Wyn

Congratulations on going up. I had a feeling he'd get the better of Farke, because he'd won the tactical battle betweern them previously, at Swansea. The similarities with his time at Swansea are remarkable. The latest being his ability to change things when the chips are down. Early Spring in his second season Swansea were just above the relegation zone and there was talk of him being sacked. He then switched from a back 3 to 4 at the back, played more direct, sacrificing some possession. Finished the season with 7 wins and 2 draws. I think he'll do well for you next season, as long as he shows flexibility in his approach from the get go and you recruit wisely. A top half finish isn't inconceivable. On the recruitment side of things if a centre back is needed then Rodon will be available for around £15 million as he only has a year left at Spurs and they're looking to sell. He's had an excellent season at Leeds and is finally fulfilling his early potential at Swansea. I'm sure he'd like to join a possession-led side. Good luck for next season.

I beg to differ. Williams rescued the season and has us back on the right trajectory. With a preseason behind him he should do well. With regards to Martin I think he's fundamentally a good manager who's still young and growing as a coach. When you get back to the Premier league he should thrive. Interesting to note that the champions of the top 5 divisions all had 55% average possession or better (with top 3 in Premier league all over 58%) whilst all of the relegated sides in the top 4 divisions having less than 48% possession. When Swansea got to the Premier league they managed over 50% possession in their first season, spent next to nothing, and only missed out on a top half finish on goals scored. Possession football doesn't guarantee success but it's not far off.

If I'm a fossilised Welsh Dinosaur God knows what that makes half of Swansea's support...

You're probably right. Martin is still animating discussion on the Swansea forums a year on. I've never known a manager quite like him for generating such strong responses, in favour and against. I was mainly in the in favour camp, but he didn't half test my patience with his extreme take on possession football. It does seem he's evolved somewhat, especially with the high press. With Luke Williams now in charge Martin will finally recede in the rear view mirror for Swansea fans.

It's weird how the penny still hasn't quite dropped for Martin. When he was at Swansea, in his last season, in games where the team had over 60% possession they showed near relegation form, and in games where they had between 50 and 60% possession they had title winning form. The 7 wins and two draws that ended his time with the Swans was much more pragmatic and direct. But it's obvious from what I'm reading here that he's still struggling with his possession obsession addiction. Best of luck with the playoffs. We could do without you or Leeds taking up one of automatic promotion slots next season.

According to Fotmob, Bazunu has a negative goals prevented tally of -11.5 goals. In other words he's conceded 11.5 goals than that expected from shots faced. Pretty awful. Reminiscent of Fisher for Swansea last season. There was certainly a tendency last season for Swansea to concede some howlers, with the defence being far too open, leaving the goalie with little chance of saving efforts on goal. So perhaps it's not just your goalkeeper's deficiencies that are to blame for your relatively poor defensive record.

Swans fan here in peace. I posted here at the start of the season so I thought I'd add an outsider perspective now that the season has played out. From my standpoint Martin has performed for you towards the upper end of what I expected. Yes, the complaints about being obsessed with possession and defensive shortcomings sound very familiar. On the other hand the stats show you defend from the front with greater intensity than any other team in the league (lowest ppda, most high turnovers, most shots from high turnovers). This is something we didn't see at Swansea. You've also conceded a staggering 16 more goals from open play than your xG. Having a goalie in Bazunu with the second worst save percentage in the league, may go some way to account for that. It seems to me that you've been more than a tad unlucky. There may be better managers out there than Martin but for certain there are hell of a lot that are worse. By the way your two victories over us were up there with the most impressive performances by an opponent this season.

He's raw, but has developed over the course of the season. He's attracting interest from Spurs and Arsenal by all accounts, so he's more likely to move to the Premier League. Martin will rate him, but he's one for the future, so may not be the quick fix you might be looking for. Ogbene is versatile, and plays more as a winger than as a wingback, so that, and his availability on a free, might swing things his way. The only other Swansea player you might be interested in is Ntcham. Excellent goals from midfield, but does tend to go missing at times. Swansea have attracted some new investors, so I'm still hopeful we may be able to hang on to some of our players!

Thanks for that. I thought my post was fairly balanced, but as you've indicated other posters seemed to focus on the negatives. On balance, I like Martin, and I'm disappointed to see him leave. The walking football tended to happen against teams who came to park the bus, where it's difficult to play with tempo. He needs to allow his players to take more risks in the middle third, but I think that may well happen with a more balanced team available to him. He was hampered by playing without a decent right back/wingback all season, zero pace in the team once Obafemi left, and having to contend with prolonged absences for Allen and Walsh, who provided much needed impetus to our play, alongside Grimes, on the rare occasions when they were available. The player that Martin was so keen to sign in January to fill the right wingback berth was Ogbene, of Rotherham. The board refused to sanction a transfer fee for a player who had 6 months left on his contract. Ogbene would have added both pace and a right sided outlet, and probably would have got us into the playoffs. He subsequently put in a MOTM performance for ROI against France, so he way well be another player heading your way. To re-iterate, I rate Piroe very highly, he's worth at least £20 million in my estimation, but should be available for £12-15 million because of his contractual situation. He's just so composed and precise in front of goal, a lot of his goals are low shots that nestle into the corner of the net. His winner in the last match of the season illustrates the point Swansea City v West Brom | Extended Highlights | Swansea Albion's opener in that game also illustrates the dangers of playing out from the back. In that respect Martin takes a high risk approach, but it doesn't make much sense to take such risks if you don't have the pace up front, or the attacking intent in the middle of the park to take advantage of the space that opens up when you evade the high press. But with a more balanced team, that may not be an issue. Grimes is an all-round player, who plays pretty much every game, very rarely injured or suspended. He can defend, and has a great range of passing, chipping in with some lovely assists with through balls and beautifully lofted passes in to Piroe. But his role under Martin has been more conservative than under Martin's predecessors, and he needs a more dynamic partner in the double pivot for the team to be properly balanced. Swansea really need to hang on to him as he's been our mainstay through the Potter, Cooper and Martin eras, but I can see Martin prioritising signing him for you even over Piroe. If you were to sign Manning, Ogbene, Piroe and Grimes I would have you down as certs to go straight back up. But do you have £20 million to spare?

Swans fan here, in peace. Swansea fans have become well acquainted with various flavours of possession football down the years, with the likes of Martinez, Rodgers, Laudrup and Potter, but it's fair to say that Martin has been the most ideological of all. That's saying something when you consider how Swansea played under Rogers. Possession and control are everything to Martin, and it's fair to say that he has a blind spot for the downsides to his philosophical approach. Midway through last season I worked out for games in which Swansea had more than 60% possession the points return was, if calculated for a whole season, would have given us 48 points - i.e. borderline relegation form. For games in which we had between 50 and 60% possession our season-equivalent points tally would have been over a 100 - a title winning tally. On the pitch, this obsession with possession and control has far too often translated into turgid, walking football, with no intensity or tempo. A lot of Swansea fans have become fed up with this is, in spite of our history. To be fair to Martin there have been signs of him becoming less fixated on possession. A switch to a back four certainly helped the run of 7 wins and two draws at the end of the season. He has also started talking about adaptability in his pressers, so perhaps he's learning. Swansea's poor defence can partially attributed to having a very inexperienced lineup, with an average age of just 23 for the back line. A season-ending injury to Benda, our first choice goalie, led to the introduction of Fisher, who made several blunders, but improved at the end of the season. Playing out at the back has led to some goals (with the odd goal scored starting from the goalie), so that's on Martin. Swansea's defending of set pieces hasn't been great, and scoring from them has been even worse, although things did improve slightly this season. In spite of the negatives, I still think Martin is a good coach, and has a decent chance of succeeding with you, if the fans and board are prepared to be patient. One thing that's easy to forget is just how poor the standard of the Championship is compared to the Premier League. Lots of your players who've struggled this season will suddenly look top drawer dropping down a division. Kompany managed to turn Burnley into a possession based outfit overnight with very few acquisitions, so I can't see why Martin can't succeed too. As for our players, I can see you coming after Manning, Piroe and Grimes. Manning is available on a free (having run down his contract), and whilst a mediocre defender, he is excellent going forwards, with plenty of goals and assists. Leeds are sniffing, so you'll have to get in there early. Piroe is a class act. His finishing is of the highest standard, having the ability to stroke the ball into the corners of the net time after time. The only reason he doesn't seem to be attracting much Premier League attention is his lack of pace - but he's certainly top drawer at Championship level. He's only got a year left on his contract so Swansea's owner's will be desperate to sell. He could be yours for about £12 million. Grimes is the personification of the manager on the pitch. He's technically very adept, and very composed on the ball (the best pass completion of any midfielder in the Championship I think). However, he is a bit marmite, as he's the fulcrum of everything good and bad, and so attracted a lot of unfair flak when Swansea played walking football. I imagine Martin would be very keen to sign him, and that Grimes would want to move. About £8 million should seal the deal. I'll be intrigued to see how you fare next season. It should be apparent by Xmas whether Martinball translates to a better calibre of side. In the meantime, I'm hoping Swansea bring in Ian Evatt, who has a far better possession-based pedigree than Martin had before he joined us.