No Surprises

Some would argue that they deserve the finest that the Ritz can offer whilst others would say a weekend in Tenby travelling with South Wales Transport would be more appropriate. Thom Yorke sang of "the bruises that wont heal, you look so tired" and that just about sums things up for us this year. The season started with a beautiful Summer day, the birds sang loudly and the whisper of sweet smelling success was in the air. Slowly but surely things turned, luck started to turn late one balmy summer evening when Mr Bennett decided to assault the Club captain who was lost for 4 months but effectively he has been lost all season. The irony of course is that Bennett was never even cautioned for an offence that is a statutory Red card in the FIFA rule book. Others raised their heads as the White Wall of Noise got louder and louder but as they raised their heads so did the boots as players were injured by those of inferior talent. The side were seen as a threat and Clubs did not shirk from telling the rest of the Division of that fact. So was the start of the season a false dawn and we have now found our level in and around 9th or 10th place. The optimist in me says that the position is a false one but not as most would expect we are BETTER than where we are but three things have accumulated to place us where we are Firstly injuries no one could have forseen the amount of injuries that the side were to suffer this season although the frustration of seeing many first teamers on the treatment table is tempered a little by the anger of why so many of the squad were injured by our own hands. Something was /is seriously lacking with our training methods and I am afraid this is borne out by the amount of hamstring injuries we have received. Flynn to his credit, gambled on a small talented squad for 2003/2004, his training methods and other managers ability to get our players injured put paid to Flynn's plans Secondly the side have steadfastly refused to play well on a consistent basis against the poorer sides of the Division, who with due respect to them should not really be in the same league as us. So, so many times the team appeared not to want to roll up and die for the cause, this is confusing as several of the squad did that last season but this season they appeared to want the pitch to carry a nice stud before putting in an appearance. The playing record of 2003/2004 says it all incredibly inconsistent but very very poor in some areas. The side is capable of better but only the players themselves know why they could produce so many highs and lows in the same season. Lastly of course we come to what i consider to be the main cause and that is of course Mr Flynn, I do not want this to sound ANTI Flynn as I welcomed his original appointment and it was with regret that he left us as he should have taken us further than he did. However over the course of the season my opinions were changing and this caused no end of frustration. Flynn's tactics were talked over with glee by Mr Atkins who broadcast for all to see and hear when covering the game with Sky and he was spot on and this was the blueprint for the rest of this season. Flynn steadfastly refused to change from the legendary 4-3-3 but as many say your main strength always turns to be your biggest weakness and so Flynns refusal to contemplate 4-4-2 came back to haunt him especially as his thin squad were down to its bare bones. The final straw for me was when he started to talk and sound like a man looking forward to next year, a man planning for 2004/2005 with some 15 games to go. After the match against Macclesfield when "more good game out of the game than bad" just showed to me that he was not the man I thought him to be when first appointed. 13 games means 39 points and that is a lot to play for but here was the spiritual leader of the club letting people down gently and accepting second best. This is not acceptable never has been never will be. For me the season died then and I said on line at the time that I was wrong and stupidly anti Flynn when all could see he was building for the future. I wish Mr Flynn all the best for the rest of his professional career but if i ever met him i would have to tell him of my frustration and all my thoughts of what might have been. Time stands still for no one and especially Swansea Jacks who expect more than sometimes we demand and deserve. I await the new Manager with interest but he had better be good becuase the new stadium will not belong in the 3rd Division and the Chairman who made a very courageous decision will be judged on who the Board appoint Watch

Why not check out the latest Vetch Verdict on the BBC site?