| The important thing was that we picked up vital points, which now results in us looking pretty safe from relegation, and in fact, for a lot of optimists, a late surge for the play-offs is not out of the question, although building for next season looks the immediate target. On the subject of optimism, Mel Nurse walked into a betting shop last week, and was prepared to lay down £1,000 on the Swans finishing in the top six. Unfortunately, the bookmaker refused to take the bet ( Running scared I'd imagine! ). Mel said "I thought such a gesture may be a boost to the players, but the bookies said they didn't have any odds - I just don't know why they wouldn't accept my money." That's great optimism for you, which hopefully is within the dressing room as well, and I'm sure it is.
So last Tuesday we were looking forward to playing Barry Town in the FAW Premier Cup Semi Final, and the possibility of meeting diff in the final (Providing they beat Wrexham). Unfortunately, the weather put pay to that match, as it has with a few home games over the last couple of months. ''There is no rush to play the game because Cardiff City's semi-final with Wrexham is not being played until March 12 anyway, '' explained club communications manager Peter Owen. The Swans are hoping that the game will be played on either March 12th or the 19th.
Swansea City Football Club also has it's first ever club Chaplin. Kevin Johns, widely known to Swansea fans as being the broadcaster and entertainer (and Vetch Field Matchday MC!) will take up the position.
Having agreed to become Patron of the relaunched Striker scheme earlier this week, Kevin's ties with the Club are becoming ever stronger. Whilst the official invitation from the Club only came yesterday, in many ways, Kevin will be continuing what he has been doing unofficially for the last few years anyway, which involves a lot of hard work, time and effort. I'm sure I speak on behalf of all Swansea fans in thanking him for this.
Contract talks also opened last week with Mamady Sidibe. There has been a lot of debate on the various websites recently on whether we should pay him what he wants or whether we should sell him and make a quick profit. It is a really hard as there is good arguments for both sides.
Personally, I feel that Sidibe is a vital member of the first team, as has been proven by our results when he hasn't played, however, we should take lessons from the Matthew Bound saga. We broke the bank to meet his wage demands, and look what happened, his form dipped dramatically, and we ended up with a huge wage bill which we couldn't meet. We then sold him to Oxford for a total sum of £0, purely because of his high wages. If Sidibe was offered £1,500 p/w, he would be on more money than Roger Freestone. Is this fair? I'll let you make your own mind up. My opinion is that Mama would want more than £1,500, and in our current financial situation, we simply wouldn't be able to afford it. I just feel that we should be very cautious. If there is a way of balancing the books in order to fit in Sidibe's wages, all well and good.
On the subject of Contracts, Colin Addison and Peter Nicholas are also seeking new deals. Again, there has been debate. I wouldn't hesitate to give them new contracts. I feel that they have more than proved their capabilities, during one the darkest times in our club's history. They have kept the morale in the squad as high as possible under the circumstances, and finally, now that the Petty saga is over, they are getting the performances on the pitch, with the team playing good stuff, and getting results.
Next season I feel we can make real progress under the current management team, we've got good youngster's coming through, who will be all the better for this season's experience's. God knows where we'd be know if Hollins was still here!
Last Thursday, the official site revealed what most of us knew already, Stockport County are interested in buying Michael Howard.
Now this is a subject I have very strong opinions on. Reading the message board last week, I couldn't believe that there are actually people out there who rate Michael Howard. While I accept that everyone is entitled to an opinion, I will never accept the argument that Howard is any good to us as a player. If he is rated by some fans as a good player, then I'm afraid we may as well chuck in the towel now. When we took Stephen Evans on loan, he showed us what a left/wing back is all about. Quick, good passing, good tackling, good crossing, good positioning, none of which I believe Michael Howard possesses. I may get slated for this, but from the majority of fans I speak to, they have the same opinion, and there are a few however who do rate him, which is fair enough.
Any money we could possibly receive for Howard, we should take it and run. In our financial position, this is like a dream, getting rid of one of your worst players, and actually getting paid for it!!
Congratulations to Craig Draper, who is currently on a moth's loan at Llanelli. He is doing very well, and even got on the score sheet last Saturday, but unfortunately, Llanelli lost the game 6-2!
We ended the week off with another excellent 3 points. Most people would have expected us to beat Halifax, but when you play teams who are right down the bottom this time of year, they can prove banana skins, but fair play, we dug deep and came out with the points, even without Mumford and Cusack. If we win our next two home games this week, then who knows, Shrewsbury away a week Tuesday could be a massive game. Never stop believing is my motto!!
My final part of this column is a plea to all Swansea fans. We have a home game against Scunthorpe on Tuesday, and I urge EVERYONE who could possibly make it to do just that. Recent attendances have been poor to say the least. Mel Nurse has put his money on the line by saving us from Tony Petty, and if he hadn't, we may not even be in existence right now. The least we can do for him is to come to the home games and generate much needed income for the club. There is no excuse now, Petty has gone, results have picked up, and Scunthorpe are flying high in the league. So please, GET DOWN THE VETCH ON TUESDAY NIGHT, YOUR CLUB NEEDS YOU MORE THAN EVER.
Swansea Till I Die. PhilJack |
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