The Swansea Way – Duff tells us its in the past

[Darran]

The argument appears to be not that we are unsophisticated in a football sense but that we are not sophisticated enough to like Martin personally. Because his hair or something. No idea. Anyway the best hair was Sousa closely followed by Laudrup. And Sousa’s team was pretty boring and Laudrup was the best of the lot in my view. So I think it must be something other than hair that matters.

Best hair you say?

 

[Skippyjack]

Best hair you say?

You need a shave, otherwise stevethejack is correct, you're turning into cousin it

 

[J_B]

Best hair you say?

It's about quality not quantity.

 

[rockinj]

We have literally lived through four-and-a-bit seasons in which a perfectly good manager was hated because he had bad teeth, another one was lionised because of his ability to do fist pumps and the current manager is being slated because he is too honest in press conferences. And that’s a sign that we aren’t sophisticated enough? Jesus wept.

This post is super confusing to me. I don’t know where you’re disagreeing with what I said.

The fan base isn’t uniform as I alluded to.

I haven’t said much about Duff other than he hasn’t impressed me so far and that Martin seemed preferable although I didn’t like Martin’s style of football. I don’t think possession for possessions sake is a great strategy, that is an option to close out matches for example.

I’m not someone who doesn’t think once in a while a long pass or even long ball if absolutely necessary doesn’t make sense. But overall to provide fluidity and a sense of direction with the right personnel and application apart from being more attractive I believe a “Swansea way” style is more effective in the modern game.

I know I may sound patronising but I go back to it there are some who have no idea. It’s the truth. “He’s fackin lazy mush” that type. No idea.

 

[K23]

The graveyard of ambition quote is always misunderstood.

It meant that Swansea had such a pull on everyone that people abandoned any ambitions to move on or up in the world and instead decided to stay put as leaving was too awful to contemplate.

Thanks for posting that Lisa , I've lost count of the number of times I've tried to explain to someone that the quote does not mean what they think its does.

 

[cadleigh]

This post is super confusing to me. I don’t know where you’re disagreeing with what I said.

The fan base isn’t uniform as I alluded to.

I haven’t said much about Duff other than he hasn’t impressed me so far and that Martin seemed preferable although I didn’t like Martin’s style of football. I don’t think possession for possessions sake is a great strategy, that is an option to close out matches for example.

I’m not someone who doesn’t think once in a while a long pass or even long ball if absolutely necessary doesn’t make sense. But overall to provide fluidity and a sense of direction with the right personnel and application apart from being more attractive I believe a “Swansea way” style is more effective in the modern game.

I know I may sound patronising but I go back to it there are some who have no idea. It’s the truth. “He’s fackin lazy mush” that type. No idea.

My post was a general comment on the discussion rather than a specific response to your last post. I probably confused things by hitting the 'quote' button.

My point is that many of the supporters who would no doubt regard themselves as 'sophisticated' took against Cooper from the start and are now jumping on any criticism they can find of Duff ('he's too forthright in press conferences', 'he sometimes looks a bit worried'), but they were prepared to defend Martin and insist he should be given another season even when it was clear we were going nowhere. Labelling your own side as 'sophisticates' and everyone else as 'pragmatists' or 'troglodytes' is just another pathetic attempt at winning arguments by misrepresenting the other side. And I do agree with you that there are knuckle-dragging idiots among our supporters, but I think you'll find that the majority were singing love songs about Russell Martin last season and are now booing Michael Duff.

 

[swansvalleyjack]

This has been an interesting thread I must say, a good discussion without too much of the usual nonsense that threads usually descend to.

In summary for me, and drawing from several posts ..

The "Swansea Way" is not of course something that has been our style over the whole period of our existence.

It's merely a tag for our most successful, and arguably the most entertaining, period in our history, from 2007 to 2014. Then to a lesser degree, 2015 to 2018, the last three years of a 7 year stint in the Premier League.

A Golden Era, mainly under Martinez, Rodgers and Laudrup. And one where we also won our first major trophy and played some outstanding football in Europe.

A style that was often just beautiful to watch - and got results. A slick quick passing game, with constructive purpose and on the floor, plenty of pace on the flanks, creative midfield, sound defence comfortable on the ball, and with scorers all over the pitch.

A Golden Era that conjures up instant recognition by those who watched it.

It wasn't a "Unique Way" solely confined to Swansea, but of it's time starting in Div.1 with Martinez, it was certainly very different to the norm then.

And it attracted like minded players and managers. But everything is cyclic, and we couldn't keep it going, especially when teams just pressed higher and hard, and better quality players of our ilk were needed from a smaller (more expensive) pool , as other teams developed their ways to more of a possession /passing game.

So the Swansea Way is a tag for a Golden Era in our history, like the Toshack Era is a tag for a hugely entertaining and successful period, instantly conjuring up our rise from Division 4 to Div 1 ( Premier League) in record time.

But both have long gone, though here's hoping for a third era up ahead. But not going to happen under these owners, that's for sure.

And for the record Martinball was nowhere near the "Swansea Way", it was just mostly mind numbingly boring walking football. Though ironically, four particular results provided him with a unique tenure here

 

[SwanseaJames]

https://youtu.be/GqFQ_SU7ATw?si=Dl5ZEvS_ZqdZGgdn

This is the "Swansea Way" and I think a lot of our bedwetter fans on Twitter/X moaning about us not having 80-odd% possession every game should have a watch of this. Nice long ball/cross into the box for the goal at 1:10 too #footballterrorist #rodgersout :lol:

 

[monmouth]

https://youtu.be/GqFQ_SU7ATw?si=Dl5ZEvS_ZqdZGgdn

This is the "Swansea Way" and I think a lot of our bedwetter fans on Twitter/X moaning about us not having 80-odd% possession every game should have a watch of this. Nice long ball/cross into the box for the goal at 1:10 too #footballterrorist #rodgersout :lol:

So the ‘Swansea way’ is score a pretty goal and lose 4-2 to the second worst team in the league?

Derby have ‘the Derby Way’ too.

It’s all a load of pretentious horseshit.

The best feeling was when everyone at the club was pulling in the same direction and we felt it was a fans club, and we were on the up. We were a model club that was widely admired. So 1976-1982 and 2003-2013 for me. The type of football varied. So if that’s the Swansea way, yeah, I’d like that back.

 

[rockinj]

This has been an interesting thread I must say, a good discussion without too much of the usual nonsense that threads usually descend to.

In summary for me, and drawing from several posts ..

The "Swansea Way" is not something that has been our style over the whole period of our existence.

It's merely a tag for our most successful, and arguably the most entertaining, period in our history, from 2007 to 2014. Then to a lesser degree, 2015 to 2018, the last three years of a 7 year stint in the Premier League.

A Golden Era, mainly under Martinez, Rodgers and Laudrup. And one where we also won our first major trophy and played some outstanding football in Europe.

A style that was often just beautiful to watch - and got results. A slick quick passing game, with constructive purpose and on the floor, plenty of pace on the flanks, creative midfield, sound defence comfortable on the ball, and with scorers all over the pitch.

A Golden Era that conjures up instant recognition by those who watched it.

It wasn't a "Unique Way" solely confined to Swansea, but of it's time starting in Div.1 with Martinez, it was certainly very different to the norm then.

And it attracted like minded players and managers. But everything is cyclic, and we couldn't keep it going, especially when teams just pressed higher and hard, and better quality players of our ilk were needed from a smaller (more expensive) pool , as other teams developed their ways to more of a possession /passing game.

So the Swansea Way is a tag for a Golden Era in our history, like the Toshack Era is a tag for a hugely entertaining and successful period, instantly conjuring up our rise from Division 4 to Div 1 ( Premier League) in record time.

But both have long gone, though here's hoping for a third era up ahead. But not going to happen under these owners, that's for sure.

And for the record Martinball was nowhere near the "Swansea Way", it was just mostly mind numbingly boring walking football. Though ironically, four particular results provided him with a unique tenure here

Excellent post. I still strongly argue that traditionally the swans have favoured more attractive football.

I simply cannot imagine the swans fans getting behind a Neil Warnock. I can imagine a section doing so. But Cardiff are a club that would never worry about style.

The much maligned and wrongly imo Bryan Flynn was a huge figure in our turnaround and for me he was the start of improvement with an emphasis on a style that the fans could get behind plus he brought in legends of the club. His tenure was massively underrated.

Kenny Jackett was a manager who favoured long ball and although we had some moderate success he was never loved. He was a hero to the pragmatists though. They loved him.

 

[swansvalleyjack]

The much maligned and wrongly imo Bryan Flynn was a huge figure in our turnaround and for me he was the start of improvement with an emphasis on a style that the fans could get behind plus he brought in legends of the club. His tenure was massively underrated.

Agreed. We shouldn't forget Brian Flynn and what he did pre-Martinez.

Nor Harry Griffiths pre-Toshack.

 

[Andrew - North Hill]

I don't get anyone who would besmirch Brian Flynn.

He was absolutely magnificent for us. I can't think of many managers at that time, in that division, in the perilous state we were in, who would have said "we're going to try and play our way out of this mess". What a massive pair of balls that took. And it worked.

Did a really good stabilising job the following year as well, bringing in Trunds and Robbo.

All of that before you even start looking at his success at Wrexham, and the work he did with Tosh to find new blood for the national team.

One of the all time Welsh football greats imo. Gets nowhere near enough credit.

 

[J_B]

Flynn introduced reality to the then novice board. They had appointed a novice manager in Cusack and given him no resources to build a team let alone a squad. He therefore relied on out of contract and free transfers and it was a recipe for disaster.
Flynn told them that unless he could bring people in on loan or by transfer we were going down. It took him a long time before it gelled and we escaped by the skin of our teeth. I think Flynn taught the board an enormous amount in a very short space of time and put down the foundations of our subsequent success.

 

[rockinj]

I don't get anyone who would besmirch Brian Flynn.

He was absolutely magnificent for us. I can't think of many managers at that time, in that division, in the perilous state we were in, who would have said "we're going to try and play our way out of this mess". What a massive pair of balls that took. And it worked.

Did a really good stabilising job the following year as well, bringing in Trunds and Robbo.

All of that before you even start looking at his success at Wrexham, and the work he did with Tosh to find new blood for the national team.

One of the all time Welsh football greats imo. Gets nowhere near enough credit.

Oh you’d be surprised Andrew.

When I posted a lot back in the day, the amount of times I along with others would be defending him against criticism was off the chain.

To this day it baffles me. He laid the foundations for our future success and your comments about Wrexham and Wales are spot on. Incredibly underrated figure.

I think he’s a victim of the halo effect.

 

[Longlostjack]

Remember being at Ealing tube station after the play-off final. Bought a ticket and guy behind the window saw scarf and said we’d be straight down. The Swansea Way served us well in subsequent seasons in the Premier League as it had done to get us there. It’s also brought on a lot of talent as all age groups alligned with the style. Martin was a charlatan imo who used the philosophy to “allign” with his process designed for maximal personal exposure. I’ve got a good gut feeling with Duff - no idea why . As for defining the Swansea way Darran, it’s a tough one. There again I can’t define a spiral staircase but I know what it looks like.