Happy New Year to all my fellow followers of the SCFC beautiful game! 2011 was incredible - how far have we come this decade? From nearly being knocked out of the football league - to taking our place in the top flight and holding our own against teams who would treat our budget as pocket money! It has been a rollercoaster ride - we Swans never do things the easy way - even to the extent of having a 3 goal cushion at half time in the play off final only to have to rely on Gary Monks' magic toe to keep us in it! But knew we were fated to win that one when the planned 40th minute standing ovation in memory of Besian was greeted with a goal from his best friend Dobbie! Write this on the back of coming back from the Liberty after a magnificent display against the form side in the Premier League! This was argueably our 'B' side, with Buck resting players for the Villa game - but they all rose to the challenge and did the city proud! The atmosphere at the Liberty today rivalled that of the play off semi final against Nottingham Forest and made my hair stand up even in places I didn't have hairs! And another success in the signing of Rory Donnelly - beating off the advances of the more glamorous Merseysiders; again thank the Lord for Buck and the other factors that swung the decision; team spirit and lack of 'ego's' at our great club! We have reached half way with 20 points - which is what Buck wanted at this stage in the season; we have remained true to our footballing philosophy and gained many plaudits along the way, not least Harry Redknapp who commented on our 'Great stadium, great fans and great team!' We can go into 2012 with a great deal of optimism; there are at least three teams in this division worse than us - and I have lost count of the number of pundits who have said that we are a 'breath of fresh air' in this division - we play football the way it should be played and long may it continue; as we leave 2011 we should be very proud of everyone involved at SCFC! And we should believe that we can maintain our high standards throughout 2012! We are not a 'big' team - we are punching well above our weight - but we are a club who are doing things the right way and we should be proud of everyone who contributes to the SCFC cause. I am immensely proud to be a Jack Bastard and wish all my fellow bastards a very happy and prosperous New Year!
After careful consideration of your performance as a fan in 2011, I have decided to extend your friendship for a further 12 months. Try not to **** it up!!! All the best for 2012...
