His scurvy crew had lashed him to the foc’sle, which is where he was when the schooner beached at Pencarrow Head. Dusting himself down, Jack Butty recruited a new crew from the taverns and houses of ill repute in Polperro. He roared ‘The Butty is back’ to the seagulls and crew. A salty cap’n and crabby, too, but Jack Butty is back.
LOST POINTS AND OPPORTUNITIES
The anticipation for the Swans’ run of Christmas games was quite high. The Swans have shown patches of excellent quality throughout the season, although this has not been matched by performance consistency. Positioned just outside the playoff places and with a winnable group of games ahead, the Swans certainly had an opportunity to make progress up the table. And this was the time to do it – to show the Championship the team’s intention to bid for a playoff place and, in doing that, demonstrate the club’s ambition to players that would be approached during the January transfer window.
From Saturday, 21 December, to last Saturday, the Swans played Hull (A), QPR (H), Luton (H), Portsmouth (A), and West Brom (H). Five games, fifteen points available. The return was seven points gained. Normally, such a return wouldn’t be regarded too critically, especially when one of the teams was in very good form (QPR), one had a good recent home record (Portsmouth and one (West Brom) was in a playoff place. Plus, the adage that there are no easy games in the Championship.
Despite this, I and many others were disappointed. We had hoped for a better reward, particularly after strong performances against QPR, followed by Luton. The loss to Hull, who were at the bottom of the table, could be partly attributed to their team's performance for their new coach, Ruben Selles. But the Swans were poor, and Luke Williams commented post-match, ‘I thought it was a dreadful performance and a result that matched it for us.’
In contrast, the next game against QPR was probably one of the best, most complete performances so far this season. The goals came in the first half, the first from the currently undroppable Liam Cullen. The second was from Goncalo Franco and was a wonderful moment for him, scoring his first league goal for the Swans. In the second half, the Swans easily managed to contain the quick QPR start and the rest of the game.
The following game against Luton was a hard-fought win for the Swans, who refused to be intimidated by Luton’s agricultural football style. During the first half, Cullen squared up to McGuiness and Kraus, and in the second, Luton had a player sent off. Luton were aggressive, but the Swans matched them in that. Franco scored again, and Myles Peart-Harris headed the winner in stoppage time.
Recent games against Luton have been a bit tasty. Many will remember the 3-3 result at Kenilworth Road (September 2021) when Luton’s Henri Lansbury kicked Ryan Manning up in the air as he walked away from a free kick. The Swans will likely be reacquainted with Manning in the FA Cup next Sunday. The win against Luton moved the Swans into ninth place. At this point, I’d set aside the loss to Hull as one of those games and was much more hopeful after wins against QPR and Luton that we could push on over the rest of the Christmas period. And that tasty goal a few weeks before in Luton.
This was undone on the first day of the New Year against Portsmouth (below) who were at the foot of the table. Portsmouth showed passion, energy, and aggression – everything we were not. They used a fast, aggressive press, which we couldn’t cope with. They had their shooting boots on, so it seemed every chance became a goal. We were guilty of sloppy defending, and the whole team lacked sharpness. The 4-0 result brought back memories of last season’s thrashings we had at the hands of Southampton, Leeds, and Leicester. Finally, last week’s draw against WBA would normally be seen as a creditable point against one of the league’s top teams.
So, what to make of this group of games? The intensity of the number of games during the Christmas period is certainly mentally and physically draining for players. This has been even more evident for Swansea, as it is widely acknowledged that the squad's lack of quality and depth is likely a major reason for the performance inconsistency we’ve seen.
The opportunity for a push from this group of games has probably ended hopes of a playoff place come May. If true, that is disappointing for fans, although most will welcome midtable safety provided the transfer window incomings show some positive building of squad depth and quality in January and next summer.
Jack Butty, he don’t wash when he has to.