Season 23/24 | The Official Match Thread | Birmingham City v Swansea City | The EFL Championship

[Swans TV]

 

[PSumbler]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1746219082175901897

 

[newquay]

“Choice of the managers to continue to pick Grimes and Fulton.” True. One of the reasons I wasn’t sad to see Duff go.
“Having them playing the way they have.” Not so sure. I think the way Duff wanted Grimes to play was the way he played against Millwall. And Fulton has been subbed plenty of times when his negative play has gone beyond a joke.
Why managers persist in starting them both I do not know, unless there’s something in Patino’s loan deal we aren’t privy to. I guess if the only alternative is Joey, who is now an impact sub realistically, they may feel they have little choice.
Fulton was a player I had a lot of respect for until Martin ruined him.

“Choice of the managers to continue to pick Grimes and Fulton.” True. One of the reasons I wasn’t sad to see Duff go.
“Having them playing the way they have.” Not so sure. I think the way Duff wanted Grimes to play was the way he played against Millwall. And Fulton has been subbed plenty of times when his negative play has gone beyond a joke.
Why managers persist in starting them both I do not know, unless there’s something in Patino’s loan deal we aren’t privy to. I guess if the only alternative is Joey, who is now an impact sub realistically, they may feel they have little choice.
Fulton was a player I had a lot of respect for until Martin ruined him.

It’s taking a lot longer than initially feared to finally cleanse our club of Martin’s ruinous mess.

The rot is deeply inculcated not just in some of our gullible, affected fans but also the core, our spine of senior players.

No matter how hard they try to not always check back and tuck in, pass sideways and backwards, and no matter how hard Sheehan, Duff and Marge have worked to unleash them to look, pass and run forwards / wide with precision and pace, it’ll be a while til they can properly shed Martin’s misguided process and nonsensical ways.

Martin’s rot runs deeply through our spine. His lasting legacy.

 

[Blackpooljack]

It’s taking a lot longer than initially feared to finally cleanse our club of Martin’s ruinous mess.

The rot is deeply inculcated not just in some of our gullible, affected fans but also the core, our spine of senior players.

No matter how hard they try to not always check back and tuck in, pass sideways and backwards, and no matter how hard Sheehan, Duff and Marge have worked to unleash them to look, pass and run forwards / wide with precision and pace, it’ll be a while til they can properly shed Martin’s misguided process and nonsensical ways.

Martin’s rot runs deeply through our spine. His lasting legacy.

The same Martin that has just set a new club record for games unbeaten up at St Mary's

 

[cadleigh]

The same Martin that has just set a new club record for games unbeaten up at St Mary's

Yes, with a squad of players fresh from the Premier League who have the skills and ability to play the way he wants them to. His tactics work at Man City too, because they have the right players. We didn't, and still don't, but he kept trying to make it work anyway and now Grimes and Fulton seem to think that that's 'proper' football.

My point, though, was less about dissing Russell Martin and more expressing frustration that some people are saying that our current problems are all the fault of Duff. They aren't. It goes a lot deeper than that and will take time to sort - even though half our starting line-up is new this season.

 

[cadleigh]

I’m still confident that Williams has what it takes, mind.

 

[Manselton Jack]

“Choice of the managers to continue to pick Grimes and Fulton.” True. One of the reasons I wasn’t sad to see Duff go.
“Having them playing the way they have.” Not so sure. I think the way Duff wanted Grimes to play was the way he played against Millwall. And Fulton has been subbed plenty of times when his negative play has gone beyond a joke.
Why managers persist in starting them both I do not know, unless there’s something in Patino’s loan deal we aren’t privy to. I guess if the only alternative is Joey, who is now an impact sub realistically, they may feel they have little choice.
Fulton was a player I had a lot of respect for until Martin ruined him.

Playing both of them baffles me as well, it clearly doesn't work. Patino was starting games regularly & playing well before the Sunderland sending off - for some reason Duff wouldn't start him after that which was a mistake

 

[monmouth]

Just a point of order. Speaking to a Southampton supporting work associate, his view is the Russbot has done pretty well there after a shaky start (when he tried his nonsense and the fans hated it), but he is not playing the Russbot style now. They get it forward quickly with pace and directness As, sadly, we might see on Saturday. Apparently, their fans are still not particularly convinced by him as they think they should walk automatic with their team.

 

[Manselton Jack]

Just a point of order. Speaking to a Southampton supporting work associate, his view is the Russbot has done pretty well there after a shaky start (when he tried his nonsense and the fans hated it), but he is not playing the Russbot style now. They get it forward quickly with pace and directness As, sadly, we might see on Saturday. Apparently, their fans are still not particularly convinced by him as they think they should walk automatic with their team.

They're on the best run of results for 30 years or so I think so they should be happy I'd have thought.
Funnily enough he's playing a quicker style with players suited to that style, exactly the same as Cooper did with Forest.
Hopefully Southampton's run will end on Saturday

 

[newquay]

Yes, with a squad of players fresh from the Premier League who have the skills and ability to play the way he wants them to. His tactics work at Man City too, because they have the right players. We didn't, and still don't, but he kept trying to make it work anyway and now Grimes and Fulton seem to think that that's 'proper' football.

My point, though, was less about dissing Russell Martin and more expressing frustration that some people are saying that our current problems are all the fault of Duff. They aren't. It goes a lot deeper than that and will take time to sort - even though half our starting line-up is new this season.

His preferred tactics (the ones that maximize his team's possession stats above all else, including winning) don't work anywhere. What he's being told to do now is to Win, above all else. With proper scrutiny from above.

When Martin was with us he had minimal scrutiny from Winter for far too long, and had carte blanche to do his self indulgent, self centred selfish thing - maximise his possession stats - for his CV - and it worked, for him and tragically not for us. Winter had no interest in controlling him.

When gullible fans say 'they can see what he's trying to do', it speaks volumes about how little they understand tactics. Anyone that's played the game will see clearly how Martin did all he could to retain possession - cutting back in, checking back, tucking in, passing sideways and backwards ad infinitum. He admonished wide players for taking their man on, thus risking ball retention %. Same if players would take a shot at goal. It's beyond bonkers how the gullible fans still can't see these things.

Williams seems like a pragmatic visionary, feet firmly on the ground for the greater good - the antithesis of Martin. The sort of manager we thought we were buying 2 years ago.

I'm all for dissing Martin - he cost us a real chance for a promotion push (multiple £Ms), cost us the likes of Whittaker (£Ms), cost us season ticket renewals, cost us enjoying going to watch our team.

The most divisive snake of a bloke we've had as a manager, in my time as a fan of our club.