Extract From "The Ultimate Book Of Football Grudges"

This is one of many from the above book, some pretty funny things in it, also really childish, parts of this one did make me chuckle though.

Eco Maniacs

Cardiff vs Swansea

Nothing enrages a grudge like a local skirmish. When the Welsh FA announced it was going to start up a proper cup competition in 2002, fans of the two principle Welsh footballing sides rubbed their hands together and thought, excellent, now how are we going to get through this one? Would it give Wales an end of season showpiece as the administrators hoped or would it be a nightmare for the police and a great day out for the hooligans of each side?

Cardiff City chairman Sam Hammam and all at Cardiff stressed they wanted a hassle free fixture. That was before the press started running scare stories. What had been regarded as an opportunity for Welsh journalists to build a few bridges and establish some goodwill between the clubs turned into the complete opposite. According to Keith Haynes from Swansea website JackArmy "Neither set of fans are the closest and never will be, but like many football fans i know, a lot of proper Swansea City fans have been friendly with proper Cardif City fans for years.  No malice at all, just the usual digs when we get a result against each other.  You know ringing them up at 3am and shouting 1-0 LIVE ON SKY! Just a laugh"</p>

The essence of previous encounters hasn't been so much about keeping up with the Jones's, as murdering them.  Among the fans, violence is not only possible, it's compulsory.  Its one of the game's last bastions of regular crowd trouble.  They say it's all John Toshack's fault.  If he hadn't rejuvenated Swansea in the late seventies, the cream of South Wales football would never have met on the same pitch.  Cardiff were always a division or two above, but suddenly they were on a par and Swansea were getting the pluadits.  The fact that Toshack was a Cardiff boy just added further insult.</p>

Songs</p>

Songs range from Cardiff shouting "Jack B*stards" to the Swansea contingent breaking into a rendition of "Swimaway, a-swimaway" accompanied by breaststroke motions.  This is a reference to some Cardiff faithful pitching into the sea one year to escape their Swansea pursuers.</p>

Chaos</p>

Emotions boiled over when the two sides met in the FA Cup first round in 1991.  Swansea won the match 2-1 and chaos broke out.  Supporters showered each other with bricks, stones and metal from a nearby building site and Swansea city centre resembled a Brighton seafront battle from the film Quadrophenia.  Swansea fans took revenge at Ninian Park two years later, just before Christmas.  A pitch invasion delayed the start by 40 minutes, and having beaten Swansea 1-0 in the League, they ripped up seats and wood from the stand and went on a rampage.  Front page headlines like "Season of Hatred" and "Night of Defeat and Destruction" said it all.</p>

For the next four years, visiting supporters were banned from the match at either venue.  They were allowed back in the late nineties but team mascots, Barclay the Bluebird and Cyril the Swan, were banned in case they inflamed the situation.  </p>

 </p>Not for the faint hearted that fixture is it.

Luckily they seem to have identified the ring leaders, its clearly the two mascots Barclay and Cyril.

Pretty brutal stuff though in all seriousness.

Bluebird, 1927CCFC, Bluebeard, was it really that bad, whats it like now? These fixtures are going to happen again next season unless you get promotion of course. Is it one you look forward to or dread?

I'm genuinely interested.

I know from our playoff final afterwards in Cardiff City Centre there were some scuffles between Cardiff and Swansea folk but the police were quickly onto it.

Good luck in the Final btw too

 

Well I have only been to the one derby. It was a week after Stoke beat us at NP in the play off semi's. Was a welsh Cup Final fixture on a Monday night, our last game of the season just about, lovely summers night. 4/5 seasons ago. The game held at NP (Ninnian Park)

We played just about our strongest side in a game in which we had played our reserves in previous rounds.

We won 1-0 thanks to Kavanagh's free kick if I think it was similar to the one that he scored vs Leeds.

I got there early to watch the trouble from afar (at the time we had a real hoolie problem) and was gobsmacked to see an eldery couple get off the Swansea coach, she helped him down gentle, he took a golf ball out his pocket and launched it into the welcoming committe, "Jesus Christ" I thought he's 60 years older than the usual stone thrower. For 10 mins as the coaches emptied and police escorted them across the road it was mayhem, people like myself who were jus twatching and not trying to get at the Swansea fans had to keep moving away as the stuff they were throwing was coming over the Hoolies and into us lot, half a house brick just missed a young girl and her Dad and herself were gobsmacked.

Tickets for the match were £10 and the ground had sold out, in previous rounds the attendance had been 500 if lucky, you could slap an extra 18K on for this just because of who it was. The police had tried their best in making sure only organised travel came down but Jacks (Swans fans) had hired Limo's and arrived noon'ish in Cardiff to try and avoid the Police, straight bang in the centre of town and trying to find trouble. It seemed fans of both sets will do anything to get at each others throats, daft thing is Swansea is only 45 mins away and you can go there anytime you like for trouble and vice versa.

The usual **** during the match, police diving in more than the tackles and then the usual outside only this was different it was mayhem. The police couldnt contain the Cardiff Mob and they wouldnt leave, after an hour the Swansea coaches left and some windows got put through.

Cardiff Fans now like to remind there west walian cousins that infact our true rivals are Bristol City and until now/next few weeks its been right but I think if the Jacks get promoted they will again be our rivals.

I didnt take my Daughter to the Bristol City game and Ive been to 4 of those now and the hatred is as much as Swansea fans and no way will I be taking her to ours next season vs The Jacks. I dont want her to see the things I saw.

Cardiff and Swansea just will not mix, there are always efforts behind the scenes in regards to charity matches between fan groups but it just scratches the surface and will never ever prevent them from hating us or them. Look what Trundle and Tate did to the Welsh flag by writing "**** off Cardiff" on it, it angered both sets and they will never be forgiven for that.

I think Cardiff v Swansea thing is as big if not bigger than all the other derbies in the UK. For eg, I can't go out down there for a night out and they can't up here as each other will pick up on the accent and kick **** out of you, you might not even be a football fan. They fight each other if possible at Wales matches and if bumping into each other on the way home from rival Saturday away fixtures.

The "Swim Away" **** is either a myth or was a load of Cardiff teenagers who ran into the sea to get away depending on what book/who you talk to.

I cant wait for them to be promoted not so I can join in a load of rioting but we only have 3 clubs in the league now and need all of us to be as high as possible (providing thats cardiff). I would happily take Wrexham staying up over Swansea being promoted any day of the week.

Cardiff v Newport can be a bad one aswell, when they were in the league it got so bad that each firm would just visit the other town on a Saturday afternoon and smash everything up when no football was on.

I dont know wether allowing the fans to attend each others ground next season is a good thing or not if the jacks get up which looks likely.

I am forever grateful to Barnsley for making the ***** pay though in the play off final I just a few months after two of them paraded our flag with graffiti on.

I play hockey against them and even then that kicks off we just dont get on and I can't see it changing. Our goverment spend all its money down here and now a bit in Newport and they resent us for that. There is a South / North wales divide but its very small, Cardiff always wish Wrexham nothing but the best and Wrexham us, cant speak for the Jacks.

I genuinely hate them and they us. I wish them well but not at our cost but at Wales's gain.