Mike Drop?
By Nigel Davies
The Swansea City job was never going to be an easy one this season – replacing Russell Martin, whose popularity remains undiminished for many, a massive reconstruction of the playing squad, a new Chairman and additional money men lurking in the Boardroom make for a tough gig. Michael Duff, the man entrusted with the Swans dug-out, has struggled with the burden to the point where the calls for him to go are reaching deafening levels…
I’m sitting at my desk in ATFV HQ slowly sipping my coffee as I quietly contemplate the damage Lyndon Dykes has just inflicted with his stoppage time equaliser for Queens Park Rangers.
The first thought that assails my frazzled mind is one of deep regret at having totally wasted £10 of my almost non-existent disposal income to watch a wretched Rangers side and an equally desperate Swansea City ‘fighting’ out a simply dreadful 1-1 draw on Swans TV.
My second thought is whether Michael Duff will last until I publish this very fanzine on the day of the Sheffield Wednesday home match in just four days time…
...if it was up to the majority of fans, he damn well woudn't be!
Duff’s had just seven League games, but he’s failed to win a single one of them. Duff’s had just seven League games but he’s arguably made us worse in each one of them. Duff has had just seven League games with a new squad boasting 13 new players and a determination to alter ingrained habits and change the style – is that really enough time? Many fans think it’s plenty of time to come to the conclusion that Duff is simply the wrong man and should be dispensed with NOW before he does any more damage.
And I’m struggling to counter that argument in all honesty.
Now I’m all for giving managers time, especially when they have been appointed at a time of great upheaval on and off the pitch, but sitting here in the immediate aftermath of the QPR game I just can’t see how Duff survives the week, never mind the season!
The first seven minutes of the game brought a change of formation as well as personnel and it brought some of the attacking impetus that was so glaringly missing from the hurtful South Wales Derby defeat to Cardiff in the previous game.
But then we take the lead with the most outrageously fortunate goal and just stop playing entirely. Let’s be honest, QPR were as bad as a Robert Page Wales squad selection, and yet we allowed them to dominate the rest of the game, and it came as a surprise to no one when Dykes headed home in stoppage time for the inevitable equaliser.
It seems strange to say, but maybe even some Swans fans celebrated it, thinking to themselves that a grim win for Duff would buy him some time whilst a desperate draw will be enough for Chairman Andy Coleman to pull the trigger and bring the misery to a merciful end.
Personally I'm lamenting the two points dropped as i fear we'll need them at the end of the season!
So why do so many fans want to see Duff dumped on the dole queue after just a couple of months in the job? It’s clearly a culmination of things which, taken together, trump the ‘he needs time’ argument:-
⚽️ Style – Duff was always going to alter Martin’s ultra passing game but nobody is quite sure what he’s replaced it with. Whatever it is, it is neither easy on the eye or effective. You can get away with one or the other, but not missing both!
⚽️ Results – Upon his appointment Duff was quick to ridicule Russell Martin as he pointed out that winning games was more important than winning the possession stats. Alas, Duff hasn’t been able to back up his argument by delivering results of his own. Many fans are prepared to put up with an ugly style if it brings positive results – we had two seasons of it under Steve Cooper – but Duff hasn’t delievered a single win in the League and that first elsuive win looks as far away as ever right now
Demeanor – There is an arrogance and surliness about Duff that just doesn’t sit well with many fans and he’s not helping himself with a number of gaffs in the Press. I get that he’s going to be defensive whilst results and performances are so bad but buckling under pressure and pissing off the fan base isn’t going to help him. There are a great many fans who fell that Duff ‘just doesn’t get our club or The Swansea Way’ and I genuinely think that some fans are afraid of what Duff will turn our club into if he was successful! Right now, I’m one of them!
So where do we go from here? Or more to the point where do Chairman Coleman and new Sporting Director Paul Watson go from here? Do they hold up their hands and admit they made a mistake and move to rectify it as quickly as possible by dropping Mike or do they stay strong in the face of growing fan unrest and give Duff the time to integrate all the new players and get them playing the high tempo passing game he keeps talking about?
Neither option is particularly palatable – if they admit their mistake then they’ll have to admit it was a bloody expensive one, a sizeable compensation amount to Barnsley almost immediately followed by an equally sizeable pay off for a club in our financial state would be difficult to absorb. However, the amount lost to the first option would be tiny compared to the amount lost should the club go for the second option and keep a man who seems wholly unsuited to the Swansea job and we end up in League 1 as a result.
And for those of you wondering which of those options I would go for?
I think we should drop Mike...but not until after the Wednesday game so I don't have to totally rewrite this fanzine again!
