Planet Swans ArchivesTwo goals from Emanuel Adebayor and an own goal from Chico Flores probably told just half a story as the Swans were second best for most of the game bar the opening period where they tested the Spurs goalkeeper with long range shots and Wilfried Bony rattled the bar from 25 yards with the game poised at that stage as goalless.
From that point forward the Swans were disjointed and never looked like getting anything out of the game as they surrendered possession far too easily and were brushed off the ball when they did have it in their hands. Wayne Routledge had called for the Swans to show fight and character in this morning’s paper but for too many that fight, character or even just plain ability was lacking as they were exposed by Spurs highlighting completely a lack of strength in depth amongst the squad.
On an afternoon when we were struggling to get into the game the manager elected not to turn to anybody on his bench other than a necessary substitution of Lamah for Shelvey which surely shows a need and desire to move into the transfer market given the injury list currently pinned to the dressing room wall.
Granted quite a few of these will return next week and for the ever increasingly important games to come but we always said that the squad would be tested to its limit this season and at the moment the limits are just not strong enough to compete at this level.
The first goal came from a quick breakaway and it was Adebayor who finished it although it could have been any of the three attackers coming in at the back post which was a harsh lesson to the Swans of how you put a quality ball into the box rather than the telegraphed balls we tend to work with that all too often reach a defender before anyone else.
That may have been the opening goal but the threat had been there as Shevey, Amat, Britton and Pozuelo were all guilty of poor passes in midfield to set up Tottenham attacks which were more often than not at that stage wasted.
The half time break came at an ideal chance as Spurs were by far on top at that stage and we could have hoped that things would change but it was not to be as Spurs carried on in the same vein in the second half. One became two when Chico steered a Walker cross into his own net to double Spurs lead.
It was starting to become embarrassing in more ways than one when two became three after a clean breakaway from Rose and Adebayor who scored his second and his side’s third with twenty minutes to go sparking a mass exodus from the Liberty as people voted with their feet. Irrespective of the quality of the game I am not sure than leaving en masse with that long left is actually worth doing but I guess then again it is each to their own and people can do what they see fit when frustrated.
Bony’s goal with a little over ten minutes left was only ever going to be a consolation as the Swans were devoid of ideas and clearly confidence at the moment as they took their current run to just three points from the last eight games played in the league.
All of a sudden the games against Fulham, West Ham and Cardiff are taking on more significance and it is certainly time for them to step up as per the rallying cry this morning and prove that we are not a bad team just a team on a run of form against good sides. I still maintain we are the former but there is time over the next couple of weeks to be proved wrong on that front.
Today was a day where the performance was simply not good enough. In recent weeks we have been beaten but on the back of a decent performance today was not the case we were simply beaten without a fight and that is the bit that has to chance.
A bad day at the office – let’s hope they are now out of our system
