Jack Butty is back on the rocks, the chances of redemption are further away than ever. His crew are on their last knockings, completely down and nearly out. There is always hope though whilst there is life in the old sea dog that is Jack Butty. He has seen this before, and unlike those that have gone before him he knows how to fight and then to drag himself back in to contention.
Realistically the chance of making the playoffs is highly improbable. The last four games have seen too many points squandered. Therefore, how should we approach the remainder of the season? Most will agree a strategy is needed, for what is just under a third of the season left, to avoid meandering into boring mid table tedium. If the playoffs are not achievable then surely it should be about using the remaining games to make improvements in areas of weakness and accumulating as many points as possible. Essentially, we let in too many goals and don’t score enough.
With the joint worst defence in the league this is an area that needs urgent attention. As agreed by most on this forum, we should play with a back four with Ben Cabango in the centre. Defensive frailties are clear to all, and have been for some time. A back four is the first step to counter this and rebuild some defensive confidence. Playing the ball out from the back is, when successful, a positive style to retain possession. Just remember Freddie Woodman’s goal kicks that invariably went straight into touch and immediately surrendered possession. But too often, over the last two seasons, this has not been successful.
Ben Cabango
There have been numerous times when the ball has been thrown to a player, when it is clear to all watching that the opposition are poised to pounce, and a gaffe has led to a goal. There are two factors that can cause this. Either inappropriate moments selected to throw the ball to our players or players unable to play this system. The second we can do nothing about until the summer window, the former is a matter for urgent attention and needs strong coaching. A keeper knowing when is the right time to play out is absolutely crucial and at the moment neither Andy Fisher or Steven Benda provide confidence in their decision-making to do this at the right time.
Running at teams is something we haven’t done very much. Instead, too often we’ve had the slow passing which for the opposition is predictable and easier to defend. We did see some direct running from Luke Cundle, who probably had his best game in a Swansea shirt, during the first half against Blackburn. This was not only exciting to watch but usually led to a quickly retreating Blackpool line, scrambling to work out their tactical shape as Swansea players buzzed into forward positions. This happened a number of times and often led to the team’s best attacking movements and attempts on goal. We also saw this with Harry Darling running with the ball at Blackburn. But generally we have not seen much of this over the last 18 months with the exception, at times, from Olivier Ntcham and Jamie Paterson. When the ball is with our midfield the build-up movement can be ponderously slow. Using the option of driving at pace with the ball is an extremely effective variation and one of the missing links from converting high levels of possession into genuine attacking threat and goals.
Luke Cundle
With the introduction of Cundle, Olly Cooper and Liam Cullen we have players with energy and commitment (if Cameron Congreve was playing more often I’d add him to that list) who can harry opposition players and press when out of possession. Combined with the experience and guile of Olivier Ntcham, this is a set of advanced midfielders who can cause any championship sides problems. If Cooper and Cullen are given license to drive with the ball then the attack becomes multi-pronged with the opposition not knowing from where it may spring.
Morgan Whittaker took his goal well on Tuesday evening and deserves regular starts to show what he can do. Working alongside Joel Piroe will take some pressure off Piroe who has looked very jaded in recent games.If this could be combined with the courage and skill to get past a man with pace, dribbling and trickery then we really would be cooking on gas. Which brings me to the missing man of Swansea. Jamie Paterson would thrive in this environment. I hope that he sees this soon and gets himself back into consideration.
Although fans are understandably disappointed by recent performances, with many calling for Russell Martin to be sacked, the reality the head coach is still backed by the owners. Crucially he is also backed by the players, with Joe Allen the most recent speaking out in support. Martin has acknowledged that he has made mistakes, as would be reasonable to expect for any young and relatively inexperienced manager. It will be Important for him to use the remainder of the season to show how he has learned from these mistakes and makes the strategic changes that: strengthen our defence; sees more pace, variation and movement in midfield and cuts down goals against and adds goals for. Showing learning from mistakes will enhance the fans’ viewing experience and get them onside to support the project next season.