It probably wasn’t a surprise that Mark Drakeford and his cohorts decided to restrict the movements of people, especially when it comes to enjoyment of sports fixtures at the busiest time of year for families. And Swansea City manager Russell Martin demonstrates just how much he feels that will affect his side at a time when they really do need the Jack Army.
Russell Martin is beginning to see what the differences are between England and Wales when it comes to controlling people and what they can and can’t do. Not only are his plans for a busy and successful transfer window in question, but he also questions the misinformation out in the public domain.
And who can blame him.
Looking forwards to the scheduled Millwall away fixture on Boxing Day Martin wasn’t happy, "I’m sad and frustrated for our supporters. I am sad at how the world has been in these last two years and how these things feel like they are becoming normal,” said Martin. We can’t have fans, but they can travel to the away game on Boxing Day. We are frustrated and the people who will miss out, we are really sad for them, but we will have to do our best. It’s not normal, there has been so much change and fear has been such a huge factor in everyone’s lives over these last two years. I am sad about it and the supporters. To be able to go to London - where I would imagine there are a lot more cases than we have here — with fans, but not have them at our own ground does not make a lot of sense to me. But we will get on with it and we look forward to having our supporters back when that is allowed. We have no choice, we have to comply. We are not feeling sorry for ourselves, we will get on with it and get ready for the game.”
It’s the harsh reality of a split in opinion between the English Parliament and Welsh Assembly that will annoy managers of sports teams like Martin. "We are at a disadvantage, we cannot play in front of fans, it affects us financially, it impacts what we can do in January because there is uncertainty,” he added. It will be difficult for a lot of clubs but there are a lot of industries being effected and it is a really tough time. We hope it’s a short period and we can get back to some form of normality. He went on to say he cannot understand the situation when asked about the new rulings. He said: " It’s not normal, but I can’t really say too much. There’s so much contradiction in rules. So much change. We have to look at the science and what people are predicting, but there’s so much information and you don’t know what’s misinformation and what’s not. It’s been such a huge factor in everyone’s lives at the moment. I’m disappointed we’re not going to have supporters in and the fact we can take supporters to London where there’s a huge amount of cases doesn’t make a huge amount of sense."
Also referencing the huge amount of misinformation out there, Martin seems not only annoyed but angry he is being placed at a distinct disadvantage. However, the swans are at their best when they are down. And this will be the test for sure.