Liberty Stadium (Swansea City)

Welcome to this instalment of the Gloucester Groundhopper blog.

For this instalment of the blog, we watched some Championship football. This is also the first time we've crossed into Wales. We were hosted by Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium, where they were playing Millwall.

The stadium is about a 30-minute walk from the city centre. Swansea Museum, The Dylan Thomas Centre, and Swansea Market are all located in the city centre for your enjoyment. There are also numerous restaurants, pubs, and cafes for fans to enjoy. If you visit during the summer, there is also a beach. We ventured around the city, taking in the famous Wind Street, and enjoying what was probably the best game of mini golf we have ever experienced at Bunker's golf. We then indulged ourselves into a Taco Bell. We then went to the stadium after enjoying the delights of Swansea.

Some Notable Former Players

Michu

Wilfred Bony

Ashley Williams

Adebayo Akinfenwa

Some Notable People From Swansea:

Russell T Davies- Screenwriter

Ian Hislop-Comedian

Princess Lillian-Duchess Of Halland

Margaret John- Played Doris in Gavin & Stacey

Joanna Page- Played Stacey in Gavin & Stacey

Melanie Walters- Played Gwen in Gavin & Stacey

It’s All In The Name

Swansea City have several nicknames. The Swans are one, and The Jacks are another. Swansea Jacks are people who are from the city of Swansea. There are two possible origins for this widely used nickname.

1. The first is a reference to the early nineteenth-century high reputation of local seamen (Jack Tars).

2. The second comes from Swansea Jack, a famous black retriever who saved 27 people from drowning in the River Tawe and Swansea Docks during the 1930s.

A History Lesson From AFC Finners

Swansea Town was founded in 1912 and joined the Southern League the following year. They won their first Welsh Cup in 1913. Swansea joined the English Third Division in 1920, following a reorganisation of the Southern League.

They won the title in 1925, advancing to the Second Division for the first time, and reached the FA Cup semi-finals the following season. They remained in the Second Division for many years, and in the 26-27 season, they defeated Real Madrid 3-0 in a friendly.

Following World War II, they were relegated to the third tier after a long reign in the second tier, but they were promoted two years later. They spent the next 15 years in the Second Tier, but were never promoted to the top flight, and were relegated in 1965, ending up in the Fourth Tier. Swansea City changed their name in 1969, but spent the next few years bouncing between the third and fourth tiers.

Under the management of Liverpool legend John Toshack in the late 1970s, the club experienced a rise, winning successive promotions to climb to the Second Division, with the latter promotion sealed by a goal from Toshack himself, who was still a player-manager at the time. They were promoted to the top flight for the first time in 1981, and topped it off by winning the Welsh Cup.

They did well in the First Division, finishing sixth after beating Leeds, Manchester United, Arsenal, and Tottenham. However, they were relegated the following season, and then again, resulting in Toshack's dismissal. Swansea was on the verge of bankruptcy before being saved at the last minute by local businessman Doug Sharp. It did not, however, prevent the club from being relegated to the Fourth Division in 1986.

Over the next few decades, they alternated between the second, third, and fourth divisions, eventually relocating to Liberty Stadium in 2005. They won League One with 92 points under Roberto Martinez, and in 2011, Brendan Rogers led them to a 4-2 victory over Reading in the championship playoff final to secure a place in the Premier League for the first time.

The club's attractive passing style of play helped them finish a comfortable 11th in the Premier League. The 2012-13 season was the best in the club's history, with Michael Laudrup leading them to ninth place and their first major trophy, a 5-0 victory over Bradford City in the League Cup.

They advanced to the Europa League group stage the following season, but were defeated in the round of 32 by Napoli. They spent several seasons in the Premier League before departing in 2018.

Since then, they have remained in the Championship, with high hopes of returning to the Premier League soon.

Honours

🏆Football League Championship (Promoted: 1980–81) (Play-off Winners: 2010–11)

🏆Football League One (Winners: 1924–25, 1948–49, 2007–08) (Promoted: 1978–79)

🏆Football League Two (Winners: 1999–2000) (Promoted: 1969–70, 1977–78, 2004–05) (Play-off Winners: 1987–88)

🏆Welsh Football League (Winners: 1912–13, 1924–25, 1925–26, 1933–34, 1934–35, 1935–36, 1950–51, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1975–76)

🏆Football League Cup (Winners: 2012–13)

🏆Football League Trophy (Winners: 1993–94, 2005–06)

🏆Welsh Cup (Winners: 1912–13, 1931–32, 1949–50, 1960–61, 1965–66, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1988–89, 1990–91)

🏆FAW Premier Cup (Winners: 2004–05, 2005–06)

🏆Kuala Lumpur FA Dunhill Inter-City Tournament (Winners: 1984)

Why did Swansea Town choose to join the English Southern League in 1912?

In the run-up to World War I, the popularity of association football in South Wales skyrocketed. As a result, the English Southern League made the decision to expand into the region. The Football League's popularity in the North of England and London, with clubs like Bristol City, Preston North End, and Burnley, created a void in South Wales, which the Southern League filled. In 1890, Wrexham became the first Welsh club to join the English football pyramid.

The main reason is that Wales did not have a full-time football league at the time, but the answer is much more complicated. However, part-time leagues existed in Wales at the time. To compete with the popularity of the Football League, the Southern League saw the lack of a full-time Welsh league as an opportunity to expand into the region. The inclusion of Welsh clubs was viewed as a niche idea that would attract more fans. Football was considered a spectator sport during this time period, and the Southern League was a professional league that provided fans with full-time football. It was also thought to provide a high level of entertainment for the clubs' fans.

Because the majority of the other clubs in that league were also from South Wales, it made it easy to travel to matches, especially since the other clubs were from London, a city that had become easier to access with the invention of the railway. Surprisingly, transport connections between South Wales and England were superior to those between North Wales and South Wales.

Although the Welsh Premier League was established in 1992, Swansea City, Cardiff City, and Newport County chose to remain in the English football pyramid. Swansea City feared that their geographical location would prevent them from qualifying for the Europa League, one of the prizes for winning the League Cup in 2013. UEFA, on the other hand, assured the club that it would be able to participate in the competition.

There has been some discussion about Scottish football clubs joining the English Football League in the same way that Welsh clubs have. Gretna is the only Scottish club to have competed in the English football system, and a few Scottish clubs, such as Queen's Park, have competed in the FA Cup, reaching the final in both 1884 and 1885, only to be defeated by Blackburn Rovers. Rangers and Celtic in Glasgow have been debating whether to join the English Football System. No Scottish clubs, however, are expected to join Swansea in the English football system in the near future.

Swansea has been a part of the English football system for over a century, and they've even won some major trophies to prove it. Regardless of their geographical location, they have proven that they are capable of competing at the highest level in England.

Matchday: Swansea City 2-2 Millwall

The stadium is located about two miles from Swansea's city centre, next to a shopping centre with many eateries and stores. At the venue, Swansea City FC and the rugby team Ospreys share a club store. The shop sells a variety of items, including replica shirts, keychains, and beds. We could pay £3 for our yearly pin badge. We parked on Siloh Road about 15 minutes away from the stadium.

We did our customary circuit of the stadium, which revealed that Liberty Stadium is a clean and modern stadium with many features. There was a memorial garden for Swansea fans to sit in and reflect and reminisce. There was also a wall of fame, which featured famous faces who have represented Swansea over the years, such as Garry Monk, Michu, Kristian O'Leary, and Julian Alsop. Around the ground, there were a variety of food stalls selling burgers, hotdogs, and chips.

The ticketing system is similar to that of many other stadiums nowadays; you print the ticket at home (or download the Swansea City app) and then scan your barcode to gain entry. In the foyer, there is a variety of artwork depicting various people from Swansea City's history, and when you walk up the stairs, you are met with the pitch. From the inside, the stadium appeared clean and adhered to the team's black and white colour scheme.

The fans we spoke with were friendly. We were clearly not Swansea fans (as we were the only ones without a Welsh accent), and the locals were eager to chat and discuss the game; there was no animosity, which was a refreshing change from other grounds we'd visited.

Teamsheets

Swansea City

Manager: Russell Martin

Andy Fisher

Ryan Manning ⚽️

Harry Darling

Joe Allen

Matt Grimes (c)

Michael Obafemi ⚽️

Olivier Ntcham

Joe Piroe

Joel Latibeaudiere

Nathan Wood

Kyle Naughton

Substitutes

Steven Benda

Jay Fulton

Ben Cabango

Liam Cullen

Matthew Sorinola

Oli Cooper

Cameron Congreve

Millwall

Manager: Gary Rowett

Bartosz Bialkowski

Danny McNamara

Murray Wallace

Jake Cooper (c)

Benik Afobe

Billy Mitchell

Scott Malone

Tyler Burey

Charlie Cresswell

Jamie Shackleton

George Honeyman

Substitutes

George Long

Shaun Hutchinson

George Evans

Ryan Leonard

Andreas Voglshammer

George Saville

Isaac Olaofe

Swansea City dominated the early stages, scoring after only 53 seconds. A cross from the right found Ryan Manning, who fired a hard, low shot into the far corner. It should have been 2-0 after four minutes. Bartosz Bialkowski parried Olivier Ntcham's curling shot, and Joel Latibeaudiere fired the rebound over the bar from about 5 yards out. Millwall then had a shot from Jamie Shackleton that hit the crossbar, fooling Millwall fans into thinking they'd scored. Michael Obafemi then put the game out of reach with a shot into the bottom left corner. Both teams had chances, with Joe Allen dictating play throughout the first half, but the score was 2-0 at the break.

Billy Mitchell's shot was tipped over by Andy Fisher in an attempt to bring Millwall back into the game in the second half. Swansea then had a long-range shot from the man, Joe Allen, saved by the Millwall goalkeeper, leaving Swansea supporters stunned that they couldn't celebrate a 3-0 lead. With five minutes remaining in the second half, both Swansea and Millwall fans began to stream out as the game appeared to be over. Swansea fans had murmured throughout the second half after losing a 2-0 lead in a previous game, then Ben Cabango turned a right-wing cross into his own net, indicating that the final few minutes would be tense. Obafemi should have made it 3-1 after racing through, but he took too long and was stopped by a world-class tackle from a Millwall defender. Millwall then raced up the other end and crossed the ball in, which Nathan Wood bundled into his own net to make the score 2-2. Swansea fans will be disappointed because they not only blew a 2-0 lead, but it was also due to two own goals. It was completely their fault, but they will learn from it. Millwall struggled to maintain possession and had 15 shots, with only one was on target, despite scoring two goals, which tells a story in itself. Both teams performed admirably, and the outcome would have been very different on another day.

Scores On The Doors

Atmosphere: 6.5/10

Food and Drink: 4/10

Stadium: 8.5/10

Welcome: 8.5/10

Overall Experience: 8/10

GG