00:00What have you made of how much weight he's put behind talking about Swift compared to
00:06what we've actually seen from Swift on the field of play? I'm sure Swift would be the
00:12first one to say he hasn't hit the heights that everyone expected him to this season.
00:19But Mo Brace continues to make a concerted effort to big him up, maybe inject more confidence into
00:29him and it seems he's still very much part of his plans even though he's got these midfield
00:35options because he still rates him so highly as a player. I didn't hear the alleged murmurs of
00:48boos from home support towards Swift when he came on, which I read about all on Saturday night.
01:00I don't expect supporters to be doing cartwheels and bringing the house down
01:05at John Swift being subbed on. But I didn't really hear discontent about it.
01:11Everyone can have their view about that. Most I've seen say it's wrong to
01:19boo a home player. One of your own players is wearing a shirt, you need to support them.
01:24I get that. It would take something to have done something extraordinarily bad
01:32to be worthy of that kind of reception from your own supporters.
01:37You mentioned John Swift in your question there. You mentioned he hasn't had the season
01:44he'll have wanted or Albion will have wanted him to have. But has he had the Albion career
01:49that anyone would have wanted him to have? No really across the three seasons. It's just a
01:55crying shame really because he's a talent isn't he and maybe what could have been in a different
02:00time I don't know. The only time we've seen Swift at his best was the early couple of months of
02:10last season, his middle season at Albion where he was in the goals looking a threat and a bad
02:16injury derailed that didn't it. Quite quickly and he never got back there and he struggled to
02:21get back there full stop really. Maybe had the odd game, the odd performance. But the start of
02:29this season looked quite bright and promising didn't it? There was talk of him playing a bit
02:33deeper almost as one of the midfield three or whatever it was under this sort of experiment
02:38from Corboran. Yeah Albion started the season well didn't they and it was okay but
02:47I don't know. I mean Mowbray has got a number of options now hasn't he really?
02:55You had Wallace and Grant missing the weekend so there were two attackers down
02:58albeit wide attackers. But he has still turned to Swift and he's as you say pretty regularly
03:06talked him up in the press and stuff like that and you can only think that that's to inject some
03:12confidence as you say to inspire. Almost to try to remind people what player he is and
03:19Mowbray hasn't been in the building the last three years while Swift's been at Albion so he
03:24like others will have been watching from the outside thinking why is John Swift not playing,
03:28why is Jed Wallace not playing? Obviously we kind of know the reason Wallace isn't playing
03:33but the Swift one is a little bit more puzzling really.
03:40We said it on a podcast many, many, many times didn't we? John Swift never struck
03:45any of us, either of us sorry, as a natural Corboran player. Just didn't really and
03:52unfortunately for him you know sort of style, language, style, he can be perceived to be
03:59not fully in tune with the game or whatever, not 100 miles an hour, not 100 percent
04:05running or whatever and that's just unfortunate with the style he has. Other players like it as
04:11well, it's not just a John Swift thing. But look he's come on for the last five or ten minutes
04:17there hasn't he? He's done fine, he's done pretty well, got the goal great and I was really happy
04:22for him. Do I think it means he's going to start the next game? No and not just because it leads
04:28away really, just I think we'll probably find where he is in the pecking order.
04:36There's a role for him isn't there I think in terms of what it certainly was until recently I
04:41should say. We've seen in the last couple of games a bit of a return of a free man midfield
04:46haven't we almost in a 4-3-3 and in the period before that it was a two up front with an attack
04:53minded midfielder like a Swift role off the striker and he did it in the odd game. He started
04:59the odd game I think in that period but around the same time Dean Garner was sort of finely fit
05:05and playing wasn't he and maybe Grant. His position in the pecking order I think just reflects
05:13the season he's had like you say, the time he's had at the club really and since that sort of
05:18mini-experiment at the start of the season where he was a bit deeper as a central midfielder
05:22sort of broke down. He hasn't been able to influence since hasn't he and he's nowhere
05:28really in my eyes. I can't speak for Tony Mobley but I think the evidence is there. Nowhere near
05:34the pecking order of the usual midfielders you know the Moat, Molumby, now Isaac Price,
05:41Diakite even. There was Rakic before that wasn't there but yeah I mentioned Isaac Price
05:48really. Isaac Price is rightly getting a lot of praise at the moment isn't he and he started his
05:53Albion career brilliantly. Is Isaac Price's position John Swift's position? Are they similar
06:01players? Are they similar profiles? Yes and no. I think Isaac Price is more of a central midfielder
06:06more than a number eight. Use a bit of modern parlance there Johnny rather than Swift being
06:11that more attacking midfielder number 10 but Price has made an immediate impact again to be
06:18again further forward in the pecking order and it's tough for Swift. But the cameo and the
06:25productivity from it and he scored in the five against Pompey as well didn't he? He hadn't scored
06:30or assisted all season had he Swift. Like Wallace before him and hadn't been anywhere near enough
06:36goals, assists from those two. Diangana from Fellows, Johnson going back a little while.
06:44If you can more very clearly more than enough trust to turn to Swift from the bench in
06:51a certain type of games I would say and if Swift can affect them with a pass, create a goal or
06:58nick a goal then I think he can show that he's a more than useful option between now and the end
07:05of the season really because there are going to be times where Grant's got this illness at the
07:08moment he's missed a couple of games. Obviously Wallace seems to be out for a few weeks we'd
07:12expect with that one. So there's a place in the matchday squad certainly. It's tough to see where
07:19he gets to start isn't it Swift? And yeah it just is. As for the reputation among the supporters,
07:30I saw a lot of feel good sort of response from him after that goal on Saturday and great you
07:36could see the players celebrate with him and it was a nice moment. It was a good moment when it
07:41got unnecessarily tense at the end and it could go on to be a big goal. Albin would have won 1-0
07:46anyway I'm sure but I was pleased for him. He's a bit of a four guy isn't he I think.
07:59There's a few sticks to beat him with and it's a shame but I suppose it's the way it's gone.
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