SwanMan

Evening everybody. I would like to start by saying that firstly, I'm a Swansea City fan. Secondly, my intentions are good - I'm not here to wind people up, or be abusive, or get into arguments. My main aim in joining this forum is simply to share information with you all about what you can expect for next season. I may know a thing or two about your new manager Here's what you can expect: The Good - Clean sheets. Lots of them. - He'll foster a siege mentality amongst the players - team spirit will be good. - Relating to my last point, some of your fringe players, who you perhaps don't particularly rate from last season, you may be pleasantly surprised to see the level of performance he will get out of them. - Your defenders, as individuals, will come on leaps and bounds. If your keeper had any weaknesses, expect improvement, especially in the air. - Tactically, your players will improve. He will introduce small but good habits like focussing on keeping possession when ahead; time wasting to protect a lead; generally, better professionalism. - Some managers come into a club and claim that everyone starts with a clean slate, more often than not that is a lie. Not with Sousa. He will genuinely give everyone a chance over the first 2-3 months to prove themselves. The Bad - You will struggle to score goals, I guarantee it. It is basically 'catenaccio' - classic Italian football. The focus is on keeping shape; 0-0 is always regarded as an acceptable result. - You prefer Steve Howard to Matt Fryatt, right? No, of course you don't. Well, sorry to disappoint you but the former will probably be the first name on the team sheet, but don't be surprised if he doesn't fancy the latter. With Sousa, his 4-5-1 requires a big lump up front at all times. If you don't have cover for Howard, expect him to bring someone in. - Flair players will not thrive. They are asked to do more of a job for the team, but this is to their detriment in the attacking third. - If you're not used to players getting muscle strains, then get used to it. The training is not good, conditioning of Swansea's players seemed to deteriorate last season compared to the previous year. - God help you if the chairman doesn't give him what he wants. Toys will be thrown swiftly out of pram! - His transfer record at Swansea was patchy to say the least. Beattie, Van Der Gun, Lopez and Kuqi all failed to catch fire. All came with big reputations but delivered little. I hope you find this useful as the season progresses. I'll be watching with interest to see how Sousa does, because he did a decent job for us overall. The one big complaint being the lack of goals. Good luck next year and all the best. SwanMan -