Talking of signs pretty much everything once you are in Welsh Wales is in two languages. Even though you know you can't read the Welsh it doesn't stop your brain trying each and every time. This is especially annoying when you have to make last second decisions about which way to go. For example, your brain thinks is it down there, your eyes look at the sign and its says Abertawe, brain thinks where the hell is that, eyes carry on reading Swansea, oh great brain thinks, before your eyes return to the road and inform your brain you've just missed the turning.
Despite the encouragement for the locals to use their own language I didn't hear anyone speak Welsh all afternoon, other than the stadium announcer for a short while (and then I might not have been listening probably). Even so Swansea still feels a bit like Newcastle in that even if you don't wear colours as soon as you open your mouth everyone will know which team you support.
The Liberty Stadium or Stadiwm Liberty (if you're Welsh) is another identikit nice ground. Just as you never go into a McDonalds and think oh this is a bit of a manky rubbish one (the interior I mean, now I'm older I always think that about the food) it's the same with these new stadiums. The Liberty looked impressive both outside and in, gave you a brilliant view even though we were behind the goal, had loads of leg room (better than Wembley) and it was easy to go to the loo and get food at half time. The food was worth getting not from a cusine point of view but because the girls that worked behind the counter were amongst the finest looking catering assistants I've ever seen. It was as the stadium had accidentally advertised for lap dancers. For this reason I probably enjoyed the couple of minutes of queueing more than the actual game. We started okay and it was very competitive in the first half despite the extremely blustery conditions. When it rains in Swansea its like being in the middle of a car wash. The wetness just envelopes everything around it. There is no escape. Swansea who were obviously used to this played some really nice football. But we coped with it well and made some chances of our own. Eventually after half an hour Lee Williamson slotted the ball home to make it 1-0.
For 60 seconds joy reigned and then Swansea did an obvious thing that I'm surprised didn't happen more often during the game. They hit a long shot at Richard Lee which looked gettable until the wind blew it off course and into the back of the net. That was pretty much it. We then seemed to give up. Swansea's second half goal was always going to come but the amazing thing was that although it stayed 2-1 until practically the last kick of the game we made no attempt to try and get back into it all.
Malky made a couple of odd substitutions. Hoskins was taken off midway through the second half for Eustace?? Why? It wasn't as if we needed to hang on to the result. Raizak came off for Priskin and when it was too late Bromby, who was dreadful thoroughout, finally came off for Theo Robinson. How McAnuff managed to escape not being taken off heaven only knows.
The away contigent got behind Malky for the most part chanting "Malky McKay, he's having a beer and eating a pie". I wondered how long it would be before this turned into "Malky McKay he ain't got a clue, Malky McKay". But this is an unfair comment to make when nothing that happened was in any way different from anything that would've happened under Aidy. The good points from the day were the same as they've ever been (Smith, Hoskins both looked great and Raziak not bad) and similarly the bad points were no different either (the defence).
Other than the Malky chants there wasn't really a great deal of reaction to recent events at the club. A small group of supporters in the corner held up a "Sack the Board" banner at various points during the game. There was some occasional chanting of Aidy's name and a few Simpson's out but that was it.
The trouble with all these is who we aim them at. "Simpson out" and "Sack the Board" seem fairly pointless when they both want to go anyway. "Where's the money gone" might be more appropriate.
If you didn't go to the game but are going on Tuesday then ignore the whole no parking at the ground advice. Its not true, in fact I've never seen so much parking around a football ground. Admittedly most of it is for the retail park which you are encouraged not to park at but there didn't appear to be anyone checking and there were plenty of industrial estates nearby anyway.
