Planet Swans ArchivesBut there is a message for Mel Griffin which should not fall on deaf ears. We as a club have been battered to death since 1997 when Neil Mcclure took control of the club.
Since then we have been a piggy bank for certain individuals, and abused on a daily basis. I make no bones about it, when I heard his first press conference – I laughed, how could we be sucked in by it ? His stories of stadiums and five year plans are celebrated history, and whilst flanked by Steve Hamer and Mike Lewis during this time we, I, and many who travel to games with me were laughed at ( Behind our backs of course ) It took a while but it soon dawned on many that they were complete fabricators, and indeed their tales of potential success was utter rubbish.
We have had a five year fight ( and it was never a plan ) against the owners of Swansea City, no matter who they were we took them on head on, and during that time we learned certain media skills that we knew were hated by these Swansea City administrations. It would have been easy to walk across the pitch and land a heavy hand on any one of them, but that would have been playing right in to their hands. They knew how to deal with that.
No, we had other methods, and many have also seen the power of the written word combined with contacts where it matters to put pressure on the regimes that have hopefully now left us in peace. And I am glad that the supporters trust now too go by the same route, gaining experience in this field, a tricky one but a fruitful one too. Through the media, fanzines and web sites we have all chipped away, and through the books that Phil and I have been honoured to write in recent years we have sowed a certain seed of doubt, and yes at times we too have manipulated the fools at The Vetch Field.
But we only had one goal – The success of our club. We could easily have embarked on a weekly regime of free tickets, hospitality and false friendship ( some have – and you know who you are, as we know you ) These things come about when you get in the public eye on a small scale from writing such books. But we took our places with the rest, we are no different to anyone else, and they were told to stuff their false friendships, and we turned our backs on what now we all can see were THE complete slime who were running our football club.
Through 442 and Total Football I have also been privileged to write about Welsh Football, and our plight has reached a wider audience, and we must take our time in the future to remember those Brighton fans who collected money for the Swans players cause at Christmas. Now they are the friends we all need. In Come on Cymru ( the first book in 1997 ) I asked what would happen if we needed friendship from other fans in years to come if we were fighting to stay alive ? The answer was not a good one, and Cardiff City if they too find themselves in our position in years to come will find the same answer. You can’t terrify football fans with bricks and bottles one week and ask for them to collect money or support you the next, it just won’t happen. I was not surprised to hear fans from all over the country state that Swansea’s plight did not warrant attention, but was pleased also to hear many shout for our lives too. Those fans must always be remembered, and not routinely chased down the Mumbles Road when they come to Swansea to watch their team play. It happens too often hence the very small away supports at Swansea, and how can we expect them to run for their lives one week and help us the next ?
And for Mr Griffin there is only one message this week. Rid us of the cancer ! That means the forthright and boasting Mike Lewis must be relieved of his place at Swansea ( whatever that is ) and kicked out of the Vetch Field for once and for all. Never again do I want to see that man at a Swansea game, ever. He has destroyed our club like a creeping cancer and bled us of all that was good in the past two years. And he must be booted out – Now. Not one of us must ever witness that man and his accomplices at a Swans game EVER again. Griffin must do the right thing, and do it now. If he does not I give him little time, if he does and wins our trust ( and it won’t happen overnight ) he may just achieve something in the City of Swansea. He must unite the club with the fans again, and thousands will return through the gates, we all know that. He must put a supporters trust representative on the board immediately, recognise the fight of the supporters and endorse their will to see massive change at Swansea City AFC. And then we may just swing towards a trusting position with him. One we have not had for many years since Mcclure came and killed us and from then on the vultures just ripped the carcass apart.
On Friday night at a very enjoyable party I witnessed a sad moment. Talking of trust that is. I watched someone enjoy what would be described as “bad news” when he learned of an alleged fact that he did not know about before hand. And he gleefully went about the room telling people of this fact and laughing and pointing at a certain individual. I thought – You are pretty inadequate sunshine, and although this is not the time or the place you need a sound thrashing and a wake up call. But of course due to his lack of intelligence and inability to read a situation he didn’t even realise that the fact he was aware of was in fact – Rubbish. The seed had been planted, thanks to a family friend, and the test was simple – To see what he did when he knew of this fact. A bit of a test really. And he failed it miserably.
And at Bristol Rovers on Tuesday I will confront him with certain facts too, and he will no doubt apologise for his behaviour. But if I were he I would be more worried about things closer to home. But there is a simple message here. Lets not wallow in Petty’s cock ups or McClure’s dream land fairy tale cartoon strip – Lets move on. And lets not glorify what they have done in time or take pleasure over their downfall. They were never big enough or adequate enough to win, they were never tuned enough to see what they were doing was wrong, they were just greedy. Greedy for success, for recognition and a desire to lie and take you ( and me ) ” Swans fans ” with them as they fleeced us of every penny we had as a club. In a way they did, but the big fist of fate will always win.
And they were found out, their true inner self was exposed for all to see, and as we embark on the next chapter of Swansea City FC lets not forget them but learn from their woeful and sorry lies. Lets keep an eye firmly on Mr Griffin, his PR and talk, and of course his promises. And lets hope we never have to return to the fight we all have had in recent times. But if we do let it be lost on nobody, we are experienced at such campaigns, no matter how hard they are to fight and how much it hurts we will always come out the victors.
And if he needs any proof look at Tony Petty, Neil Mcclure, Mike Lewis and all the idiots in their employ, and indeed all those who allied themselves to their hopeless causes. We just want a satisfactory club to support, one who does not lie but does the right thing. And surely that’s not too much to ask – Is it ?
Time will tell – But today Mr Griffin can take one of two paths, and history will tell him the right one to take, make no bones about that, and if he does and he listens then he will win. If he does not and goes the same way as the rest his down fall will be just as unpleasant as the rest, but as I said this time we have five years fighting experience behind us, I cannot make the warning any more clearer than that.
Here’s hoping that sanity rules in the head of Mr Mel Griffin.
