Swansea brief synopsis.

 

Swansea goals are here - [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

At first I thought it was a Luke blooper but if you look more carefully I think it was kicked from his grasp.

The next two were avoidable, but the free kick was superb.

who is number 16?

McHugh.

Greenskin wrote:

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.

Couldn't agree more.

Not too sure I agree Cobi. McCormick does have hands on it, but he doesn't really have any control or grasp of it. It was very poor by his standards, match sharpness not quite there yet. The second looks worse on video than it did last night. Looks to me like it bounces off a clueless Curtis and Amat naturally smashes it in from point blank range. Siggurdson's first was a pretty good break after Harvey gave the ball away in the middle of the park and it was a neat finish. Like you say, the forth was a cracking freekick.

Greenskin wrote:

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.

Of course and I concur that a grumpy manager can be greatly assisted by able and inspiring coaches. The addition of Paul [I can't pass] Wotton, isn't going to improve an already inconsistent and seemingly confused coaching set up.

spowell92 wrote:

Not too sure I agree Cobi. McCormick does have hands on it, but he doesn't really have any control or grasp of it. It was very poor by his standards, match sharpness not quite there yet. The second looks worse on video than it did last night. Looks to me like it bounces off a clueless Curtis and Amat naturally smashes it in from point blank range. Siggurdson's first was a pretty good break after Harvey gave the ball away in the middle of the park and it was a neat finish. Like you say, the forth was a cracking freekick.

Think I'd have to see it from a different angle, Luke should have got a better grasp on it, but that's irrelevant if he had 2 hands on it. I just get the feeling in a league match, with a screaming devonport end, that would have been given as a foul.

There was a clear difference in anticipation from Swansea, just much sharper.

Just to add, Sheridans natural persona will always open himself up to criticism. It's just the way he is. You certainly won't hear him broadcasting to the world his undying love for everything Argyle.

He may well fall short in this job, but you can he sure there will be big mitigating circumstances if he does. As has already been said, he's been there and done it in this division with a club that has a fraction of our potential.

Pitbull wrote:

McHugh.

thankyou....ive got my eye on him....hope they can find him a shirt that fits

Here are the highlights.....

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Pitbull wrote:

spowell92 wrote:

Not too sure I agree Cobi. McCormick does have hands on it, but he doesn't really have any control or grasp of it. It was very poor by his standards, match sharpness not quite there yet. The second looks worse on video than it did last night. Looks to me like it bounces off a clueless Curtis and Amat naturally smashes it in from point blank range. Siggurdson's first was a pretty good break after Harvey gave the ball away in the middle of the park and it was a neat finish. Like you say, the forth was a cracking freekick.

Think I'd have to see it from a different angle, Luke should have got a better grasp on it, but that's irrelevant if he had 2 hands on it. I just get the feeling in a league match, with a screaming devonport end, that would have been given as a foul.

There was a clear difference in anticipation from Swansea, just much sharper.

I agree with you regarding the Devonport end encouraging the ref to give the decision in the keeper's favour, but personally having seen it from 2 angles now I believe Luke's hesitation was the reason for the goal, not foul play by Donnelly.

Swansea were definitely much sharper and settled instantly, whereas Argyle were wayward for the first 15 odd minutes, but I think we all anticipated that Swansea would be a far better team than us. I actually believe we gave them a good game, and for the hour between the 1st and 2nd goal we managed to contain their attacks and create some decent chances ourselves. We looked the more likely side to score at the start of the 2nd half, but once the second went in and they brought on a mass of fresh legs it was only going to go one way.

If we perform like that against League Two opposition then we'll do alright. I saw some encouraging stuff last night, the squad just needs a bit of fine tuning.

I agree that if we play like that against L2 sides we'll be okay (with the formation we started the second half with). We kept two PL quality wingers fairly subdued, L2 wingers won't be anywhere near that good.

My main worry is the fact (no disrespect to them) that we have to have players like Steer, Allan, Harvey and Hannah filling our bench. We simply don't have the strength in depth across the team.

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.

Swansea was a strange choice of opponent for a pre-season game for a number of reasons but the gulf in class between their division and ours is the most obvious. It reminded me of when Warnock's mob (?) played Real Oviedo and got well and truly tonked (0-5?). Just what there is to be gained from chasing shadows on the way to a good hiding in the blazing sunshine is hard to glean. If they want to destroy morale and optimism on and off the pitch before the season has even begun this is a good way of doing it.

On top of which for all of their undoubted quality is there anybody living more than a few miles from Swansea that actually wants to watch Swansea play? There can't be many so as a draw for the curious fan they hardly stack up.

Especially when the point made by Greenskin about the respective visions for the way forward are so stark.

I couldn't bring myself to bother to go so won't comment on the players, performance or anything else about the match itself but this fixture, even as a friendly, was always going to resemble a kick in the teeth followed by a few more.

In the past Swansea were a club much like us in many ways. One of a handful that could happily wear the "most like us" tag but not any more; in just about every important aspect they now beat us hands down and on that basis a 0-4 home defeat is to be applauded.

As Spowell said did anybody really expect much different from this game?

VillageGreen wrote:

Here are the highlights.....

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

And here are the highlights from 12.07   

Pitbull wrote:

Swansea goals are here - [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

At first I thought it was a Luke blooper but if you look more carefully I think it was kicked from his grasp.

The next two were avoidable, but the free kick was superb.

_______________________________________
@cobijbudge

Pitbull wrote:

I agree that if we play like that against L2 sides we'll be okay (with the formation we started the second half with). We kept two PL quality wingers fairly subdued, L2 wingers won't be anywhere near that good.

My main worry is the fact (no disrespect to them) that we have to have players like Steer, Allan, Harvey and Hannah filling our bench. We simply don't have the strength in depth across the team.

I agree, our depth is a concern. Hopefully Brent allows Sheridan to address this. They're good young players and they'll have decent careers soon enough, but they're not what we want for a promotion push. Too many wildcards that may or may not come off as a successful gamble. I think Wednesday will be a more telling game however and it'll be interesting to see how quickly Sheridan can act to bring players in. He's said he's already got one in mind, so permission permitting that should be done quickly.

As a barometer currently watching AFC Bournemouth leading Swansea 3-1. Not flattering the hosts at all. #lookhowfarstripeshavefallen

Bournemouth are a good side who will compete well in the Championship this year? Despite some individual brilliance, I feel Swans will just about survive in the Premier League as they're not as good a group as what they have been in other years. What's your point Dick?

spowell92 wrote:

Bournemouth are a good side who will compete well in the Championship this year? Despite some individual brilliance, I feel Swans will just about survive in the Premier League as they're not as good a group as what they have been in other years. What's your point Dick?

Powelly, you know exactly what his point is, stop being so pedantic lol.

Tricky is just one of many who have detected the fact that our pre-season has been pretty disastrous.
I fear another season of mid table mediocrity , although to the likes of X Isle that would be fine, depends on how high you set your standards.

spowell92 wrote:

Bournemouth are a good side who will compete well in the Championship this year? Despite some individual brilliance, I feel Swans will just about survive in the Premier League as they're not as good a group as what they have been in other years. What's your point Dick?

Bournemouth are traditionally smaller than Argyle but credit to them, they're now a steady Championship club, we on the other hand are languishing at the ass end of nowhere on and off the field. I think that's Dick's point and it's a valid one in my opinion.

Bournemouth being greater than Argyle this preseason is no great shock. Having attend 3 of our preseason matches, I'm relatively optimistic for the season, but will feel more confident once Shez has secured his 3 extra players (depending on who they are of course). We may not have won our 2 tests at Home Park, but we did perform well in both, especially against Yeovil.

With regards to us being below Bournemouth where history suggests we shouldn't. Well that's a mix of their achievement vs our tragedy. But I'm still unaware really of what the point being made is exactly? Is it a dig at Brent's tenure? Or is it just an obvious statement that Bournemouth are currently better than us? I feel that to moan at Brent for us being below a very good Bournemouth who have found some fortune at a good time is harsh. There's areas to criticise him, but we can't blame him 100% for being where we currently are compared to Bournemouth. To argue that Argyle will have a struggling season because Bournemouth can beat a Swansea side in preseason that we can't is pretty ridiculous.

Oh dear   

Where did Dick, Punchy or I mention Brent ?

Where did we say that "Argyle will have a struggling season because Bournemouth can beat a Swansea side in preseason that we can't" ?

I think Dick's post was just gallows humour at how far we've fallen compared to a traditionally smaller club.

Anyway, more importantly...................have you got your new shirt yet ?   

Fair enough Asti, I may have over read into Dick's post and point, but forgive me when this site continually takes the turn to dish out jabs at Brent & co even upon irrelevant matters. For the record, I'm not a supporter of Brent, but following our preseason games I'm optimistic for what our first team can achieve on the pitch this season - just praying that we don't become slaughtered by injuries. And damn right I have my shirt, will be proudly wearing it at Cambridge next Saturday. :scarf:

Swansea and Bounemouth are miles ahead of us i never ever thought that would happen!  must'nt grumble, i'm still grateful! stripes are back. coming together nicely  cant wait to waive me Green Cardboard at the 500 exeter fans              Wake me up when this nightmare is over.