Planet Swans ArchivesPosted by steviethom 09:45
I travelled up to the game yesterday with my brother (KillayJack) and as has already been mentioned we weren’t on the official coaches, but instead parked in the ‘players’ car park opposite the grandstand. Needless to say this meant a certain amount of trepidation both getting into the ground and, more importantly, out of the ground and back to the car! In light of all the animosity that there is between the clubs I feel like it’s important to mention how friendly and helpful the stewards were that we encountered. Despite the banter they obviously appreciated our concerns and literally couldn’t have done anymore for us – so thank you to them! 
Onto the game….. the finer details of the game have already been discussed to death so I will just say that on balance I thought Cardiff slightly edged the 90 minutes although I think a draw was the fair result (as disappointing as it was to lose as a result of a ropey penalty). Once again though we proved that we are more than a match for the supposed ‘big boys’ of this division despite having spent League 2 money on our squad! Which brings me onto my most important point…..
I, like most have you, have followed this club for the majority of my life (24 years now, from 29) and have gone through more ups and down than I care to remember!! I can honestly say that never, during the first 22 of those 24 years, did I believe that I would see our club developing as beautifully as it is now. Yesterday, I stood and watched a group of players I could only have dreamt of seen in a white shirt just 3-4 years ago, playing a brand of football that I think it’s safe to say has never been seen in these parts before?? There have times this season when I’ve actually sat watching games and laughed to myself about the quality that is being shown on the pitch, and the best part about it is that this happens on pretty much a weekly basis! We don’t just hit the heights now and again, but we do it with consistency that most teams can only dream about.
It might have taken a Spaniard to restore pride to a Welsh football team but imo this man has already written himself into Swansea legend, both as a player and has a manager. He reflects everything that is good about this club and it shows the mans quality when almost all opposition supporters are in agreement about not only his managerial ability but about his ability to present himself and Swansea City Football Club. He’s shown that he knows exactly what he wants on the pitch, and the type of players required to get it, even when operating on a fraction of the budgets of clubs we have not only beaten this season, but in a lot of cases, taken to the cleaners! He has shown willingness in playing inexperienced players in big games (Joe Allen) and in the majority of cases has been proven right. Everyone must have felt as good as me at having a Swans fan scoring a late goal against our biggest rivals at Ninian Park??
On top of the playing side of things, having worked within the Centre of Excellence, and now with the very youngest Swansea City recruits I can tell you that there is a buzz running through the club from top to bottom. Anybody can see that our club is being built on solid foundations and that we are a club going places. Yes, we still have a long way to go, but look how far we’ve come in such a short space of time….. now add another 4-5 years on top of that…… something to get excited about isn’t it??!!
PROUD TO BE A JACK
