Fulton shows optimism but reality tells us there is much to do before it is justified?

Jay Fulton spoke yesterday about his optimism ahead of the new season under Luke Williams but the reality for everyone is that there is much work to be done this summer before we can look forward to next year with any great optimism.

One of the traits of this season has been words in the public domain from the playing side of the club that have often not transferred into performances on the pitch.   On too many occasions we have heard about togetherness in the squad and a desire to put on a performance and get the fans behind the team but all too often they have failed to deliver.

The results towards the end of the season took an upturn but the last day performance against Millwall was probably the perfect way to sum up last season in a ninety minute showing as the Swans huffed and puffed alot but the end result was a home defeat with very little to show for the performance itself let alone the result.

It is pretty clear that Luke Williams has a vision on how he wants his teams to play and there were signs that that style was coming through in some of the performances at the end of the season.   And it is no coincidence that they were the better of the performances that we witnessed.   However, what was just as clear was that there were performances where that style did not come through and in those games we looked nothing better than anything served up under Michael Duff at the front end of the season.

To give Williams some credit through he was dealing largely with a squad assembled by his predecessor and the addition of his two players in January (forget Sago Jnr that was clearly a brain fart moment in recruitment) made a difference and again it was no coincidence that their performances were a big factor in our good matches.   But the fact remains that the good performances were outnumbered by the poor ones even in the second half of the season.

The summer ahead – and we have said this many times – is massive for the Swans.  A large recruitment drive is needed but they have to be signings that make a difference for Williams.    This week it was Fulton talking the optimism but the reality is we cannot be relying on Fulton in midfield week in week out next year or we will never be able to consistently deliver the style that the manager wants for his team.

There is no doubt that Fulton has a place in the squad for next season but I would like to be in a position where we see him less in the starting line up and more as a substitute when we want to tighten up the midfield.   It was said many times last year that a midfield with Grimes and Fulton was too static and slow and it’s true.

“I think it’s been a disappointing season and there’s been a lot happening off the pitch,” said Fulton via the club’s official website..

“I think since the gaffer’s come in, you can see the improvements. A lot of people have bought into his ideas, and I think we’re really excited to get a pre-season under our belt with him and looking forward to next season.

“When he first came in, we had difficult games against the four top teams while we were trying to adapt to a new style and get fitness in our legs, but I think you can see from the last five or six games that performances have been more like the boss wants.

“It’s been difficult to adjust to how tough training is mid-season, so I think we’re all expecting to come back and work really hard and have a tough pre-season, but that will only benefit us throughout next season.

“The gaffer wants us to play front-footed and attacking football, so it’s going to be an exciting year next season. We’ll look to get a good pre-season, work as hard as we can and then hopefully you’ll see that on the pitch.

“We’ll come back, get as fit as we can, get the gaffer’s ideas in and then push on from there.”

Midfield remains an area where the Swans undoubtedly need strengthening.   The loan signing of Charlie Patino was one of the let downs of last season for me with the player never showing the promise that should come when you have links with Juventus.  Joe Allen is set for a contract extension whilst Liam Walsh has not yet been confirmed as staying or leaving but both have constant battles with injury so the need to move into the market is key.

The name of Marc Leonard has been heavily linked with the Swans in the past but this was played down by Wales Online last month with the outlet stating that he was not a serious target.

Connor Barron from Aberdeen was the subject of a Swans bid back in January and it is widely expected that we will return for him during this window but it is also suggested that we will face competition from other clubs although we do have some natural links with Aberdeen in the ranks at Swansea that could assist us with this particular move.

For me at the moment though although I do feel that there can be progress made this summer I am very mindful of the amount of work that is needed to get us into the stage where we have a team/squad to compete on a weekly basis before that optimism can really start declaring exciting times ahead next season.   And then I remember what happened last summer and I get nervous…

Let’s see what happens before we get too carried away.

Joe Allen. One of Wales' greatest ever midfielders

Seemingly set for a contract extension at the #Swans – realistically what can we expect from Joe next season and can he stay injury free?#TogetherStronger #LFC #SCFC pic.twitter.com/TRWqziXLKL

— JackArmy (@swansnews) May 8, 2024

Liam Walsh. Should we be offering him a new contract or letting him go? #Swans pic.twitter.com/qEEttEskRV

— JackArmy (@swansnews) May 6, 2024