Phil SumblerSwansea City’s lack of creativity was again clear to see as we fell to a disappointing defeat at Hull yesterday afternoon and once again the subject after the match quickly turned to the continued absence of Jamie Paterson from the squad.
Paterson has not yet featured for the Swans this year after his well publicised dispute over his contract and the clear suggestion that his head has been turned by his representatives with him not in the right frame of mind currently to play for the Swans.
That head turning moment has come about due to interest which seemed to come from West Brom and, on Friday, two bids from QPR which were rejected by the Swans because the valuation of the player fell short of what it would take to persuade the Swans to stay.
Russell Martin has also seemed clear in his belief that he would like Paterson to stay in the squad despite these problems and, not for the first time, he was critical of those he believes are responsible for the current stand off that is hurting his side.
“If he leaves, we have to replace him. He’s been a big loss for us with the creativity he brings. This situation is only hurting him and us. The people who are really driving it, it’s not hurting them. It’ll be resolved in three days and I can’t wait for the window to shut,” Martin told Wales Online after the Swans 2-0 defeat.
Nobody can predict what the next couple of days will bring – could QPR come back and match the Swans valuation for Paterson or could Martin find himself sitting down with Paterson after the window closes to try and revitalise a Swansea City career that has gone horribly wrong in the past few weeks.
Swans fans – and Russell Martin himself – know that Paterson is more than capable of the creativity that we are missing and if he does leave then we will need to act quickly to put that creativity back in the squad as it is sadly missing at this point in time.
Joel Piroe is cutting a very lonely figure without Paterson in the side and it is clear that Martin is becoming increasingly frustrated at the absence of his second leading scorer.
“We need some help at the top end of the pitch where we’ve created so many chances in the last four or five games and we haven’t scored enough goals. So I think it’s really clear,” added the head coach.
“Pato being out has really hurt us. We have to be relentless in our pursuit for the vision of the team that we want, otherwise what’s the point?”
It is fair to say that Martin’s frustration is not just clear to see but it is also completely understandable. The whole situation around Jamie Paterson has been handled badly and it is clear that he is being driven by those who are supposed to want the best for the player which right now is a duty they are failing miserably at.
So we wait and see over the course of the next couple of days how this plays out but should Paterson still be a Swansea player on February 1st then we should look to welcome him back into the squad as his creativity is sadly missed.
