Another blow for Swans as Mak goes
CLAUDE Makelele has stunned Swansea City by leaving the club to take over at Belgian side KAS Eupen.
The Frenchman joined the Swans in January to become part of Paul Clement’s coaching staff. His initial deal was through to the end of last season, but he agreed terms on a contract extension early in the summer.
The ex-Chelsea midfielder had worked with Clement at Stamford Bridge, and at Paris St Germain, where they assisted Carlo Ancelotti.
The 44-year-old’s decision to leave the Liberty to take over a club who are bottom of the Belgian top-flight is a major shock and will only add to the air of gloom in SA1 after a tough start to the new season.
The Swans sit 19th in the Premier League table after losing five of their first six home games, with the most recent of those defeats coming against Brighton on Saturday.
Makelele was in the dug-out alongside Clement for the clash with the Seagulls, but it proved to be his last involvement as he has instead decided to take the opportunity to work as a head coach in the Jupiler Pro League.
The former midfield enforcer, who was so successful in his duties that the defensive midfield role was regularly named after him, had been a popular figure among the Swansea squad, who had appreciated his man-management qualities and the wealth of knowledge from an illustrious playing career.
Swansea’s players were informed of Makelele’s impending departure on Saturday, with the formalities of the move completed on Sunday.
Clement is understood to have been made aware of Makelele’s interest in a move to Eupen for a little while. They had been keen on appointing Makelele as their boss last term, before he joined up with Clement at Swansea. His previous stint at the helm of a club saw him have a five-and-a-half month spell with Bastia. There is no word on who, if anyone, will take over Makelele’s role.
A Swansea City statement read: “Claude Makelele has left his role as assistant coach at Swansea City to become head coach of Belgian top-flight club KAS Eupen.”
DEFEAT to Brighton saw an aspect of Swansea City’s play that had once been such a strength under Paul Clement reach its nadir.
Swansea were a consistent threat from set-piece situations last season, among the Premier League’s most effective sides from dead-ball situations.
Yet, less than three months into the new campaign it is an area of real concern with any number of players chancing their arm at producing the required standard of delivery and all falling well short.
How has it comes to this? What is causing the problem and is there a solution?
THE LOSS OF GYLFI Swansea scored 20 set-piece goals last season, the third-highest tally behind only champions Chelsea (24) and West Brom (21).
In Gylfi Sigurdsson’s dead-eye delivery and the aerial prowess of Fernando Llorente and Alfie Mawson meant they were always a factor, and some of the most crucial goals of their season came from set-piece opportunities like Llorente’s goal against Stoke and Sigurdsson’s free-kick against Manchester United.
They were also third in the Premier League for headed goals, with 15. They are one of only two top-flight sides without a headed goal to their name so far this term.
But this season, in 11 top-flight games, Swansea have got just one set-piece goal to their name which came in the form of Mawson’s turn and finish when a corner fell to him in the box against Leicester.
At that rate, Swansea would end the season with only four set-piece goals to their name.
It’s probably no coincidence that there has been a drop-off in set-piece effectiveness. After all, in Sigurdsson Swansea had one of the Premier League’s best when it came to set-piece quality, as well as a striker made for scoring goals through those means.
With neither man at the club, it was always going to be a challenge to try and match those levels. What probably wasn’t expected was that it would become such a struggle.
IS IT AS SIMPLE AS PRESSURE? Tom Carroll was the man initially tasked with set-piece responsibilities and made a decent fist of it on the club’s preseason tour of America, but he struggled once the serious action got under way and his confidence visibly drained away as the weeks passed by.
He was largely relieved of those duties against Brighton, but Swansea seemed to move further away from a solution rather than getting nearer to the answer.
Nathan Dyer, Ki Sung-yueng and Sam Clucas were among those to try their hand with the efforts of the latter two particularly angering supporters.
Clucas horribly scuffed one free-kick along the edge of the area, and followed it up moments later by over-hitting another. It proved the match to ignite the fury of supporters towards the directors’ box shortly after.
Clucas showed his own anger when he was substituted a few minutes later, taking a swipe at a water bottle as he headed to the bench.
Ki took over, but two terrible efforts from corners – one daisy-cutter and one too strong for anyone to get near – only added to Swansea’s woes.
TV cameras caught Paul Clement chuntering away in anger in the dug-out in the aftermath and the manager felt the pressure had got to his players and their confidence was suffering.
There were occasions in the closing minutes where players looked at each other as though wondering who would take a free-kick or corner.
But the reality is that players are going to have to be able to handle that pressure. It’s a fundamental aspect of their profession.
The atmosphere at the Liberty has not always been the easiest in which to play this season, but there cannot be a repeat of what proved to be a horror show.
WHAT DID THE PUNDITS THINK? The problem was picked out by Chris Kamara and Roberto Di Matteo on Sky Sports’ Goals on Sunday, and both were damning in their assessment, with the latter having sympathy for Clement’s frustration and anger at the lack of quality.
“You normally have a couple of players who deliver set-pieces well, but I think we have seen four or five takers there, so they are struggling to find a good one,” said the former Chelsea and West Brom manager.
“It is half a chance if you have a set-piece and you can put it in the right area.
“It drives you mad. If you are a manager and you are stood on the touchline and see this kind of stuff, it drives you mad.
“You can excuse one, but not a number like that where they have been nowhere near.”
Kamara was scathing in his assessment, describing the errant deliveries as “inexcusable”.
“It is totally, totally inexcusable,” said the former Leeds and Sheffield United midfielder.
“You practice every day in training and this is all you can get. You can’t beat the first man, then there is another free-kick where they can’t beat the first man. It is poor. Look at the delivery, it is shocking.
“The supporters see that and start thinking ‘what are these players up to?’
“You can see the players in the middle getting frustrated so you can understand the anger from the crowd.”
SO, WHAT NEXT? Supporters could well have found themselves wondering what sort of work is done on set-pieces when what they see on a matchday is as poor as against Brighton.
But, the fact is, Swansea do spend a lot of time working on set-pieces.
Clement’s assistant Nigel Gibbs oversaw a significant improvement in both defensive and offensive aspects during the second half of last season, no supporter would quibble with that fact.
However, that work is undone if the quality of the ball into the box does not give anyone in a white shirt the chance to get on the end of it when it matters.
It may well be fine on the training ground, but it won’t help you score goals and win games if you cannot transfer it to a matchday.
One of the major problems, as Di Matteo alluded to, is there is no reliable option for Swansea to turn to. Not one of the different takers handed the responsibility on the weekend was able to deliver.
This is not a situation where there is a simple answer. There is no obvious candidate to take on the duties, and the pressure Clement spoke of is not going to ease.
It is a test of character as much as it is of technique, and Swansea are going to need to show plenty in the coming weeks to solve an issue which has left them hamstrung so far this term.