By all accounts Swansea City are the worst cheats in the league with Steve Cooper deploying tactics that are being assisted by abysmal refereeing and decision making. That’s the opinion of numerous supporters of Championship clubs, especially those who believe they have been hard done by. It’s an interesting phenomena, being biased.
Obviously and for reasons only known to themselves, Brentford followers go apoplectic at every decision given for the swans this season. The reasons are varied, but they heightened when their own team was failing to collect points and the swans were doggedly doing so. That’s probably a decent reason for any fan of the game to question things outside of their own clubs control. Brentford especially who have hardly retained their ability to win games in play off situations over time. Away from there Stoke City too would consider themselves unfortunate, a team that has kicked its away around the Championship and Premier League for years, so I do find this fairly amusing. They have had the lions share of very concerning decisions against the swans for years from penalties to game changing decisions. In their case I can only smile at their angst. But that’s not the issue.
However, when a Brentford supporter travels around the fans forum world and religiously opening up topics on the swans - then it’s worthy of interest, if only to try and discover the reasons for what is now borderline hatred of the top side in Wales. We have heard all the usual chat for many years, what are they doing in OUR league, racist remarks, the full bin load. But that’s not the issue here, it’s just a desire by one clubs set of fans to promote Swansea City in a bad way, and that club is Brentford. One could say they are similar to a small band posting their music on much bigger bands websites in the hope for recognition. Is it the fact Brentford are a small and pretty unknown club in west London with little or no Impact on English football that pushes a certain section of their fans to try and curry support with other clubs ? After all, they are a harmless, less than fortunate speck on the football food chain. Accept it.
Whatever the reason Stoke, Middlesbrough and Brentford to name a few seem to be on a campaign fuelled by a sense of injustice, blame and general displeasure, and most it is aimed at the swans. I agree things did for a few games edge in our favour, Neil Warnock who has cost his club Middlesbrough thousands of pounds as a result of his sides loss at the Liberty. When I say loss, I mean the game and his own personal credibility, if indeed he has any left. Away at Stoke there was more fall out, once again Brentford supporters rallying other teams fans to jump on their bandwagon. Their desire to seek sympathy and support for their own personal displeasure was ramped up. I suppose those two games, home to Middlesbrough and away to Stoke would have been enough, but their joy in Swansea defeats to Huddersfield and Bristol City was disproportionate to say the least.
And here’s the crux, none of these fixtures they refer to involved Brentford, none of them had any impact on Brentford other than to expose the club as failing yet again in their own pursuit of being the new Bournemouth in the Premier League. All it did was highlight the fact Brentford were so poor they had to look elsewhere for blame. Had they accomplished wins when they lost, and draws they should have won then I’m certain no complaints, or at least minimal complaints would have been heard.
However, I fully understand their reasoning for complaint, on one hand they may not make it to the Premier League yet again and that hurts. On the other their involvement in a league with far bigger clubs in it means they are at last sat at the table with some of the biggest names outside the top half of the Premier League. Clubs with major trophy history, European adventures and a far larger supporters base. There is a stigma in the air, a sense of inferiority perhaps ? As supporters they haven’t been in this position before, they have never circulated in this company, especially now with the rewards on offer for their club if they defy the odds and get promoted.
Understandably a club with few club honours will always and obviously want the limelight having been mushrooms for their entire history. And when they do have something to shout about like a division four championship in 1935 or Division three in 2009, there are a few others but it’s in no way impressive, they haven’t been remembered or memorable. Try to compare Derby County, Watford, Norwich City or Reading to Brentford, and I’m afraid there is no comparison. What I’m saying is clear by now surely, even though they have pushed themselves in recent years nobody recognised the club, much less it’s small fan base for any achievement. They haven’t even won a football league trophy. We are dealing very much with a very local club that is even overshadowed by the likes of QPR. That’s the level we are talking about.
So yes, I do sympathise with Brentford supporters, their campaign to garner support because another club, this time it’s Swansea, are by all accounts the worst cheats in the league. Nothing to do with their results, their ability, or leadership, it’s somebody else’s fault. The usual ‘go to’ of many a person who can’t accept responsibility for their own actions and blame others elsewhere. A reflection of their personal psyche for sure, a small town, small mind mentality, looking to ride on the coat tails of others, unable to look in the mirror, let alone buy one.
Let’s have a look at a post from a Brentford supporter on a Middlesbrough website. That alone should tell you something.
That last sentence, "Why don’t WE ask Stoke supporters about their game with Swansea” Unable to run alone, this person needs to ask others for help, they are so unable to manage their own emotions with this they jump on another clubs forum to get support. The last bastion of any bully is the use of the word WE when they try and ingratiate themselves with others against what they perceive to be a common enemy. It’s the most inadequate domain of the very inadequate. I say this only to reinforce my thoughts in this article. You can disagree of course.
You can read the whole thread here, it’s magnificent
https://www.oneboro.co.uk/forum/topic/12694-swansea-are-the-leagues-worst-cheats
However, Stoke’s forum The Oatcake seemed to accept the game for what it was
https://oatcakefanzine.proboards.com/thread/299101/rate-mon-swansea
No massive campaign or blazing retorts of cheating. Odd eh ?
But of course it’s only a reaction, some form of great displeasure looking for support. Not dissimilar to my own article here, a view on reflection. Nothing more. My personal view is overall Brentford are a better side than Swansea City this season and will offer Watford far more competition for that second spot. And good luck to them. Like many I never really felt Swansea City had the ammunition to be a contender. However, I accept this, we have eaten at the top table, won massive recognition this century as a club with a distinctive playing style, had internationals in World Cups, and an actual final, put out full sides of international players from Spain to England, across the world in the best countries in the world, and of course rattled Europe after winning a major trophy.
I fully understand that Brentford will never reach these dizzy heights and will always be looking up due to their clubs inability over a hundred years to make an impact. That reflects their supporters borderline hatred of Swansea City, they don’t see it, they just see injustice. I wish them well in their campaign to alert others to their plight as a result of no games they have played in, and failure to recognise these issues for them are closer to home. I really do hope they enjoy their attempts at grabbing the limelight on the back of others, it’s hardly a remarkable tactic, but then Brentford are hardly a remarkable club.