Nice One Bury

There has been big celebration in Bury today after they received a letter of congratulations from the FA praising them for their handing of 4,500 savages at Gigg Lane on the last day of the season – a day that saw the Swans secure victory and promotion into the bargain.

And rightly so. I thought the stewards did a damned good job on the day given the circumstances. It’s just a shame that their good handling of the crowd was let down by a couple of police officers after the game but then again we can’t all be perfect. I spoke to several stewards before and after the game and despite speaking in strange accents I thought they were decent people. So quite rightly they got a nice thank you letter from the FA. I would hope that the Welsh FA send them one as well. And maybe a hot pot or two into the bargain.

Over 5 weeks since the end of the match and the FA have sent a letter to the home side on the occasion telling them that their preparations for an unusually large crowd at Bury were perfect and that the completed report has been passed to the FAW to see if they want to take action against the Swans.

For those with incredibly short attention spans we point you in the direction of the following points as a reminder of what happened on the day

• 4,500 plus Swansea fans were in attendance all hoping that the Swans could get the result that they needed and results elsewhere would go their way

• The mood was one of celebration rather than anything with both sets of fans happily mingling before the game in the pubs and clubs around the area

• Swansea took the lead after just 25 seconds which prompted a small pitch invasion of less than 5% of the travelling support – a pitch invasion which was quickly dispersed and should not have happened

• Bury came at the Swans second half but also left themselves exposed at the back at times – something which the Swans came close to taking advantage of

• With five minutes to go, Swansea fans (less than 10%) of the travelling support congregated around the edge of the pitch and at one stage had to be told to get back onto the terraces by their own players

• The final whistle bought scenes of joy with celebrating visiting fans making their way onto the pitch by way of celebration

• During these celebrations, Willy Gueret was arrested by GMP causing some Swans fans to make a reaction and reports from outside the ground of fans being picked on by police as well as reports of fans from both sides being attacked by opposition supporters.

And thus we have the incidents during and after the match although for whatever reason it is the incidents after the match that for whatever reason still niggle with the Bury fans. The main reason is that their players were not able to come back out onto the pitch and celebrate their mere existence with their own supporters. Cast your minds back five years to a May afternoon in Rotherham when their own players came back onto the pitch to celebrate and the Swans fans were on the pitch that day. The pitch invasion was one of celebration only and had their been any thoughts of intimidation surely it would have meant the fans heading towards the Bury supporters rather than the directors box to await the reappearance of their players?

But wait. Hang on a minute. We forget the letter from GMP that said the players were not to reappear for fear of a public order incident. Something which has not been asked is what were these fears based upon? Previous experience? The above day at Rotherham suggests not. Gut feeling? Very probably but gut feeling does not necessarily mean it is right. It has become traditional at football stadia for pitch invasions of celebration to take place. Wigan and West Brom proved that and those incidents passed without question. As would the one at Bury have done had the police not decided to move in and arrest a public figure in a public place. Two seperate police officers have both expressed an opinion to myself that it could have been done in the privacy of the dressing room after the event. So the police force which wanted our players in a dressing room to avoid a public disturbance helped to create one with their own actions.

But that aside and we have been here before, the bitterness of Bury towards this incident amazes me. I take a few quotes “A clear penalty was denied by the referee who was evidently intimidated by the visiting supporters and after the game was stopped for a number of minutes” Did anyone remember reading that the referee was intimidated or is the opinion of just a group of fans who felt they should have had a penalty? I would suggest the latter. Clearly the referee at Wembley in 1997 was intimidated by those Northampton fans who forced him by power of mind to move the free kick. Or maybe he did it because he felt the position was where Frain scored from. Maybe the referee at Bury felt it wasn’t a penalty. Or is that just laughable?

“Those that had remained in the main stand had coins thrown at them by some of the more idiotic away support and cars and windows were damaged.” They were indeed. Someone I know had his car damaged after the game by a group of Swansea fans dressed up in Bury replica shirts. Incredible.

Sorry Bury fans but it is time to move on. Quite what action the FAW are supposed to take against us is something for them to decide but maybe we could be hit with a charge along the lines of daring to celebrate success? Having the cheek to outnumber home support in their own ground? Or maybe even just being a bunch of savages who should probably be kicked out of the football league.

Get over it northern people – be joyous that you don’t have to face us next season. Celebrate the fact that the nasty Swansea fans won’t be there next season unless we get a cup draw up your way. And when you have done that, thank us for all the money we pumped into your club at the end of the season after all you are welcome 😉

Meanwhile, we have bigger fish to fry. You are welcome at White Rock Stadium whenever you want to come down for a look around but please don’t be nasty will you? After all, tit for tat isn’t what it is all about?

Onwards and upwards and congratulations on good stewarding. You must be so proud. Now lets sit back and see what the Welsh FA make of it all. But of course ask your near neighbours from Rochdale about them and their decision making. I’m sure they will fill you in.

Onwards, upwards and the past is gone.