Aaron Ramsey withdrew himself from the Latvia v Wales international qualifier in Riga last night claiming it was merely a precaution before the South Wales derby on Saturday evening.

Conversations were rife in the Latvian capital post match as Wales secured a deserved 2-0 win to keep their Germany qualification hopes next summer alive. Numerous supporters of Swansea and Cardiff were happily celebrating the win as talk turned towards this Saturday and an encounter which will be LIVE on Sky TV. First rumours were ‘Ramsey was definitely out’ of the fixture and then it was - he ‘withdrew’ from the Wales game because he wants to be the captain of his club side when they get what is a long awaited win against the Swans.

Ramsey himself quelled Cardiff City fans fears when he announced post match, "It's just a precaution. I didn't want to take any chances but I'll be fine for the weekend." The desire for a first win at home against Swansea in ten years, and yes, after ten games that is now the springboard the Bluebirds desperately want to kick start their season. If there is any solace for Cardiff fans it will the 1-0 victory in 2021 at the Swansea.Com Stadium. That’s just two wins in ten games for Cardiff, and no wins in the last four encounters.

The first double ever in the fixtures history was achieved the season before last with the Swans running out 4-0 winners in Cardiff and 3-0 at home. That seven goal aggregate washed over many Cardiff fans but last seasons double for the Swans must have hurt. After a 2-0 loss in Swansea a five goal thriller ensued with Cardiff born Ben Cabango scoring a last gasp winner in a 3-2 Swans victory.

You can of course quote all the stats in the world before this hotly contested derby. However, as all of these games will testify there will be controversy, humiliation and at the end no matter the result, both sets of fans claiming some form of victory. In the case of Bluebirds fans they can scrape the bottom of the barrel of excuses if they like, and surely there are very few left in the exhausted list of recent times. Swans fans will most certainly state - if Saturday turns into defeat, then it was a long time coming, and to be honest in Michael Duff the Swans have a manager not quite grasping the importance of this fixture. His experiences in what was hilariously called the ‘Hamlet derby’ ( Forest Green v Cheltenham ) or the inter county rivalry of Burnley and Blackburn by our editor Keith Haynes definitely rings true.

This isn’t any of these things.

Swans fans will want no mercy on Aaron Ramsey, and if a yellow card is the concession then let there be a queue of Swansea City players ready to slice him in half, fairly of course, in Saturday nights game. Sorry, but that’s the take, that’s the requirement in a South Wales derby fixture. If anything the rivalry is now stronger than ever, regardless of what Cardiff City fans will tell you. Bristol City means nothing, and deep down they know it too.

Aaron is at his boyhood club, there are very few other Cardiff ‘names’ who can boast the popularity he has as a returning figure in the clubs history. Despite only sixteen games in an initial two year stint at the club. The Caerphilly born player stated very honestly when he rejoined the Bluebirds, “I turned down a life changing amount of money by not going to Saudi Arabia. It was a lot, but I’ve been very fortunate in my career, and I’ve done okay so far. It was a real offer, but as soon as I knew there was an option to come back to Cardiff a lot of hard work went into getting that deal done”

Aaron Ramsey is a class act, and a pure footballer in a league of his own in Wales.

The Swans need to take to the pitch on Saturday night with a measured and competitive edge that once again tells their rivals quite clearly they are the premier side in Wales. Even if that doesn’t happen, and the predicted draw is the outcome the previous two seasons will live long in the memory. Not least it’s been four wins in a row, but the fact that in those four games the Swans have scored twelve goals and Cardiff just the two.

That’s domination, and that’s history.

And that’s pure embarrassment.

Photograph licensed from Reuters

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