Swans slip up in Swiss fog
I've based this on the limited patches of the game I caught on the ITV website, plus comments and match reports from fans and pundits. For highlights, you can click the link below to watch them on the ITV website.
For the first time in what seems like a very long time, I wasn't able to watch the entire Swans match due to my working hours. Stupid Europa League kickoff times. Apparently though, I didn't miss much - media reports gave us credit for being the better team in the first half, but the overall reaction seems to be very negative, with fans seemingly unhappy with the level of performance.
Gerhard Tremmel is reported to have enjoyed a fine evening, and there was nothing he could do about the goal, or the disallowed one which preceded it. The one that wasn't ruled out was worrying in that there were two St Gallen players unmarked waiting to tap the cross into the net, and as for the disallowed one...I thought the decision was very soft. It seemed Taylor played the ball into the net long enough before the attacker came in that the goal could well have stood, but that's not a point I've got any interest arguing if I'm honest.
Why aren't we performing to the best of our abilities on a regular basis? I've (as any readers of the blog can attest to) debated that on many on occasion, but I still feel the problem lies in our inability to maintain possession in the centre of the park, and (crucially) that possession actually being used to create through the middle - as opposed to passing the buck and playing it once again out to the full-back. Against Newcastle, our central midfielders enjoyed a higher pass-count than either of the full-backs and, surprise surprise, we won 3-0. On many other occasions this season, however, our full-backs have seen more of the ball than anyone else, and therein lies the problem. Controlling possession means nothing if you don't also control the game.
I've just remembered I couldn't find a stream for the Birmingham game away in the League Cup - so it hasn't actually been that long since I wasn't able to watch a match. That aside, we'll all obviously be hoping for a better result against Norwich this coming Sunday. A loss there won't be tempered by advancement in the league like tonight's result, and Norwich - despite the differing media perceptions surrounding their level of success so far this season compared to ours - can go above us if they win. For the morale of the team as well as the fans, an upturn in form is needed at the moment.
Onwards and upwards, I suppose.