Just over 6400 turned up at the Vetch - a stark contrast to the last three home games and against the ticket sales number predicted for next weekend. A travelling support of 302 meant that the crowd was down around 2500 on the recent crowds - indicative of the reports of a poor display last week at Bury?
Roberto Martinez came back into the starting line up with Lenny Johnrose dropping to left back. Stuart Jones replaced the suspended, and seemingly soon to depart, Richard Duffy. There was a start for Karl Connolly in place of the suspended Andy Robinson who donned a dodgy looking 70s suit for the occasion of spectator!
Freestone
S Jones O'Leary Iriekpen Johnrose
Britton Martinez Connolly
Maylett Nugent Trundle
There can be little doubt that the first half, aside from being dreadful, saw Cheltenham marginally the better side and Swansea can count themselves lucky that they weren't particularly good either. Plenty of Swansea possession turned into nothing of any note while Cheltenham looked for something but were lacking in ability to find it.
Come to think of it the second half was little better with Connolly hitting a post and Trundle's powerful shot turned over the only real efforts that looked likely to break the duck from a white perspective whilst Cheltenham were restricted in the main to long range efforts that generally were well placed for Roger to deal with.
Flynn made two changes - Thomas for the yet again ineffective Nugent and Coates replaced the (guess what?) injured Johnrose. A word of note on Johnrose - considering the abuse Howard gets at left back - Lenny was far worse today and yet doesn't receive half the stick? In his defence he was exposed by the lopsided formation that Flynn insists on regardless of personnel. Connolly a left footed player was often found on the right and Britton vice versa. Martinez looked a few yards off the pace in the centre of midfield and with Maylett being instructed to hug the wing all too often we found ourselves with no midfield. We know the result of that and that is the high ball to Nugent which just gives the ball back to the opposition. Treating it differently Thomas did little when he got on as the Swans showed that with performances like this they will never be much better than a mid table team. One gear is not enough of a step up needed at the moment.
At the back we look increasingly shaky and a decent team would very probably have beaten us on the day. We try to play some of our best passing movements across the back line but all too often find that we give possession away by doing so. Then we turn to the bypassing the midfield. Trundle looks the only one capable of producing anything and we have been found out that if the opposition mark him tightly then the danger is extinguished.
We have now wasted too many points to even think about automatic promotion - the play offs is the best we can hope for and many more performances on these levels will see that not happening. The formation is clearly not working for us and I wonder if it every really will. We are wasting the players that we have and Connolly needs sprinting lessons to realise that a walking pace is not likely to win too many 50/50 balls. Graham Poll the referee had a decent enough game and tried to let it flow although I suspect that had he blown for treatment to one of their players the same as he had for Lenny Johnrose we would be slightly less accommodating of the decision.
There is nothing like an entertaining flowing game of football and this was, indeed, nothing like one. A drab display from two poor sides would be the neutral's assessment and it is hard to disagree with that.
Man of the Match? Could you possibly pick a Swansea player that shone today? I couldn't.
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