Trying to be a bit positive...

[swansvalleyjack]

Looking at new players already playing ...and those due to play.

Ginnelly was good today I thought on the left. I like him. Let's add Tymon on the left and potential for a good pairing.

Move Key over to right, I like him as well. Def in place of Ashby ( jury out).

Keep Patino in midfield, adds creativity (though bit lightweight) lovely goal assist pass today.

Yates (or Cullen) pacy upfront alongside Lowe ( we know what we're getting there at least).

Kuharevich ..jury out for me.

Defence. Got to be 2 places at least from Humphreys, Tjoe-a-On and Pederson. Tymon already mentioned. So competition / replacements for Wood, Darling. Cabango.

Rushworth will do if Fisher is the alternative.

So that leaves Grimes, Cooper, Fulton, Joe and Paterson. Mmm, our midfield (gulp). Joe in his prime would be fine, but he can't do 90 mins. So apart from Patino, not a good look there.

The next game has to be the start of our season; the upcoming International break is a sort of pre-season.

I'm trying to be a bit optimistic is all :roll: Not sure I've convinced myself though

 

[swansvalleyjack]

Doesn't look like I convinced anyone else either

 

[sainthelens]

Doesn't look like I convinced anyone else either

Get yourself a strong coffee pal and have another look what you've posted.
Fair play to you tho.

 

[Pegojack]

I think it was a good post and there's sense in what you're saying. I hope the new guys can step up to the mark, and I hope Duff has the ability to blend his squad into an effective force now that he knows exactly what resources he has.
More important, has he got the balls to wield the knife where needed? Some players have demonstrated that they need a break from the first team, and they should be made to work hard to regain their place.

 

[Neath_Jack]

Good post butty.

I’d like to see Wood dropped for the next game but can’t see it, purely because we turned £10m down for him. They’ll look even dafter than they already do for not selling him.

Gino has to start, no question. The only one with a bit of trickery about him.

 

[SwanseaJack]

I’m with you on this one. We finally have a LB and cover for him. We have an obvious creative player in ginelly who gets you on the edge of your seat when he has the ball (when was the last time we had that?) Patino is different gravy and has class (makes you wonder if we’ve mistaken mediocrity for class in recent time Grimes, Fulton etc).

Not all doom and gloom, verdict isn’t out on all players as others suggest. Especially big Myk who has literally played a handful of mins and was brought in to develop.

Christmas is the real teller as usual

 

[Andrew - North Hill]

There are definitely reasons to be positive - we haven't seen 4 players put the shirt on yet, and players like Gino and the Ukraine boy haven't had much time either.

They might make a difference, we'll see.

The concern I have is that they're coming into what is, at the moment, a totally dysfunctional unit. There isn't even a hint of a team structure or pattern of play, which I would have expected to see tiny shoots of by now.

We need to be careful that we don't put too much pressure on these new boys to be some sort of miracle cure. Duff needs to be giving players (old and new) a platform to perform at their best, and at the moment he's not doing that.

 

[Mork]

When is Walsh due back? He walks into this midfield.

 

[sainthelens]

There are definitely reasons to be positive - we haven't seen 4 players put the shirt on yet, and players like Gino and the Ukraine boy haven't had much time either.

They might make a difference, we'll see.

The concern I have is that they're coming into what is, at the moment, a totally dysfunctional unit. There isn't even a hint of a team structure or pattern of play, which I would have expected to see tiny shoots of by now.

We need to be careful that we don't put too much pressure on these new boys to be some sort of miracle cure. Duff needs to be giving players (old and new) a platform to perform at their best, and at the moment he's not doing that.

Duff has already ruined this side and turned reasonable players into league 1 lookalikes. What makes you think he wont do the same with the newbies?

 

[Allergic2Hoof]

The Ukrainian guy looks like he may have something about him. Definitely strong and better than anyone else we have at holding the ball up. Lack of game time Will mean his first touch will get better. If we move to a 1 up top system he will get more minutes.

Key has a touch of the Rangels about him. Let's see him on the right. Ideally with somebody like Lowe ahead of him playing wide

 

[Swansea93]

When is Walsh due back? He walks into this midfield.

He’s back in training now so should be back in soon, this really is his last chance another injury I can see him unfortunately having to call it a day.

 

[Andrew - North Hill]

Duff has already ruined this side and turned reasonable players into league 1 lookalikes. What makes you think he wont do the same with the newbies?

Kind of the point I was making. I'm just trying to look for potential positives moving forward, because there is absolutely nothing to be taken from the first 5 matches whatsoever, I can't think of one redeeming feature at all.

 

[sainthelens]

Kind of the point I was making. I'm just trying to look for potential positives moving forward, because there is absolutely nothing to be taken from the first 5 matches whatsoever, I can't think of one redeeming feature at all.

Fair point, I've been watching us over 40 yrs and you kinda get an inkling of things. I really hope I'm wrong but I've seen enough of this guy already to think he's out of his depth.

 

[Nocountryforoldjack]

If Duff does turn this around and we climb the table there's going to be lots of egg on some faces.

 

[Andrew - North Hill]

Fair point, I've been watching us over 40 yrs and you kinda get an inkling of things. I really hope I'm wrong but I've seen enough of this guy already to think he's out of his depth.

33 years and counting here too, and I know exactly where you're coming from.

Cards on the table - I just cannot take to the bloke, I thought he was the wrong pick right from the off and I don't think he'll turn it round either.

The only reason I'm trying hard to look for a crumb of comfort here is that I don't want us having egg on our faces and becoming one of those clubs that makes managerial changes early in the season. We saw what that led to during the end of our time in the PL, in the end we ran out of road. I'm especially worried with a Chairman like ours, who thinks his own shit is chocolate when he hasn't got the first clue about football (as evidenced by picking Duff in the first place). God knows what he'll cook up next if he has to make a change.