Rob Davies
Two wins in sixteen games would leave any manager in a precarious situation and there’s no doubt that the pressure will be turned up on Russell Martin this evening as the Swans host Blackpool.
All the positivity that came with the fine run and a 4th place in the Championship after a 2-0 win against Cardiff City in October has been quickly eradicated by two wins since that date.
One of those victories came against a team with ten men for the majority of the game and the other (Watford) in the midst of an injury crisis not really seen before – it could be argued without those two factors we would be sitting with no win since Cardiff?
It’s difficult to understand how things have collapsed so badly over the past months but there can be little doubt that the fanbase is starting to ask questions over Martin’s future at the helm.
Indeed many clubs would have pulled the trigger long before now especially in the backdrop of the 21/22 campaign which was widely regarded as a free hit for the manager to implement his plans and ideas.
There can be little argument that all the evidence so far points to a system that doesn’t work, no progress, many disagreements with players and a team lacking shape, structure and cohesion; especially in defence.
The saving grace tonight may be in the opponents with Blackpool the single team with a poorer defence than Russell Martin’s Swansea and languishing at the foot of the table under Mick McCarthy.
A win at all costs is necessary as a defeat by a team so poor in defence and with their own injury crisis should only be greeted by further serious questions about the position of the manager. And not just from us, from over the Atlantic.
Let’s hope we can do the job this evening for everyone’s sake?
We have every advantage going into tonight’s game .We play a team at the bottom of the league,with some ten injured players and a manager from a time gone by.They also have a 260 mile journey possibly without an overnight stay .
How can we lose?
Well against that we have a goalkeeper who will almost certainly make a critical error and a system that will at some point send both full backs and all mid field players forward st the same time -and we all know what that leads to!
Despite this surely we’ll win tonight . Won’t we?
They have to win AND be really dominant, I think. A scrappy win just won’t do at this stage against this kind of opposition.
I _would_, and I will, make the argument that the system works, there’s been progress, there’s a strong bond between players and staff and a real sense of unity on top of a really clear identity, structure and shape. So put your opinion forward, please do, but don’t write it up as the only sensical opinion out there.
If that is a system that works, then I’d dread to see one that didn’t!
Time for a change its not working
System works for parts of games. Maritn just can’t make it work for whole games and he can’t or won’t adapt to what is in front of him when things do go right.
Yes the trouble is them two who own our club Levien and Kaplan will not sack RM because they are so tight with thyere money that they would prefer him to resign as they do not won’t to spend money on the club either way and that is why the club find it self in the situation it is in now them two do not believe in investing money into a football club just take what they can out of it and if we do not start winning we could find ourselves looking at relegation and them owners you will not see backsides for dust as they will won’t to sell the club then but there again for the good I hope.
Jeff is right .The system works for parts of games and then we commit too many players forward and lose shape .The best example is Birmingham ‘s second goal .There has to be a reason why only Wigan have conceded more goals than us .The problem is that Martin has created a squad with very few real defenders .
The under 21 were excellent against Cardiff the other night – even to the point of being congratulated by Cardiff coach Darren Purse.Yet still managed to concede two goals that were everything we see in first team games and ended up drawing 2-2 .