Ipswich Town travel to South Wales to face Swansea City this afternoon (3pm KO). Alex Jones takes a closer look at the Swans.
An ill-advised appointment
Michael Duff is clearly a talented manager. He took Cheltenham Town, a mid-table side in League Two, and turned them into a title-winning outfit that would go on to survive comfortably in the third tier. He then moved on to Barnsley, who he took to the League One Play-Off final in 2023.
A move to Swansea was appealing, and he jumped ship to take charge of a Championship side for the first time last summer. It looked like a great move on paper, but Duff’s style is direct and defensive. Swansea’s philosophy is the total opposite.
As a result, performances were poor and fans quickly turned on the Northern Irishman. A 2-0 defeat at arch-rivals Cardiff City felt hard to come back from, but a run of four wins and a draw from their next five games saved his job.
Results fluctuated up until he was sacked on December 4th, two days after a 1-1 draw against Huddersfield Town. The board admitted that the appointment didn’t match the ‘identity’ of the club, promising that the next manager would be hired on that basis.
Williams’ arrival
When Duff won the League Two title with Cheltenham Town in 2021, Luke Williams was working as assistant manager to Russell Martin at MK Dons. He’d end up following the former Norwich City defender to Swansea that summer, working in the same role until the opportunity came up to manage Notts County.
The 42-year-old never had a playing career above youth level due to his involvement in a serious car crash in his early 20s. He had to work hard for every opportunity in coaching.
‘Sometimes I would work 20 hours off the bat, get three or four hours’ kip, back to work,’ he told The Guardian about his early career. He was earning £1.50 per head coaching children in Hackney one moment, then loading lorries for British Home Stores on Highams Park industrial estate the next.
He did whatever odd jobs he could to make ends meet, having left school without any GCSEs. From his career-ending surgery to being stabbed with a champagne flute on a night out in Edmonton, it felt like everything and everyone was working against him. But in 2023, it all paid off when he guided the Magpies back to the Football League and turned them into a top-end League Two side.
The opportunity to come full circle and manage Swansea was too hard to turn down, and it was a move he deserved. That being said, as an attack-minded manager with very specific ideas of how football should be played, it’ll take time for him to get his ideas across in South Wales, especially because his predecessor was much more defensive.
He’ll be given every opportunity to do that, but their current form is a clear concern, even if they’re not at immediate risk of relegation.
A familiar issue
Ipswich know what it’s like to concede early goals. It’s been an issue that’s plagued them for the last few weeks, although their 4-0 win at The Den may show that they’ve turned a corner.
Swansea are facing a similar problem, which may, in part, be down to the difference in style between their previous boss and their current one. Like Millwall, the Swans have made a mid-season managerial change that has seen them swing from one style of play to another. Neither of them have had the results to show for it at this point.
Under Williams, Swansea are conceding early goals far too often. In their five defeats under him, they’ve conceded nine goals within the first 20 minutes. Six of those have been in the first 10 minutes.
Fixing that is difficult, especially for a manager who’s so determined to play a certain way. It's also important to recognise that their recent run - which is one win, one draw and five defeats in their last seven - has seen them face some top teams.
That being said, Town went through a spell of starting fast in games towards the back end of 2023 and will be hoping they can take advantage of their opponents’ soft core.
What the manager has said
Williams was really frustrated by Swansea’s performance in their last game - a 4-0 defeat at home to Leeds United. He’s expecting them to show a huge improvement, and he’s confident that they can do that against Ipswich.
“The players have been brilliant in how hard they work. We just need to keep putting the repetitions and the practice in, and we then have to go and put that work out on the pitch,” he said via the club’s official website.
“Of course, I was upset after the game in midweek, but there is no issue with the application of the players and how they are working.
“But I am telling them and everyone that we have to start playing football and thinking about the game at a higher level so we can try and compete, not just be in this division but make a fist of it.
“We absolutely have to get back to work, we do not have time to sit and sulk or dwell on the game in midweek.
“We have to go and work and put in a much better performance.”
Who could start
Swansea’s recent lineups feel like they’ve been picked out of a hat, but performances have been so inconsistent that Williams has had to chop and change much more than he would’ve liked.
Injuries have played a big part. Seven players expected to miss today’s game, including Harry Darling and Jamal Lowe. The latter put in an excellent performance in the reverse fixture against Ipswich back in November.
Against a side like Ipswich, the manager may turn to experienced heads like Kyle Naughton and Joe Allen. Between them, they’ve played more than 800 games at various levels.
Jerry Yates is off-form at the moment, but he’s arguably their biggest attacking threat, which may see him earn a recall after being dropped against Leeds
Possible XI: 4-2-3-1: Rushworth; Naughton, Cabango, Humphreys, Tymon; Allen, Grimes; Pereira, Paterson, Placheta; Yates
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