Swansea brief synopsis.

Well, I thought 4 0 was harsh.

The inevitable before the match, big quees meant many fans got in late and were blocking views.

Opening exchanges were cagey, but Swansea eventually found rythem, Shelvey excellent. I'll have to see the goal again, could have been a Luke blooper but I get the feeling in a league match with a screaming Devonport a foul would have been given.

We came in to it later on, Morgan almost toe poked in a goal and McHugh had a powerful header saved by Fabianski.

The 4 4 2 with Morgan/Reid upfront hadn't been that effective and Alessandra barely involved, McHugh, Banton and Cox the best players.

We changed to a 4231 second half and it worked well early on. Morgan looked very good on the wing, big and strong yet skilful, we were suddenly playing much better football.

Just when we began to dominate, Swansea got another after a set piece was poorly defended, and from there, they opened us up again and got another from 10 yards and the gamed seed to fizzle out as we made changes and became lightweight in midfield, although Harvey and Allen did hold their own. A stunning free kick sealed it.

It was a good work out for us and it wasn't a walk in the park for Swansea, although we just didn't get out shots away well enough.

Very good 5000 strong crowd and credit to the noisy 400 or so Swansea fans present.

I had 2 MOTM's, Cox and McHugh, both excellent.


McCormick - 5 - will have to see the opening goal again, he had no chance with the other 3, especially the free kick, even attracted cheers from the argyle fans, a truly stunning strike.

Mellor - 6 - fairly good, needs to get forward more.

Nelson - 4 - a surprisingly shaky display but I wouldn't look in to it.

Hartley - 7 - good, dominant, a leader. Big improvement on Trotman & Maxi.

McHugh - 9 - I thought he was excellent, strong, steady, can play at both CB and LB.

Alessandra - 5 - he's not an out and out winger, a bit better in the second half.

Cox - 8 - Very good display, solid yet skilful.

Norburn - 6 - clearly very talented, needs to pass more.

Banton - 7 - looked fit and skilful, got a great reception from both sets of fans.

Morgan - 7 - pleasantly surprised, better on the wing actually.

Reid - 5 - could take a while to regain match fitness

Harvey - 5 - held his own.
Allen - 5 - same as above.
Thomas - 4 - just seemed to run himself in to trouble a lot.
Purrington - N/A can't remember him seeing any play.
Steer - N/A but did make one good run.

How's the Pasoti 'grooming' going?

Credit to the noisy 400 Swansea fans   

Village.

Thanks for the report Pitbull, I hope you continue for the rest of the season.

Cheers for the match report.

Not that concerned about the result, Swansea were always going to be a much better team than us. However I think the team could do with a good result before the season proper starts. The pre-season so far has been pretty flat - doesn't feel like the build up to a season when we are going to be pushing for promotion.

seadog wrote:

Thanks for the report Pitbull, I hope you continue for the rest of the season.

Yeah, but please leave out the farcical polar opposite bad to good 1-10 marks in yer précis.   

who is steer :S

Flat_Track_Bully wrote:

Cheers for the match report.

Not that concerned about the result, Swansea were always going to be a much better team than us. However I think the team could do with a good result before the season proper starts. The pre-season so far has been pretty flat - doesn't feel like the build up to a season when we are going to be pushing for promotion.

Argyle have still got to play Yeovil Town and Weston-Super-Mare, so after those two friendlies there can be no excuses, as it will be bread and butter L2 football.

Surely JS must have his starting line-up already in mind for the trek up to Cambridge United on the 9th August. If he has, then he should play that side against Yeovil and Weston.

Angry wrote:

who is steer :S

An apprentice I believe.

And cheers guys!

The only thing really worrying me so far, is the form of Reid, very poor again today.

Reid never received the service,

Pitbull wrote:

Angry wrote:

who is steer :S

An apprentice I believe.

And cheers guys!

The only thing really worrying me so far, is the form of Reid, very poor again today.

Good report Cobi, despite the brent regime's attempts at making the club smaller, 5000 is a decent crowd which go's to show the punters are out there, it just needs ambitious leadership and the right product to draw them to Homepark.

Good report Cobi, though I disagree with your motm's. McHugh had probably the toughest task dealing with Dyer and Rangel, with only Banton in front to support. He did okay, but often looked stretched and his passing was atrocious. I thought Norburn out shone Cox in the middle, who seemed to take a while (like many others) to settle into the match and once he did his passing was wayward.

Banton, Norburn and Nelson were the 3 that stood out most to me by half time. I was disappointed to see Morgan return for the 2nd half, but in fairness to him he actually played well on the left of midfield. He couldn't have got any worse than his performance up top however.

Shelvey was a joy to watch, such a fantastic passer of the ball. Once he and Ki were subbed off we really managed to find a decent footing in the game and probably looked the better side for a good spell. Until Sigurdsson joined play and stole the show. We gave them a bloody good game actually and were we not so sloppy on the odd occasion then the scoreline wouldn't have looked so bad, but in the end the clinical nature and quality of the Premiership shone through. An enjoyable evening at Home Park, but plenty to improve before Cambridge.

better side for a spell when 2 down   
i ll nip into town tomorrow to buy some more straws for you to cling too.

5k crowd ? was it raining today ? 400 away fans better turn out then we used to play them   
brent out !

ps stripes will save us

  

I agree Elias.

I will wait for the excuses to come out when we lose against Yeovil.

Same old every year.

What excuses? Did you expect a win? Did you go?    

spowell92 wrote:

What excuses? Did you expect a win? Did you go?    

The same ones that appear every season.

For every premier league team we fail to beat there are ten non league offal waiting in the wings who gain results against us.
That old chestnut that friendlies mean nothing is a stupid fallacy that has been proved wrong time after time after time.....

And did I go? No

You know that I attend when I can

Please do not play that superfan horse-shit with me.

Playing no superfan horse-shit with you Punchy, I'm aware that you go when you can like myself. But to so vehemently slate this performance based on nothing but the result is wildly off from the reality of the evening in my opinion. It's the result I was expecting, but I was pleasantly surprised by the performance we gave and the type of football we were looking to play. A clinical premier league side capitalised on the sloppy mistakes we made, but 9 times out of 10 a league two team won't be so quick to punish us.

I understand you've got criticisms about the running of the club, but losing 4 nil to a Swansea side with some truly excellent players in it supports no argument that you make. In truth I share most of your concerns. Sheridan has expressed publicly this evening that he wants to address issues with the depth of the squad and will talk to the chairman about bringing in a couple more players. If this happens then great, and I'll feel that perhaps Brent is really backing Shez for a promotion push. If we fail to sign the players Sheridan wants, then it'll be evidence to me that Shez is stretching a mediocre budget to the best of his ability. The next couple of weeks will be telling on that one.

Thought I'd look in on the farm to get some of their takes on how things are shaping up :

'The lack of width still concerns myself. The fact Sherdian wants to put players in wide positions who love to always come inside. It worries me he was prepared to put Morgan out wide left again. Something we saw basically at the start of last season that was tried and failed miserably last season. So why try it again in a match?

We lack a totally unselfish player in our side who wants to get up and down the line and set up goals for others.

I thought we looked solid but seriously lack compose in the final 3rd of the pitch. Players out of position like Harvey for me doesn't bode well and says we are going to have a frustrating season. The main 11 look good at times but the lack of depth in this squad will mean team performances will be varied at best.

I was hoping the summer reshuffle might bring fresh ideas but when I see a pre-season with formation reshuffles from 442 to 4231 I think back to last season and think Sherdian still doesn't know how to fit everyone into the best combination for the benefit of the team. I keep thinking how it will be 352 soon and then I will realise that he tactically falls short and doesn't really have a Scooby-do!'

AND..............


'There's a subliminal vibe that tells me Sheridan doesn't have a scooby also. You can almost sense it.

Swansea were 100% drilled and organised with every player knowing their job and doing it well. The movement was incredible and there was always someone in an easy position to pass to. Not so with Argyle.

Yes I know Swansea are Premier League but I saw the same thing with many League 2 teams last year. We still don't look fundamentally organised, drilled or cohesive. The flashes of brilliance we did see today indicate that at least some of our players do have it in them, so I suspect it's largely down to our manager and threadbare coaching staff being unable to harness it or get it out of them in an effective and regular way because basically, they don't know what they're doing!'

So were Swansea trying to play more less hard than we were or were we playing more less hard than in other preseason freindlies or were both teams playing equally less hard than they would have done if it was a proper match?  I think we should be told.

Dougie wrote:

So were Swansea trying to play more less hard than we were or were we playing more less hard than in other preseason freindlies or were both teams playing equally less hard than they would have done if it was a proper match?  I think we should be told.

It's hard to tell to be honest.

Dougie wrote:

So were Swansea trying to play more less hard than we were or were we playing more less hard than in other preseason freindlies or were both teams playing equally less hard than they would have done if it was a proper match?  I think we should be told.

With due respect to the tongue in cheek factor,plain truth is that Swansea are a far better side than Argyle and the scoreline reflected the gap between the two teams,in the same way as the chickens came home to roost for Bradford City when they were annihilated by Swansea in the league cup final last year.The most galling aspect of a match like this from my point of view is that not so long ago Argyle were in a far stronger position to Swansea in just about every respect and the current situation is a damning indictment of the limp wristed,selfish,chicken hearted and downright greedy "leadership" at the top level of the club and indeed the city.

As usual people get caught up with both the score and individual performances, overall there were plenty of positives, mainly we kept possession pretty well, and there was good link up play, corners seemed better.
Free kicks need improving and defence still looks dodgy. Thought Mc Hugh looks unrealiable, Hartley impressed and Nelson was confident, Allessandra and Banton look good for the new season, Ruben no service so no opportunities. Morgan good for him but not gonna score a lot of goals is he?
So after a beating by a premiership team Sheridan has come out and said he will approach Jimmy for two more players which is about right.
Promotion? as usual give it 10 games in and we may have a clue.

Greenskin wrote:

Dougie wrote:

So were Swansea trying to play more less hard than we were or were we playing more less hard than in other preseason freindlies or were both teams playing equally less hard than they would have done if it was a proper match?  I think we should be told.

With due respect to the tongue in cheek factor,plain truth is that Swansea are a far better side than Argyle and the scoreline reflected the gap between the two teams,in the same way as the chickens came home to roost for Bradford City when they were annihilated by Swansea in the league cup final last year.The most galling aspect of a match like this from my point of view is that not so long ago Argyle were in a far stronger position to Swansea in just about every respect and the current situation is a damning indictment of the limp wristed,selfish,chicken hearted and downright greedy "leadership" at the top level of the club and indeed the city.

With the current leadership, the attitude of PCC and the jockeying for position of superfans, the outlook is indeed bleak for some time to come.

My gut feeling about Sheridan is that he is simply not inspirational enough to get the ball rolling on the pitch. Luggy mk1 may well have been one dimensional but it was effective at lower league level.
To create a passing team with a cutting edge takes a high level of coaching ability, aligned with signings to fit the bill and the all important belief in the coaches.
Looking at Shez and co., we are sadly lacking in any of those requirements.

Tringreen wrote:

Greenskin wrote:

Dougie wrote:

So were Swansea trying to play more less hard than we were or were we playing more less hard than in other preseason freindlies or were both teams playing equally less hard than they would have done if it was a proper match?  I think we should be told.

With due respect to the tongue in cheek factor,plain truth is that Swansea are a far better side than Argyle and the scoreline reflected the gap between the two teams,in the same way as the chickens came home to roost for Bradford City when they were annihilated by Swansea in the league cup final last year.The most galling aspect of a match like this from my point of view is that not so long ago Argyle were in a far stronger position to Swansea in just about every respect and the current situation is a damning indictment of the limp wristed,selfish,chicken hearted and downright greedy "leadership" at the top level of the club and indeed the city.

With the current leadership, the attitude of PCC and the jockeying for position of superfans, the outlook is indeed bleak for some time to come.

My gut feeling about Sheridan is that he is simply not  inspirational enough to get the ball rolling on the pitch. Luggy mk1  may well have been one dimensional but it was effective at lower league level.
To create a passing team with a cutting edge takes a high level of coaching ability, aligned with signings to fit the bill and the all important belief in the coaches.
Looking at Shez and co., we are sadly lacking in any of those requirements.

Sheridan won this division 3 seasons ago with Chesterfield,scoring 85 goals in the process,so he must have been doing something right then.He also had some decent seasons with Oldham in the league above and i can't remember that either club were especially renowned as big spenders.Maybe a pertinent question would be to ask if the manager has been allowed to bring his own staff with him-the retention of McCarthy and Owers and the subsequent promotion of Wotton from within the current staff would suggest that perhaps that isn't the case.If under the darkest days of the Fletcher regime,someone had said that a manager would be appointed who would take the club from relegation certainties [which Argyle were] to a position of 10th and a flirtation with the play offs,then most would have taken it,including myself.Of course it isn't satisfactory that Argyle are in this god awful division-one season is one too many-but it was hardly Sheridan's fault that the club found itself in such a position.I would doubt very much if it was Sheridan's recommendation that the most creative and productive midfielder at the club be sold either and can't help wondering the effect that it may have had on the new players who joined the club under the impression that a real attempt at promotion was the target for Argyle this season. The manager will undoubtedly be under pressure to get the club promoted this year but i do hope that a "throw the baby out with the bathwater" situation doesn't arise and yet another appointment from within is the outcome if results aren't forthcoming in the early part of the season-this would indicate that the problems at HP go far deeper than the opinions of some know all influenced by Gary Neville pushing buttons on a TV screen would suggest.