{"id":76427,"date":"2023-02-12T07:30:08","date_gmt":"2023-02-12T07:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/?p=76427"},"modified":"2023-02-11T21:39:51","modified_gmt":"2023-02-11T21:39:51","slug":"is-the-clock-ticking-on-russell-martins-tenure-at-swansea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/2023\/02\/12\/is-the-clock-ticking-on-russell-martins-tenure-at-swansea\/","title":{"rendered":"Is the clock ticking on Russell Martin&#8217;s tenure at Swansea?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A glance at the league table this morning sees Swansea City sitting in 15th place in the Championship table &#8211; closer to the bottom of the league both in terms of position and points than they are to the top.<\/p>\n<p>That could be a statistic not helped by the fact that Sheffield United and Burnley have romped clear at the top of the table but statistically the Swans are closer to the bottom then they are to Middlesbrough in 3rd place.\u00a0 \u00a0By one point.\u00a0 \u00a0 A mid table side on a run of just two wins in sixteen games.<\/p>\n<p>When Cardiff were dispatched by traditional ease back in October, the talk in SA1 was about promotion.\u00a0 \u00a0The Swans were six wins in seven and the form looked good.\u00a0 \u00a0The defeat was against those runaway leaders at Turf Moor so nobody really expected what happened since then.<\/p>\n<div class=\"getty aligncenter\"><a id='SIqbbP4WR6dlCTZy7vzj8Q' class='gie-single' href='http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1247028183' target='_blank' style='color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;'>Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'SIqbbP4WR6dlCTZy7vzj8Q',sig:'leL9KODd1EdkOZ-fonyO2NhUSaavh13kjpSNptpgJYI=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1247028183',caption: false ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/div>\n<p>And the four months that have passed have produced nothing more than football that resembles relegation form.\u00a0 \u00a0We have amassed just twelve points from fourteen games, we have won just twice and have a defence that looks as if it is incapable of keeping out the opposition at any stage.<\/p>\n<p>Four goals shipped at home last weekend was followed up by three yesterday at Bramall Lane and we now stand with just Wigan (49) who have conceded more goals than us in the league this season.\u00a0 Our problems are there for all to see and this is with a goalkeeper who was our main purchase last January and a central defender who was our main one in the summer.\u00a0 \u00a0He now starts on the bench when we have a defence leaking as much as we do.\u00a0 \u00a0That tells you a story on where he is right now!<\/p>\n<p>It is very easy right now to point the finger at the disaster that was the January transfer window.\u00a0 \u00a0And it was just that &#8211; a disaster.\u00a0 \u00a0We failed to secure a single signing with the American owners declaring they are learning lessons and telling us that they are incapable of bringing a deal over the line even when they offer more than the asking price together with highest earnings amongst our current squad.\u00a0 \u00a0Seriously that is a whole new level of incompetence wrapped up in what appeared to be quite a proud statement in a recent interview.<\/p>\n<p>When Russell Martin arrived in SA1 at the eve of last season he was hailed as some kind of football visionary.\u00a0 \u00a0His time with MK Dons as leader was short and relatively unspectacular and his time at Swansea appears to be following a similar trajectory.\u00a0 Last season felt like a free pass for the manager with talk around him not having a pre-season being more and more of an excuse the season went on.<\/p>\n<div class=\"getty aligncenter\"><a id='gmvcbmp4Q0p8N4Y_1RWu8g' class='gie-single' href='http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1296058200' target='_blank' style='color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;'>Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'gmvcbmp4Q0p8N4Y_1RWu8g',sig:'rZ4IGubyoEEWY54gEyerRgRh-PTbsk71j5nkO1zQFKY=',w:'594px',h:'395px',items:'1296058200',caption: false ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/div>\n<p>We had a pre-season this time, we had two transfer windows to play with as well and frankly we look in the same position now as we were last season, there appears to be nothing more in the side now then there was last time around.\u00a0 \u00a0Arguably there is less.\u00a0 \u00a0Many of the players we saw yesterday were Martin signings and many of them do not appear to have advanced us in any way, shape or form.\u00a0 \u00a0 We can all say he should have been backed with a right wing back in January but he should have got one back in the summer as well.\u00a0 \u00a0I would also argue with some ease that players look to be going backwards as the season progresses.\u00a0 \u00a0Ryan Manning was a shadow of his former self yesterday and the midfield pair of Grimes and Fulton have often become relatively anonymous in games.<\/p>\n<p>All too often we have heard the comments about us being &#8220;brave&#8221; and &#8220;sticking to the plan&#8221; but our performances probably do stick to the plan but its fundamentally a plan that does not work.\u00a0 \u00a0And we all know the one about the definition of insanity&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Given the lack of backing in the January window there is little doubt that relationships throughout the club are probably more than a little strained but the longevity of a football manager is based on results and for a man who has won just two of sixteen there is not a single person out there that can argue that the results are good enough.<\/p>\n<div class=\"getty aligncenter\"><a id='_NX0QZZTQ8FGZNejqC6qFQ' class='gie-single' href='http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/628960206' target='_blank' style='color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;'>Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'_NX0QZZTQ8FGZNejqC6qFQ',sig:'3Qq3nlcDYyLeSSFBgV37Z_Qc9_x6EKzxHE9Hr3recfc=',w:'594px',h:'357px',items:'628960206',caption: false ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/div>\n<p>It is difficult to know whether the majority owners are contemplating a change although anyone with a sense of humour would suggest that even if they were then they would fail to get it done in time.\u00a0 However if it is on their mind then you do start to wonder if anything other than a win against bottom of the table Blackpool on Wednesday night would start to speed that process up.<\/p>\n<p>After eighteen months and seventy-six league games you would like to think that maybe we could point the finger at some level of progress but it doesn&#8217;t feel that way.\u00a0 Twenty-six wins, twenty-two draws and twenty-eight defeats gives one hundred points in those games, a classic mid table team.<\/p>\n<p>The question therefore is whether mid table is enough to keep the American owners happy (or indeed the fans) &#8211; time will tell on that front I guess.\u00a0 However, you cannot right now help but think that if this run continues any longer than the end of the month, the decision could become almost inevitable.<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s see what Wednesday brings.<\/p>\n<div class=\"getty aligncenter\"><a id='2fM1l7NzQfxyDKYvSKSsOA' class='gie-single' href='http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1246869990' target='_blank' style='color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;'>Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'2fM1l7NzQfxyDKYvSKSsOA',sig:'fxhdCQKxaGLu8eYBs0lXh3gYUHHF0_afUeWuU8DmD94=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1246869990',caption: false ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A glance at the league table this morning sees Swansea City sitting in 15th place in the Championship table &#8211; closer to the bottom of the league both in terms of position and points than they are to the top. That could be a statistic not helped by the fact that Sheffield United and Burnley [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":452,"featured_media":73362,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[293,49,203],"tags":[636,665],"class_list":["post-76427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-first-team","category-news","category-opinion","tag-russell-martin","tag-the-2022-23-season"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76427","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/452"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76427"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76427\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}