• We have today (22nd April) confirmed the closure of JackArmy.net on 31st May. Our reasons are varied but after a twenty-five year stint at the heart of the online Swansea City community, the time is right for us to bow out.

    You can read more at the link below
    https://jackarmy.net/2026/04/22/jackarmy-net-twenty-five-years-and-out/

The Last Day

  • Thread starter Thread starter PSumbler
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PSumbler

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I do feel more than a tinge of sadness this morning as it reflects the fact that after 25 years of my life, today will bring the curtain down on the good ship Jackrmy.net.

We have been there through the good times, the bad times and the in between times. We were there on the day we all prayed Petty would take his money and **** off, we were there when the CVA effectively kept this club afloat and we were there when James Thomas chipped the keeper to keep us in the football league.

We were there when we took the rise through the leagues, promotion at Bury, lifting a trophy at Brighton and that magical never to be forgotten day beating Reading. The league cup, european Football, taking down some of the biggest clubs this country has to offer. In 25 years we just talked about one relegation and we all remember some of the wonderful players that have worn the shirt over that time and some of the, shall we just say, less wonderful players. Let's be kind, today of all days.

It took me I would say maybe a year to make the decision to bring to a close JackArmy.net. It wasn't an easy decision but I know it was the right one - six weeks since the announcement has told me that as there hasn't been a "it was the wrong call Phil" moment although that may come later when I turn the lights off for the last time at 10pm

The site will stay online for the time being I have decided, it's an archive of 25 years of the Swans so I don't want to just take it off line. The forum will be read only and the posters that kept the noise alive for 25 years will still be visible albeit they will be being noisy elsewhere.

Personally I would like to thank each and every one of you who has posted on this site during that 25 years. Whether you posted once or hundreds of times a day/week/month. If you didn't post, thank you for reading. Page views over time will be in the hundreds of millions, not bad from a beginning where I think the first month's page views was somewhere like 25,000. I didn't create the "monster", we did all that together.
To those thatmoaned about the site - you still kept reading though so you formed part of the community and maybe part that kept the drive alive to keep us going. To those that criticised (and still do peddle their own narratives) over the sale of the club in 2016 and the Trust's (non) part in the sale all I remember is "I stood up and was counted on more than one occasion, you bashed a keyboard" and that keeps me comforted. The facts of the sale will always be the facts of the sale but I still let you have a vehicle to talk about the non facts and nobody ever got banned for that. It was, after all a public discussion.

Pushing that though to one side, it has been a hugely enjoyable journey over 25 years and I don't think I would change much of it (well, maybe VAR in a FA Cup QF against Man City, more of a fight as we dropped from the Premier League and aforementioned sale) because this was a huge part of the Swansea City community and I would like to think the club knew that (they certainly did for the good times) but as they became detached from their support base I think they lost sight on what a fan community can do.

Thank you everyone for being part of this website, it will miss you as much as I hope you miss it. I know I will.

Thank you very much | Diolch yn fawr
 
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I do feel more than a tinge of sadness this morning as it reflects the fact that after 25 years of my life, today will bring the curtain down on the good ship Jackrmy.net.

We have been there through the good times, the bad times and the in between times. We were there on the day we all prayed Petty would take his money and **** off, we were there when the CVA effectively kept this club afloat and we were there when James Thomas chipped the keeper to keep us in the football league.

We were there when we took the rise through the leagues, promotion at Bury, lifting a trophy at Brighton and that magical never to be forgotten day beating Reading. The league cup, european Football, taking down some of the biggest clubs this country has to offer. In 25 years we just talked about one relegation and we all remember some of the wonderful players that have worn the shirt over that time and some of the, shall we just say, less wonderful players. Let's be kind, today of all days.

It took me I would say maybe a year to make the decision to bring to a close JackArmy.net. It wasn't an easy decision but I know it was the right one - six weeks since the announcement has told me that as there hasn't been a "it was the wrong call Phil" moment although that may come later when I turn the lights off for the last time at 10pm

The site will stay online for the time being I have decided, it's an archive of 25 years of the Swans so I don't want to just take it off line. The forum will be read only and the posters that kept the noise alive for 25 years will still be visible albeit they will be being noisy elsewhere.

Personally I would like to thank each and every one of you who has posted on this site during that 25 years. Whether you posted once or hundreds of times a day/week/month. If you didn't post, thank you for reading. Page views over time will be in the hundreds of millions, not bad from a beginning where I think the first month's page views was somewhere like 25,000. I didn't create the "monster", we did all that together.
To those thatmoaned about the site - you still kept reading though so you formed part of the community and maybe part that kept the drive alive to keep us going. To those that criticised (and still do peddle their own narratives) over the sale of the club in 2016 and the Trust's (non) part in the sale all I remember is "I stood up and was counted on more than one occasion, you bashed a keyboard" and that keeps me comforted. The facts of the sale will always be the facts of the sale but I still let you have a vehicle to talk about the non facts and nobody ever got banned for that. It was, after all a public discussion.

Pushing that though to one side, it has been a hugely enjoyable journey over 25 years and I don't think I would change much of it (well, maybe VAR in a FA Cup QF against Man City, more of a fight as we dropped from the Premier League and aforementioned sale) because this was a huge part of the Swansea City community and I would like to think the club knew that (they certainly did for the good times) but as they became detached from their support base I think they lost sight on what a fan community can do.

Thank you everyone for being part of this website, it will miss you as much as I hope you miss it. I know I will.

Thank you very much | Diolch yn fawr
Nicely put.

Goodbye Jackarmy and thanks for being part of my daily life for all these years.

👍
 
Thank you, Phil, for giving us a place to share memories and make friends, you've done your club and city proud.

🖤🤍
 
It’s a sad day, but also a day to remember all the great times.
Thanks to all that assisted Phil in keeping this place together through all the best and worst of times.
As ECB has said …
The King is dead, LONG LIVE THE NEW KING. (and all that JAZZ 🎺🎹🎷🪊🥁)
 
Thanks for everything Mr Sumbler. Legend.

I still have the Dutch made video of the Swans and Exeter matches and the build up and fans reactions. afterwards

It was called "That Final Day" similar to this thread

That Final Day

Interviews with Mike Lewis who caused mayhem at both clubs, loads of regular faces cropping up including Moscow Jack, Gary Martin & Dai Smith to name but a few, A youthful Leon and following fans reactions throughout both games. One poignant moment was the camera panning to Rebecca Gigg in tears with her dad as a young girl summing up the emotions of all of us at that time and now she's Head of Football Operations and Administrative Manager at our Academy 23 years on ! !

Where has that time gone ?

Best of luck for the future Phil
 
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Had some brilliant times on forum, and interacted with some great characters.

Top shift, Phil
 
Thank you Phil for running the best online fanzine from the very early days of the Internet. It has been part of my life for many years and a gathering place for the Jack Army diaspora.

Naming the forum sections after much loved and dearly departed posters was an act of huge significance and respect.

A truly remarkable achievement and best wishes for the future.

I count myself fortunate there are other forums available although, of course, yours was always "home" for me

Over and out.
 
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