Fans
are on the march with a salvation army
evening
post - 17/10/01
By Liam Sullivan
They sang and they chanted.
Hundreds of them. Loyal and diehard fans
who were called on for support as the
fight against the new Vetch Field regime
gathered momentum. And as they showed
their solidarity, it ceased to be Swansea
City and it became Swansea united.
Organisers of last night's march through
the city centre demanded a peaceful
protest. That is exactly what they were
given.
Oh yes, the fans were noisy, but they
were noisy with a purpose.
From the moment, just after 6pm, when
protestors began congregating in Castle
Square, they sang their hearts out.
The favourite ballad, without a shadow of
doubt, was "We want Petty out."
It might not be original, but it sums up
the sentiment perfectly at the moment.
There is anger aplenty among the Vetch
faithful. Words such as "hated"
and "despised" were bandied
around liberally as rumours began to
spread that deeply unpopular new chairman
Tony Petty could arrive back in the city
sometime next week.
The anger was even evident among the
handful who had met at Castle Square an
hour early and who had tied a banner to
the railings which read: "Tony
Petty, you are the Weakest Link.
Goodbye."
Bus drivers beeped their horns and gave
the thumbs-up in a show of support, while
television camera crews filmed the scenes
for broadcast on a later news bulletin.
For the Swans fans who turned up to
protest last night, this exposure
represented a small victory after what
has been a traumatic seven days.
It started a week ago today when Mr Petty
wielded the axe on the first-team squad.
Eight players, including star defenders
Jason Smith and Matthew Bound, were
sacked. Seven more, among them skipper
Nick Cusack and Welsh international
goalkeeper Roger Freestone, were told to
accept pay cuts of up to 70 per cent.
For many supporters it mirrored the awful
events of 1985 when the club was wound up
in the High Court.
"At least we saw that coming,"
said lifelong fan Neil Greenway.
"We knew that was going to happen
because all the players had already been
sold off.
"This can't be the end. It'll never
be the end because there's so many of us
who will fight to save it."
More fans arrived, some proudly wearing
the Swans shirt while others simply
draped themselves in the Welsh flag. Then
there were those carrying placards
calling for the Australian-based Londoner
to leave their club alone.
In the meantime, leaders of the
newly-formed Supporters' Trust signed up
countless new members.
But as news slowly began to spread that
Mr Petty had reportedly turned down an
improved offer of £50,000 from a
business consortium to take over his
interest in the club, so the resentment
started to grow.
Fans warned him to keep a low profile if
and when he returns to the city and
advised him to stay away from the Vetch.
Some went a lot further than that and
demanded he should never set foot in
Swansea again. Or Wales, for that matter.
In fairness, their resentment never
manifested itself in anything other than
the odd spot of bad language and a lot of
singing and chanting. There was never the
slightest hint of violence or disorder
and for that the fans have to take
credit.
'Fight
continues until Petty quits'
DEFIANT Swansea City fans today vowed to
step up their fight to drive Tony Petty
from the Vetch.
More than 1,000 supporters of the
crisis-hit club marched through the city
centre last night in a show of force.
But organisers insisted this was just the
start of a campaign to oust club chairman
Mr Petty.
"This is going to carry on until we
drive him from the club," said Tony
Davies, of the newly-formed Supporters'
Trust.
"It is a fight until the end."
Fans repeatedly chanted ‘We want
Petty out' during last night's short
march from Castle Square to the ground.
A similar protest is planned before this
Saturday's match against Leyton Orient.
Anger has been growing against Mr Petty
since last week when, days after taking
over the club, he sacked seven players
and offered eight more new contracts on
reduced salaries.
Earlier this week a packed public meeting
at the Patti Pavilion in Swansea was told
Mr Petty had received an offer of
£10,001 for the debt-ridden club from a
consortium made up of businessmen and the
Supporters' Trust.
It later emerged that the
Australian-based Londoner had rejected
this bid and a separate offer of
£50,000.
It is understood that Mr Petty, who is
rumoured to be flying back to Wales next
week, is looking for around £1million to
quit the club.
But it was said that Mr Petty should look
again at the offer on the table.
"You can see by the response of the
fans that he shouldn't set foot in the
Vetch again."
"The message we are giving is that
the fans love the club and if he messes
around with it then they won't tolerate
it.
"I'm very pleased with the way the
protest went and I couldn't have asked
for more.
"They all stood up in the Patti
Pavilion and now they are here again.
"These are the people who want Mr
Petty out," he added.
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