will, so a change is required.