Planet Swans ArchivesSaturday afternoon in Bognor Regis. Not the most glamorous of places (master of the understatement) but sat in a bar watching the biggest screen I have ever seen (honestly) with bated breath over Sky Sports Soccer Saturday waiting for news from the Vetch with at least two people on standby to tell me what is going on. The phone doesn’t ring, it doesn’t get a text so it tells me, the same as the big screen does that the score remains 0-0.
With time running out and Jeff Stelling salivating over a potential Spurs comeback from 3 goals down the phone beeps. It’s a text which simply says penalty to Swans. The mind races, Trundle to take it tells me and it must be in front of the East Stand is what I assume – we nearly always play that way second half. Agonisingly no-one wants to text me to tell me whether it has gone in or not. Finally it comes to say it was a second take – first missed, second scored. 1-0 to Swans. Result.
The phone call follows soon later to prove that I shouldn’t assume it was the other end of the pitch, a pretty dire game but a win and the penalty was retaken for people in the area. It’s enough for me though to know that we have won and moved to second in the table as Sky reports an equaliser for Chester against Leyton Orient. Just enough time to have a dig at the Leyton Orient fan that is with us, it’ll do the next pint tastes a little sweeter.
Little did I know at that point that as I was enjoying that next pint so another opposition manager was showing themselves up at the Vetch by refusing to shake hands with the opposition manager. Yet more toys were being flung from the pram around the Vetch as the Swans celebrated a seventh successive home win and over 11 hours since a visiting player found the back of Willy Gueret’s goal.
But maybe I should have realised it by thinking of Ian Atkins. One of the idiots of the lower leagues who has enjoyed minimal success in a managerial career that has taken him just about nowhere. Oxford last season were slightly less interesting than watching the grass grow and that is being kind to them and Bristol Rovers by some accounts are little better this time around.
The fact that Atkins refused to shake hands is no major surprise and his basic statement which all but accused the match official of cheating should see the FA want to talk to him about his comments. Quite handy for someone already facing a FA charge for another tantrum at Yeovil. The fact of the matter is that the penalty was asked to be retaken because the keeper was off his line. Kevin Miller complained that he was told it was two then three yards but that is irrelevant half an inch is against the rules and if the linesman chooses to he can suggest the retake. Of course this happens on most penalties up and down the country and retakes aren’t asked for but that is irrelevant on the basis that two wrongs don’t make a right and some referees will choose it. Atkins belief that it is down to the crowd is as laughable as Keith Curle’s comments on the same last year – two managers who cannot accept defeat but I would also suggest two managers who have never complained when the decisions go for them. They even themselves out. Always have done, always will do.
But of course Atkins is not happy with the ‘Jan Molby refuse to shake hands’ routine, he wants a pop at some players as well which just makes him look more narrow minded than he already does and clearly shows a man who cannot accept a late defeat which moves his side out of the play off zone.
Unlike Curle though Atkins should be used to crowds and strangely football crowds call for decisions to go for their side. Referees will be used to that and basically will ref a game as they see fit. Bad decisions are made at this level – I have seen plenty go against us this time but the whingeing prat Atkins can clearly not see that.
He then goes on to claim that his side were the better team and were in no danger at all until the penalty. Not having seen the game I cannot confirm or deny this but if that were the case then it does suggest that Atkins has adopted his traditional type of football at the memorial ground as a team in that much control should surely be capable of scoring a goal. Or is he talking out of his arse yet again?
Ian Atkins is a bad loser plain and simple. And it is nice, just as against Kidderminster, to see our players and management rising above it and not playing the childish games of the opposition manager.
And if Atkins wants to read this then I have a very simple message.
1-0
