Planet Swans ArchivesSure, for anyone who followed the team through the Golden Years such gates were a regular occurrence. For those who started following the club at about the same time as I did (1991 onwards) the concept of Swansea City pulling in more than the Vetch Field held was nothing short of a pipe dream.
Back in the mid 90’s, when last we reached the dizzy heights of the League One summit, our average gate was 5,170. And we had a good side then, well managed by Frank Burrows. Today it stands at almost treble that. The people of the city and surrounding areas are uniting behind the club in a way that has not been seen in almost thirty years. And it’s a fantastic thing to behold, especially to anyone who’s stood on the North Bank in a crowd of little over 2,000.
There are probably a number of reasons for this explosion of interest, the move to White Rock being the most obvious one. Clubs across the country who move into new stadia generally do report an increase in match day attendances, and despite problems with ticketing, parking and the all round catastrophe that is Stadco, we’ve been no different. As well as our new home, the Trundle factor is also undeniably having an effect, as hundreds kids from all over the area now want to come to watch their streamlined hero making League One defences look silly. I’d also like to think that the decline in interest in the Premiership is having a knock on effect in the lower divisions, as more and more people venture to their local club instead of paying upwards of £50 a game to go and watch the top teams in action.
But, by far the most important reason in my eyes is the fact that at one stage we seriously looked like losing it all.
In those desperate, nerve shredding days of 2002 2003, I think a chord was struck with football fans all across the region. People who probably hadn’t set foot in the Vetch since Toshack departed began to venture back to the Old Girl in order to help stave off the ultimate relegation. And we did it. The euphoria of that day had no doubt restored in many the passion that had ebbed away over 20 years of subsistence football. That the following close season saw the Green light finally given to the White Rock development, and the initial onset of Trundlemania merely poured petrol on the newly stoked flames of the Jack Army, and crowds rarely dropped below 6,000 over the course of that season, despite the side being a bit shit from late September onwards.
Last season, the final season at the Vetch demanded promotion, and the side delivered in functional rather than total football. The fanbase continued to swell however, and we ended the year as the best-supported club in League Two. It was an excellent achievement and perfect way to say goodbye.
All of which brings us nicely to this last summer. The doubling of the season ticket sales record, the stories of people who hadn’t seen games in years just going for a look at the new stadium and ending up buying season tickets on the spot, and a solid pre-season fired the imagination of the Jack Army all the way into the opening fixture against Fulham. Since that day, we’ve not looked back. An average attendance of over 14,000 has exceeded the expectations of all but the most optimistic Jack, and the free-scoring, attacking football that the team is playing is merely the icing on the cake.
Life is good, and it’s not a dream.
Which is nice.
