{"id":85276,"date":"2023-09-03T09:00:44","date_gmt":"2023-09-03T08:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/?p=85276"},"modified":"2023-09-03T21:50:57","modified_gmt":"2023-09-03T20:50:57","slug":"duff-heavily-backed-but-can-the-swans-boss-start-to-deliver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/2023\/09\/03\/duff-heavily-backed-but-can-the-swans-boss-start-to-deliver\/","title":{"rendered":"Duff heavily backed but can the Swans boss start to deliver?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>One of the accusations that has been pointed at the owners in recent years has been the lack of backing of the managers in a transfer window.<\/p>\n<p>It was certainly something that was said about both Steve Cooper and Russell Martin who both left the club with suggestions that they wanted out due to the lack of support in the windows.\u00a0 And when you look back to the January window where we failed to make a single signing it is easy to see why those suggestions exist.<\/p>\n<div class=\"getty aligncenter\"><a id='D6LuykrXS0VBAsYUYss6Xw' class='gie-single' href='http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1640024506' 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:'D6LuykrXS0VBAsYUYss6Xw',sig:'-1F8lJDnQTpZc3LX-PulKnoU2HufEx6Oz4ggq77rrAU=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1640024506',caption: false ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/div>\n<p>However, it is certainly not a statement that can be made after the closure of the summer transfer window of 2023.\u00a0 \u00a0Michael Duff has been back to the tune of\u00a0<em><strong>thirteen\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>new additions in this window with players added across all areas of the pitch.\u00a0 It is one of the Swans busiest windows ever and shows a level of support for the manager and the recruitment team that has definitely often been missing.<\/p>\n<p>Of course many will point to the fact that we probably had to back to that level with a dozen departures from the squad that we had last season although the names of Michael Obafemi and Iwan Morgan are both in that list of a dozen so its stretching the numbers slightly.<\/p>\n<p>It is entirely feasible with the Cardiff game coming up in two weeks that we could see a side that is made up of at least eight of these summer signings which will tell you much about how much we have changed since the end of last season just four short months ago.\u00a0 \u00a0The challenge that Michael Duff now has when making this number of signings i he has to ensure that they gel together as a team and, based on the first five results of the season, he has to make that happen quickly.<\/p>\n<p>The question that many will ask right now is whether the transfer window can be deemed to be a success.\u00a0 Based on the early evidence of the season many would answer that with a resounding no.\u00a0 \u00a0One or two exceptions aside the new arrivals that have played regularly have not impressed hugely which potentially adds more pressure to the arrivals that we saw in the closing days and hours leading up to the window closing.<\/p>\n<div class=\"getty aligncenter\"><a id='LHn89EV5Q-hi-EMKlAQOnA' class='gie-single' href='http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1250352218' 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:'LHn89EV5Q-hi-EMKlAQOnA',sig:'Z0d-MNwWFQ1fA5SXxhNihmhxSeXLsT60r3Muxp4NQ6A=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1250352218',caption: false ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/div>\n<p>There is little doubt that Michael Duff would have wanted his side to settle down better than he has and maybe that is why he was so dismissive of the importance of the South Wales derby last night.\u00a0 \u00a0Acknowledging the importance of the fixture to both sides of the divide would only serve right now to place additional pressure on himself.\u00a0 \u00a0From himself.\u00a0 \u00a0Forget those comments for a moment there should be no way that Duff will know the importance of this fixture and the desire of both sets of fans to win it.\u00a0 And if he doesn&#8217;t then it is a bigger concern than some misplaced stupid comments in a press briefing.<\/p>\n<p>The last thing that Duff would have wanted straight off the back of the transfer window closing was a home defeat to Bristol City.\u00a0 \u00a0It wasn&#8217;t so much the result of the game itself but the performance of the team that set the most alarm bells ringing and those deadline day signings probably couldn&#8217;t have arrived at a better time.\u00a0 \u00a0It seems almost certain that three of them &#8211; Humphreys, Tymon and Pedersen &#8211; will feature in two weeks time given the shaky nature of our defence that has shipped nine goals in our five Championship fixtures to date.<\/p>\n<p>What he now has in front of him is a massive two weeks in his managerial career.\u00a0 \u00a0He has to take the players that he has been backed with and embed them into the squad and create the best team that he has available for selection.\u00a0 With the players that were already here he has a large squad available and with the summer window out of the way everything from here on in is down to him and his coaching staff.<\/p>\n<p>And it is only when they have shown their hands totally that we will be able to judge the success of the summer window.\u00a0 \u00a0Because remember it was a management team that joined as well as the thirteen players.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s over to you now Mr Duff.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of the accusations that has been pointed at the owners in recent years has been the lack of backing of the managers in a transfer window. It was certainly something that was said about both Steve Cooper and Russell Martin who both left the club with suggestions that they wanted out due to the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":85275,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[293,49,203],"tags":[1524,1509],"class_list":["post-85276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-first-team","category-news","category-opinion","tag-michael-duff","tag-the-2023-2024-season"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85276","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\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85276"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85276\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}