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Reply | Ronald Pereira Martins
at 08:53 20 Feb 2026
Remember a season when it seemed as if we didn't get penalties and up pops Leon Britton in the box and penalty won. Skillful players like Galbraith and Britton knowing and timing things right to win the penalty,.we haven't got the ball in the box enough to players who have good tricky ball control who invite challenges, Cullen experience gets him in good positions in the box but often he has to resort to one touch plays, I personally would like to see Widell in the team more as his on the ball skill level is better than Cullen although he is still finding his feet at Championship level being himdered by injury to find that knack of getting goals or penalties.
Ronald's timing of the going down under contact often is poor or over exaggerated but quite often he is being foul
Ronald has good body strength to knock defenders off the ball, we have seen it when quick or high balls are played to him and it is one of the reasons that they are, the fact a number of players go down under the slightest of touches to gain an advantage should not be surprise but often defenders test their opposition forwards resolve with bad tackles from behind Ronald knows this and has had a number of full back on yellow cards but then sometimes we we stopped playing through Ronald, when we did a number of teams have had to replace the fullbacks for fear of a second.
We have played the long high ball up to Ronald and Vipotnik but haven't had anyone close to take advantage of their presence and to be fair Vipotnik has only this season started being effective in the aerial battles but that does seem to be changing under Matos, little things are beginning to click , the more they do the better but players like Ronald need quick ball and support if that support is not forthcoming then often a winger can look a lot worse than they are, O'Brien's play and experience meant more forward players were brought into the game early, the same can said under Matos's coaching giving forward time and space on the ball to create scoring opportunities a number of teams have realised this and have resorted to sitting deep again rather than try and press us high and as Sheffield Wednesday did suffer the consequences.
Matos's now needs to ensure he has players who can break down those deep lying deference while no over committing players to suffer the counter attacks giving away goals,freekick in dangerous areas and corners against teams known to cause problems at set pieces. |
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Reply | Ronald Pereira Martins
at 23:23 18 Feb 2026
It should have been the same with Key getting forward but the understanding or communication between them has been shocking. Galbraith has been able to intercept passes to the wingers because he has got tighter to mark the wingers, it was the same with Tymon who has improved under Matos hopefully the same can happen with Key but breaking old habits or learning from coaching can be hard for some. May be a problem for Key knowing that Cabango and Burgess need cover from quick attacks and think he must be in a position to cover and leaves the winger free, Tymon did, You have to let the midfield do their job while as a fullback you do your primary role properly. |
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Reply | Swansea City v Bristol City : Match day thread
at 23:09 18 Feb 2026
Is the team selection for home games now more or less set or will Key get a look in and move Galbraith into the midfield, who would be dropped, Matos could fiddle with the the home team line ups but I very much doubt it will be by much.
Some have suggested there could be surprises in selection which in some ways can be good as it keeps the opposition guesting how to counter our strategy, have we become a team once ahead hard to gain the initiative against. So is a unpredictable change a good thing to grab hold and take the advantage early in a game? [Post edited 18 Feb 23:26]
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Reply | Congreve continuing to make an impression up North
at 17:08 18 Feb 2026
Congreve, Cotterill and Dhanda all starting for Dundee FC to play the Swansea way?
Not too bother on how ex Swans player Dhanda is doing but if it has a positive effect on the other two great.
Congreve always seem to have a positive effect when played for the senior team in the right or peripheral position to gain much needed Championship experience seems to playing well. Cotterill is the one who interests me given his role which we may need in the near future, saw him a few times in the under age teams and seemed as if everything went through him seemed capable enough but like the first team at the time the play seemed too slow. I know he played senior games last season in the lower leagues and had a number of games for Bristol Rover this season before his move to Dundee, would know if he is capable of upping the tempo and able to command the midfield to dictate the game?
See Tom Woodward"s name in the under age reports and is their any difference in the game play of contributions.
As for Ben Lloyd seen a little of him and thought he showed promise in the final third but like, Parker and Congreve hasn't been able to make the step up yet, lacking consistency? |
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Reply | Ronald Pereira Martins
at 16:12 18 Feb 2026
Think a number of us appreciated Naughton's qualities but understood some of his weaknesses, both got amplified with age, in the end it was time for us to ensure we had an adequate replacement.
As for Ronald after his intial promising start he floundered but so did the majority of the team, this season throw in all rhe new inexperienced players, at Championship level the obvious lack of understanding between Key and Ronald both have been questioned as to their selection.
Ronald is our only winger as such, Inoussa after a good start has struggled and has now been hindered by injury very much like Eom last season and this season, Widell had looked to be getting up to speed and causing defences problems while being an asset in defensive terms able to both get us out of trouble and cause trouble with his pace and skill but progress hindered again by injury?
Ronald does look for Vipotnik during attacks and Vipotnik looks for him both assisting in the others goals. When you have partnerships that get us goals in open play why would you try and break partnerships if they work, similarly Galbraith playing on the front foot provides Ronald and Vipotnik both with quick ball possession which they have previously been starved of? [Post edited 18 Feb 17:11]
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Reply | Swansea City v Bristol City : Match day thread
at 08:40 18 Feb 2026
Will be interesting to see Matos team selection for this game given Stamenic banned, Widell coming back off an injury.
Matos seems to want to see us control games, it seems he has seen the issues caused by the team getting carried away in pressing too many players forward without playing attention cover in the defense, who we are playing against and if we are home or away, has addressed that so reducing the number of scoring opportunities teams have in open play against us.
A home team has an expectation to attack so when the Swans are away the number of our scoring chances usually come from break aways goals did we have the players good enough to be effective at the quick counter attack in the starting eleven, Derby played the waiting game and waited for the set pieces and profited from them much as we have in recent games, did we have a good enough in first eleven to defend against Derby set pieces it would appear not.
Surprised he didn't start with Fulton against Derby because Fulton is a better option in the aerial battles needed against Derby seen in his game under Sheehan to thwart Derby's upturn in results in last seasons home win.
So who starts against Bristol City and how do we get the upper hand on a team above us in the league? Do we rely on the set pieces or can we open them in general play if they keep their defence tight and try hitting us on the counter attack?
For me we keep the same back four, Tymon, Cabango, Burgess, and Galbraith, the midfield Fulton, Franco and Widell in for Cullen because Widell has now become a better attacking outlet creating openings with his skill and pace to effect our forward game and has become accustomed to the requirements his midfield defensive role needs in the Championship.
I would keep Ronald on the right because he is causing problems up top and defensively, the same could be said of Eom as well so would include him as well , that may seem harsh on Nunes but is he fully up to speed with the rigours of the Championship and be able to perform consistently for his time on the pitch both in defence and attack, all about getting the right mix in defence and attack.
Eom has come up with a goal and I think Widell will hopefully start to put away opportunities.
Is Fulton now a better option than Stamenic or do you play them both while ensuring you have a dynamic midfielder along side them, we will not see that combination for a while but will it be the preferred option by the end of the season? |
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Reply | Congreve continuing to make an impression up North
at 13:52 16 Feb 2026
The youngsters needed game time at a level at which they can push on, nice to see our young players on loan getting good game time, showing they can compete at the senior level with the teams they are with at the moment, are they improving enough to enable them to get good game time at the higher Championship level remains to be seen, as we have seen this season our spine is not as strong as we would like it to be, needing to rely on Fulton to add an amount of Championship experience that many of our newer players lack, needing to improve certain elements of their game.
Parker is now not getting game time in a problem position. we have opted for experience, this season to bring on the likes of Galbraith, Widell and Stamenic, who all look capable but have shown that lack of experience. Yes they are looking like good players but they need game time to get that midfield right, we have seen different midfield combinations but it is only certain ones that make us look threatening up front while keeping us defensively solid, hope Matos can find the right line ups and not flounder as Sheehan did being unable to do so. |
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Reply | Swansea City v Sheffield Wednesday : Match day thread
at 23:47 8 Feb 2026
Where has the real Jay Fulton been hiding since the play off final defeat.
It was such a pleasure to see him making the pass and then the runs forward into space again, giving us a forward momentum, obviously it wasn't just Fulton but seeing him travelling confidently forward with the ball at his feet whereas he normally only ever takes one or two touches on the ball.
Matos has got us playing as a team and not a team of individuals, players offering the man on the ball options with movement while that movement is holding the opposition up allowing the player on the ball time to make the right decision and allow us to get further up the pitch to get into dangerous positions.
Think we still need to build confidence to get further up the park, in that first half we had a number of long range shots that were never going to trouble their goalie, happier for us to just work the ball further forward to make those shots a more viable option. Nice seeing us looking to create the spaces higher up the pitch which eventually saw SHW off. |
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Reply | Swansea City v Sheffield Wednesday : Match day thread
at 18:53 8 Feb 2026
Glad to see us finishing the job of after going 1-0 up, had my worries in the first half because we didn't get the second even though we should have. Always a concern about us dropping intensity and letting the opposition back in the game and old players scoring against us.
In the end job well done. |
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Reply | Swansea City v Sheffield Wednesday : Match day thread
at 13:01 8 Feb 2026
They are committing at least 5 players to counter attacks while we press forward in numbers, can be a dangerous game to play, Matos seems to make sure we have an amount of cover but.
Would question at times we seem to have five sitting in a row up top waiting for the ball instead of offering themselves, nit picking but need to kill the game off before they get their tails up. |
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Reply | Swansea City v Sheffield Wednesday : Match day thread
at 10:51 8 Feb 2026
Team announced, Stamenic, Cullen and Franco, I do worry about how the selection of Cullen affects our defensive strength, he has gained more experience in the role so maybe I am being a little pessimistic. |
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Reply | Dream Gigs
at 22:55 4 Feb 2026
Wouldn't mind catching an incarnation of Supertramp never a big fan buying album of theirs but bought Paris a double live LP amd was impressed so wouldn't mind catching Roger Hodgson. Having said that some of the bands I would have liked to see are knocking on a bit and then there is the stupid prices of tickets. I notice the Swansea Arena has now got the over priced VIP seating nonesense with varying prices near the front. Not that bothered in some ways as my hearing would struggle with the volume near the front now anyway.
Edit Lucky enough to see AC/DC headline at Donington Monsters of Rock one day event in 1981 they were spot on, Whitespace, Blue Oyster Cult, Blackfoot, More and Slade at the same gig. [Post edited 5 Feb 7:39]
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Reply | January Transfer Rumours
at 22:18 2 Feb 2026
Is Walta move structured as a loan now,permanent later because of the number of foreign players restrictions in a season and was that the case with Widell? |
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Reply | Watford v Swansea City : Match day thread
at 13:20 1 Feb 2026
If something works more than happy to use as needed but you would have expected the top goal scorers to be marked properly or are we being coached better for set pieces. Good whipped in corners into the front post only needs a little space in front of the defender and a minimal contact with the ball, very hard then for defenses to react quick enough. |
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Reply | Who's that new right winger?
at 09:48 1 Feb 2026
Nice to see him get the goal and yes he has the pace to play on the wing and playing in front of a defensively strong full back he could be an asset similar to the way Connor Roberts played in front of Naughton and Bidwell played in front of Manning under Cooper, possibly in front of Ward, Galbraith, Parker or even Ronald?
Really think Key had picked up so many bad habits under Martin and Williams the pressure on him to keep possession of the ball led to him taking far too many touches on the ball in dangerous positions, the emphasis on a wingback style meant he was expected to get forward with the ball expecting cover at all times to be in place from the midfield or the back three, leaving his defensive skills abandoned and almost considered unnecessary, leaving him seemingly hapless in the art of defending against a winger, does he get tight to stop the skillful winger having the ball to feet enabling them to run him ragged or drop off to prevent the ball over the top for a pacy winger.
You have to say Tymon suffered the same problems as well but now Tymon seems to have learnt under Matos that the correct position as a full back enables him to read the winger, able to get a foot in, intercept passes and know how to defend the ball in behind him and when it is going to be used. A good defensive position also allows the fullback to attack the aerial ball which again Tymon is doing. A good winger is always cause fullback problem and often doubling up is required when they have balls in their control.
Key just hasn't got to grips with his defensive role in the Championship because of what has been asked of him previously. Yes we do want to see fullbacks joining the attack at times , playing both Stamenic and Fulton maybe afforded the fullbacks the cover to mark the wingers tighter or allowed our fullbacks to get forward at times but as commented during the game Stamenic left too much space to players in the midfield dropping off, that was addressed later in the first half as Fulton experience being allowed to be used you could see him having a few words with Stamenic, quite amusing really as we had previously seen Fulton under different managers and different captains being far too deep at times.
Really hope Key can now get his confidence back and with help amend his game under Matos because under other managers, I will exclude Sheehan , it looked as if no defensive coaching had been done expecting players to be of Championship quality which meant young players were dumped and forgotten while others were left trying the same old thing that didn't work.
Good players try and improve their weaknesses to compliment their strengths but often need advise on how to do that. |
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Reply | Watford v Swansea City : Match day thread
at 18:12 31 Jan 2026
We are getting results a lot of the time through set pieces.
Job done today not too many silly slip ups in the first half and took advantage of the spaces left as the home team are obliged to pressing the second.
Happy withwin. |
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