Phil Sumbler
Swansea City appear to be heading in several directions at the moment – the most worrying one is that its a team heading towards League One with the inevitable current position seemingly that we are heading towards another managerial change. Is Michael Duff’s Swansea City career to last just eight games.
It is never said lightly that a manager is out of his depth but that is exactly what Michael Duff appears to be at the moment. Last night’s team selection was odd at the very best and the inevitable eventually happened when QPR scored in stoppage time to deny us a win that really our football did not deserve.
The display was the usual poor performance that has dominated this season so far. An early goal may have risen the optimism temporarily but once again we failed to build on that moment and the game was summed up with that late goal and the crazy sending off of Ollie Cooper that followed not long afterwards.
Seven games without a win is in itself not a disaster but what is is the lack of style, substance or passion that sits within a team which, coupled with the stories that Duff has lost the dressing room, tells us that a change has to happen and it has to happen fast.
The league table is starting to take shape with seven games gone and that is showing right now that there are four teams who have amassed less than five points so far and without something changing within any of them soon then there is a real danger of being cut adrift. As we referenced on here on Monday he is not solely to blame for the predicament that we find ourselves in but the performances on the pitch sees the buck stop firmly with the manager and they are now way past the level of being unacceptable.
Russell Martin had more than his fair share of critics but you could at least see what he was trying to achieve even if it was not always successful (we should never forget that for all his end of season good form we were dreadful for a large chunk of large season) but with Michael Duff it is impossible to see what he is trying to achieve – we are now so far from the Swansea way that we must have broken all the 20 mph speed limits in Duff’s hurry to get away from it.
— Planet Swans (@swansnews) September 19, 2023
The fact that we are talking about a change so early into the season tells you all. If this was a Retail purchase we would probably be entitled still to a full refund on production with a receipt and had we paid Barnsley by credit card then we would be entitled to our money back for the product not meeting the description that we paid for it. We can make jokes all we want on this one but the reality is that despite our calls for patience earlier in the season we cannot afford to be waiting any longer. If we do then it could be too late – winning is often said to be a habit but losing becomes a habit much quicker.
When the Swans entertain Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday it is probably fair to assume that Duff is entering last chance saloon but is the reality that he has already passed that particular position? A win on Saturday would maybe release some of the pressure on our league position but the reality is it will only serve to paper lightly over the very obvious cracks that have appeared in our structure. The Swans must simply own what looks like a pretty glaring mistake that they made in the summer and make the brave but necessary change. Whatever it takes.
The question now is whether the Swans hierarchy are ready to make that decision. The rumour mill suggests that they are but we know that managerial changes cost money especially this soon after appointment but the simple fact is that whatever it costs, it could cost us much more to let it go and hope for the best. Because the best on this occasion appears to be well short of our expectation.
I have no idea where we go from here but this does feel like last chance saloon on Saturday even if for many of us that ship has already sailed.
Sad times.
Hard to put up a case for the defence but you’ve got to wonder who was responsible for all our signings .At the moment only three of them are playing anything like championship standard – Key ,Rushworth and possibly Patino although he’s physically weak and not a goalscorer .
At the moment it’s hard to think who we could select as attacking midfielders or strikers ..
It seems likely thatt unless things change dramatically in the next game or two that Duff will go .I wish the next manager the best of luck with the players our scouts have gsthered together
What we saw last night was primitive stuff, with a moment of football almost breaking out on only 2 or 3 occasions. It was really low grade against similarly low grade opposition.
So sad to see 2 clubs once noted for good football being reduced to lumping it up for head tennis
Get DuffMan gone
I saw a different game. We were excellent first half considering us being low on confidence, great closing down, crisp passing, good shape. had to deal with a QPR desperate to win themselves and they threw everything into it. We showed great defensive resilience till the equaliser, a really fantastic header it has to be said. if that one moment hadn’t happened we’d have had the 3pts and this column would be entirely different. I’d rather support my team than undermine them.
I can’t understand after a total abject performance he comes out and says he’s not here to please the fans but to win games. He isn’t doing either of them. Fans travel in numbers all over the country and deserve far more respect than that. That and his comments before the Cardiff game show total distain to the fans
He has got to go 3 points out of a possible 21 points, we are going down at this rate, new manager in as soon as possible
Listen, I love the swans, with my whole heart. But this ain’t at all like swansea. Make a few changes,yes, but hand on heart I can’t see what we trying to do !!??…..matt grimes looks lost, Jerry Yates runs his heart out, but we shite. It’s a total different way he’s brought in and to me, michael duff seems really arrogant. Shame Russell Martin couldn’t have had same backing. Yes struggling at Southampton but different way of football to them players. 10 undefeated end of last season. Going to come a point where people say balls to this, not paying 90 quid to take me,Mrs and boys to watch you anymore. For me, duff does not fit this club. Sorry