| Martinez, Rodgers and Laudrup 13:49 - Feb 26 with 2923 views | elisha27 |
I'm a United fan, but your guys' forum is one of those I read fairly often these days, and I have a lingering question. Not having really been familiar with Swansea until you reached the Premier League, I am kinda interested in what the influence of each recent manager has been.
To the uninformed, like myself, the story goes that Martinez kicked everything off, Rodgers developed what he started, and Laudrup has developed it further, each with a similar philosophy to playing the game. However, is this an accurate summation? In particular, I wonder about Rodgers's contribution.
With both Rodgers and Martinez on the Premier League scene, I've seen plenty of both, but while Martinez always strikes me as an intelligent guy and innovative thinker, Rodgers has, especially since joining Liverpool, come across as more limited; an imitator rather than an innovator, and something of a self-promoter. It leaves me with this niggling feeling that Rodgers took the credit for the foundations Martinez laid, but I have nothing to base this on but a hunch.
So can anyone enlighten me on the actual influences of each manager? Who has been the most important?
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| Martinez, Rodgers and Laudrup on 14:16 - Feb 26 with 2913 views | DanishDuck |
Im a Laudrup fan, so cant really tell u about ur q. But i do share opinions bout Rodgers and it looks like he will have big troubles if more people recognize his masquerade.
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| Martinez, Rodgers and Laudrup on 17:00 - Feb 26 with 2883 views | Crustified |
Martinez without a doubt. Whilst the argument goes on that you can trace the start of the "revolution" back to Flynn and Kenny Jackett, I think it started with Martinez. Sousa was with us between Martinez and Rodgers - he made us more defensively sound, but we were dire to watch. Boring, but effective.
Rodgers is sadly morphing into David Brent with every week that passes. Some of the stuff he comes out with is shocking. Thankfully we only saw glimpses of it when he was with us. Rodgers was a good man manager, and him leaving seemed to upset the players when Laudrup took over. With Rodgers though we lacked a back up plan. He would have us trying to play our way out of everything, but there was no Plan B.
It really used to wind me (and no doubt thousands of other Jacks) up when the press would laud Swansea playing "the Rodgers way" - there's no doubt he enhanced what he inherited, but it was never his style of play. |  |
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| Martinez, Rodgers and Laudrup on 18:18 - Feb 26 with 2866 views | KingTuck |
Martinez implemented the nice passing football good going forward, woeful at the back. Sousa made our defence sound, conceding hardly any goals all season but at this we lost pretty much all attacking options (we did lose our top goalscorer Scotland when Martinez left and didnt replace him) .
Rodgers seemed to combine the two, done a great job to get us up the league and then keep us in the BPL while playing attractive football, was it his football style? i wouldnt say so, and thats why i think hes struggling at diverpool somewhat.
Laudrup replaced him, and he seems to have advanced us even further, the football being played is brilliant to watch and we can be confident both upfront and in defence.
Who was the most important? Huw Jenkins and the Board, they chose the right manager to take us forward every time |  | | |
| Martinez, Rodgers and Laudrup on 21:22 - Feb 26 with 2843 views | sherpajacob |
The previous posts have pretty muched summed it up.
My take on it- I'd watched football for 20 years at all levels and thought i knew a bit about it, until I saw martinez's side storm league one. Then i realised that everything i'd seen until then was kick and rush. martinez side was the first time i'd seen football played properly.
In the Championship we couldnt defend set pieces, so Sousa sorted that out and made us sound at the back, but with no cutting edge.
Rodgers was intelligent enough to see this and brought in scott Sinclair and brought leon britton home.
Rodgers is a good man manager, but simply doesn't have the higher level knowledge that laudrup has.
Laudrup has kept the style and added quality players he's knows from Spain.
What is key is not the manager or the players, (half of last years team has moved on) it is the culture and philosophy built by the chairman and the board.
Whilst numpties like talk sport, shearer, hansen etc "worry" about whether we can keep our manager and best players, as long as new managers and players buy into this culture, we as fans are not concerned, because it about the way we play and not any one individual. |  |
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| Martinez, Rodgers and Laudrup on 11:26 - Feb 27 with 2793 views | SA1_Jack |
| Martinez, Rodgers and Laudrup on 21:22 - Feb 26 by sherpajacob |
The previous posts have pretty muched summed it up.
My take on it- I'd watched football for 20 years at all levels and thought i knew a bit about it, until I saw martinez's side storm league one. Then i realised that everything i'd seen until then was kick and rush. martinez side was the first time i'd seen football played properly.
In the Championship we couldnt defend set pieces, so Sousa sorted that out and made us sound at the back, but with no cutting edge.
Rodgers was intelligent enough to see this and brought in scott Sinclair and brought leon britton home.
Rodgers is a good man manager, but simply doesn't have the higher level knowledge that laudrup has.
Laudrup has kept the style and added quality players he's knows from Spain.
What is key is not the manager or the players, (half of last years team has moved on) it is the culture and philosophy built by the chairman and the board.
Whilst numpties like talk sport, shearer, hansen etc "worry" about whether we can keep our manager and best players, as long as new managers and players buy into this culture, we as fans are not concerned, because it about the way we play and not any one individual. |
Your last paragraph is spot on.
Even though it would feel like a blow to lose Laudrup we all know that anyone can be replaced if need be due to the philosophy which is laid down in place behind it all. Our club feels quite unique in the way it is run, for all the right reasons. Huw Jenkins, the board and the Swans Trust all deserve recognition, more so than any one manager. |  | | |
| Martinez, Rodgers and Laudrup on 22:45 - Feb 27 with 2742 views | LeonisGod |
The styles are quite different, despite this 'Swansea way' thing.
In a nutshell since my time watching:
- Martinez - attack-focussed, poor(ish) defensive shape. Good scouting player recruitment.
- Souza - so defensively rigid it hurt. No flair or freedom moving forward. But this is probably the route of our discipline at the back even to this day.
- Rodgers - very structured and rigid shape and stuck to his guns, the only way he knows maybe? More often than not looking for the short pass and slow build-up to retain possession at all costs. Played wide, with wingers glued to the touchline. Pressured anywhere over the park when not in possession to win the ball back as quickly as possible. Stupidly high possession and pass completion stats as a result, but could struggle to break teams down. Agreed on your comments about his limits, but he was good for us at the time.
- Laudrup's team is narrower and move the ball forward more quickly. Short passes are still used, but we now frequently look to miss the first man and play much more vertical rather than across the pitch. We're happier sitting deep to and then look to catch on the break. We are so much more flexible than last season.
That's my take on it. There's technical terms for all of this stuff, but I can't remember them 
No one manager has been more important than the others - it's been a fantastic evolution. However, Laudrup has been able to bring a better class of player to the club (a combination of us becoming more attractive proposition and Laudrup being god reincarnate).
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| Martinez, Rodgers and Laudrup on 10:14 - Feb 28 with 2718 views | pansypants |
| Martinez, Rodgers and Laudrup on 22:45 - Feb 27 by LeonisGod |
The styles are quite different, despite this 'Swansea way' thing.
In a nutshell since my time watching:
- Martinez - attack-focussed, poor(ish) defensive shape. Good scouting player recruitment.
- Souza - so defensively rigid it hurt. No flair or freedom moving forward. But this is probably the route of our discipline at the back even to this day.
- Rodgers - very structured and rigid shape and stuck to his guns, the only way he knows maybe? More often than not looking for the short pass and slow build-up to retain possession at all costs. Played wide, with wingers glued to the touchline. Pressured anywhere over the park when not in possession to win the ball back as quickly as possible. Stupidly high possession and pass completion stats as a result, but could struggle to break teams down. Agreed on your comments about his limits, but he was good for us at the time.
- Laudrup's team is narrower and move the ball forward more quickly. Short passes are still used, but we now frequently look to miss the first man and play much more vertical rather than across the pitch. We're happier sitting deep to and then look to catch on the break. We are so much more flexible than last season.
That's my take on it. There's technical terms for all of this stuff, but I can't remember them
No one manager has been more important than the others - it's been a fantastic evolution. However, Laudrup has been able to bring a better class of player to the club (a combination of us becoming more attractive proposition and Laudrup being god reincarnate).
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We almost went out of existence TWICE - Huw plus a few others (plus fans)will never let the club go that way a third time.
Supporters own 20% of the club.
When you almost die you realise what was killing you and never motivate that factor again. |  |
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| Martinez, Rodgers and Laudrup on 11:42 - Feb 28 with 2706 views | DanishDuck |
| Martinez, Rodgers and Laudrup on 22:45 - Feb 27 by LeonisGod |
The styles are quite different, despite this 'Swansea way' thing.
In a nutshell since my time watching:
- Martinez - attack-focussed, poor(ish) defensive shape. Good scouting player recruitment.
- Souza - so defensively rigid it hurt. No flair or freedom moving forward. But this is probably the route of our discipline at the back even to this day.
- Rodgers - very structured and rigid shape and stuck to his guns, the only way he knows maybe? More often than not looking for the short pass and slow build-up to retain possession at all costs. Played wide, with wingers glued to the touchline. Pressured anywhere over the park when not in possession to win the ball back as quickly as possible. Stupidly high possession and pass completion stats as a result, but could struggle to break teams down. Agreed on your comments about his limits, but he was good for us at the time.
- Laudrup's team is narrower and move the ball forward more quickly. Short passes are still used, but we now frequently look to miss the first man and play much more vertical rather than across the pitch. We're happier sitting deep to and then look to catch on the break. We are so much more flexible than last season.
That's my take on it. There's technical terms for all of this stuff, but I can't remember them
No one manager has been more important than the others - it's been a fantastic evolution. However, Laudrup has been able to bring a better class of player to the club (a combination of us becoming more attractive proposition and Laudrup being god reincarnate).
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Lets face it.. uve been lucky appointing new managers, Huw's done a great job. But in reality it will be a gamble every time u get new player, manager or even when u start a new season, so i dont buy into this "we done great, so next manager will also be great". We who followed Laudrup for maaaaany years (since he was 18 or maybe even b4) know that he is something special, on the pitch, in the media and the principles he lives by. I hope he stays both for him and the club in some years from now, but with his name he has always been target for big jobs in football, add to that some success and he will get a fair chance in a top club in spain or any other country.
I just dont see how people (like Dyer and others) in their head can think that just bc. Huw been good and lucky time and time again, then it most be taking for granted in the future. Thats not how it works unfortunately! | | | |
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| Martinez, Rodgers and Laudrup on 17:18 - Feb 28 with 2685 views | james54 |
| Martinez, Rodgers and Laudrup on 11:42 - Feb 28 by DanishDuck |
Lets face it.. uve been lucky appointing new managers, Huw's done a great job. But in reality it will be a gamble every time u get new player, manager or even when u start a new season, so i dont buy into this "we done great, so next manager will also be great". We who followed Laudrup for maaaaany years (since he was 18 or maybe even b4) know that he is something special, on the pitch, in the media and the principles he lives by. I hope he stays both for him and the club in some years from now, but with his name he has always been target for big jobs in football, add to that some success and he will get a fair chance in a top club in spain or any other country.
I just dont see how people (like Dyer and others) in their head can think that just bc. Huw been good and lucky time and time again, then it most be taking for granted in the future. Thats not how it works unfortunately! |
What an excellent thread! I agree with nearly everything posted here. I wouldn't say we have been lucky with our managers, it's more to do with the choices made by Sir Huw and the board. Don't forget Martinez didn't see himself as a manager until he was chosen. Rodgers was an unproven manager and Laudrup, despite hia playing record and obvious intelligence and knowledge of the game, didn't have a glittering managerial record.
What Huw and the board (including the supporters trust) have done is provide their managers with an environment where they can realise their potential without fear. There is a continuity in the playing style so that both the manager and players can feel comfortable and can excel without the fear of major upheavals.
This is why Swansea could lose their manager and four influential players last summer and carry on without a hitch (not to mention winning a cup, going into Europe and looking like finishing higher in the league than last year).
My favourite manager is Laudrup because he gives the club gravitas with his dignity and intelligent management.
He will eventually leave, probably next year, but the club will carry on.
Swansea has now become a very attractive prospect for any aspiring managers out there. |  |
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| Martinez, Rodgers and Laudrup on 18:27 - Feb 28 with 2680 views | DanishDuck |
| Martinez, Rodgers and Laudrup on 17:18 - Feb 28 by james54 |
What an excellent thread! I agree with nearly everything posted here. I wouldn't say we have been lucky with our managers, it's more to do with the choices made by Sir Huw and the board. Don't forget Martinez didn't see himself as a manager until he was chosen. Rodgers was an unproven manager and Laudrup, despite hia playing record and obvious intelligence and knowledge of the game, didn't have a glittering managerial record.
What Huw and the board (including the supporters trust) have done is provide their managers with an environment where they can realise their potential without fear. There is a continuity in the playing style so that both the manager and players can feel comfortable and can excel without the fear of major upheavals.
This is why Swansea could lose their manager and four influential players last summer and carry on without a hitch (not to mention winning a cup, going into Europe and looking like finishing higher in the league than last year).
My favourite manager is Laudrup because he gives the club gravitas with his dignity and intelligent management.
He will eventually leave, probably next year, but the club will carry on.
Swansea has now become a very attractive prospect for any aspiring managers out there. |
Ur right.. my point was just this... Taking all the factors into play a manager in a club anywhere will at max have 80% chance to be success.. (i think thats a high % much higher than in reality), i dont think u can get any higher security that this manager will be a success. That will statistically leave a club who changes managers often, to fail also some times... :(
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| Martinez, Rodgers and Laudrup on 08:53 - Mar 1 with 2642 views | james54 |
| Martinez, Rodgers and Laudrup on 18:27 - Feb 28 by DanishDuck |
Ur right.. my point was just this... Taking all the factors into play a manager in a club anywhere will at max have 80% chance to be success.. (i think thats a high % much higher than in reality), i dont think u can get any higher security that this manager will be a success. That will statistically leave a club who changes managers often, to fail also some times... :(
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I agree that changing managers often is not a great idea. However at Swansea we don't have a choice as it is usually the manager who chooses to leave for a (perceived) bigger club. All we can do is provide continuity for the players and supporters.
So to answer your original question the most important manager for Swansea is the next one, and we have a pretty good record in that department. | |
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