Season 24/25 | The Official Match Thread | Swansea City v Bristol City | The EFL Championship

[T8AD365]

Must have something about him if he's getting in then Slovenian squad.

Slovenia only has a population of 2.1m, which is 1m fewer than Wales.
We have the likes of Kieffer Moore in the Welsh squad, I guess Slovenia probably don't have much of a pool of players to choose from.
I do feel sorry for him though because he hasn't had a chance at all yet, can only assume he isn't showing much in training

 

[bytholwyn]

We definitely can't underestimate them. If we've been a bit lucky with our results they've probably been unlucky, judging by their stats. They've conceded from 17.4% of the shots they've faced, second worst after Cardiff. The Swans on the other hand have conceded only 4.9% of shots faced, second best (lucky?) after West Brom. You've got to assume that over a season the opposition will become more clinical, so we need to work harder at bringing the number of shots faced down to single figures consistently.

There's signs we're varying the point of attack more this season with a bit more going through the middle. The improvement in Cooper's form has clearly helped in that regard, but I'd like to see Cooper and Eom swap places more often, as I think there's goals and assists in Eom.

 

[bytholwyn]

Slovenia only has a population of 2.1m, which is 1m fewer than Wales.
We have the likes of Kieffer Moore in the Welsh squad, I guess Slovenia probably don't have much of a pool of players to choose from.
I do feel sorry for him though because he hasn't had a chance at all yet, can only assume he isn't showing much in training

The high press is an important part of our game. Although he's tried hard when he's come on he clearly doesn't have the athleticism to be effective in that role. It has all the makings of another poor striker signing. He will have to be Piroe level deadly to compensate for his defensive limitations.

 

[Smurph]

Slovenia only has a population of 2.1m, which is 1m fewer than Wales.
We have the likes of Kieffer Moore in the Welsh squad, I guess Slovenia probably don't have much of a pool of players to choose from.
I do feel sorry for him though because he hasn't had a chance at all yet, can only assume he isn't showing much in training

They have a pretty decent squad with good competition for places. I'd like to think he is there on merit rather than they have no one else.

Kiefer Moore is a decent player for us and would make the national squad of most countries our size due to his ability.

 

[T8AD365]

The high press is an important part of our game. Although he's tried hard when he's come on he clearly doesn't have the athleticism to be effective in that role. It has all the makings of another poor striker signing. He will have to be Piroe level deadly to compensate for his defensive limitations.

True. It's why Cullen and Cooper get plenty of game time, because they don't stop running and harassing the opposition.
It's very frustrating that our scouts don't seem to be able to find players who are suited to the way the manager wants to play, we can't afford to keep throwing money away on failed signings

 

[T8AD365]

They have a pretty decent squad with good competition for places. I'd like to think he is there on merit rather than they have no one else.

Kiefer Moore is a decent player for us and would make the national squad of most countries our size due to his ability.

Having had a brief look at their latest squad, they've got a few players who play for big clubs (Atletico, Udinese etc) but most of them play at a lower standard, for clubs in Poland, Slovenia, Italy etc.

I'm not sure how good he actually is, his record since leaving Slovenia is 10 goals in 40 games in the French second division and 1 in 6 for us (with the obvious caveat that he's touched the ball about 20 times altogether in those 6 appearances). He is still very young so hopefully he can kick on, he needs a chance though

 

[Swanjaxs]

Middlesbrough 18 shots 4 on target, 5 big chances xG 2.86 vs 5 shots 0 on target 0 big chances xG 0.47 for us.
West Brom 18 shots 5 on target, 4 big chances xG 2.40 vs us 6 shots 2 on target 1 big chance xG 0.46
Us 9, 4, 2 xG 0.71 vs Norwich 13 3 5 xG 1.13
Coventry 20 7 2 xG 1.65 Us 11 4 0 xG 0.73

The stats somewhat flatter Coventry as a lot of their efforts were from tight angles or outside the box. However conceding more than 13, 18, 18 and 20 shots in 4 out of 6 matches isn't "magnificent" defending. For what it's worth I think we're heading in the right direction, both defensively and offensively, but there's still big room for improvement. Certainly no room for complacency and self-congratulation.

Best stat by far is...
Coventry City 1 goal
Swansea City 2 goals

 

[bytholwyn]

Best stat by far is...
Coventry City 1 goal
Swansea City 2 goals

Of course I agree with that, but if you want to see how the rest of the season is likely to pan out then you need to look objectively at the facts and be realistic about weaknesses.

Congratulating ourselves on how wonderful we are leads to complacency and under par performances down the line. I'm confident that if we build on our improved performances at both ends of the pitch we can have a good season.

After the Cardiff win last season I thought our performance against Sheffield Wednesday was really lacklustre and we were lucky to escape with a point. However, Williams in his post match interview seemed to think we'd played quite well. No surprise with that lack of realism that we went on to lose to QPR and Middlesbrough in subsequent games. We're not good enough to kid ourselves that we're better than we are.

 

[Smurph]

Of course I agree with that, but if you want to see how the rest of the season is likely to pan out then you need to look objectively at the facts and be realistic about weaknesses.

Congratulating ourselves on how wonderful we are leads to complacency and under par performances down the line. I'm confident that if we build on our improved performances at both ends of the pitch we can have a good season.

After the Cardiff win last season I thought our performance against Sheffield Wednesday was really lacklustre and we were lucky to escape with a point. However, Williams in his post match interview seemed to think we'd played quite well. No surprise with that lack of realism that we went on to lose to QPR and Middlesbrough in subsequent games. We're not good enough to kid ourselves that we're better than we are.

I think you're missing the point. The lads have taken six points from the last two games against good opposition, enjoy the wins and embrace the battling performances.

Not sure how you can predict how a season is going to develop based on stats and stats alone. There are two many variables to take in to account.

I'm pretty pleased that Williams doesn't air our dirty linen in public. It's not a good look when a manager throws a player under the bus to hide his own misgivings as a manager.

What goes on behind closed doors is a different matter.

 

[bytholwyn]

I'm not the one determined to ignore the underlying stats. They aren't the be all and end all but they have their place, in working out what's working and what needs improving. I think we're heading in the right direction, but we need to build on the battling performances, with our creativity still very much a work in progress.

Listen to Anthony Wright's post-match thoughts after the 2 nil win for the U21s over Bristol City. He could easily have glossed over a poor first half performance. Instead he offered a very realistic assessment without criticising any individual. Puffing up poor performances doesn’t help at all.

 

[Smurph]

I'm not the one determined to ignore the underlying stats. They aren't the be all and end all but they have their place, in working out what's working and what needs improving. I think we're heading in the right direction, but we need to build on the battling performances, with our creativity still very much a work in progress.

Listen to Anthony Wright's post-match thoughts after the 2 nil win for the U21s over Bristol City. He could easily have glossed over a poor first half performance. Instead he offered a very realistic assessment without criticising any individual. Puffing up poor performances doesn’t help at all.

People are obsessed with stats and searching for something that isn't there.

 

[Swanjaxs]

Of course I agree with that, but if you want to see how the rest of the season is likely to pan out then you need to look objectively at the facts and be realistic about weaknesses.

Congratulating ourselves on how wonderful we are leads to complacency and under par performances down the line. I'm confident that if we build on our improved performances at both ends of the pitch we can have a good season.

After the Cardiff win last season I thought our performance against Sheffield Wednesday was really lacklustre and we were lucky to escape with a point. However, Williams in his post match interview seemed to think we'd played quite well. No surprise with that lack of realism that we went on to lose to QPR and Middlesbrough in subsequent games. We're not good enough to kid ourselves that we're better than we are.

The only thing I'm congratulating is two very good results, we move on to Bristol City in good nick with an air of confidence, nothing more, nothing less...

 

[jackharris]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1838513323064598907

 

[bytholwyn]

“A few more games we will be able to understand if we’re good, or if we’ve been somewhat fortunate when we’ve hit oppositions in a bad moment," he said at the weekend.

"I don’t know yet. I’m waiting to see my group, to show me over 10, 12 games . . . OK, this is us now."

Those are the sort of measured comments I want to hear from Williams. No hint of complacency there.

 

[Swanjaxs]

“A few more games we will be able to understand if we’re good, or if we’ve been somewhat fortunate when we’ve hit oppositions in a bad moment," he said at the weekend.

"I don’t know yet. I’m waiting to see my group, to show me over 10, 12 games . . . OK, this is us now."

Those are the sort of measured comments I want to hear from Williams. No hint of complacency there.

Aye very measured indeed, and no mention of xG or statistics per individuals from LW.
Leave that bolloxs to the *football manager* types like Jasper_T

It's the end product for me, points on the board, and from graft on the Monday's to Friday's at Fairwood nuts and bolts that will pay dividends imho.

We could have unearthed a gem in Luke Williams, say it quietly