No. 85: Liberty Stadium [Swansea City]

Saturday, 15th August 2015
Swansea City v. Newcastle United [Premier League] 2-0

First new ground of the season and it was a trip to visit Wales' premier football club Swansea City for their first home game of the season at The Liberty Stadium.

The last time I saw Swansea play was in December 2004 in the season they were promoted from League 2. The first game they played the following season in League 1, a decade ago in August 2005, was their first in their new spangly Liberty Stadium.

What a lot can happen in 10 years of football. Their opponents that afternoon were the much-fancied Tranmere Rovers. Tranmere are now in The Conference, and Swansea were officially the 8th best side in the land last season.

Swansea's Liberty Stadium: 10 years old this month.

I decided to take advantage of Mr Kingdom Brunel's marvellous Great Western Railway rather than drive the entire length of the M4.

A wise choice. After a few hours I had emerged from the Severn rail tunnel into the ancient Welsh county of Glamorgan, bounded to the North by the coal-mining towns and valleys in the foothills of the Brecon Beacons, and to the south by salt-marshes and post-industrial port cities that stretch to the Bristol Channel and connected this region to the world in times gone by.

At Newport, an old couple got on the train and sat behind me, and although I don't like dealing in stereotypes, their conversation about the breakfast they just had in the station cafe was straight out of Gavin & Stacey.

Husband: "You had an egg, didn't you?"
Wife: "Do you know what I did. It was a bit runny mind, but it was alright."
Husband: "There was a grilled tomato. It was cut in half - then grilled. And the sausages were good too mind."
Wife: "Yes they were."

*long pause*

Wife: "Shame about that butter though."
Husband: "Yes, shame."

This part of the country has its knockers. But the countryside, rural villages and their grand stone churches that the South Wales railway passes through are a beautiful sight.

Something that can't be said for the first impression of Swansea arriving by train. Truth is, the city centre has seen regeneration around the marina, including museums, shopping centre, and apartments overlooking the bay - and this shouldn't be discounted.

Swansea station and a few of its nearby inviting hostelries.

But the immediate vicinity around the station is a run-down area with boarded-up pubs, empty shops and on one side-street I walked down, a rough-looking local letting his Staffordshire bull terrier shit right in the middle of the road before walking off. But not before giving me a "I'll rub your fucking face in it if you want?" stare when I did a double-take to confirm that yes, he was going to leave that steaming pile of dog's mess right where his beloved Bella squeezed it from her angry anus.

On the way home I overheard a Newcastle fan saying that Swansea was an awful, ugly place. But he was wrong. Like most visiting fans he probably holed up in a Wetherspoons before and after the game, and had I done the same and my only experience of local culture was Bella's expulsions I might have thought the same. But on these trips I'm trying to dig a little deeper - and I'm extra glad I did on this occasion.

Swansea Bay viewed from Mumbles: Beautiful.

I have a few friends who went to University here so I had a bit of insider knowledge. I sidestepped the dog-doo and headed straight to the bus station to catch the No. 2 (I won't do another poo joke here) to The Mumbles.

The Mumbles is 5 miles from the city centre along Swansea Bay - and the first thing you notice is as soon as you hit the waterfront, this place is stunning. Stretching all the way from the city down to the Gower Peninsula are stunning views back across the bay towards the city and the South Wales coastline I'd just travelled along. I'm ashamed to say I really wasn't expecting this of Swansea.

View of Mumbles seafront from Oystermouth Castle [Inset].

The Mumbles itself is a busy yet still quaint coastal resort town with a promenade stretching its front - framed at one end by a pier and the other by a hilltop castle. This Oystermouth Castle and its commanding view of the bay was my first stop. Built 900 years ago, the castle was there to subdue South Wales by the new Norman rulers of England as the Marcher Lords pushed west across the border.

The Welsh flag now flies atop its turrets and its repressive origins, although not forgotten by the restoration team, do seem a thing of the past.

It was a gorgeous summer's day by now, and I walked off to the pier along the promenade, joined on my walk by families, cyclists, fishermen and boating types.

Mumbles Promenade. Nothing to see here.

Verdi's Ice Cream: Good.

South Wales is rather oddly synonymous with Italian ice-cream of course. Yes, it is. See article here if you don't believe me. So I had to dive into Verdi's Ice Cream Parlour at Knab Rock and grab myself a couple of scoops for the trek to the pier - and I can honestly say that this was the best ice cream I've ever tasted. Genuinely. And I've eaten a lot of ice cream, so take my recommendation and head to Knab Rock for a scoop of the Honeycomb!

There wasn't much at the pier itself - the obligatory amusement arcade and souvenir shop, and an overpriced cafe selling seaside favourites, but the view back towards Swansea and across the bay was worth the walk.

Mumbles Pier: View back to Mumbles. Inset: You Tell Me. I think it's something from a nightmare.

On the walk back I had a quick pint in The Pilot, which would today be the last stop on the once-famous 'Mumbles Mile' pub crawl. In its heyday, the Mumbles was packed full of stag and hen parties here for the challenge of a pint in one of each of the 20 pubs along the mile - usually culminating at the nightclub at the end of the pier. The sad wave of pub closures in Britain hasn't left Mumbles out though as only about 9 remain open.

The Pilot, Mumbles: CAMRA Welsh pub of the Year 2014.

The Pilot is probably the best of these though so not having time to fit in 9 pints I'm glad I stopped here for a pint brewed on site in CAMRA's Welsh pub of the year 2014. They also don't fuck about if wasps fly in the pub.

I had a disappointing lunch in Mumbles that I didn't even finish - Chaplin Steakhouse makes a very disappointing burger. I probably should have gone for the steak. Or the Cockles and Laverbread special. Ho-hum. By now time was ticking and the whole point of this exercise wasn't to eat ice cream or eat seaweed, but to watch football - so I got myself a taxi straight to the ground.

Liberty Stadium Pre-Match Drinks.

I had a very talkative and friendly taxi driver who described how exciting a time it was for the city because of Swansea's recent footballing success. He also told me how much the city had changed in his lifetime - as we drove inland along the banks of the river Tawe, he told me that the dense tree-cover lining its banks and the adjacent mountainside (his words - I thought it was a hill to be honest) were only 20-30 years old.

He in fact remembered helping plant some of the saplings whilst at school. Before that time, the river banks all the way in land were a wasteland - nothing would grow due to the pollution of the factories and the barges taking copper and coal down the river to port. In his lifetime, the city had changed immeasurably from an ugly industrial shithole to an emergent green, prosperous place energised by renovation and investment.

Liberty Stadium: A Packed West (Main) Stand.

And Swansea City's establishment as a Premiership Football team has come hand-in-hand with that civic rejuvenation. I'm not sure which has come first but I'm sure they have mutually influenced each other as this is a city and a club riding a crest of pride at the moment.

There was nothing to dampen that pride this afternoon - Swansea pretty much swept aside Newcastle as if it was a pre-season game. On top from the start, Swansea's dreadlocked French striker Bafetimbi Gomis rounded and slided past Krul in the Newcastle goal after only 9 minutes. 

Despite a brief resurgence from the visitors just before half-time, the sending off of Janmaat just before the break for persistently fouling man-of-the-match Jefferson Montero ended the game as a contest.

Liberty Stadium: East Stand pre-Match.

The Ecuadorian winger Montero tore Newcastle ragged in a traditional winger's role down the left, and as the bloke sat next to me so frustratedly put it: "If he keeps playing this well we'll struggle to keep him!" It's a strange thing to be annoyed your best player was so dazzling, but does highlight that for all Swansea's success, they will always be looking over their shoulder.

This is also a club that has gone to pains not to milk their success - even announcing this season that they are subsidising away travel for their own fans so that no Swansea fan will pay more than £22 at any Premiership ground this season. An amazing gesture given the price of following football these days.

Swansea attack the Newcastle goal. Inset: Cyril the Swan dejected after half-time penalty miss.

This is something that perhaps a club with such recent roots in lower leagues can do more easily than an established top flight club, but nonetheless a sell-out crowd most weeks and expected expansion of the 20,000 capacity stadium over the next few years to satisfy current demand would suggest they are on the right track. And good for them too.

But I'm also reminded of my taxi driver earlier in the day. He remembered all too well when Swansea were in League Two just 10 years ago. As such, he was mindful that the fickleness of football meant that Swans fans should not take their current seat at the top table for granted. They needed to enjoy it now, as in another 10 years - they could be back where they once were. Wise words.

After a 2nd half that had one early goal and Newcastle on damage limitation parking the bus throughout as Swansea played keep-ball, I walked the 1.5 miles back into the City and grabbed some food before my train home.

Smoke Haus Ribs: Delicious.

This time the food wasn't a disappointment - some bloody lovely baby back ribs down at The Smoke Haus, where I devoured this sticky BBQ covered meat whilst watching all the hen parties in their pink sashes and heels walk up and down the many bars of Wind Street. It was still early but it was clearly time for me to go - I didn't want to be here to see if any of these lot were drunk enough to take the lead from the Staffie I saw earlier that morning.

So - a surprising visit to Swansea where I found a lovely seaside suburb to this city with an undeserved reputation. For all other visitors who follow, may i suggest you rhoi'r gorau, arhoswch i edrych* a little further afield before you judge this place. 

It's actually rather nice. And the football team aren't so bad either, these days.

*stop, wait & look

With thanks to Howell Brown (@DTHB_)

NEXT UP: 22nd August MANSFIELD TOWN v. Oxford!