Martinez: Left his project half-finished. Photo: Dan FarrimondBrendan Rodgers may have taken most of the plaudits after guiding Swansea to the Premier League, but it is Roberto Martinez who deserves the main credit for the Jacks’ historic achievement.
It was the spring of 2007 when Swansea’s road to the Premiership really started. The club had been drifting outside the League One play-offs for years, and clouds of confusion and nostalgia were hanging over a fanbase still licking their wounds after the heartbreaking departure of Lee Trundle.
Six months earlier, current Millwall manager Kenny Jacket had departed to pave way for the reincarnation of Roberto Martinez? – the Catalan getting his first managerial job at the club he had enjoyed a three-year spell with as a midfield general and skipper only a season earlier.
The summer had given him time to prepare, and a host of players from the Spanish lower leagues were added alongside a couple of free-transfer signings from Scotland. I had just started my studies in Swansea at the time, and was privileged enough to witness a transformation that was to break with the conventional values of lower league football.
Fundamental changes
For Swansea, the appointment of Martinez signaled a shift in philosophy which was as brave as it was radical. Indeed, the nature of the team he was about to built has arguably been unique to the lower leagues of English football in modern times.
Whereas Swansea had been like any other club up until then – favouring the standardised English template of 4-4-2 and a high-tempo playing style – Martinez created a possession-based 4-5-1 system suited to a slow and patient tempo.
Success did not come easy. Martinez was initially undecided between a 4-4-2 and a 4-5-1 formation, and many games at the Liberty saw Swansea keep the ball for long spells inside their own half trying to outpass the opposition – to no effect. The movement was slow, there was no initiative and players were clearly uncomfortable with the system.
Indeed, several games ended goalless despite Swansea holding the majority of possession, prompting criticism that the club had failed to replace Lee Trundle who was so famous for his individual brilliance and match-winning moments.
This struggle provoked a fascinating contrast of cultures. While players would try to pass themselves out of trouble, the fans would scream from the stands telling them to “get rid” or “hit it forward”. Yet they were to be won over by a style of play that previously seemed to have been placed beyond their imaginations.
The philosophy settles
Martinez stayed true to his values and eventually settled on a 4-5-1 formation. With it came stability and a team of several new players who did not only start to know each other, but also the framework and ideas within which they operated.
Tactics: The system that won Swansea the league in 2007/2008Key players in this side, which eventually won League One by a 10-point margin, featured many new faces. Two players had been brought in from ADO den Haag – Swansea’s collaborative club in Holland – in the likes of goalkeeper Dorus de Vries and midfield playmaker Ferrie Bodde.
Spanish midfielder Andrea Orlandi was also brought in from the Barcelona B team, alongside lightening winger Paul Anderson on loan from Liverpool. Strikers Darryl Duffy and Jason Scotland came from Hull City and St Johnstone respectively, with the latter eventually winning the fight for the position as sole striker.
Additionally, another Spaniard, Angel Rangel, was brought in at right back from Terrassa, a club outside Barcelona who once produced a certain fellow Spaniard – Xavi Hernandez.
Team structure
The midfield of Swansea in 2007/2008 had the same functions as it has today. Centrally, Ferrie Bodde was deployed as a Xabi Alonso-esque distributor with the dynamic duo of Darren Pratley and Leon Britton on either side.
The only reason Leon Britton was playing centrally was because of the excellent Paul Anderson, whose pace down the right-hand side was a constant menace for slow League One full-backs.
Britton, who was voted player of the years as a right winger the previous season, was re-invented as a possession-keeping central midfielder, a role he still masters to perfection. Vastly underrated, he was arguably Swansea’s best player under Martinez.
On the left wing, Andy Robinson tended to cut in inside to test keepers with curly long shots, while Jason Scotland – albeit lazily – held the ball up well. The Trinidad and Tobagio striker was almost unplayable at his best, and produced some moments of brilliance which decided several games.
Together, they made up a team who broke down the conventional rules of Championship strategy. They rarely crossed the ball but instead relied on cut-backs and long-range shots. They took short set pieces instead of pushing centre backs forward. And they were able, in a manner alien to other teams, to control a game through their brilliance in possession.
Below is a selection of highlights from their title-winning 2007/2008 season, as put together by SwanseaJack3:
The Championship
The solid work of Martinez had laid down a basis which made them well equipped for Championship football. Unlike fellow rivals based on guile and guts, Swansea were there because of talent implemented within a system which was repeatable and sustainable over the long-term of a season.
Their year ended with a respectable eight-place finish, and the national media started to recognise Swansea’s style of play. Perhaps the most impressive display came at home in an FA Cup quarter-final against Fulham, where the visitors were played off the park only to sneak a 1-1 draw through an own goal.
One among many to offer praise after the show, the Telegraph wrote: “Such was Swansea’s style against Fulham on Saturday that they drew more lascivious looks than was decent on Valentine’s Day.
“At 35, Martinez is “as smooth as a cashmere codpiece,” according to Ian Holloway. You never know, the Spaniard might well have a penchant for Prada pants, but it is his eye for turning bargain basement players into proponents of such easy-on-the-eye football that is causing a stir.”
As the Telegraph rightly mentioned, Martinez had vast success in the transfer market. Excellent players such as Jordi Gomez, Nathan Dyer and Ashley Williams were acquired on a shoestring budget, while the remaining players continued to develop their technical ability.
Yet for his fantastic project blossoming in front of the whole nation, Martinez accepted an offer from Wigan after the season – his first club abroad from Spain as a player – after the departure of Steve Bruce. With him came Jason Scotland, and Swansea were forced to find another manager to resume his legacy.
Below is Scotland’s trademark goal against Fulham in that FA Cup tie, signalling a lot of what Swansea would miss under their new manager the next season (video created by SwanseaCityNo12).
Paolo Sousa
The Swansea board had seen how successful Martinez had been and were keen to continue their continental style of football. In came Paolo Sousa, who had certainly had a continental playing career, and he guided Swansea to seventh, missing out on the play-offs on the last day of the season.
But while Sousa continued the possession-based style of Martinez, he made Swansea a lot more defensive. Hardly any midfielders ventured forward and the players took few risks with the ball. Conversely, the defence was rock solid, and the Swans were masters at squeezing the space between defence and midfield – in a similar manner to the side of the concept’s inventor; Arrigo Sacchi and his AC Milan.
The result was a team that conceded only 37 goals in 46 games, but which also scored only 40 goals – the least in the league, 22 less than relegated Scunthorpe; 50 less than league winners Newcastle. Central to this was also Sousa’s poor dealings in the transfer market, with Shefki Kuqi and Craig Beattie offering little but muscle and grit in front of an otherwise silky side.
At the end of the season, Sousa accepted an offer from Leicester City, and Swansea appointed Brendan Rodgers. It is difficult to say if Sousa ever improved the Swans. His signings were woeful and his style highly conservative, but he did bring a sense of much-needed cynicism and defensive positioning to the side.
Brendan Rodgers
The campaign of Brendan Rodgers is probably more documented than either Sousa’s or Martinez’s. His signings have been outstanding, especially the capture of Scott Sinclair and Fabio Borini. But just as important have been the revitalisation of Stephen Dobbie and Leon Britton, the former loaned away by Sousa, the latter returning after jumping off the sinking ship that was Sheffield United.
Flying: A Swans flag is waved at the Wembley play-off finalIn summary it is fair to say that Rodgers’ team resembles a mix of Martinez’s fluency and possession-based approach, and Sousa’s organisation abilities and defensive rigidity. Yet the influence of Sousa was only a layer on a work started from scratch by the current Wigan boss.
Indeed, Rodgers’ have simply been a continuation of the Spaniard’s work, albeit a very good one. The formation has changed slightly, with the triangle in midfield now turned on its head, but essentially the style is the same.
And so are the players. Out of the starting line-up against Reading in the play-off final, Scott Sinclair and Fabio Borini were the only ones that were not in Swansea under Martinez’s tenure, or brought in by him.
Conclusion
But make no mistake; Rodgers deserves immense credit for his work at Swansea City and his professional attitude as well as gratitude in defeat. Chairman Huw Jenkins clearly has an eye for managers, and has only appointed men who are dedicated to carry the project on with the same ideals as Martinez.
Yet, as previously stated, it was the Spaniard who made the radical transformation from just another Championship team to a club which now plays a sustainable brand of football that can compete with the rest of the Premiership teams. Similarly to the legends of Liverpool, it is not only down to charisma that Bill Shankly is held in higher estimation than the more merited Bob Paisley.
It tells about an unprecedented change when a Championship outfit is dubbed the league’s own Barcelona. It is only fitting that it took a Catalan to build it.
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