It was a comment made out of either frustration or a lack of managerial experience at this level after the home defeat to Bristol Rovers last night. The match report can be found elsewhere on these pages but the performance and assessment by most who witnessed the game wasn’t good.
Having thrown a number of under twenty one players in to those two recent games against Oxford United and Bristol Rovers Duff made a startling revelation post match. Not only does he think he now needs five or six more players in, he believes he has a number of younger players who are not good enough for championship football.
That has been met with stunned silence this morning, and it’s hard to work out if that’s a plea for more support for players, or just general frustration at what he has at his disposal at the Swansea.Com. Speaking post match Duff stated, "We are looking at players and we’re trying to get somebody. We’ve got twenty one players at the minute and, with respect to some of them, I don’t think they’re ready for Championship football. Between now and the window closing, I think we’re five or six players short.” We heard Russell Martin on numerous occasions last season mention similar things in potentially a more calculating way, but this was aimed straight at the heart of the club.
You can dress it up however you like, but that’s a public plea for support. And not for the first time this year we hear the same thing, this time with a different accent, but the same objective.
We do know there have been frustrations in recent days regards players, but it’s assumed now that Harrison Ashby ( Newcastle United ) and Carl Rushworth ( Brighton ) will both sign on loan next week. Ashby is a welcome addition in defence, and Rushworth will be seen as a replacement for Andy Fisher in goal. The Swans squad is a lot lighter than it was last season with the under twenty one players massaging the squad total quite a bit. With the opportunity to impress the new head coach this summer it seems a number of the development squad are deemed not good enough.
With no players signed for some time, and clear squad rebuilding needed we are not taking too much heed of the frustrations from fans at this moment in time. However, there is as Duff suggests deficiencies throughout the first team, and as it stands this side is not only deemed to have little focus or direction, they aren’t good enough as a unit either.
That’s been pretty evident over the last two friendly games which have both resulted in losses and no goals scored against opposition in a league below the Swans. On that and last nights game Duff stated post match, "I won’t give names until it’s signed. I’ve been in football too long. It’s not fair on a player if it goes wrong – it might be a medical issue or something like that – and you might get poached by somebody else” Fair comment, so there is a third player which the Swans are desperate to sign. The loans seem to be in very much a different stream to the one the Swans are fishing in if you break down that comment, Of course we don’t expect any names, that would be totally unprofessional, but the amount of players Duff believes he wants is alarming.
With Sporting Director Paul Watson and the new shape board now apparently being guided by Andrew Coleman it seems things have been stuttering of late. The club are either waiting for a sale or two or are being held up at source so they can bring in another key player. That last bit is concerning. There is a tone of frustration to all of this especially when Duff covered up what was a dismal Swans performance last night with a ‘positive slant’ to losing 2-0 at home to Bristol Rovers. The thing is you can’t say things are positive in one breath and then say you need half a team in the next. Duff stated, "Result aside, we were much improved from Friday. I thought we were a lot cleaner in our forward play, We should have been out of sight with the chances we had, we had many, many good chances. There are still 10 days to go until we start. We know we are short on bodies, the team at the end had five under-21 players in there. It’s needs must at the minute, so the main thing for me is more minutes into the legs”
Well, from this websites perspective that wasn’t much of an improvement on Friday. Yes, slightly but at no point did I or anyone else I’ve spoken to see a Swans side that should have been ‘out of sight’ at any point. We have seen numerous selections made that really shouldn’t have been, but as the head coach says, ‘needs must’ but what concerned me more than anything wasn’t the lack of cohesion, or the excuses we are now hearing. No, it’s the lack of effort on the pitch. Unless of course that’s the plan ? Surely if you are one of the five under twenty one players on the field throughout last nights game you would be looking to at least stand out with your physical exertion ?
I didn’t see much again against League One opposition for the second time in five days. However, we are getting ahead of ourselves here surely ? This stage of the summer it’s time to try things, learn things and develop what you have ? However, to hear those words ‘ five or six players ‘ with ten days to go before Birmingham City and their new found ability to sign players and prepare a team for the new season is slightly unnerving. Let alone the players Duff has on offer in some cases not being good enough.
A lot can happen in a week, especially at this time of the summer period. The whole outlook could be far better come next Tuesday as an example. However, as we stand today and knowing how the club have operated in the past regards transfers, I’m not holding my breath, but I do expect action on the obvious anomalies with immediate effect.