The former Sheffield Wednesday midfielder was already familiar with Carvalhal.
Carlton Palmer’s February prediction about Carlos Carvalhal looks to have been spot on.
Carvalhal, the Swansea City manager, has seen his dream start turn into a nightmare in recent weeks, with the Welsh club facing an almost certain relegation from the Premier League this weekend.
The Portuguese picked the Swans up from the foot of the table in late December to 13th by the start of March, following a run of five wins and two draws in nine league matches.
Carvalhal received much of the plaudits for his side’s upturn in fortunes – and rightly so – although, being familiar with the 52 year old from his time as Sheffield Wednesday manager, Palmer warned that the magic could soon wear off.
Speaking to The Ref Show, the former Owls midfielder said of Carvalhal, who is now expected to be relieved of his duties after Sunday’s season finale against Stoke: “He’s had a tremendous start. I think also, you have got to be a bit careful with this.
“I think he was given the job on the [basis] of he could get them promotion out of the Championship [next season] – so they are playing without fear and that’s a different prospect. If he was brought in to keep them in the division, and the pressures that go along with that, I think you’d have seen a different scenario. He’s was brought in [with] nothing to lose.
“I’ve seen Swansea play two or three times now I’ve never seen him play that adventurous when he was at Sheffield Wednesday – by the way I’m not having a dig at Carlos, I thought he did a fantastic job – but in the end he was negative in his approach.
“He’s been very positive with his approach with Swansea and that’s because he’s got nothing to lose. And it’ll be interesting when it comes down to the last few games whether he still continues with that approach, because if he does they’ll stay up. If he reverts to what he did at Wednesday they’ll go down, and that’s when the pressure’s on.”
Is Swansea’s slump really down to Carvalhal alone?
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