Issue Eleven - Editorial

Well it had to end sooner or later, but what a Cup run! Millwall, Stoke, West Ham and then Derby, all teams from a higher division, yet looking at the performances of the Swans in each game, you'd be hard pushed to say who was the Third Division team. It was very easy for the press to come out with all the usual cliches attached to lower league teams playing their higher division opponents. Passion, pride, guts and determination but beyond their blindness we showed competence, class and ability. Traits which show Johnny Hollins's team of youngsters deserve to play at a higher level. Many of them will, fingers crossed, it'll be in the white shirt of Swansea City Football Club. The Premiership teams played without much passion and their fans can't escape criticism either. Silence being more embarrassment than golden. If that's Premiership football, played in all-seater stadiums devoid of atmosphere then you can keep your Premiership. Give us the Nationwide League anyday. The West Ham and Derby players recognised our support for our team by applauding the Swans fans after their respective games, many no doubt wishing their supporters would show such undying love and devotion. The FA Cup run certainly catapulted the club into the national papers with the tabloids taking particular interest in Cyril the Swan. Even Football Focus featured the feathered one. Call us kill-joys but we'd rather have seen the players featured or the passionate North Bank supporters getting credit rather than Cyril.

And as for selling out and letting him run around in a red Sun T-Shirt, that just defies belief. It shows that the owners have little regard for standards. Is this at the expense of his charity and hospital work? The people running the club have made lots of money from this Cup run, they've also made a profit from transfers but Hollins has seen nothing of it. And what about the ticket farce! When under the Sharpe regime we thought things were bad but this year Hamer and McClure have taken running Swansea City to new depths of incompetence. The shambles that surrounded the distribution of the West Ham replay tickets was sad, frustrating, annoying, comical, disrespectful, need we go on? It even became embarrassing as the national media latched onto the angry scenes down the Club Shop when rain soaked season ticket and voucher holders were told that the tickets had gone and police had to restore order. Do they understand the passion we have for the club? Of course not. They don't seem to care what sort of people come through the Vetch Field turnstiles as long as there are people coming through the turnstiles. 11,000 kids wearing Man United and Liverpool tops is great news as far as they're concerned. Far better than 5,000 loyal die-hards Jacks. Tickets, cup runs, they're over for another season. It's back to the bread and butter of life in the dungeon. To many the defeat at Exeter City was more soul destroying than any FA Cup exit. We can look back at smile at the run but it's back to reality now. Rochdale anyone ?