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Owls tenure suggests Swansea's Carvalhal romance will be fleeting

Laurence Griffiths / Getty Images Sport / Getty

They mutually agreed to split up, and Sheffield Wednesday's news release on Christmas Eve used language typically reserved for drawn-out endings of relationships.

"Carlos Carvalhal has expressed his sadness at leaving Hillsborough but says the time was right on both sides to depart," read the statement.

Carvalhal is still regarded fondly by his old flame following a relatively amicable break-up. He was greeted with cheers when he alighted Swansea City's team bus at Hillsborough on Saturday but, unfortunately for the locals, the forgettable scoreless draw served as a painful reminder of how the spark deserted their romance.

'We have a laugh'

After warning Swansea fans he may have to subsist with sardines when dropping his rod in the choppy January transfer window pool, Carvalhal hooked Andre Ayew and Andy King for some impressive late-window catches. But it's what he's done with the talent he inherited on the Welsh coast that has garnered rave reviews.

Firstly, Sam Clucas has been freed under Carvalhal. The former non-league player is an industrious and versatile operator, and his talents appear suited to the edge of his manager's narrow midfield. There he can marry wide bursts with an inclination to get stuck in when drifting inside, and those traits came to the fore when he bagged a double in last month's defeat of Arsenal.

The previously feeble Jordan Ayew has also become an all-action forward, the punch of Carvalhal's pneumatic press, and Sung-Yueng Ki is the expert retainer of possession in midfield. The South Korean - who boasts a better passing accuracy in the league than Mesut Ozil, Nemanja Matic, and David Silva since Carvalhal took over - says his boss' outlook has helped bring fun back to the Liberty Stadium.

"When you feel some tension, he will tell one of his stories that makes us laugh. But when we have to get down to business, he becomes very serious," Ki said.

"He says he has an 'A' face and a 'B' face, so when we have a laugh it's great. But when we have to work, we also concentrate."

Carvalhal handing out custard tarts at a press conference was a clever ploy to gather support from journalists, but his recognition of the gravity of the Swans' battle against relegation was shown as J. Ayew and Clucas were benched against Wednesday. Both were introduced when Swansea was trying to avoid a replay late in the fixture.

Problems at Wednesday

The fifth-round tie going to a rematch in Wales wasn't ideal for the Owls either. Jos Luhukay, something of a promotion expert after leading Borussia Monchengladbach, FC Augsburg, and Hertha BSC into the Bundesliga, must first ward off any lingering concerns about an unlikely relegation from the Championship. The FA Cup is a distraction while he grapples with plugging gaps and picking up pieces from Carvalhal's reign.

There is a ruthless streak to Carvalhal that Swansea fans are yet to see, but he didn't wait to expose it in Sheffield. He saw off a three-man transfer committee at Wednesday in half a year as he wanted more control over the club's dealings, and jettisoned a string of players from the first team, including Lewis McGugan. He also won an internal battle with Fernando Forestieri in August 2016 when the forward refused to play against Norwich City amid widespread interest in his services. The Argentinian apologised, and all was forgotten when he fervently celebrated among the visiting fans when scoring at Nottingham Forest six months later.

But that ruthlessness doesn't translate into training sessions that were criticised for lacking intensity. Injuries were a constant issue over his tenure, and it may have contributed to the dissolution of the high-octane attacking play of his early days in South Yorkshire. Wednesday became predictable, regularly starting matches slowly and trying to eke out results rather than exerting its superiority as in the previous approach. It was a gamble that, in his third season, didn't pay off.

Without the assistance of the discarded transfer committee, Carvalhal's work in the market was also dubious. He continually overlooked a glaring need for centre-back help but made a rash of changes to his playing personnel in the 2016-17 season that seemed to unsettle the squad. His rotation policy wasn't smooth, negatively affecting team morale. And some of his more expensive acquisitions - like Jordan Rhodes and Almen Abdi - have floundered.

His popularity lives on at Hillsborough, as supporters stayed after Saturday's final whistle to thank him for his two-and-a-half years in charge of the club - the longest spell of his nomadic coaching career. It's a fondness that is a greater tribute to his character than his management, however, as the cracks began to show a little over a year into his stay and impatience spread in Owlerton. He must be wary of history repeating itself; throughout his post-playing days, he's had a short shelf life, and Swansea's new board hasn't been shy about wielding the axe in the past.

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)

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