Supporters make mistakes too - shock horror!
The last time I wrote about Michael Laudrup the situation wasn't that much different at Swansea City FC as it is today. Last June it was clear there was a board split in support of the manager and his approach to club dealings - sound familiar? Michael Laudrup's off-field involvements seemed to annoy a few folk, and his agent's continued participation too close to The Liberty made for a sticky time. However, with thoughtful management of the situation by the board the rift as it was seemed mended. But of course it would always return. That much was always clear.
Now it is issues on the pitch which once again have prompted a cry for the removal of Michael Laudrup by some, and the media love nothing more than to jump on board this type of fan disaffection. Only a small handful of reporters have the inside track on this latest Swansea development, and as ever London's tabloid journalists are making inaccurate stabs at the situation. They openly and ignorantly report with such vigour that a number of their readers will believe their inept ramblings, and SKY TV are just as bad - recently to such an extent that the club Chairman Huw Jenkins saw fit to speak to the media to reassure the managers situation on Sunday night.
Whichever way this current situation at the top of the Swansea tree resolves itself there is another far more concerning situation developing right in front of us that we as supporters can resolve in a heart beat. The situation I speak of is you, and you alone - The Swansea City supporter. I have never minded the length of stay a person makes as a Swansea follower, be that for the Premier League, for now - or for life. We support because it is our own free choice, nobody forces us in to this situation, and we can leave just as quick, and for no good reason if we wish - without seeking any permissions.
It is clear to me today, and to many of you I am sure, that what we do and say as we support The Swans in difficult times openly affects many things - and I mean far more than Huw Jenkins, the Swansea board or Michael Laudrup, his agent, tactics or life itself. Since Swansea City beat Newcastle United in a home game the week after winning the League Cup last year and qualifying for Europe things have slipped. In the minds of some so dramatically they are arguing in pubs and in work, on football forums and anywhere they can about the reasons why. This is healthy football debate, and football thrives on it.
Most of the time.
Certain fans are blaming other fans, people are being sought out and identified as blameworthy and others for some reason or other are shouting blindly 'Support the team' - we as football fans may not be the brightest of intellects in the minds of certain folk, and unfortunately some of the stuff I have read of late confirms this, no matter your side of the fence. I have been alarmed at the degree of hate directed towards fellow Swans supporters. For the first time in a long time too. It's unhealthy, and no matter whether you are being positive or perceived negative, it doesn't help.
It is the type of hate too that I for one would not accept from anyone regardless of the subject. Sadly it seems to have come to this.
So what can we as supporters do come Saturday, because it is Saturday that matters first. Just what can you affect? And how hard will it be? First of all, and this has been said many times, The Liberty needs a vociferous upgrade. A louder mix of throat lozenge needs taking pre match to increase the volume from the stands. When a Swansea move does go wrong or breaks down, the cheering must not subside in to moans and groans, it somehow has to increase. We must not now settle for a quieter life and a 'suck it and see' strategy from all four sides of the stadium on Saturday. This is crucial. The atmosphere at The Vetch Field was a solid punch in the face (at times) and this has rarely been reproduced at our new stadium.
On Saturday this must change.
There is a rallying call for us all to take up. No matter your age you can add your own degree of noise come 5.30pm on Saturday, and this needs dragging forwards as we seek those thirteen or so points that may mean Premier League safety in 2014. If you want to punch something, punch the air, if you want to shout loudly do so towards the away end and roar at them with an intensity they have not felt before at a football ground. In fact two fists is better. Many people say you can't change what you can't change, and this is true. Getting stressed over uncontrollable matters is pointless. However, there are things firmly within our Swansea fandom grasp. Noise levels is one, a defined and aggressive, but lawful noise level intimidates to hell. You can do that.
These things are easily obtained and delivered, and it is the intensity of that delivery that will see immediate results. Your attitude and behaviour from the stands will make the significant difference on Saturday, that much is so, so true. I spoke to a Swans player the day before yesterday, they made it very, very clear to me that they immediately pick up on discontent from the paying public. Their words ' You have no idea how impactive it is when the crowd turn against you as an individual or team'. As a player they went on to explain they have had their game totally affected by barracking from the stands at the Liberty, and recently too. Equally then we as supporters must realise how positive it is when the volume hits ten and the roar gets so painful it changes the whole dimension of a game. Regardless.
This is the ingredient we can all bring to the derby game on Saturday evening.
We are in uncertain times at Swansea. The boardroom and the management (including some players) are fighting for their own and the clubs immediate future. And some feel isolated. There is little if anything any of us can do about that in the main, but what we can do is increase the pressure on the opposition, their fans and entourage, so much so that they feel so uncomfortable it puts them off their game. And I mean so uncomfortable that they look round and feel incredibly unsure. So much again, and I mean this - that they question their ability to match us. They must feel inadequate. We need them to feel so lost and so hopeless that they feel they cannot compete.
They need to look at us with envy, and in turn our pride as a collective group of supporters, I assure you - will return.
This much we can achieve from The Liberty stands. This isn't about raising our game, this is about sheer people impact. The many hours spent in division over things that are beyond our control is lost time and wasted energy. What we can achieve for our club is what matters now, and it only takes a change in mindset to do so.
On Saturday we need to feel so exhausted post match it hurts, and the players need to feel that Swansea City love again. Just look what we as a club has achieved over the recent past - surely what we need to do now is just a natural response to our current plight ?
It is very much down to us all. And remember - your mindset, your club, your future, your voice, your choice.
Increase the pressure. This is Swansea !
Keith is a published author and you can buy any of his books by clicking the link at the top-left of the page, or you can follow him on Twitter: @_KeithHaynes