Potter remains dignified as offside goal is so costly
SWANSEA City suffered their first away defeat of the season on Tuesday as they lost to an incorrectly awarded Joe Allen strike just before the hour mark at the bet365 Stadium.
A heavily-revised Swans side were always in the contest in the Potteries, and will feel they deserved to emerge with a point after a gutsy effort in which they couldn’t make the most of a handful of promising situations.
The result saw the Swans drop to 10th in the Championship table on a night with a number of talking points.
Here, we assess some of them...
Opening half-hour points the way forward
Given the number of changes to the Swans side, it was hard to know what to expect from Graham Potter’s men in the Potteries.
In the end they gave a good account of themselves, particularly during an opening half hour where the fluidity of some of their play in keeping possession and in attack left you inclined to check just which of the two sides had made seven alterations from the weekend.
The front four of Wayne Routledge, Nathan Dyer, Dan James and George Byers linked well, with Matt Grimes working busily around them and the two full-backs getting forward to join in.
Stoke struggled woefully by comparison, unable to deal with the high press from the visitors and getting little joy when they tried to look long for Benik Afobe.
It did not take long for the home fans to start getting on the backs of their team, and the atmosphere was nigh on mutinous at times.
But that was as much to do with Swansea’s performance, as it was that of the home side. Swansea could not maintain that level, but it served as further indication of the continuing development of their play and it was heartening to see. Hopefully there is only more to come.
McBurnie underlines his importance
Potter has previously spoken of the need to try and manage Oli McBurnie’s workload, with the striker having played through toe and knee problems prior to the international break, which eventually led to him being withdrawn from the Scotland squad.
But allowing the ex-Bradford man that brief respite has been difficult given there is no like-for-like replacement currently available.
So it meant a change of system, but once McBurnie was introduced with 26 minutes remaining he took little time to underline just what a difference he makes as a focal point in the final third.
Swansea found themselves able to retain possession with more regularity, and he brought the likes of Routledge and Yan Dhanda into play with good hold-up play.
His energy levels lifted those around him, teeing up Dan James for one chance which Butland saved, before unleashing a brilliantly improvised volley which the Stoke keeper had to acrobatically tip over.
Routledge and Dyer get their chance
The positions of Routledge and Dyer have garnered almost as much attention as many players who have featured regularly under Potter so far this season.
But, after being on the bench against Nottingham Forest on the weekend, they were handed their first minutes of the season as Potter shuffled his pack.
The pair have had plenty of criticism from many quarters in recent seasons, but they showed enough here to suggest they can be more then useful if they are called upon again.
Potter retains dignified stance following blunder from officials
This was the second match in a row where Potter could justifiably have had grounds for complaint with the work of the officials, it reveals much about his character that he has remained dignified in the wake of those fixtures.
Having seen Scott Duncan’s failure to properly punish a number of niggly fouls at the weekend, he then had to watch a key man in Bersant Celina hacked out of the game by the sort of robust challenge Nottingham Forest knew they could get away with following the referee’s early leniency. One bad tackle on Joel Asoro later in the game did not even merit a free-kick.
Potter did not make a scene; acknowledging referees have a tough job and not wanting to unload any frustration in the direction of the man in the middle.
Yet that frustration must have been increased by the manner of Stoke’s winner. Not only were Allen and Afobe both offside from Tom Ince’s initial strike, but the Wales midfielder ended up in front of his team-mate as the ball fell for him to slot home.
In fact, one still image shows there were four Stoke players in offside positions when the ball leaves Ince’s foot. The error was enough to ensure Swansea headed back to South Wales with nothing to show for their efforts on a night where they could justifiably feel they merited a share of the spoils.
Potter admitted he felt the error was obvious, but went no further. Some will feel he would have been well within his rights to have voiced his opinion in a far stronger manner, and indeed he would have been.
But it also feels refreshing to see a manager resist any urge to weigh in on the errors of officials in a current age where many need little encouragement.
Woods and Allen predictably impress
It was somehow inevitable that two men who could so easily have been wearing Swansea shirts ended up having big roles in their downfall at Soke.
The chance to re-sign Joe Allen was passed up in 2016, and the Ryan Woods saga finished the same way two years later ensuring they lined up in midfield against the Swans. Woods was awarded man of the match, although that felt harsh on Allen whose class in possession proved a major factor in the game.
The Wales international twice created great chances for Afobe, and mopped up the danger of Swansea attacks with the sort of assuredness no-one who has followed his career will have needed reminding of.
And, even if his goal was offside, there was little doubt he was going to find the net once the chance fell to him.
Woods was quiet initially, and did not have a major influence on proceedings as Swansea pressed well and limited his room in the first half.
But he grew into the game as it went on, and he was a stand-out performer during the see-saw final 25 minutes or so as Swansea chased an equaliser and Stoke tried to kill the game off.
At times he seemed to be everywhere and, given this was just his second league start for his new club, one can only assume he will get better.
Would he have made a difference to Swansea? On this evidence it was hard to see how he would not have been an asset.
What could this manager and these players do with more backing?
When the line-ups were unveiled an hour before kick-off there was the need to do a double take just to make sure you had read the line-up right.
Changes had been expected, but not as many as seven to go with an alteration of system. On paper you may have feared the worst but, as has been the case so far this season, Swansea defied expectations.
It remains to be seen how long they can keep doing so, but supporters could not have quibbled with the effort and application of those who wore the club’s colours.
So, it is hard not to once again ponder what Potter, his staff and these young players could accomplish with that little bit of extra help that did not come their way during the summer.
Just consider what two or three further additions would do for this squad, potentially turning draws into wins or defeats into draws?
And, by the way, that is in no way a criticism of the players contributing to Swansea this season. It’s not even about age or experience - Swansea had the youngest starting line-up in the Championship at the weekend it’s more about that little extra bit of depth and variety of options for a team who have more than held their own with everything the division has thrown at them so far.