WHAT WE LEARNED FROM SWANSEA CITY HAMMERING BY UNITED
PAUL CLEMENT NEEDS HELP ONE of the reasons for some of the downplaying of the recent doom and gloom around Swansea is because of who they have in the dug-out.
Paul Clement proved his worth as a Premier League manager last season and someone who can bring the best out of players with good tactical thought and training ground skills.
But, if it wasn’t already obvious, such attributes can only go so far if it’s not given support. Clement has been assured of being able to spend and spend well in the final throes of the transfer window and, while it only matters if the right players come in, not backing him now would be a major concern for this team.
Though there are injuries to take into consideration, the side are short of quality options and players with the kind of spark to change the flow of games now Gylfi Sigurdsson is no more.
The plan has been to soften the loss of Sigurdsson with two, maybe three, players to come in and make the side stronger. The opening games of the season are blunt reminders why it cannot be empty talk. BRAVE CALL, WRONG CALL THAT said about Clement, it would be fair to argue that he got it wrong making the changes he did here.
It should not be a stick to beat the Swans boss with that he is prepared to make changes to try and change the course of a result. It is good he has that confidence to at least try, especially when, ultimately, Swansea were a goal down and not laying siege to David de Gea’s goal in search of a comeback.
Clement opted to introduce wingers Wayne Routledge and Luciano Narsingh at the expense of Kyle Bartley, one of the three centre-backs who started, and Roque Mesa. Yet you wondered if, with United not pressing themselves, the defence comfortable, it was not a little too soon for the change that gave the visitors their countering chance.
More significantly, it looked that - having started sluggishly - Roque Mesa was really coming into his own and begininning to control his area with Tom Carroll and Leroy Fer pushed on. Easy to say. DEFENDING THE DEFENCE A 4-0 defeat, the heaviest to United in the Premier League, yet the scoreline was unfair on the defence breached four times.
Playing with three centre-backs for the first time under Clement, they handled the United threat well and scrambled and covered with little fuss when they tried to counter beyond the lines. Clement barked instructions and there was a good level of understanding for a new approach. Kyle Bartley might have done better with the corner that led to Eric Bailly’s opener -with Clement later saying he was disappointed Swansea had got their lines wrong -- but he held his own before being withdrawn for tactical reasons, while Federico Fernandez and Alfie Mawson in the main performed well. It seems daft to say after such a heavy defeat, but the defence remains a positive. FER ONE OF THE PLAYERS WHO NEEDS TO STEP UP LEROY Fer said in the week the sale of Sigurdsson means others in the side need to take more responsibility. He’s right, but he did little to show he is ready to do it just yet. Fer has come on much under Clement but he struggled to make an impact here. There were the odd flashes or passes that sparked hope, but he was brushed off the ball too often, gave up possession too often and failed to be a go-to guy Swansea need while they look for new heroes. JORDAN JUST NOT ON JORDAN Ayew’s performance was a huge disappointment for Swansea. Like with Fer, Swansea could have done with the creative players in the team playing to their best but this was one of Ayew’s poorest showings.
He has his limitations, but he often more than makes up for things with his work-rate and high-energy pressing. Playing in a two with Abraham, Ayew’s body language was shocking as -- despite clipping the bar early on with a cross - some poor touches saw him start to place hands on hips and stroll, only working infrequently. There were some odd moments where you thought he could wriggle some forward momentum, but he rarely looked for the ball back and had very little understanding with Abraham.