After Thoughts on: Swans

A late after thoughts this week, mainly because there is a lot to chew over, and also I have been rather busy. Yet whatever the reason, the write up about last weekends game will still read the same, not good enough. It is a shame to think that a side which last year looked full of promise, is now starting to sizzle out and has its own fans worried about the future.

When a side starts to do badly, there are three things to look out for.

First off are they conceding a lot of goals? Well this season, I have to say we have looked pretty solid defensively, minus the Manchester United game, we haven't let in above two goals. So a tick there.

Secondly are they scoring goals? Compared to last season we have scored massive amounts. Two players so far lead the way with three a piece in Franco Di Santo and Arouna Kone. A much better improvement and you wonder why it is going all wrong for us.

The third reason, which is a lot more important, is the effort factor. Is the team working well together and looking to get points and beat teams? Well we have done at time, now there is the key point. We have consistently had poor effort levels this season. In one game the team looks quick and sharp, while next they look slow and out of it. More times than not they have looked slow and out of it.

That is the problem and it was plain as day against Swansea City at the weekend. For the first half the team looked in pieces and none seemed to want to link up with each other. And when we didn't have the ball, we didn't mind letting Swansea get at us with the ball and let them have it.

That is not how we play and can play. We need to close players down and keep the ball for ourselves and play our passing game. Arguably we had one of the best passing moves of the weekend to score with Emmerson Boyce, yet we haven't seen enough of that so far this year.

What can the coaching staff do? Hope is all they can do. They train and coach them to the best of their abilities and can set them up the best tactically. But if it just isn't falling for the lads, then it won't fall for us. You do need that little rub of the green, and when we needed it on Saturday, the referee had his flagged raised.

It will be a much different preposition this weekend, more on that to follow tomorrow.