Planet Swans ArchivesIn their wisdom, the FAW have decided that Garry Monk should serve a total ban of six matches for the second yellow card that he should never have received at Shrewsbury on November 20.
I find it hard to defend Monk for his reaction to being sent off – it was OTT and there was a feign of a headbutt in the melee that followed. However, surely some common sense should have applied to the situation after that event? Maybe an additional one match ban on top of the two that he was unlucky to serve or maybe two at most. As the prophet of doom, I predicted on this web site a week or so back that the appeal would generate one more match ban but the overall decision has increased the calls for the Swans to end their long association with the FAW who have long since been accused of bias towards the club that sits 35 miles up the M4.
And to a degree you do see the point. Cyril the Swan was fined £20,000 for running onto the pitch, this four game ban and the refusal of the FAW to assist us during the reign of Tony Petty with them citing a reason that they could not get involved in club affairs. Not that it has stopped them in Wrexham’s current plight but of course that is incidental in the whole thing.
Should the Swans end their association with the Organisation that has never done much for Swansea City, or Welsh football in general come to think of it. It’s another organisation run by amateurs who have no concept of football and the way that it works but quite like the salary package that goes with the territory. People who you would never have seen standing on the terraces rubbing shoulders with the likes of you and I but people who will always want you to believe that they are football fans and always have been. In fairness though that is much the same with our only alternative the English FA so would leaving them make any difference? I don’t see it.
I await the opening of our new stadium next year with interest not just because of wanting to see the Swans there but all of a sudden the FAW big wigs will be jumping on the bandwagon and declaring it a great day for Welsh football and that here is something that the whole nation can be proud of. They will no doubt be asking the club for the use of the facilities from time to time (all expenses paid of course) so that they can show their pals how they have progressed one of Wales’ three league clubs to have this lovely new stadium. When of course the reality is they have done as much for it as you or I – the difference being we will pump money into it, will they?
So how about this for a different idea. Ban them from the new stadium. Not for long – three years should do it fine. (Four if they appeal!) Long enough to make them squirm that they cannot accommodate their guests within the stadium and see how they deal with the explanations on that subject. Long enough for them to realise that there is life outside their cushy little offices in the capital and that there is a team progressing slowly without building up third world country sized debts to do so. To realise that there is a football club that without them noticing was returned to the fans from the greed of people who wanted a stadium only and that despite still being in the basement is ticking along very nicely thank you. And of course long enough for them to realise that we can do all of that without their help.
Call it a dare if you like but how much would it make you smile if the club banned the FAW from the new stadium? It would certainly bring a grin to my face this winter.
DISCLAIMER: It has been pointed out that the fine for Cyril’s antics was indeed only £1,000 but frankly I don’t care, life’s too short to let the facts get in the way of a fun article 🙂
